Back in 1981, I went to a concert at The Ritz in NYC. I was not yet living in the City yet, so heading in to see a show was a big deal and always a little scary because of the night’s unknowns. Little did I know that the PIL concert that evening would deteriorate into one of the more eye-opening, frightening yet exhilarating events in my life — that I’m glad I lived through.

PIL aka Public Image Limited was the next iteration of the punk band The Sex Pistols headed by lead singer Johnny Rotten — who at this point was calling himself John Lydon

Basically at about 1am, the band still hadn’t come on and when they did — they proceeded to play behind a curtain. Needless to say the die hard punk crowd went ballistic and so did the missiles of beer cans and just about anything else that could be picked up and thrown.

I share this story because I do miss the days of originality and punk expression. Yes, they were often offensive — if we recall the impact of songs like “God Save the Queen.” But they also delivered a thought-provoking edge. You didn’t have to like the music or the choices of artistic expression — but punks made everyone think.

And more so, punks like @JohnLydonOfficial and many others didn’t care if you liked them. In fact, they were not asking or telling you to like them.  They were questioning the status quo — challenging it with confident irreverent actions. 

Not all said, but I’m out of space. So let me close with a quote from Lydon worth considering: “It’s an absurdity to wish for a world of chaos without anything viable in its place. I’m loyal to my culture, my creed, the human race and my people. I don’t want o see them all end up in a Mad Max movie.”

Thoughts anybody?

I’m @DianGriesel aka a perception analyst & strategist; creative attitude disrupter & adjuster; author of The Silver Disobedience Playbook & TurboCharged; and the blogger known as @SilverDisobedience  More info on my websites (search my name) Silver Disobedience® is a registered trademark.