I grew up in NYC where Punk rock was not an underground thing. You would go to Greenwich Village and you would see people who were into the music. Therefore, I consider bands like Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Blondie, Joan Jett (even though she said two weeks ago she is not punk) and Iggy Pop part of the genre. I think the music that came after is not the same thing.
The first three episodes of the 4-part series Punk on EPIX focused on the ’70s and the ’80s, but tonight at 9p, they are bringing it to West Coast and covering Alternative and Grunge music. Since I love New Wave, I never like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, so I did not like tonight’s episode.
While that is me, I know so many people who love that scene and are going to enjoy this episode. They have some legends from the era like Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Nirvana/Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl talking about the scene.
They talk about so many people hating them because it is considered that they sold out. They say they didn’t. What they claim is that they just learned how to make money with their music. Which, to me, is the very definition of selling out.
Going back to how is the Seattle scene Punk? I am not quite sure. To me, New Wave spun off of Punk and Grunge spun off of New Wave. It is the same way Hair Metal came from Classic Rock, it is an evolution (not saying better just evolving) but not the same genre which is why they have a different name. In fact, I think that Emo Rock is more Punk than Alternative.
So I guess this was more a rant than a review. Which is how I watched the episode. Having said all of this, it was an interesting episode. I just would have liked it more if it was not part of this series because it is totally different than the first three shows. If you run out of material then stop and don’t use filler. Save it for the followup series.
If you missed the first three episodes, then watch them on Epix now. It is a really cool look at a genre of music that it is the father of so many other music genres.
After what seems like forever, 9-1-1 is back on Fox tonight at 9p. The episode starts off with a woman getting a facelift. Something goes horribly wrong, and you will never want to get a facelift or any surgery after this…
Next up, there is a pileup on the freeway and a shark comes flying out of a truck that was transporting it. Now, they have to save the shark and the person that was bitten by it.
If that is not enough, a boy calls into 9-1-1. As he asking them for help, his father gets on the phone and says everything is OK. Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is suspicious of the call and asks Athena (Angela Bassett) to check it out. What does she find when she gets there?
You don’t want to miss a single second of this episode because something shocking happens at the end. Something that sets up next week’s episode.
Rock icon @JoanJett breaks down the essence of Punk in an unforgettable sit-down about the subculture that rocked the world. Don't miss it.
Over on Epix at 10p is Punk. The second part of the four-part docuseries, that looks at Punk Rock, tells the story of how the music came about in London with bands like The Clash and Sex Pistols.
Although Punk was born in the US, Sex Pistols is the most notorious band in the genre because of lead sing Sid Vicious. As we know, he didn’t make it to the ’80s, but his bandmate Johnny Rotten is still playing with his band Public Image Limited. He still looks exactly how he did in the ’70s and he talks about his time changing music forever.
A few months before there was Anarchy in the UK, on July 4, 1976, The Ramones crossed the pond to play a gig in London. They had the same manager as the British Punk bands, so they all came out to see the NY band. Something about them lit a spark in the UK and Punk caught on like wildfire there.
Just like here, the music was part of an underground scene. Then on December 1, 1976, Queen cancelled on Bill Grundy and the Sex Pistols made their television debut. They were not ready for primetime, so they cursed on the air shocking the British audience. Their manager thought that was the end of their career, but they were overnight sensations.
In fact, they gained such notoriety, that Punk was banned throughout the country. Now, it was the Pistols who crossed the pond. They were playing the club circuit in the South, and they made Punk Rock popular in the US. As they were getting more famous, Sid and his girlfriend, Nancy, were getting deeper and deeper into drugs. Sid was not himself and you could not understand him because he was slurring his words.
Shortly before he said he killed his girlfriend, Nancy, he parted ways with the Sex Pistols. Then two months after he was arrested, he too was dead from a heroin overdose. Rotten tears up as he talks about losing his friend. He makes a confession, that will break your heart but not nearly as much as it has broken his. I have never heard him talk about Vicious before, and it was well worth the wait.
Tonight’s Punk is not only about the boys of Punk, but it is also about the women. Joan Jett talks about the music and says something that blew my mind. She has a different type of Bad Reputation with me now.
As much as I love this series and tonight’s episode, I have one little problem. Not enough talk about The Clash. I could be biased because I saw Rotten’s big moon over Miami with PIL at the same show with Mick Jones’ followup band Big Audio Dynamite. It was an epic bill and a concert I will never forget.
Back to Punk in the UK, I just wish they could have also highlighted bands that were on the cusp like Joy Division and Adam and the Ants. To me the latter was Punk and his solo work is New Wave.
Anyways, if you want to know more about the music that doesn’t give a f*ck and the people that don’t give two sh!ts, then you must watch Punk on Epix. I know it is not cool to love something if you are truly punk, but I love it! I may be right, I may be wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkJhX-ccM5k
Also at 10p, but over on ABC is the debut of The Fix. The series would be like what if another one of O.J. Simpson’s loves were murdered again. If anyone dreamed about that scenario, it is Marcia Clark. This murder mystery is her dream baby because she is the producer.
Famous actor Sevvy Johnson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) was accused of killing two women including his wife. At the end of the sensationalized trail in 2010, he was found not guilty. Now, 8 years later, his girlfriend was found murdered and the actor is the #1 suspect.
Maya Travis (Robin Tunney) represented the People in the trial. Losing the case made her run away. She left town and has not been seen since. Her partner Andre (Adam Rayner) has moved up in the District Attorney’s office and he wants her back. He wants to get Johnson for murder this time and knows the only way to do it is bring her back.
Travis returns to town and there is a lot of animosity towards her in the D.A.’s office, but they have to work with her because they all want to see Johnson put away as much as she does.
Johnson’s lawyer (Scott Cohen), who got him off, is back representing him. He needs the case as much as Johnson needs to be acquitted again.
Over the last 8 years, time moved on but they didn’t. This time, everyone is ready for war, but who will be the winner? We find out in 9 weeks.
This fall season was full of duds, but this show stood out among the other crap. After watching 2 episodes, I feel like I am watching the O.J. trial all over again. Except this one is only 10 hours long and we get to watch all of them in the fight of their lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRLKONHu0qg
Before there was New Wave, Alternative, Grunge and Emo Rock, there was Punk music. It gave birth to so many different genres of Rock, and tonight at 10p, Epix tells the story of how Punk began and is still going strong in a 4-part docuseries that sits down with the biggest name in that scene.
I always thought that Punk started in the mid-’70s, but turns out it was truly born at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Chicago 8 invited a whole bunch of bands to play at their protests, but only MC5 showed up. As they were playing, the police were beating up the young protestors as they listened to the band. The band and several other people realized they needed to use music to get their message out.
Iggy Pop, who grew up in a trailer, watched a lot of music shows, as he took drum lessons, and he liked how untraditional MC5 was. He respected them and their style. Although, they were not the band that convinced the Detroit native to stop playing back up with Blues bands. That title went to The Doors, who he saw play a college dance. They did not know any of their songs and they did not care. That inspired him to break out on his own and eventually become the Godfather of Punk.
Around that time, Sylvain Sylvain was in high school and he asked the guy, who was surrounded by girls, to join his band. At first, Johnny Thunders, said no, but then he said yes and learned how to play bass. The men would wear women’s clothes, threads from England and their girlfriends’ makeup when they went on stage as the New York Dolls. Creating an androgynous look that is notoriously identified with Punk Rock.
They were not the only ones playing the New York scene at clubs like CBGBs, so was a band called Blondie. Their repertoire was so short, Debbie Harry says that they played each of their songs 4 times along with covers. None of that discouraged them, so they kept on playing and eventually become the band we know today.
They were not the only band who was taking NYC by storm, so was The Ramones. No one knew what to make of them, but they were popular even though their quick songs had their sets lasting around 15 minutes.
I said earlier that Iggy Pop was from Detroit, he was not the only one. Jayne County also hailed from there. She was rock’s first transgendered performer and she would trick people to let her band play their clubs.
They are the forefathers and foremothers of Punk Rock, but they got their name from a magazine. A name they did not like because of what Punk meant back then. That is one of the many many many interesting things you will learn about Punk tonight and the next few weeks on Epix.
The episode ends with one line from Johnny Lydon aka Johnny Rotten, so I am assuming next week looks at the British groups like Sex Pistols, The Clash and David Bowie.
Whether you love Punk music or just want to know more about, this is a great history lesson for all to enjoy. Well, maybe not your kids because they might be too young. F*ck that, you are never too young to understand what Punk is all about. Teach the impressionable when they are impressionable.
Epix is doing a docuseries about the story of Punk Rock that debuts on March 11th and they invited the Rockers to talk about it on a panel. This short interaction shows anyone who is not familar with the genre how it got its name.
John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten threw it in Marky Ramone’s face that he is not an original member of The Ramones, to which he replied by saying that Sid Vicious was the true star of the Sex Pistols. That is a low, but true, blow. Name another type of musicians that would go there. It would be like Michelle Williams saying to Joey McIntyre that you are not an original member of New Kids on the Block and him saying Beyonce was the true star of Destiny’s Child. We all know that, but you would never say that to her face. Which is why I love Punk they don’t care.
Now, I am going to say something that could get my ass kicked, but I like Public Image Limited aka PIL more than Sex Pistols. Although, I like PIL and The Ramones equally as much. With the NYC Punk scene closed down, I might be able to show my face in Manhattan again after typing this. I wish I could have experienced the Punk scene in its prime but I was too young and too preppy.
