Punk
1970, in an edition of the Chicago Tribune , Sanders described his first solo album as ‘ punk rock – redneck sentimentality ’, and in many ways, the Fugs’ music is of a similar vein. 61 They resemble a sixties incarnation of the Dead Kennedys; tracks such as Kill for Peace (1966) are laced with crude, blunt satire, which surely served as an inspiration for Jello Biafra – ‘ the only gook an American can trust / is a gook that’s got his yellow head bust’ . 62 The Fugs’ attitude is equally as ‘punk’; they dressed outrageously and enjoyed playing up to the conservative paranoia of the U.S. public. Indeed, in a 1966 Swedish T.V. interview, Ed Sanders confesses: ‘ I like to engage in astral perversion, and my fondness is to be sucked off by ring-tail fruit bats, while engaging in oral-erotic relationships with homosexual aardvarks ’ , adding that he enjoys ‘ late-night motel plate jobs, slurp circles, and Jell-O orgies ’ . 63 One man was so gloriously outraged by the Fugs that he composed a letter to Senator Ervin in which he described their music as ‘ the filthiest and most vulgar thing the human mind could possibly conceive ’ . 64 Whilst embracing the punk ethos to the core, the music itself – asides from select tracks, such as CIA Man (1965) – doesn’t have the sonic quality typical of punk rock; indeed, the Fugs’ sound would probably be best described as a sort of perverse brand of folk-rock. In conclusion, it would appear that the Stooges’ debut L.P. is the only pre -1970 release – if you follow this essay’s definition – deserving of the title ‘punk rock’. However, it would be remiss not to mention the conflict at the heart of this essay; rebellion and counterculture are central to punk rock, and in essence, this piece is trying confine the very music that so vigorously tries not to be confined. The futility of the debate surrounding punk’s origins is surmised by Lou Reed, who, when asked if he accepted the title, ‘the godfather of punk’, simply replied: ‘I don’t have a choice in these things’ . 65 John Lydon – to whom this essay should perhaps have turned earlier – too provides a thought-provoking answer to the debate. Indeed, in response to the role of American bands in the development of punk, he stated: ‘ Oh, go fuck yourselves! I was brought up in Britain! ’ 66 Either way, dear reader, it would seem that what you have read has been a waste of time. I feel it is only right to inform you that you have been played.
61 dangerousminds.net, Wild things: Were the Troggs th-e very first punk band? , [online]. 62 faroutmagazine.com, Were The Fugs the first punk band? , [online]. 63 youtube.com, Fugs on Swedish TV 1966- part , [online]. 64 vice.com, Inside the FBI’s File on The Fugs: The ‘Most Vulgar Thing the Human Mind Could Possibly Conceive’ , [online]. 65 libguides.nypl.com, Live: Take No Prisoners & Street Hassle – Lou Reed Papers – Research Guides at New York Public Library Research Centers , [online]. 66 faroutmagazine.co.uk, John Lydon lists his first musical influences , [online].
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