Sometimes, at night, when you can’t sleep, or some bad thought is gnawing at your brain, turn on the light, make a cup of tea, open a book about weirdos who picked up guitars in the distant 60s, plugged into the amps and told the world: “Fuck you.” Yes, that’s what you need. A little shake-up. It’s something you’ve always dreamed of, but you never did. Wipe away a tear, drink a warm mineral water, be ready for the meeting – the performance begins.
And it was like this
In America in the 1960s, which still believed that it was a land of opportunity, these opportunities were taken advantage of not by good boys with braces, but by freaks, psychopaths, and just bored guys from garages. They didn’t please the ear with pleasant sounds — they stuck a needle directly into the eardrum. A protest against politics, against school, against parents, against the fact that the Beatles had already eaten everything and left nothing. And most importantly, they had the opportunity to record this screech on tape. The door to the recording studio was open, and the world is still scratching its head.
This is a book called “Punk Rock: from Garage Rock to Iggy Pop.” It was written by Mikhail Kuzischev in collaboration with Eugene Reinhold (the chapter about garage rock). It is based on the radio series “Walks on the Wild Side”, which from 2006 to 2014 was played on Echo of Moscow Radio in the “120 minutes of classic rock” online podcast. Now it’s all wrapped up in paper, and I swear the pages are buzzing like speakers.
If you go to the left, you’ll find the Sonics…
The book takes us through seven different routes. Here you have the MC5 with their frenzied energy and electrified political schizophrenia (this is the hardest thing to read about). Here’s The Stooges with the deathproof Iggy, who, imagine, crawled to a secure old age — not many garage heroes are so lucky.
Here’s Red Crayola, these madmen who recorded 36 “plays” in one second. Have you ever heard a song that’s one second long? But they did it in 1967. Just to show that the rules of songwriting can go to hell.
There are also very rare (and especially beloved) stories about talented individualist anarchists. Here’s Hasil Adkins, and behind him rides the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. The ones who were yelling about chicken and releasing records with paralyzed screams. And there were people who needed it! Someone bought these maggots, turned them around in smoky rooms and felt: It’s true, it’s life, not what they show on shitbox.
And here’s a whole bunch of unknown garage bands who just wanted to annoy their parents and show the chicks who’s the coolest in town. But they also played a role in undermining the harmonious system of laws and regulations that had been built since the time of Mozart and Beethoven. They showed that the white—toothed smiles from the screens are a mirage, and real life is a movement towards chaos, walking on the edge of the abyss. It’s unpredictably, fascinatingly dangerous.
Psalm 66
Blessed be these guys with guitars who don’t have a penny to their name but have three chords and unbridled rage. And there is no peace for them, and there will be no peace as long as at least one speaker is able to produce this sound — the sound of freedom that does not ask permission.
May their heads be blessed for coming up with all this wonderful crap. God knows, they just wanted to have fun. And they did it! It turned out that we can still hear that echo. We drink iced tea at night and can’t sleep.
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This book is a real gift for those who are tired of mellifluous songs and want to understand the origins of real rock and roll madness.
P.S. If you have never heard The Sonics, after this book you will run to listen to them. If you have heard, run to listen again. And correctly. Turn it on full blast and not fade away.
The Sonics (1966, 1967) download or listen online
