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'90s Punk Decries Punks of Today
Submitted by ChrisB on July 19, 2007.With Char's post earlier about a story from The Onion, I thought I'd share my favorite music-related article from that paper. It's from 2003.
PS, did you know you can get The Onion free in newspaper boxes in Austin?
BERKELEY, CA–Nineties punk Drew Tolbert, 29, expressed scorn Monday for the punks of today, denouncing them as "phony poseurs unworthy of the word 'punk.'"
"These kids today have no idea what real punk is," said Tolbert, who called himself "Steve Spew" from 1992 until May 1999, when he was forced to revert to his real name to take a job at Roberto's Custom Auto Upholstery. "Those so-called punk bands they listen to today? Sum 41? Good Charlotte? The Ataris? They're not punk. Back in the day, man, we used to listen to the real deal: Rancid, The Offspring, NOFX, Green Day. Those guys were what true punk rock was all about. Today's stuff is just a pale, watered-down imitation. There's no comparison."
Recalling the glory days of the '90s, Tolbert waxed nostalgic for a few moments before condemning today's punks.
"They can talk all they want about how much punk means to them, but the simple fact is, they weren't there," Tolbert said. "These kids today have no sense of history. They don't know about Pennywise. They barely know about Epitaph Records. Most of them don't even know about Green Day's legendary appearance in '94 at the L.A. Coliseum. It was a watershed, one-of-a-kind moment in the history of youth rebellion, and if you didn't live through it, as I did, you'll never get it, no matter how punk you pretend to be."
The rest of the article is here.
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robby said on July 20, 2007:
how ridiculous is it that when I first read that, I couldn't figure out why it was supposed to be funny. I'm like, "yup, that dude just about sums it all up." Then I realized that's because I AM that guy. Crotchety jaded ol' punk-rocker. hahahaha.
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BrightEyes said on July 20, 2007:
Meanwhile, 70s punks decries 90s punks decrying punks of today...
"Bloody fucking gob, who the hell are these Rancid-loving, Green-Day loving pseudo-punks telling people how real punks shouldabe like?! These runts buy their fucking shirts for $16.99+tax at Hot Topic with mom & dads allowance money, then go back to their suburban house to bitch about how bad they havvit in Fairlaine Oaks!"
"In fact, one of those... ahem... people asked me what Ramones was. Hell, he even said they were some old geezer band or some shit like that. I wanna punch his face, but I'm now pulling past 50 & my bones are all aching."
"Man, back in the good ol' days, me and my pals would rock 'The Corner Hole' back at the old run down dock district. You shoulda seen my band play there. We even opened for the Buzzcocks there! Pity its all gone now, with a fucking Starbucks in its place & all those waterfront foofoo shops. And my mates? They're now execs in Corporate America driving a Lexus or Caddy to work. Fucking sellouts!"
~ Johnny "Spike" Reckhart
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JJ Hellgate said on July 20, 2007:
I can't wait for the satirical article in 2017 that says, "Today's emo doesn't compare to the emo of the 00’s. Kids these days have no appreciation for Fall Out Boy or Panic! At The Disco."
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michael said on July 20, 2007:
They're free on corners here in Madison, The Onion's birthplace, as well. I avoid the website so I can read it in paper form. I am a dinosaur.
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Shane C said on July 21, 2007:
seriously, I know it's all one big joke, but it still pains me to read this article. Sometimes satire still hurts me, if only because I know there's real people like this out there.
The Offspring were indeed the real deal. That's why 10 year old elementary school kids on the bus loved singing along to them so much. Same with Greenday, I can remember even 8 year old kids singing Green Day songs on the playground. Instead of pop-punk, it should really be called AM-punk, or just radio-punk.
This is why I try not to even dip a single tow into the 90's-00's punk-pool: I just can't trust swimming with kids who pee in the water and blame it on someone else.
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Reviews
saundrah said on July 19, 2007:
awesome.. Gawd I'm old.