Neil Rubenstein is back for his fifth Contributor Blog and his first in a long time and we couldn’t be more glad to have him. In his new blog, Neil discusses a recent interview Ian MacKaye did that focussed punk, Fugazi, and underground movements. In the past, Neil has discussed Kickstarter, major labels, and Rebecca Black, among other things, but his new blog may be his best. Read up on Neil’s thoughts below!

The Year That Punk Broke 

I just finished reading that awesome interview with Ian McKaye on Pitchfork. And just before that, Dennis Lyxzen, telling us how he really feels about angry/sad metalcore.

For those that know me, know that I am about as stuck in the past as one can get. But I am also extremely eager about the future and pretty entertained by the present. There isn’t an era of music that I brush off. Certainly a subgenre or two I could do without, but not an era.

And although I think the idea that Ian presents, of punk getting broken is funny and poignant, I do think it is an old man way of thinking. Something the older generation could say about my generation, before my generation became the old generation. 

One of my favorite conversations with people of my age, or sometimes a little younger, is the conversation that begins “there will never be another Fugazi.” Or Nirvana. Or Pink Floyd. Or Whomever. 

We can’t say that. We can LOOK BACK on a body of work. We can SEE exactly what those bands did. We can’t look ahead to see how history remembers Brand New or (god forbid) A Day To Remember. But that’s me being an old jaded dick. Just because I can see where ADTR went wrong, a 16 year old (smarter than I) thinks they are the bees knees. And that’s his/her prerogative. 

I KNOW no one loves Antioch Arrow’s Gems Of Masochism more than me, but I can hear it. I know it’s not for everyone. I know people looked at it and wondered what I saw. So someone hears Attack Attack and loves it. I am going to make fun of them, and it, until we are all sick of it, but that doesn’t devalue what that other person hears in it. Well, maybe a little.

Albini told of a John Peel quote that referred to not understanding an artist as the listener’s fault. It still holds value to the person who created it. And I feel that it still holds value for the listener who appreciates it. I am not above insulting it, but that’s on me. 

And that’s the problem I have with that Ian McKaye statement. And I know he didn’t mean it negatively. And I know it was a minor line in an otherwise awesome interview. But every time an underground movement gains mainstream popularity, another one emerges in its place. I was listening to Nirvana on the radio and Heroin in the art gallery. Fugazi was playing Roseland and Bouncing Souls were playing ABC No Rio. 

One isn’t more or less punk. All the roots and all their hearts were essentially in the same place. It isn’t for us to judge. Sure, I judge a shit load. But ultimately, any underground  community, is still a community. It’s harboring feelings and emotional growth and creativity. 

Sure, what Dennis said about pretty boy / boy bands, all pretty much holds water, but I have a feeling those kids were made fun of just as much in High School as any one else that ended up committing suicide or wearing eye liner at a Cure concert. 

Punk isn’t broken. We just get too old to recognize it.