I Believed In Jimmy When He Told Us To Unite

About ten years ago, mostly from the pressure of others, i decided to "grow up". It wasn't a bad idea, believe me, i was probably on my way to going bonkers, but either way, i worked my way out of the Punk scene, easing my way through the subcultures, tried out art school, got a regular job at the library, got married, etc. About five years into growing up, i cracked! The crack-up was that i didn't feel that connection to the grown-up world i had joined. Granted, i never felt that connection to the Punk scene either, the moments were few & far between, but there were definitely more. I did a couple of zines, worked in my traditional drawing style, wrote about some things i hadn't written about in older zines, put together a new studded jacket & even went to some shows. BUT, it wasn't there. Whatever i was looking for wasn't there. What i was looking for, was the ecstatic feeling of THE KIDS UNITED, to get charged up into that big feeling of coming together for the similarity of existence. The problem is, i don't think i can be part of the crowd in that way, i can pretend, i can disguise myself, but ultimately, it's not who i am. I don't dislike it, i want it desperately, but it's not in the cards. It makes for a great songs though!
Saxon - Denim & Leather

Sham 69 - If the Kids are United, They Will Never be Divided

A fun little Sham 69 documentary from English Television.

Judas Priest - United

"We don't just say no, we're too busy saying YEAH." An example of the wrong way to bring the kids together. I've been thinking about how to create that feeling for others though, to create some of the institutions that build up that feeling & charge up the kids with meaning in life. I saw alot of that with the Kool-Aid Man's presidential campaign, alot of the desire & alot the actual feeling happening. Of course, the Obama crowd is not even remotely interesting to me & is essentially working counter to my aims so...