Power, Lost and Found: America At Century’s End 539but one of the first was a trio of African American brothers from Detroit
called Death, who in 1976, the year of the patriotic Bicentennial celebration,
sang, “They could care less about you/They could care less about me/As long
as they are to end/The place that they want to be/They’re always wearing
false smiles/I guess it goes with the style/..... Politicians in my eyes.” But
the breakthrough American punk band was The Ramones.
Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone were not related and
“Ramone” was not even their real name, but they came out of New York with
a new sound and an air of rebellion, not unlike Dean, Brando, Presley, or the
Beats had in the 1950s. They and their followers wore lots of leather, spiked
hair, offensive t-shirts, and lots of heavy jewelry. Their first public relations
release, written by Tommy, was indicative of the punk ethic: “The Ramones
all originate from Forest Hills and kids who grew up there either became
musicians, degenerates or dentists. The Ramones are a little of each. Their
sound is not unlike a fast drill on a rear molar.” Their first hit, evoking
images of the Nazi army, was “Blitzkrieg Bop,” which included the line “shoot
‘em in the back now.” They wrote about the nihilism, or “nothingness,” of
life in “I Wanna Be Sedated,” and took on racism with “The KKK Took My
Baby Away,” written after the parents of a Black woman dating Joey Ramone
disapproved of their relationship and Joey ironically explained “the KKK took
my baby away.”
Arguably the best-known U.S. punk band was Dead Kennedys, whose songs,
as the band’s name indicates, were angry and could be shocking. The lead
singer took the name Jello Biafra, the surname being a secessionist region in
Nigeria that fought a civil war for over 2 years and lost a million lives until
brought back into the country by force. In 1979, to protest the liberal, New
Age-type governor of California, Jerry Brown [who after several other public
roles came back as governor in the 2000s] they wrote “California Über Alles”
warning “Zen fascists will control you/100 percent natural/You will jog for
the master race/And always wear the happy face.” Their harshest song, writ-
ten after the world learned of the Khmer Rouge genocide, was “Holiday in
Cambodia,” which was an attack on moralizing young Americans more than
any politicians. “Well you’ll work harder/With a gun in your back/For a bowl
of rice a day/Slave for soldiers/‘Till you starve... What you need, my son/
Is a holiday in Cambodia.” Around the same time Black Flag, featuring Henry
Rollins, who would become a celebrity and do Gap ads, wrote a hardcore