THINK! #4 CREATIVELY BRANKRUPT
Our continued exploration, both thoughtful and thought-provoking of "the Limits" will have to wait. Blame procrastination or blame capitalism's inexorable obliteration of our waking lives. We'll get back to it, but in the meantime, enjoy this creatively bankrupt interstitial: a listicle of ten hardcore punk moments, in no particular order, that made me THINK!
1. Who knows where I first heard it at this point, maybe Dave Freeborn and Chris Nelson on Ridge Road during one of their frightening coke benders. I was 14 and a square and afraid of my mother (and still am 24 years later) but they burned me CDs with the names scribbled in ball point pen on pieces of masking tape, and while I know now that RICHARD HELL did not in fact sing "White Punks On Hope," I'm still goddamn sure that the opening riff of STIFF LITTLE FINGERS' "Suspect Device" still quakes the fucking firmament. One of the few bands besides DIE KREUZEN who could make the LP retread even fucking better than the original, a first wave punk band so good even CRASS never wrote a word hating them.
2. The first time I saw OOZE in a dank Hammond basement, there were maybe 15 people and I threw a fan. Not my proudest moment, but I'd double down and do it again in 2026.
3, and also, 4. There are only two bands in my close to a quarter century of in person live music experience that have played a half hour and I thought "Hey, they should play one more even!" These are them:
LOOK BACK AND LAUGH at ABC No Rio, age 18, first tour, no one would book us a show but they let us in for free and even from the back of the room the men felt like giants and Tobia's hair and limbs formed eldritch shapes as she hit close to 1000 jumps. This was the first time I ever used the term "warmachine" to describe a band and if you've ever seen them you know I'm not wrong.
CAREER SUICIDE at NDY, in the half pipe after NEON PISS covered Adolescents and Steven Koontz picked me up in one of his giant arms. I felt very safe. Or maybe CAREER SUICIDE, the first time, at Rob Ruz's birthday party, when Allison and I made zero friends with our pre-song mosh antics. Whatever, don't just fucking stand there.
5. Not Not circa February of this year. First DIY show in close to a year since knee met knife. SEX GUN opened, members o' SHARP PINS and TV BUDDHA, great CHUCK BERRY cover, and STARCHARM and ARTIFICIAL GO followed. Everything was beautiful, anarchists tabled zines and the chili was vegan, and I caught up with nice people until PARKING exploded inside. Big, loud, driving, monstrous. I hope to see this band again in a week and a half at NITRO-A-GO-GO.
6. TENEMENT was a pop punk band that sounded like JAWBREAKER they told us, because the songs were catchy and that was the only reference point anyone had for that in 2010 and '11. And then I saw Amos use a cinder block and a chain as a guitar pick in the same Miami mist and muck that Nick Baran got slurs hurled at him, so you tell me what that all means?
7, and also, 8. Olympia Hardcore Fest was a pale imitation of its predecessor, NEW DIRECTIONS FEST, people stood outside during NERV, the greatest midwest punk band of their epoch, because people were in full loon mode, still gooning blanks over the corpse of HOAX, but day two did give us one of the greatest back to backs I've ever seen: BIG ZIT and VEXX. Disgusting.
9. THE BUG played ten minutes (okay, fifteen) in Little Rock, AK, in the back field of a trailer park. The cops came and shut it down, honestly fair, but fuck them. Tyler had just broken edge and let me drive the Suburban after the show, we drove around and tried to dumpster donuts until we got the address for the apartment complex swimming pool, where I assumed either Clay, Grace, or Zoe lived. About 15 minutes into everyone else passing around the bag wine, the exact same cops came and kicked us out of the swimming pool. Nevada stayed with Clay some time last year and a picture of the night was hanging on their fridge. This is one of my most cherished memories.
10. We were 16 or 17 and we came to the show for GET BENT!, WEEKEND NACHOS, and STUBBORN ATTITUDE (a great band fronted by that fucking pederast from duress (don't capitalize this one, fuck them to this day)), me and AC got thrown into some PVC and it almost impaled me and the basement flooded and I left that show with two 7" s from the touring band that set the standard for how I think punk should present itself: MERKIT's self titled 7" and their split with DEMIAN.
Their songs were great and their thoughts were incredible. Every other band on the bill wrote about hating poseurs and girls they used to date and these were four Floridians writing about Chiapas. I had never heard of fucking Chiapas.
Everything was screen printed, beautiful, and intentional, light years from what we were doing but still attainable. MERKIT is one of the best bands of the aughts. If you check out just one thing from them, know that I rank their LP with HOMBRINUS DUDES alongside the FAITH/VOID split.
What are some of those moments for you? What makes you THINK!? Write to me direct at anyonecanbethebug@riseup.net.