Having been born toward the tail end of the 1980’s I missed out on tons of great music that came out of various underground scenes around the world earlier that decade. From the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal [or NWOBHM] which inspired and informed the American Thrash scene to the first generation of American hardcore punk the influence of the early 80’s resonates in every aspect of today’s international underground punk and metal communities. It was a time when lines were being drawn and flags were being raised. When kids actually cared about the music they listened to because it meant something so inexplicably urgent to them. Metalheads were metalheads and punks were punks. These kids and their music burned with life during a time and political landscape when the threat of total death was constantly hanging in the balance. No band better embodies the American hardcore aesthetic than NEGATIVE APPROACH, to my mind. In just a little over twenty tracks and less than an hour’s worth of time Negative Approach laid down what would be one of the ultimate examples of American youth frustration and the art that it spawns in trying times of both social and emotional *pressure*. The simplicity of Negative Approach’s song writing speaks directly to the barbaric nature of my soul. Their music is more than just hardcore, it’s “no bullshit” blues straight from the soul. Unlike all of the more popular music that got labeled as “punk” which I had to grow up with, these were real kids who were really angry about real shit. I remember when I used to work at a record store in Pittsburgh a few years back and my boss was an older guy who was part of that previous generation of punk kids that paved the way for me and my generation. Through hanging out with him I was able to soak up part of what I missed out on and had wanted to know firsthand about the music and scenes that came before me. Bands like AMEBIX, DISCHARGE, THE ADOLESCENTS, and Negative Approach were in heavy rotation at our shop, weither the customers liked it or not. My generation may have missed out on all the groundbreaking music that informed everything we were given to sift through but history has a way of repeating itself. Let me put it to you like this, September 11th, 2001 was only my second day of high school just across the river in New Jersey. For months the air was filled with smoke and parking lots full of cars that never made it back the their home’s garages in my neighborhood so generally speaking, I think I have a right to be hostile.
Negative Approach | NYC @ Punk Island | 20 Jun 2010 from (((unartig))) on Vimeo.
New Comments