Wrong there: the Sex Pistols and Blondie actually *did*; plus there would always be demand for tours from the Clash, Talking Heads, the Police, the Dead Kennedys, the Jam, Buzzcocks, Gang of Four, XTC (if Andy Partridge would get over his stage fright!), Wire, if not in the US then in the UK... plus deaths have rather screwed up the Ramones' and Joy Division's touring prospects... And punk was a lot more complex than you're making it out to be. Try reading Jon Savage's England's Dreaming sometime.
I saw P&P in '95 (No Quarter Tour) in the Summit, then again in '99(Walking Into Clarksdale) at the Alamodome. for anyone who hasnt heard, the sound of Jimmy Page playing acoustic guitar and Robert Plant singing "Going To California" will send shivers down your spine. And folks JOHN PAUL JONES is back. do me a favor. go find a copy of "In Through The Out Door", Zep's Last studio album before Page released Coda. that album has JPJ all over it. in the latter days of Zep, the main three were too messed up and lazy to write anything, so JPJ took over. Fool in the Rain, Carouselambra,All MyLove and I'm Gonna Crawl are rich, orchestral songs that highlight the band in their fading years.
There are alot of old punk bands getting back together and playing club shows: TSOL, Agent Orange, Misfits, 7 seconds, and Black Flag to add a few to the list. There must be some fan base out there...
I would be willing to bet that the audiences that (might) fill a Blondie, Talking Heads, or Police show are not punkers. And the audiences that (might) fill a Sex Pistols, Clash, or Dead Kennedy's audience would be doing it for the same reasons someone might go to a Zep show, because they saw them the first time and loved it or because they didn't see them the first time and would love to. And I wonder how the Clash or the Sex Pistols reuniting is not just some oldsters cashing in as much as Zep are (aside from the fact that they won't cash in AS MUCH, since they're draw won't be as big).
Gee whiz, is it possible for me to truly like Zep and a lot of punk music? Or am I some sort of monumental duo-poser who has missed the greatest cultural struggle of the late 20th century?
What I have seen, is that these old punk bands may tour (which by the way, wasn't Blondie more pop than punk?), but they are playing club dates to small but very loyal rowdy crowds. That isn't a result of being practically begged by many people in the music industry to reunite and tour as Zep was for years after Bonham's death. They were coerced into doing the Atlantic Records anniversary show in NY and if you didn't see it, you missed ALL, and I mean ALL of the other Atlantic recording artists that were at the show, showing tremendous enthusiasm and exhuberence regarding the four song set about to be played by Zep. The anticipation was amazing. They then finally, after years of saying no way in public, were convinced doing a big tour was a good idea. When they did their first reunited tour, it sold out to at very big concert arenas, with several shows in some cities. I would say that is a much bigger market out there for their music. And if you go to one of their shows there are many, many young people, unlike say a reunited tour of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Also, I was not trying to comment on whether punk was complicated or not. I was saying that it is easy to understand it's existence. I don't care to comment on the complexity of music, because that has no bearing whatsoever. All that matters in music is whether or not the listener is entertained or not. It, also, does not matter how many listeners are entertained. My first post was about the punk fan trying to discredit Zeppelin. Not, me discrediting punk. I don't, personally, think punk will stand the test of time with a large market base of fans. So what? I am not a fortune teller. It is just my opinion. The point I am getting at, is Zep has already proved their music will. Listen to the radio and pay attention to the band shirts kids are wearing. Zep is all over the place with a generation born after their breakup.
asw....you just reminded me of something I always maintain. Of course, I can't prove I'm right, and no one here can prove me wrong, but..... 200 years from now, people will be listening to Led Zep the same way Mozart is appreciated today.
If punk didn't happen, there would be no Talking Heads (in fact Talking Heads are widely regarded as one of the first 70s punk bands), Blondie, or Police. Or any fans thereof. Plus: of *course* it's 'oldsters cashing in' (the Clash haven't reunited, incidentally): did you not notice what John Lydon called the Sex Pistols tour? 'Filthy Lucre'? I was just arguing this point: that although Led Zep may have a loyal fanbase, punk bands do also. Smaller in the US, but it's there. As I said, I like Led Zep and punk too. I probably like punk more because it's not so overplayed and it, as a philosophy (that's the complicated part, not the music!), generally appeals to me personally. But I hate either a) old-school classic rockers saying punk sucks and b) old-school punks saying Led Zep sucks, as if discrediting one form of music made your own better (and as if this debate wasn't over in 1977!). They're *both* cool. I'm currently listening to an instrumental of 'Big Pimpin'', though, so perhaps I should shut up.
And if The Kinks (whom many would call classic rock) didn't happen, there might not have been punk rock. Just a shameless segue to promoting the next Infernal Bridegroom show -- a 1975 rock opera by The Kinks called A SOAP OPERA. Go to www.infernalbridegroom.com for info. If interested, reserve early. This one's already selling like mad and it doesn't open for three weeks. Hope to see some of you there.
