I have been meaning to write something about Public Image Limited (PIL) for a while now. This is the story of Johnny Rotten. OK, maybe not but I'm not sure Neil Young was right on top of it either as much as I love Neil. I was a late bloomer to The Sex Pistols. I didn't get them or there fan base when I was 17. All that registered with me was the spitting. I hate spitting. That said, today I'm a huge fan of Never Mind The Bullocks (Here's The Sex Pistols). I love the title, I love "Holidays in The Sun" and I love "Anarchy in The UK." In fact I love "God Save The Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" too. For a band likened to The Monkees in terms of their instrumental prowess Never Mind The Bullocks was a helluva record. It still sounds ground breaking and explosive to this very day. Not bad for alleged hacks huh? In fairness the criticism was mostly aimed squarely at Sid Vicious, but it wasn't his exclusive domain. Rotten & Vicious seemed famous for being famous at the time.Since I didn't follow The Pistols' saga until Sid & Nancy came out in the mid 80's it stands to reason I didn't know the first thing about PIL when they started making records. The fact that the first two PIL records were too artsy and avant-garde for commercial radio didn't help me at all either. After the demise of The Sex Pistols it is rumored that John Lydon, the ex Mr Johnny Rotten, was proffered by Virgin Records head Richard Branson as a potential lead singer for the band Devo believe it or not. Allegedly, Devo wanted no part of that. I can't imagine why can you? Do you ever feel like you've been duped? Well, no, not really. Whether we are talking The Monkees, The Archies, Josie & The Pussycats, The Partridge Family, The Pistols or any other idea/brand before actual musicianship concept all we have to go on is the finished product right? If you liked "Last Train To Clarksville," and I did, who cares who plays the instruments? I wouldn't go around saying a comic strip that produces "Sugar, Sugar" is a rockin' good act, but you get my overarching drift here (I hope). Of course, it could be that Johnny was talking about something completely different like the length of their show that particular night or how badly they had been managed, but hey, these guys were the perpetrators of The Great Rock & Roll Swindle right? There's gotta be truth in advertising no?
Initially John Lydon formed PIL with bassist Jah Wobble, guitarist Keith Levene and drummer Jim Walker. Naturally that lineup lasted about two clicks, but such is the nature of rock & roll I guess. The band has been officially on hiatus since 1992, but John Lydon is probably the only one who thinks that. The thing is, I really liked these guys. I think "Seattle" from 1987's Happy? and "Rise & Home" from 1986's Compact Disc flat are brilliant. I love John's snarling vocals. I played "Disappointed" from 1989's 9 ad nauseum back when it came out and I think another half dozen of their songs are highly listenable. PIL might have been a bit ahead of their time. They got by on next to no radio airplay until their fifth record named Album, Compact Disc, Cassette or Digital Download depending on your preferred format. And even then it was restricted to "This is Not a Love Song" from 1984's This is What You Want...This is What You Get. Today maybe a half dozen combined tracks from The Sex Pistols and PIL might consistently turn up on WFNX & Julie Kramer's Leftover Lunch, but for the most part Public Image Limited is just that; a band with a limited public image. I could care less. I think they were great and tell anyone that bothers to ask as much and I was never a punk (no, really).
I grappled with which track to post because I only get one crack at it you know? I have a thousand bands to blog about and PIL won't be back anytime soon at The Giant Panther I'm sad to say. I just listened to several of my favorites and just decided "Rise" is the only way to go. Anger is an energy don't you know. If you say it enough times it sticks I promise. Until the next time...
Public Image Limited - Rise.mp3
Public Image Limited - Rise.mp3 YSI
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