doggies + Pistols

John Lydon – Still Rotten?

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doggies + Pistols
I don’t know what to make of John Lydon, formerly Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. I read that he is a firm believer in women’s rights. However, during a 2013 interview with a female television hostess he told her to shut up and not interrupt when a man is speaking. I read that he is a staunch supporter of same-sex marriage. However, in a 2012 interview with The New Yorker he said gay marriage is “stupid.” Back in 2001 on Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect program he said gay men want to be woman, lesbians are dark and terrible and mocked transgender folks. He claims to be fiercely opposed to racism. However, singer Kele Okereke, who is black and gay, claims that racist epithets were hurled at him when he tried to meet his then-idol Lydon following a 2008 performance at Barcelona’s Summercase festival.

Part of his saying such things may be to draw attention to himself. After all, who’s been paying attention to any of his musical output over the past couple of decades? That’s not a good reason, though. He has demonstrated his intelligence and thoughtfulness on many occasions. I get that he finds political correctness confining, but that doesn’t mean that being an asshole is the best alternative. Am I asking too much of a man who introduced himself to the world as Rotten?

Today Lydon turns 59. I’ll separate these twenty fine recordings from the jerk who sang on them.

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Ringo + Billy Idol

Punks And Lesbians

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In the early days of London’s punk rock movement, around 1976, there were no punk clubs per se, so the punks needed somewhere to congregate where they can be who they are and dress how they dress without fear of being hassled. They found such a place at Club Louise, a lesbian bar that also welcomed gay men and punks, just off Oxford Street in London’s Soho district. Billy Idol hung out there every night. Other regulars included Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Paul Cook, Siouxsie Sioux, Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood, members of The Clash and members of The Slits. Writes Billy Idol in his recently-released autobiography Dancing With Myself, “[Louise’s] was a much-needed haven. Back then, the way we dressed would have started a riot if we had set foot in any normal club or pub.”

Idol discusses Louise’s as ground zero for the punks’ plans. “We all congregated there, drinking and socializing, plotting our rebellion. It was our midnight meeting place, our sanctuary. We all walked the same path at that time. Many of the classic-rock bands talked about musicianship but had little to offer us, the disenfranchised and disenchanted… As the gay ladies danced and loved one another, we devised our plans and consolidated a movement. By being like-minded, we ruled the night. We would rock London to its core. The lesbian bar was our spiritual ‘upper room,’ and we, the new aristocracy of the poor, knighted with fire, sallied forth and followed Johnny Rotten into the unknown!”

New York City’s punk scene was similar. Club 82, a drag queen/transsexual bar, was one of the few public places where punks could perform in the early to mid-1970s. The club always welcomed the outcasts, so the punks were part of the family. Other gay bars opened their doors to punks as well. These not only were places that accepted those who are “different;” gay bars also were places where people could experiment with their appearance.

Idol explains the bond between the punk rockers and the LGBT populations by quoting a figure from American history. “Benjamin Franklin once offered advice to his fellow revolutionaries: ‘We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.’ We were a small group of people bored with the repeated clichés of modern life and its stagnant, putrid waters. That is what brought us — and ultimately bonded us — together.”

Ringo + Billy Idol
Today Billy Idol turns 59 years old. Here are twenty career highlights.

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Winston + Agnetha 002

Endorsed By Lennon, Townshend, Cobain, Davies And Sex Pistols

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Winston + Agnetha 002
Today Tunes du Jour celebrates the birthday of Agnetha Fältskog, one of the two women in ABBA.

Our playlist kicks off with “SOS,” a favorite of John Lennon, Ray Davies and Pete Townshend, who called it “the best pop song ever written.” It inspired the main riff of The Sex Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant.” My favorite piece of trivia about the song – it is the only record to hit the Hot 100 where both the song title and the artist performing the song are palindromes.

Enjoy this playlist of tunes on which Agnetha handled lead vocals.