Punk London Proves People Still Don’t Get Punk
London is planning a 40th celebration of the influence and significance of punk music to its culture with Punk London later this year. The event is suuported by the Museum of London, the British Library, and even the Queen herself, including the sanctioning of a house formerly lived and recorded in by members of the Sex Pistols as a historic site. All of this to the chagrin of many who feel like the celebration marks an arbitrary anniversary being capitalized on by those who either came into the punk game after the genre was already popular or condemned the genre altogether in its heyday. Most notably Jon Corre, the son of former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, plans to burn his collection of punk memorabilia in righteous protest on November 26th, the 40th anniversary of the Sex Pistols debut “Anarchy in the U.K..” John Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, has since spoken out, quite poignantly, against Corre, saying, “If you’re going to destroy 5 million pounds worth of anything, isn’t it better to sell it and give the money to charity?” Followed by some colorful language and opinions…while also adding that the only thing Punk London makes him nostalgic for is the continuing phenomenon that people don’t get punk.
John Berry Passes Away at 52
John Berry, one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys passed away this morning after a recent decline in mental health due to frontal lobe dementia. John Berry was part of the group as a four-piece , and is credited with naming the group the Beastie Boys, but left the band after the release of their first EP, Polly Wog Stew, being replaced by Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. The Beastie Boys mentioned Berry’s contributions in their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech in 2012. Berry was 52.
-Taylor Wallace
