A reoccurring series where your favorite writer listens to an album at Maximum Volume™️ – natch – and writes some random shit about it.

A wise predecessor to the Sex Pistols once sang: But when you talk about destruction/Don’t you know that you can count me out (in). Which one is it – out or in? The Sex Pistols were hell bent on destruction, including the foundation that Lennon built.

I recently watched and enjoyed Pistol, the FX/Hulu limited series about the birth of the Sex Pistols. Based on Steve Jones’ memoir Lonely Boy and directed by Danny Boyle, it is considered to be a rather accurate account of the band’s origin story, in as much as the chaos of the late 70’s punk scene can be encapsulated in six tidily constructed television episodes. I’ve been trying to think of another band that can be dramatized in similar fashion. There’s “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” of which I’ve seen an episode or two, but currently resides in my sprawling TV show queue, patiently waiting for me to binge. There was the NWA movie. And yeah, the Queen movie, etc etc, but I’m really thinking about origin stories, where we get a glimpse into an artist’s salad days, not their inevitable bloated period, downfall or breakup. Ultimately it is hard to come up with a rock n’ roll origin story that fulfills the following parameters:

  • It captures a moment in time that is compelling from a pop culture standpoint [the births of British punk rock and early hip hop check this box].
  • It is the story of a band that is popular and familiar enough to attract viewers, but not too popular or familiar so as it would be hard to watch a bunch of actors portray its members [Sex Pistols and Wu-Tang – yes. The Beatles or Stones, notsomuch].
  • It needs to be a fairly self contained story, ideally from a band who was of a specific moment of time.

The third point is what makes Pistol so compelling. The Sex Pistols arrived, conquered, flew too close to the proverbial sun and imploded. No season two. No future.

All of this has caused me to re-explore Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. Couple points:

  • For a collection of knuckleheads focused on chaos over legacy, it’s remarkable how this album has become a timeless classic. Every damn track on it is a banger; though admittedly calling them bangers would have rightfully earned a loogie to the face.
  • To paraphrase Walter White, the Pistols were the danger. There’s something exhilarating about a band inhabiting the counterculture so thoroughly that it’s intimidating to listen to, 40+ years later.
  • Glen Matlock was jobbed!
  • The world of music would be better off with more Malcolm McLarens. Then again, they clearly broke the mold when they made that bloke.
  • I went to their website to check out their merch, cuz that’s what I do, and it was funny to see Sex Pistols coasters and throw pillows for sale. Pretty vacant, indeed.