Saturday, October 10, 2009

Hey, Kids! Punk Rock!

The New Yorker is opening its archive to all comers, one issue at a time, for one week at a time. As you know, there is nothing I like more than turning the pages of an old copy of the New Yorker. The most recent one online is the issue of 28 November 1977. Let's look at the Goings On About Town section, specifically the listing for CBGB & OMFUG:
Punk-rock bands on the bandstand; punk-rock-band entourages in the audience -- an interesting jumble of torn T-shirts, dirty sneakers, rear-guard platform shoes, jeans, feathered boas, slicked-down hair, leather, and a wholesome flannel shirt or two. Monday is showcase night. The music usually begins after nine-thirty.
Platform shoes? Really? And was that Mike Watt, visitin' from the West Coast, in the flannel shirt?