That's exactly what the t-shirt means. I remember punks who used to wear
swastikas... not because they believed in Nazi ideology but because it flew
in the face of society's norms.
MEK
From: Charles Prince <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "The [Quad]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: 313 <313@hyperreal.org>
Subject: Re: [313] "D" sux T
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 01:04:43 -0500
Yeah...that was kind of weird, especially considering the Bangs
character was dancing round the radio studio to 'Raw Power'. I think it's
a context thing: the same rage that fuelled the MC5 & Iggy & The Stooges
to react with extreme sonic violence against the white-bread conformity of
their culture, made that t-shirt a rebellious gesture. Sort of proto-punk,
1973-style "I'm So Bored With the USA" (remember Bangs toured with The
Clash). Bangs, like Lou Reed & Iggy, was one of the first punks.
You'd have to ask Oscar-winner Cameron Crowe for the real lowdown, but
that's my take. The shirt isn't anti-Detroit music or bands, but just the
opposite: anti-society, anti-'roll over like a good puppy' consumerism,
anti-mindless complaceny...the Bangs equivalent to "Search & Destroy." He's
siding with Stooges in their war against normalcy.
Bangs was a great rock writer, but not infallible. Has anyone ever read
the notorious hatchet-job he did on Kraftwerk? I think he heard & saw the
future & couldn't handle it. He started having nightmares about robots &
technoid automatons taking over the world. Maybe the car-building robots
of the Detroit auto factories haunted him & he saw The Stooge's maniacal
rock 'n roll energy & gloriously undisciplined approach as the antidote
to regimented beats. I mean, could you ever imagine Kraftwerk writing a
song entitled "Loose"?
Wes
On Sun, 25 Mar 2001, The [Quad] wrote:
> Wait a sec..!.. while I connect!
>
> > (just saw 'Almost Famous' & was inspired by the portrayal of
> >Lester Bangs...now there was a man with integrity).
>
> >This has only a tangential relation to
> >Detroit techno.
>
> ... me too... but can you ( or anyone else reading ) explain the
significance in the wearing of the
> "Detroit Sucks" t-shirt..?
>
> n.p.: "Rockers" on da DVD,
> J. E. v.F-B. B.
>
>
>
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