Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Anarchy from the UK and Show #117



This week I'll be talking a bit about Sex Pistols. Well this band started everything really, because of Sex Pistols Joe Strummer broke up his band the 101'ers to form The Clash, Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley formed Buzzcocks, and tons of other bands ignited upon the punk rock fuse that was lit by Sex Pistols.

Sex Pistols were just a band in the right place at the right time. Formed in 1975, they were brought together by radical clothes designer Malcolm McLaren, to promote clothes and fashions from his shop. The band consisted of Steve Jones (Guitar), Paul Cook (Drums),Glen Matlock (Bass), and Johnny Rotten on vocals. The band played loud fast rock & roll songs, and that is all the group was a loud rock band with extreme attitude, courtesy of Mr. Johnny Rotten. Johnny Rotten brought emotion to the band, the band talked of the times in England and the Government. They brought up real and political themes in a format that was known as punk rock.

The media and many people were terrified of the band and Johnny Rotten, they were thought of as some to be evil. Their first single "Anarchy in The UK" caused the band to be dropped from their record label, EMI. A song about being dropped from their label was written and is featured on their only album Nevermind The Bollocks...Here's The Sex Pistols, it is called "EMI". Original bassist Glen Matlock, was fired just after this and just before their next single "God Save The Queen". The song would be banned by The BBC because of all the trouble it caused, it actually reached number one on the billboard charts, but the name of the song and the band appeared as a blank space atop of the charts. After the sacking of bassist Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten's friend Sid Vicious was brought into the band. Sid could not play an instrument, and he was not featured on their record (the bass parts were played by guitarist Steve Jones). The band would self destruct during their first US tour, in January 1978. Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon) would go on to form the post punk group Public Image Limited, Steve Jones would form the Professionals, and the other members were involved in other projects as well.

The song I played by the band tonight "Bodies" is a song which brings up issues of abortion. Johnny Rotten does not say whether he is for or against the subject, but it is based on a real life experience of someone he knew. For more information about Sex Pistols, you can read John Lydon's Autobiography, or get the classic albums DVD on Nevermind the Bollocks. In the early 90's a similar musical impact would occur with another band that was influenced by Sex Pistols, that would be Nirvana, but that is another story.

The Play List:

1. The Count Five - double-decker bus
2. MC5 - teenage lust
3. Generation X - Cathy come home
4. Teenage Head - curtain jumper
5. Modernettes - confidential
6. Ramones - questioningly
7. Ramones - she's the one
8. Sex Pistols - bodies
9. Buzzcocks - are everything
10. Buzzcocks - why she's a girl from the chainstore
11. The Diodes - madhouse
12. The Clash - junkie slip
13. The Clash - Kingston advice
14. The Saints - all times through paradise
15. The Police - synchronicity I
16. Talking Heads - I get wild/wild gravity
17. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - senior service
18. Wire - a question of degree
19. Iggy Pop - sixteen
20. Sloan - she says what she means
21. Sloan - iggy & angus
22. The D4 - Rebekah
23. The D4 - running on empty
24. Albert Hammond Jr. - back to the 101
25. The Rapture - pieces of the people that we love

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