If you’ve been a fan of TGRIOnline.com as of late, you’ve noticed our preoccupation with having a particular dislike of the beta male, emotionally expressive movement in popular music. It’s not that we so much hate with passion the Kid Cudis and Pitchfork favored alternative indie bands of the world, we just would prefer to not see popular music taken over and inundated with their sound. As we’ve stated in “Alpha Male Music Week” and our “HARD 10!” countdown, we’re just attempting to represent a balance in music. With that being said, we’ll periodically feature some “harder edged” material to shake you out of your doldrums and give you a no crying wanted, swift kick in your musical ass. Do enjoy!
The original obstinately hardcore dudes, when the MC5 told the world that it was time to “KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS,” a seismic shift took place in popular music. By 1969, the world was just about to get fucking scary. Martin and Malcolm and JFK were dead, and mix that with the fact that for the segment of the hippie movement that was politicized, this was becoming a road to nowhere, something had to give. And as many eminently great music movements of the 20th century did, it all started in Detroit.
Vocalist Rob Tyner’s immediate crescendo to the track is what sets it off. His voice is filled with the type of youthful angst that people use to start riots. Long thought to have been a call to arms for youth revolt, the track instead was a call to arms merely for the MC5 to play, and play hard. The inspiration and vitriol on this track are what make it hard. Rob Tyner could be reading a grocery list for all I know. But it’s in Wayne Kramer’s ethereal guitar playing that this is one of the hardest jams to ever exist. Top notch musicians always have the ability to know exactly how to use the tools of their trade to give dimension to their thoughts and ideals. The MC5 are a punk prototype because they had the innate ability to know how to forge political action and violent ideology into really fantastic sounding music.
Inspiring an entire generation of kids to rebel against the decrepit and decayed nature of society at large through music?
That’s hard.
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