THE PUNK ROCK EDITORIAL

This newsletter is so long I decided to include a short and to-the-point

editorial this week:

In response to this week's editorial "Growing Old with Punk", I was

wondering how the bands feel. What about bands like Bad Religion or

Rancid who have been around in the business longer than I've been alive?

I'm not saying that they are past their time, but how has age affected

them in their music? Can they no longer write songs about teenage angst?

Can they still be as lively as they were 10 years ago? From what I have

seen and heard, the older bands are still setting the standard for

everyone else. Throughout their career, the members of Rancid have stuck

by their beliefs, and are still taking a stand like they were in the Op

Ivy days. Suicidal Tendencies can still relate to life on the streets,

and their music reflects that. And Bad Religion still plays the best

live shows I have ever seen. I think that there is no expiration date

when it comes to being punk. Just because I have to wear a tie to work

doesn't mean I have conformed. I still go to shows, I still drink with

my friends and I haven't lost my perspective of the world. What if you

saw Fat Mike working at K-Mart? Does this mean he has become a corporate

slave? I would hope not. By growing older, a punk doesn't have to shed

his "adolescent" attitude towards life; he just has to deal with it in a

new way. Working for a company and paying taxes doesn't make you less

punk. Changing your beliefs to accommodate the beliefs of others does.

So you don't have to have a Mohawk to stay punk after the age of 30, you

just need to stick to your guns and stand up for what you believe in.

                                                     -news