Punk rock's political history is more convoluted than the plot of Prometheus.
By most accounts, the fast-hard-and-loud aesthetic came into vogue during the mid 1970s as a sneering response to the hippies of the '60s and an extension of the hard-partying glam scene.
Although obviously rooted in social angst, first-wave punk was less about societal transformation and more concerned with bombastic nihilism. Hence, the popularity of swastikas or Darby Crash hating on Mexicans in The Decline of Western Civilization.
But following two decades of arguing (at shows, in zines and now on the internet), and the precedent of political punk pioneers like Crass or Washington D.C.'s Positive Force collective, your average cruster is a vegan anarcho-feminist puppeteer whose favorite means of direct action is the benefit show.
And while Churchill's Pub may swing more to the oi-oi mohawks of the '77 era, this sort-of-English-pub in Little Haiti will be circling the letter A in a distinctly 2012 fashion, hosting a benefit for environmental activists, Earth First, on August 1.
Hey ho, Joey Ramone may have been a goofy gluehead. But today's punk rockers are trying to save the world.
Earth First Journal Benefit with Nunhex, Baker Acted, Testorka, Terra Nulius, Komakozie, M66. Wednesday, August 1. Churchill's Pub, 5501 NE Secon Ave., Miami. Doors open at 9 p.m. and there is a $5 cover at the door. Call 305-757-1807 or visit churchillspub.com.
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