This week I walked into a classrom and found one of my students playing a Ramones cd on the computer. She apologized and stopped it. I told her that I didn't mind at all, in fact I had seen the Ramones play live way back when. This started a conversation in which I realized that I was freakin' old. When did that happen?
I saw the Dead Kennedys, Crucifux, DOA, Black Flag, Fear, Agent Orange, Social Distortion (before they turned to the dark side), and countless others.
I was there when slam dancing turned into moshing. When decent punk bands turned into speed metal sell-outs. Around 1987 punks stopped going to punk shows (at least in Seattle) because the scene stopped being fun. The politcal aspect was long gone. People were being hurt at shows, the music sucked, and the crowd had completely changed. What I love is that 20 years later we were right! Reagan was a bastard when he wasn't asleep. Vindication!
So I would like to know other old punk experiences. This seems like a good coffee house topic.