Monday, February 27, 2006

Why John Lydon Still Matters

Every now and then someone from my pantheon does something to remind me why I admire them so. From John Lydon.com, the Sex Pistol's official communique to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame upon notification of their induction therein:

Now I feel dirty for having enjoyed the museum when in Cleveland back in 2001...

I think the world of John Lydon. His passion reminds me of Dylan Thomas's battle cry that I've adopted as my own guiding principle. I'm sure it is bad for my health but for me its the tight knotted belt of anger at injustice and unfairness that drives my motor rather than the emollient oil of utopian visions.

11 comments:

youthlarge said...

and his handwriting is way better than listmaker's.

Anonymous said...

I have difficulty taking him seriously after his time in the reality TV jungle with Peter Andre and Jordan on "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" with Ant and Dec.

His views on many things don't tally with seeing him crawl around on all fours collecting plastic stars from the backs of Ostriches to earn his appearance fee.

It is very easy for him to launch one of his regular tirades berating the working class of the UK for having lost the fighting spirit, whilst sat in his Malibu mansion.

Wisdom Weasel said...

Oooh good point. I never got to see that show although his participation did register vaguely. This is why I insist on not using the term "heroes" per se; they always disappoint.

Part of me wants to still cheer him on in his stand against the RRHOF, if only to make a mockery of the establishment embracing Sir Micks and Sir Eltons, Sir Paul McCartney-brought-to-you-by-Ameriquest-Mortgage, or the Armani-clad rock rebel Eric Clapton. Then again, David Bowie likes a good suit and I think the sun shines out of his arse, and John Lennon had a pretty nice rich man's life for a working class hero.

And given my life long quest for consistentcy, I can't embrace Lydon for his inconsitencies such as appearing on a naff reality show while pointing to the exact same inconsitency by George Galloway as yet another reason to despise the Member for Bethnal Green & Bow.

I suppose if I were to truly look to Mr. Rotten rather than Mr. Lydon for inspiration I'd have to say they are all c**ts, including Johnny.

Thanks for keeping me honest, little brother

Listmaker said...

the rock and roll hall of fame is a complete load of crap and i can't believe that you ever liked it.

i recently saw david bowie at a deerhoof show in nyc and i've got to admit, the sun did shine out of his ass.

Wisdom Weasel said...

I liked seeing things like the wing from Otis Reding's plane, and all those stage outfits from various (allegedly midget) performers. The Lennon exhibit was also preety interesting; not least the phone that Yoko would occasionally call in on and comfort distraught fans after they had seen his bloodied glasses.

But you are right; isn't the whole idea of a hall of fame antithical to the very idea of rock and roll?

Wisdom Weasel said...

Listo; this is also why I leave the serious music and baseball writing to you, as per our conversation over the pool table in that bar back in November. I have just enough self-awareness to understand that if I liked the RRHOF I'm so not qualified to write about music.

Anonymous said...

I of course am too old for either sex or pistols, but still I wonder: is it true that the name Rotten refers to his teeth?

Mondale said...

I have to meet one of the curators of that museum in a few days. We don't get along that well. I'll enjoy thinking about that note as I tell him about his daughter's handwriting. (the kid is great)

Listmaker said...

weasel,

or i'm just a grump. the things you mention are pretty cool. but yeah the whole point of bottling up rock for a museum is pretty ridiculous. at least with a sport, you have numbers to quantify. the who gets in and and who doesn't in the rock and roll hall of fame is a load of crap.

Wisdom Weasel said...

Agreed, although I do like looking at spangly jumpsuits with attached mini-capes, and there aren't too many of them at Cooperstown, not even in a display of 1970s White Sox uniforms.

Wisdom Weasel said...

The Victoria and Albert Museum used to run a campaign along the lines of "a nice cafe with an interesting museum attached". I think the RRHOF could be described as "a crappy concept with an interesting museum attached".

I really should marshall all my thoughts at once rather than dribbling them out through multiple comments...

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