there is no future in englands dreaming
DESCRIPTION
Editorial project - Typographic Celebration. Celebrating punk, going against the Anti-establishment views, producing the lyrics of punk bands in Helvetica and communicating the more academic text in the typical punk 'ransom note' style.TRANSCRIPT
Published in 2011 by JRP Ringier
Song lyrics taken from Sex Pistols, The Clash,
The Ramones, Patti Smith and Buzzcocks.
Extra Information taken from:
Seven ages of Rock - 3rd age of Rock: The Blank Generation - BBC
Panic Attack: Art in the Punk Years by Mark Sladen and Ariella Yedgar
Merz to emigre and beyond by Steven Heller
All rights reserved.
Lauren Radford
2
JRP|Ringier Kunstverlag AGLetzigraben 1348047 ZürichSwitzerland
T +41 (0)43 311 27 50F +41 (0)43 311 27 [email protected]
There is no future in England’s dreaming.
We are all just fucking sheep.
People would argue that Punk isn’t dead, but the
sad truth is, that Punk is dead. Punk meaning
action not theorizing. We no longer take action
when events bother us; we discuss, shake our
heads and move on. I think it’s a shame that there
probably won’t be another subculture like Punk,
now we just accept what goes on around us, so
much so that when someone tries to actually make
changes we just leave them too it, sit back and
deal with the consequences when it hits us. We are
all just fucking Sheep.
We have seen it all; Wars, murder, terrorist attacks,
riots, protests, an economic collapse and all the
other events that we read in the paper, watch on
the television every day.
We as a nation are so used to seeing some other
awful, disgusting event and problem and as a
society we take a back seat and take it, what else
is there to do? People protest but no one listens,
take the Student protests for example students
took to the streets of London to protest against
Student Fees raising and what happens? Nothing,
they up the fees anyway. Some people say that the
Punk subculture was nothing special, it wasn’t any
different than today, but I disagree, we are all so
much more understanding and accepting of events
around us, it’s 2012 we have more than we possibly
need in life and therefore no one stand’s up and
says “I’m doing what I want, I’m not listening to you
anymore!”
There are only a select few bands that write
songs about politics, and even then they may not
be mainstream so not everyone hears what they
have to say. No one has written a song about the
London Riots in 2011, just like The Clash wrote
White Riot about the Black Youth Riots. People
aren’t always going to like certain music but I
think some of the lyrics that came from the 70’s
punk bands should be celebrated, not only should
their lyrics be celebrated but their culture, their
Anti - establishment views. Punk wasn’t just about
aggression or offending people it was about telling
it straight and standing up and doing something.
4
When there’s no future how can there be sin?
Punk was the subculture with a “Do it yourself”
(DIY) ethic that went hand in hand with the Anti-
Consumerism ideology, but DIY was not a priori
amateurish.
1975, London and New York, cities close to
bankruptcy and a new music genre developing,
Punk bands created expeditious, hard-edged
music, typically with epigrammatic songs,
thin instrumentation, and often political, anti-
establishment lyrics. There are four main
contributors to the sound of Punk Rock The
Ramones and Patti Smith they are the American
contributors, The Sex Pistols and The Clash
from the other side of the Atlantic, the UK. The
Americans both have different sounds, The
Ramones were rash and harsh, and Patti Smith
however was expressive, unrefined and vigorous.
Over in the UK the Sex Pistols were writing songs
Sex Pistols
God Save The Queen
Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Here comes the Sex Pistols
1977
that were more like outpourings that carried a
beat about the affairs surrounding London. The
Clash, however, were more political when it
came to their lyrics, they were sensitive towards,
and understood, the occurrences and would get
involved rather than becoming hostile.
8
Oh don’t
pretend ‘cos I don’t care.
Malcolm Mclaren was the manager of the Sex
Pistols, it was whilst spending time in New York
that he came across Richard Hell. Hell gave
Mclaren the inspiration he needed for the punk
fashion. He was one of the first to spike his hair
and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held
together with safety pins. Not only was Richard
Hell a great inspiration to Punk Fashion but his
song and album “Blank Generation” gave the Punk
subculture its name.
Sex Pistols
Pretty Vacant
Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Here comes the Sex Pistols
1977
I belong to the blank generation.
Richard Hell and The Voidoids
Blank Generation
Blank Generation
197714
In 1976 the Sex Pistols arose in a welter of
acrimony, chaos, boisterousness and belligerence
as brash Londoners. They wrote songs about the
happenings around them, when they released “God
Save the Queen” in ’77 Steve Jones said “I don’t
see how anyone could describe us as a political
band. I don’t even know the name of the Prime
Minister.” - The song, and its public impact, is now
recognized as “punk’s crowning glory”. The Sex
Pistols took influence from American bands such
as The Ramones, Television and The Stooges
but putting their own cockney intonation on the
music, their songs were just angry rants, but people
listened and related. Mark Perry wrote in Sniffin’
Glue “The Sex Pistols are a force, you get that
feeling from their audience and it sticks in your
Pretty Va-cunt.Sex Pistols
Pretty Vacant
Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Here comes the Sex Pistols
1977
mind. The clothes, the hair and even the attitude, of
the audience had a direct link to the band… As the
Pistols pounded out their “music” the image was in
every corner of the club.”
Their song “Pretty Vacant” was their debut single and
was almost like a manifesto, it wasn’t about talking
about people it was about getting people involved
and talking to them directly, telling them what to do.
Hiya boys I’m the chosen one.
Can’t you fucking see?Sex Pistols
Rock’n’roll Swindle
Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Here comes the Sex Pistols
197718
I use anarchy.Sex Pistols
Anarchy in the UK
Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Here comes the Sex Pistols
1977
People turned against them when they appeared
live on the “Today” programme it was when
Grundy said that he would meet one of the Pistols
entourage backstage after the show as she had
always wanted to meet him, Steve Jones then
began an exchange with Grundy proceeding
to call him a ‘dirty fucker’ and a ‘fucking rotter’.
The episode made the band household names
throughout the country and brought punk into
mainstream awareness. In 1977, word leaked out
that Matlock was leaving the Sex Pistols, Mclaren
confirmed this to NME. Lydon claimed that the
belligerently sardonic song; “God Save The Queen”
planned as the band’s second single, had been the
final straw: “Matlock couldn’t handle those kinds
of lyrics. He said it declared us fascists” Lydon
couldn’t understand how anti-royalism equated with
fascism but to get rid of Matlock he didn’t deny it so
I am an Antichrist!I am an Anarchist!
Sex Pistols
Anarchy in the UK
Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Here comes the Sex Pistols
1977
it was decided that Sid Vicious born John Ritchie
later known as John Beverly joined the Sex Pistols.
He could barely play his new instrument but he had
the right panache and attitude. In 2006 the four
original members and Sid Vicious were welcomed
to be part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but
they refused to attend calling the museum “a piss
stain”.
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The Ramones were a band from New York, a band
that was proud to be uncultivated and primed, full
of belligerence with a vociferous, squandering and
unambiguous musical style. The band was never
a commercial success but they were and are still
seen to be one of the most influential bands for
Punk music in the US and the UK. In 1976 The
Ramones toured the UK; it was at the Roundhouse
venue in London where they met the Sex Pistols
and The Clash that it seemed their exertion was
beginning to pay off. In 2002 The Ramones were
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
in 2011 given the Grammy Lifetime achievement
award.
The kid’s are losin’ their minds.The Ramones
Blitzkrieg Bop
Ramones
1976
Jesus died for somebodies sins but not mine.
Patti Smith is considered a poet whose vigour
and visualisation found voice in the most powerful
medium of our culture — music. 1975 released her
debut album ‘Horses’ some say one of the most
influential albums of all time not only that but it also
helped to develop punk rock into the sound that we
know today. Patti Smith brought her own signature
of angst and poetry to her lyrics and with her voice
and outlandish harmonious sounds created a
somewhat unique sound that was complicated and
subtle.
The energy seems to flow from every song, and
the angst, fear and resentment of society simply
dripped from each song as Patti Smith added her
vibrant commentary to the punk scene. As one
of the early pioneers of New York City’s dynamic
punk scene, Smith has been creating her unique
blend of poetic rock and roll for over 35 years.
Patti Smith
Gloria
Horses
197534
People say “beware!”
But I don’t care the words are just rules and regulations to me.Patti Smith
Gloria
Horses
197536
Black people gotta lot a problems,
But they don’t mind throwing a brick.
White people go to school,
Where they teach you how to be thick.The Clash
White Riot
The Clash
197742
The Clash’s politicized lyrics, musical
experimentation and rebellious attitude had a
far-reaching influence on punk rock. They were
different from the Sex Pistols, incorporated
different sounds to their first album ‘The Clash’;
they integrated reggae, ska, dance and funk. This
took the band away from the aggressive sound that
the Sex Pistols had.
The hate of a nation, a million miles from home.The Clash
Hate and War
The Clash
197744
Their lyrics also took the band away from the
Sex Pistols ideas as they were also bringing
politics into their music, the band’s music was
often charged by a leftist political ideology.
Joe Strummer, in particular, was a committed
leftist. The Clash are credited with pioneering
the advocacy of radical politics in punk rock,
and were dubbed the “Thinking Man’s Yobs” by
NME. Their politics were made explicit in the
lyrics of such early recordings as “White Riot”,
which encouraged disaffected white youths
to riot like their black counterparts; “Career
Opportunities” which addressed the alienation
of low-paid, routinized jobs and discontent
over the lack of alternatives; and “London’s
Burning”, about the bleakness and boredom
of life in the inner city. The band’s political
sentiments were reflected in their resistance to
the music industry’s usual profit motivations;
even at their peak, tickets to shows and
souvenirs were reasonably priced. When the
Sex Pistols broke up The Clash went up the
scale and became one of the most important
punk bands in the world. They became referred
to as “The Only Band That Matters” and in
2003 The Clash were initiated into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame.
50
Punk Zines were the personification of the
“Anybody can do it! You don’t need them!” Attitude
in visual form. Punk graphics are what established
the punk aesthetic, torn paper edges, misspelled
type were the visual equivalent of a loud, out of
tune slashing power cord or stained clothes from
the charity shop. Punk zine’s were established for
communication; they incorporated news, scandal,
interviews and cultural criticism.
The ‘DIY’ attitude was encouraged especially when
it came to making the zine’s as they were easy to
make and to reproduce. The content of a Zine was
illustrated with newspaper clippings and a marker
pen, to reproduce they were photocopied, this
meant that they were mainly black and white. My future ain’t what it was.Buzzcocks
Boredom
Spiral Scratch (EP)
197754
The first Punk Zine was made in America in
1976 by John Holmstrom, Ged Dunn, and Legs
McNeil; this assisted to get bands known and
also to categorise them, It was in ‘Punk’ that The
Ramones were first associated with being a punk
band. Holmstrom has said that “Without ‘Punk’
there probably would have been no ‘punk rock’
and no punk movement.” Legs McNeil claims
that he called himself a punk before the whole
movement started and it was through the magazine
that he mapped out his lifestyle; dress and values
defined punk. The zine “Punk” had a comic book
layout and style, every article rendered by hand.
Over in the UK Mark Perry was taking inspiration
from ‘Punk’ and created ‘Sniffin’ Glue’ in 1976
after seeing The Ramones play at London’s
Roundhouse.
“Sniffin’ Glue” was haphazardly laid out, it looked
unprofessional. NME commended “Sniffin’ Glue”
as “the nastiest, healthiest and funniest piece
of press in the history of rock’n’roll habits” and it
really became the true chronicle of the early days
of British punk rock as well as pioneering the DIY
ethic. Fearing absorption into the mainstream
music press, Perry ceased publication in 1977. In
the last issues he encouraged his readers to follow
him with their own punk fanzines.
In 2000, Mark Perry published Sniffin’ Glue: The
Essential Punk Accessory, which is a compilation
of all the issues of the fanzine with some new
material written by him.
56
Jamie Reid is a British artist and anarchist.
His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper
headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close
to defining the image of punk rock, particularly
in the UK. His best known works include the Sex
Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks: Here
comes the Sex Pistols and the singles “Anarchy in
the UK”, “God Save The Queen”.
Jamie Reid created the ransom-note look used
with the Sex Pistols graphics while he was
designing Suburban Press, a radical political
magazine he ran for five years.
For the single release of “God save the Queen”
have Beaton’s celebratory image of the Queen,
except in Reid’s design she is blindfolded by the
song title, and gagged by the band name which the
letters and words have been taken from newspaper
clippings. The design suggests that the band
are holding up for ransom the values exemplified
by the Queen, just as “we” her subjects were
being held to ransom by being compelled into a
celebration of her reign.
Reid’s flyers and posters did not serve their
purpose of promotion but in fact provided a graphic
parallel to the songs and, alongside the music
and lyrics, complicate the identity that was being
constructed to surround the band.
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