The punk rock ethos has taken quite a drubbing in the public sphere lately. First Bad Religion co-founder and Epitaph Records head Mr. Brett Gurewitz took to the pages of Rolling Stone to claim his band’s superiority in the scene, relegating followers to “Civil War reenactors” in the process. Then came John Roderick (of 90’s one-hit wonder Harvey Danger fame) and his now-infamous “punk rock is bullshit” diatribe in Seattle Weekly. Then, of course, there’s whatever this is.
Thankfully, somebody is sticking up for the punks. Bryan from our very own Yankee Brutal has posted a lengthy retaliation to all of the recent anti-scene chatter, and we think it’s damn good. An excerpt:
They assert that the meaning of punk is directly contradictory to its practice, that it accomplished nothing over its 30 somewhat year history, that the reunions of veteran bands somehow automatically makes them a heritage act, and that punk has slowly sizzled into irrelevance, or better yet, that it was always irrelevant. First off, let me say, and I mean this with love and respect, fuck you! Second – John Roderick, Brett Gurewitz, Jaded Punk, and countless others – you’re wrong.
Click here to check out the rest of what Bryan and the Yankee Brutal fellas had to say. It’s well worth the read. While you’re at it, leave your thoughts down below.
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