nevermind the credit...

[Dave W]

Punk rock brand: the Sex Pistols to feature on a range of credit cards 

[uwe]

I'm sure that Jake will come up with a suitable defense, that this all somehow questions capitalism fundamentally, shows the $ex Pi$to£$' cu£tura£ re£evance over that other band that played the "duh-duh-duuuuuh"-song and is in any case only putting flesh to the superior concept of doing it solely for the filthy lucre.

The other alternative is of course that the Sex Pistols were the Spice Girls of the 70ies: little talent, lots of Union Jack. It worked both times.



Ah, what a refreshing posting to start the day with, gets me into gear! 

PS: I think Johnny Rotten is a brilliant interview partner and devour anything about him in print.

PPS: And I even have a favorite Steve Jones riff, here it is, he looked much better with the long hair too, it's a miracle what the sun in Southern California can do for your spirits:

[Granny Gremlin]

Such pigeon-holers, lawyers. Obviously, in this the hour of their retirement, they all need some money and this is a nice licensing cash in.  I feel nothing either way about it; certainly no worse than any of the other things you can have on your card.  To anyone arguing that this is a travesty, a sell out, spit in the face of all that Punk is and was, I would say chill out.  Bands, including and possibly especially (in addition to old African American bluesmen) punks, have been exploited for years.  Compare their cultural impact and importance to their compensation.  Then their compensation to the money made by record labels and salaries by the execs of the same off of their recordings and all I can say is good for them.

The Pistols are far from my favorite band.... but they did have talent.... some members did anyway... though it wasn't always musical talent.

Also that is one of the worst songs from the worst period in Iggy's career (i.e. the height of his substance abuse problems).  Even Wild Child is better than that.  Candy even, as cheesey as that one is.

[FrankieTbird]

Also that is one of the worst songs from the worst period in Iggy's career (i.e. the height of his substance abuse problems).  Even Wild Child is better than that.  Candy even, as cheesey as that one is.

Oh come on now, I can think of several dozen Iggy songs that are worse/cheesier/more boring than that one. 

[Granny Gremlin]

Sure, but they weren't singles.

Anyway, taking a closer look at that article I can't help but notice the large Virgin logo on that Mastercard.  I would not be surprised if this is all a label initiative and the band had nothing/little to do with it (and stands to see little profit from it vs the label's cut) - but will take all the flack for being hypocrytes to their anti-consumerist stance anyway.

We must remember that there was another fundamental tennent of British Punk that applies here (and I do not necessarily share this view, but it is what it is): nobody is gonna give you what you deserve - you're just gonna have top take/make it.  .... but again, I am starting to get the impression that they are being exploited yet again, vs cashing in, but who knows for sure.

[Dave W]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if this was done without the band's input.

Sid definitely wasn't consulted.

[wellREDman]

little talent, lots of Union Jack. It worked both times.

worked for Def leppard in the 80s too, although to be fair they had a little more talent than the spice girls

[slinkp]

Uh-oh, tangent time!  Def Leppard may have been not the greatest music ever, but I like it, and those guys definitely had plenty of talent.  Mutt Lange gets a lot of credit for their sound, but they sound almost exactly the same live. There used to be rumors that they had taped backing vocals at their live shows.  If "Behind the music" can be believed, some other 80s band (I forget which) went on tour with them and got the monitor engineer to let them listen to the vocals via headphones and concluded it was legit ... it may be schlocky pop music but those songs are very catchy, the melodies are great, the rhythm guitar parts are kinda cool with all those arpeggios, and the old boys can definitely deliver it.

[Highlander]

... Sid definitely wasn't consulted.

Not necessarily, they could have used a medium...

Now then, was this the 5 minute séance or the full half-hour...

[Granny Gremlin]

Rocket.  Ye-ah.

Little me dug that song (and not much else by them).... probably mostly because it was on MuchMusic every time  I was putting together the Saturday paper for my route (that and  Dangerous by Roxette and Janies Got a Gun). 

[westen44]

Uh-oh, tangent time!  Def Leppard may have been not the greatest music ever, but I like it, and those guys definitely had plenty of talent.  Mutt Lange gets a lot of credit for their sound, but they sound almost exactly the same live. There used to be rumors that they had taped backing vocals at their live shows.  If "Behind the music" can be believed, some other 80s band (I forget which) went on tour with them and got the monitor engineer to let them listen to the vocals via headphones and concluded it was legit ... it may be schlocky pop music but those songs are very catchy, the melodies are great, the rhythm guitar parts are kinda cool with all those arpeggios, and the old boys can definitely deliver it.

Not the greatest band ever, but I wouldn't mind being able to write a song this good and sing it this well. 

[Dave W]

Not necessarily, they could have used a medium...

Now then, was this the 5 minute séance or the full half-hour...

At least death hasn't diminished Sid's bass playing skills.

[amptech]

Come on, he had musical skills and so had posh spice - they cannot be blamed for being put in a band just for their good looks, ordered to pose for cameras rather than develop other qualities.

[wellREDman]

Uh-oh, tangent time!  Def Leppard may have been not the greatest music ever, but I like it, and those guys definitely had plenty of talent.

sorry , I was being a bit bitchy about my former employers, they are very talented guys
I was mainly referencing  with the union jack bit, they are the first to admit that they owe much of their success to trading on Amerika's anglophilia,

[uwe]

At least death hasn't diminished Sid's bass playing skills.

On the contrary, he's become more nimble-fingered.

No one in Def Leppard did anything especially well or original (and they have always admitted as much) but they sure worked well as a unit - live and in the studio. Mutt Lange had a lot to do with it, but not every band he has produced could muster the Lep's success. That said, Johnny Lydon is a lot more entertaining than Joe Elliott.

What was wrong with Iggy's Instinct phase? I liked that album! Cold Metal had a riff that walked in like Godzilla.