Cru Jones Society

(Editor’s Note: This is the first of a three-part music features series. Look for Part II “Why I Love Metal” tomorrow. Making his debut will be Senor Limon. Today, please welcome Lee S. Hart to the Cru Jones Society.)

Why do I love punk rock? When I was posed with this question, and the task of putting the answer into essay, I was stoked at first. I thought, “Great, I’ll have this done in no time.” Then I sat down to write it and apparently overthought it. Suddenly I felt like I was trying to explain why I love breathing, or beer, or sex – just a basic of life. Something I love that is truly fantastic requiring no thought.

So I sat and I thought and I thought and I thought some more. And despite all the thinking, I was short several intelligent thoughts.

Every idea was “Why Do I Love Punk Rock? Because it’s good. The end.”

Or “Why I Love Punk Rock: Fuck You! That’s why.”

That one seemed like a real punk rock answer too. So I put down my notebook and worked on something else, something easier like that math problem in Good Will Hunting.

Math: Good! Therapy: Bad!

Then one day I was in my car, Strung Out was playing on the stereo and suddenly something just clicked. The fast, thunderous, yet understated guitar; the double time beat of the drums; the less than prefect vocals… they were all working together to create an unmatched sound. It’s rock n’ roll with an edge. The aggression is there but it’s not over the top. It’s heavy metal’s angsty little brother. It’s a music that is the missing link between metal and alternative. Punk has the up-tempo fury that grunge lacks. It’s a music that will amp you up; not bring you down. Plain and simple: I love the sound. Power chords, furious drumming, and quick bass lines are what sooth this savage beast. The soothing medicine is punk rock.

While these sound elements are consistent throughout the genre, themes are not. Regardless of my mood, or whatever is weighing on my mind, I can find a band that fits the situation. Creating the soundtrack to my life could be done with just punk rock. Appreciation for friends and genuflecting on the good times translates to The Bouncing Souls. Girl problems? The Riddlin Kids fit the bill. When I question the life’s problems, Face to Face  (R.I.P) has the answers. Punk rock is just the friend that’s always there. During good times and bad, it’ll get me through. I want to clarify, and I agree with Chuck Klosterman, some shitty Black Flag song will not cure my cancer, but I wouldn’t mind it while I’m in chemo. The lyrics echo the problems and lifestyle that seem common to a middle-class white kid who grew up in suburbia.

Another reason punk rock is the perfect medicine for Lee S. Hart: My short attention span. The lyrics that mirror the stories of my life are all condensed into two to three minutes, and that appeals to my fruitfly-like attention span. Rancid once sang, “The secret to a good life is knowing when you’re through.” The same can be said for a good song. There’s no need to drag it on and on. You definitely don’t need to spend the last minute of a song repeating your six-word chorus over and over and over. Yeah I’m talking to you, Soundgarden.

Perfect sound aside, I think the biggest reason I love punk rock is that it made me who I am today. Those wonderfully awkward adolescent years were when I first heard punk rock. It struck me at a time I was at least cognizant of what I would perceive as greatness. There’s a possibility that some time during my youth I heard The Clash, or Ramones, or Sex Pistols. As I attended middle school and even the first part of high school, there was the constant desire to fit in… pressure to be cool… a fantasy to be popular. I tried to do those things, but those things were difficult to achieve if you weren’t on the team, or rich, or really, really, extremely good looking (Derek Zoolander has no idea). Punk rock taught me to be myself, to embrace my individuality. It made me believe that I didn’t need the Nikes and the No Fear t-shirt. I didn’t have to be the star athlete, or even really, really good looking…

Hell, it showed me that you didn’t even need to be a good musician. If I was myself, then I would attract real friends, not any Holden Caulfield-approved phonies – people who liked me for me, and not for my new Starter jacket. I’ve got pictures on my walls of the fun times I’ve had with my friends, and I know that none of these moments would have been possible without punk rock showing me what’s important in life. The Bouncing Souls couldn’t have been more right with the line in their song “87″ when they said, “The time we spent hanging out is how we learned what life was about.”

When I got the music, I got a place to go. I think in the end that’s what we are all looking for, a place to go, a place to belong, a place that accepts you for who you are. Punk rock helped me find that place. 

Here’s lookin’ up your dress…

lee.s.hart@crujonessociety.com