Pure Punk Picks
I Don’t Want To Be Happy – The Contortions
“I don’t want to be happy. In fact, I like living a lie…I don’t want you to know me, unless you are shallow or sly. Using my friends, I always depend on them like charades in the sky. Once I figure them out they’re a waste of my time.”
“I only live on the surface. I don’t think people are very pretty inside.”
Not quite the same as the peace/love lyrics of the sixties or the seventies singer/songwriter soft rock platitudes,after them. These were lyrics I had never experienced before except, possibly with The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, along with music I had never heard before, as well. But I do feel that this is more punk at least, lyrically, than any other music I know.
I know anyone reading this is aware of the term “new wave” but I wonder how many know of “no wave”? According to Wikipedia- “No wave was a short-lived, avant-garde music and art scene that emerged in the late seventies in downtown New York City.”
And the definitive album was “No New York” under the curation and production of Brian Eno. Who went on to produce bands such as Devo, Talking Heads, U2 and collaborated with David Bowie. He happens to be in my top three all-time musicians. (Jimi Hendrix and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane round up the top of my batting order!)
One of the four bands chosen to contribute tracks to that record was The Contortions. And the leader, James Chance, stated that it was “done totally (live) in the studio, no separation of instruments, no overdubs.”
I love no wave. I think it’s punk as hell. It’s punk music at its most adventurous musically, without losing any bite or energy of the original pure punk form.
Richard C. Wells writing for Creem magazine- my favorite rock magazine of all time!- described no wave as “ferociously avant-garde and aggressively ugly music since Albert Ayler (jazz saxophone) puked all over me back in what?- ’64.”
This song starts out in a provocative stance designed to make your ears perturbed, your mind disturbed and your general sense unhappy- not so much with abrasive words and loud guitars, like the punk bands had done-
But with dissonant, unmelodic, unappealing music. Braying sax, spooky horror house organ, slide guitar that doesn’t resolve into expressive blues licks but more like a depressive, musical shrug, along with a razor blade guitar slashing in with kamikaze cutting guitar chords.
While the rhythm section moves along in a precise, pushing funk groove equal to a classic James Brown tune.
While all these other elements like the nihilistic lyrics are throwing broken barbed wire, shards of glass, unsettling feelings upon this musical palette.
“I prefer the ridiculous to the sublime.”
I do, too. And I prefer life that is wild and wonderful and fun over what is meaningful, heartfelt and intelligent. But really, I love them both but if I had to choose- I think I choose crazy over spiritually enlightened, any day.
And I’m happy with how this song lunges and surges the depths of decadence and depravity with funk worthy of James Brown or Parliament/Funkadelic matched with the experimental jazz of someone as Albert Ayler or Pharoah Sanders.
And I’m happy how fully accurate this song expresses what being in the punk scene in the early eighties felt like, whether you were in New York or Boston or anywhere. You may think that the Beach Boys influenced melodies of The Ramones or the politically aware songs of The Clash or The Dead Kennedys define your take on what early punk was-
But personally, this song reflects that time more to me. This song sounds like my life going into the eighties during which I was drug and alcohol and depression addled. And though, I guess, I desperately wanted to be happy- nothing outside myself did the trick.
But about ten years ago, after my divorce and being truly miserable again, I decided if I couldn’t be happy maybe I could, at least, help others be so.
And my life changed, while before I was so focused on myself. Now I took care of my elderly mother, went to my second shift job where there were a lot of elderly folks, too. I just tried to make everyone’s life better. And then I went home to write for Thrash N Bang which promoted music and bands that I believed in, to assist them, too.
And then one day I asked myself, “I may be mistaken, but are you happy now?” And I replied to myself, “Yes, I guess I am.”
It is better to give then receive, that’s what I found out. And it’s not a cliche- happiness can only be found within not outside of you- material objects or substances can’t get you there.
Well, this is a fine ending to a great nihilistic, punk/funk no wave song! But I do know that if I didn’t change my attitude along the way that this pen wouldn’t have a hand forming these letters now.
This is a great song from a great band during which many lives may have not been so great, but really, I would still take the pain and trouble I felt for all the joy and awareness I experienced.
And really, I don’t want to be happy. Isn’t that just some kind of marketing scheme?
(Slimedog)