Read this at the book release party. It fit the 1977 theme perfectly.
Punk
1977
1977 is here! It’s my new book, a collage of poems and charts and maps that re-creates the feeling I had when I first heard punk music.
You can be first to have a copy by heading over the Ravenna Press and buy online here. Or …
Those of you who can make it to the release party 4/21 may want to wait … the first 77 get a bonus cassette and poster that evening when you buy a copy from the author. #merchandising
Thanks for supporting small presses and independent bookstores!
Mr. Wonderful
WHEN I CANNOT DISCERN
no arc nor halo
no narrative defined
scars from past cuts
no longer pink
they reported he took
a lot less than usual
there is only one way
this can end—
next time you ask
I’ll say “Yes”
from 1977, forthcoming from Ravenna Press
Never Mind The Bullocks
I reviewed Never Mind The Bullocks Here’s The Sex Pistols (released by Virgin on Oct. 28, 1977) for The Chimes, the student newspaper at SUNY Morrisville, Feb. 13, 1978, edition.
Subs (a coda)
As my artist friend David says: “The internet is magic.”
The catalyst: “Gimme Your Heart” 45 by the Subs (Stiff Records 1978).
How it happened: 1) I posted a newspaper clipping my Grandma C sent me in the waning days of first-wave punk. It told the story of a punk band that saved a couple trapped in their car during a snowstorm. (See story here.)
2) David added a comment linking to the song “Gimme Your Heart” by the Subs, the punk band mentioned in the newspaper clipping.
3) David’s friend Mike added a comment linking to Discogs with the Subs record (shown above) for sale.
4) I bought the 45 (made in Scotland) off the internet that evening. It arrived about a week later.
The result: The internet is indeed magic!
1977: Mix Tape (Track 08)
So what — “Penance.”
Samples by James “Pissing in a River” Nugent
Rocket To Russia
Three reasons why, released 40 years ago (Nov. 4, 1977), the Ramones’ third LP “Rocket To Russia” still matters:
- “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker“
- Cover photo by Danny Fields.
- Russia is still messing with us.
1977: Mix Tape (Track 07)
“Palpitations” is about the sensation you get standing close to loudspeakers. The lows that reverberate in your chest. The drumming that realigns your heart beat.
Samples by James “Iggy” Nugent.
What I learned from Johnny Rotten’s autobiography (Part 3)
Five things about John Lydon I didn’t know and I’m embarrassed that I didn’t:
- He moved to L.A., first Pasadena then Malibu where Herb Alpert was his neighbor (early 1980s).
- As Time Zone, he collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa on “World Destruction” (1984).
- PiL Ltd. released four albums I never heard about: 9 (1989), That What Is Not (1992), This is PiL (2012), What The World Needs Now… (2015). (I blame the record company. See full discography.)
- He hosted nature shows on great white sharks and mountain gorillas (2004-05).
- He became a U.S. citizen (2013).
John Burgess 