Talkin' Shit With Damien Inbred

Talkin' Shit With Damien Inbred

So here we are with the long-awaited return of Audio Distortion! And somehow our Highness has deemed me worthy enough to keep writing for this piece of literature, despite my not-so-veiled criticism/shit-talking of the ever-present "old conservative assholes" that seem to be popular in the prairie punk scenes. I guess it's a compliment that my shit-talking is allowed here, but I fear that maybe nobody even noticed. Or they saw my name in the byline and thought "Oh, just ignore that elitist bastard Inbred. He's all "PC" and junk, not even worth talking about. He only listens to music that was recorded in the urinals of Gilman Street and pressed with an iron on recycled Value Village records in the parking lot where the Multi used to be. Ugh. Fucking elitist Maximum-Rock-N-Roll-reading armchair anarcho-vegan-squatter-peacepunk-body-odor-punk-poser-shit!"

Well golly gee, only some of that's true. I mean, shit -- I'd rather listen to stuff recorded in the urinals of the Ungdomshuset squat that was busted by the cops in Copenhagen two years ago. Like, duh. Gilman Street is so 1987. Posers.

Right. Despite the impression you may get from the (ever-so-fucking-serious) internet, I don't actually take myself all that seriously. I'm not a total fucking elitist uber-punk asshole. I don't only listen to one type of music, and I'm actually fairly personable and somewhat attractive. This isn't a personal ad, however, so disregard that last statement. "Well gee, Damien, why are you so caustic when it comes to something as miniscule and unimportant as punk rock?" Probably because of attitudes like that. Allow me to explain. There's this attitude going around in various social circles, both mainstream and "underground", that punk is only a type of music, nothing more. This is usually espoused by the type of idiot who thinks it's perfectly fine for a band to sell out their ethics and turn their backs on the scenes that helped make them who they are. If it was so cut and dry, I probably wouldn't have such a big problem with this. However, punk is so much more than just a type of shitty rock-n-roll music.

Over the years, punk has gone from a shocking form of badly-played rock music to an international culture with a strong focus on "doing it yerself", screaming your opinion, fucking the powers-that-be, and having a laugh. Aside from a ton of fucking amazing passionate music, we have spread our voices and opinions through subversive art, fanzines, protest, and now the internet. Punk has grown a lot over the last thirty years, and it is truly a lifestyle as much as a form of music. Each time I see the punk culture written off as mere fashionable rebellion or "just music", I see ignorance. Each time I see people excusing those who wish to make a quick buck off the hard and thankless work of so many people (DIY labels, promoters, zine writers, etc), I feel ill. After so many years, and so many people who claim to give a shit about punk, so many people still don't get it.

At least I can take refuge in the fact that all of these ignorant jackasses who don't get it, and use the punk culture/scene as a stepping stone to fame and fortune, will be the first to jump ship to the much more lucrative bar rock scene. They will be long forgotten while the rest of us try to make the world a little bit more bearable while having a laugh and having a say.

Many of you will still say I'm full of shit. Many of you will still say I'm a PC punk elitist. Ugh. Maybe so, but this shit is too fucking important to me. This culture has helped me find an identity -- especially while going through that whole ‘adolescence' thing where we all try to find ourselves. It was punk (the music and the culture) that helped me realize how fucked our world is. It was punk that helped me realize that even though I was a fucked up kid, there were others like me out there. Punk helped shape who I am, and it's a slap in my face to see others devalue it, or use it for their own devious ends.

So. You know . . . eat it.

ENDNOTES: - I was at a house show in early May, and I discovered two bands for you crazy fucks to check out. First off was CORRODEAD from Edmonton. I can safely say that I haven't been this stoked about an Alberta band since CHUPACABRA. Take the filthiest late-80s UK crust a'la ANTISECT, DEVIATED INSTINCT, and AXEGRINDER, combine them with some late-80s metal and bring them forward to the industrial wastelands of Edmonton. Made up of ex-members of ISKRA and DECONTROL, this is the soundtrack to the end of the world. Fuck yeah! The other killer band to debut their noise to Shitsville was the d-beat raw noise punk attack of UNLEARN. These distorted fucks sound like they were spawned in the frozen wastelands of Sweden back in 1982. If you like your punk underproduced, violent, raw and political, check these cats out. They've got a demo tape out, and you'd do well to track that shit down.

- I do a podcast for the world-renowned anarchopunk magazine/record label/internet resource Profane Existence. Check this shit: http://www.profaneexistence.org/radio-podcasts/ ! We've got a wide variety of killer fucking shit covered by internerds from around the world. Hours of hot punk radio action are ready for your listening pleasure! - If you want to tell me how full of shit I am, or offer me a beer/coffee/stirfry/hug/etc, drop me a line -- damien.inbred@gmail.com - Up the fucking punks. If you can see through it, it ain't coffee. If it's brewed by Molson, it ain't beer. - My zine is called Body Count. Next two issues will be out by the time I get back from Minneapolis.

Damien Inbred