I’m a street walking cheetah[1]Opening track of their seminal 1973 LP Raw Power, produced by none other than David Bowie–with an assist from his guitarist at the time, lapsed Mormon Mick Ronson.
With a heart full of napalm[2]Oblique reference to the then-current Vietnam War—one of many wars and rumors of wars.
I’m a runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb[3]So much of the aggressive, self-destructive, go-for-broke anger of first-wave Punk Rock can be traced back to the fact that they lived with the Cold War conviction that they were all about to die in … Continue reading
I am a world’s forgotten boy[4]As are we all; or at least, so should we consider ourselves, as less than the dust of the earth, forgotten and despised. The Savior too was despised and rejected of men, and he ministered to the … Continue reading
The one who searches[5]“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27). and destroys[6]Joseph Smith, early in his ministry, wrote that he could see destruction written in capital letters upon everything he could see. Implicit in his statement was the Punk Rock conviction that the … Continue reading
Honey gotta help me please
Somebody gotta save my soul[7]Punk is often angry, but never actually nihilistic. Nihilism is fundamentally passive, inert, impotent; Punk by contrast really does seek salvation and redemption, and the anger is derived from … Continue reading
Baby, detonate for me!
Look out honey, cause I’m using technology!
Ain’t got time to make no apology[8]Was it Dallin H. Oaks who said we don’t apologize? Rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, including me, when he said that, in no small part because it seemed an utter failure to model sincere … Continue reading
Solar radiation in the dead of night
Love in the middle of a fire fight[9]As we’ve also cited recently, per Alma 50:25, “there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of [Captain] Moroni”–that … Continue reading
Honey gotta strike me blind[10]On the face of it, this statement is the polar opposite of Christ, who restored sight to the blind, not take it away; but then, we are to debase ourselves if we are to be exalted–and that means … Continue reading
Somebody gotta save my soul[11]Only those who feel their souls are in danger can be saved: Christ himself taught that the Publican who smites his chest and casts down his eyes while pleading “God have mercy on me a sinner” is … Continue reading
Baby, penetrate my mind
And I’m the world’s forgotten boy[12]It’s the world who forgets, mind you; God it is who marks even the fall of a sparrow–and ye are worth more than sparrows. But this doesn’t let us off the hook: if we are to become … Continue reading
The one who’s searchin’, searchin’ to destroy
And honey I’m the world’s forgotten boy
The one who’s searchin’ only to destroy
Hey!
Look out honey, cause I’m using technology![13]Hey, nice switch-up! Normally it’s third verse, same as the verse; this time it’s the second.
Ain’t got time to make no apology
Solar radiation in the dead of night
Love in the middle of a fire fight[14]Impossible as it may be for us in the comfortable West to imagine, but there are currently lovers courting in war-torn Ukraine; there are lovers in the bombed-out rubble of Gaza Strip and West Bank; … Continue reading
Honey gotta strike me blind
Somebody gotta save my soul
Baby, penetrate my mind
And I’m the world’s forgotten boy
The one who’s searchin’, searchin’ to destroy
And honey I’m the world’s forgotten boy
The one who’s searchin’, searchin’ to destroy
Forgotten boy, forgotten boy
Forgotten boy said
Hey forgotten boy
References
| ↑1 | Opening track of their seminal 1973 LP Raw Power, produced by none other than David Bowie–with an assist from his guitarist at the time, lapsed Mormon Mick Ronson. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Oblique reference to the then-current Vietnam War—one of many wars and rumors of wars. |
| ↑3 | So much of the aggressive, self-destructive, go-for-broke anger of first-wave Punk Rock can be traced back to the fact that they lived with the Cold War conviction that they were all about to die in a nuclear war anyways. In this sentiment (to quote the late Cormac McCarthy), they weren’t wrong, just early. I mean, do we believe we’re in the latter days or not? |
| ↑4 | As are we all; or at least, so should we consider ourselves, as less than the dust of the earth, forgotten and despised. The Savior too was despised and rejected of men, and he ministered to the despised and rejected, the harlots and the publicans—who will also, incidentally, enter the kingdom of heaven before you, for the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Seriously, do we honestly believe that as well? I do not ask rhetorically. |
| ↑5 | “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27). |
| ↑6 | Joseph Smith, early in his ministry, wrote that he could see destruction written in capital letters upon everything he could see. Implicit in his statement was the Punk Rock conviction that the mighty structures and institutions we see around us deserve to be destroyed. |
| ↑7 | Punk is often angry, but never actually nihilistic. Nihilism is fundamentally passive, inert, impotent; Punk by contrast really does seek salvation and redemption, and the anger is derived from frustration with the sheer number of people who are indifferent to the same. |
| ↑8 | Was it Dallin H. Oaks who said we don’t apologize? Rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, including me, when he said that, in no small part because it seemed an utter failure to model sincere repentance to the larger church membership. Unless President Oaks meant it the same way Iggy Pop means it here? That it’s the latter-days, and we just don’t have time to explain ourselves anymore? |
| ↑9 | As we’ve also cited recently, per Alma 50:25, “there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of [Captain] Moroni”–that is, when they were in the midst of an existential war for survival–which happiness, per that other Moroni (and amidst another war of annihilation), can only come from having charity, “which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail.” Love can come in the middle of a fire fight; indeed, it must. |
| ↑10 | On the face of it, this statement is the polar opposite of Christ, who restored sight to the blind, not take it away; but then, we are to debase ourselves if we are to be exalted–and that means we must confess our utter blindness before we can be healed. |
| ↑11 | Only those who feel their souls are in danger can be saved: Christ himself taught that the Publican who smites his chest and casts down his eyes while pleading “God have mercy on me a sinner” is in a better place than the Pharisee who thanks God that he is so righteous; Alma, too, knew of a surety the wickedness of the Zoramites when he beheld them on the Rameumptum each week thank God for their righteousness; and Joseph Smith explained that the reason why the Good Shepherd leaves behind the 99 to rescue the one is because the 99 are “too righteous” to repent—“they’re damned anyways, you cannot save them.” |
| ↑12 | It’s the world who forgets, mind you; God it is who marks even the fall of a sparrow–and ye are worth more than sparrows. But this doesn’t let us off the hook: if we are to become more like God, that means we must remember everyone else, as well. This of course requires immense amounts of mental effort, a test which we all uniformly fail. No wonder so many of us resort to racism, bigotry, stereotypes, in-groups and out-groups! It’s just so much easier to reduce large swaths of the population to mere abstractions rather than consider the immense complexity and depth of each and every individual soul on the face of the earth; yet to avoid doing so is also a complete cop-out—indeed, it is arguably the state of being damned itself. Our ability to progress in the Eternities is imbricated in our ability to consider each soul individually, like God does us. Perhaps this is why Spencer W. Kimball said that remember is the most important word in the language. |
| ↑13 | Hey, nice switch-up! Normally it’s third verse, same as the verse; this time it’s the second. |
| ↑14 | Impossible as it may be for us in the comfortable West to imagine, but there are currently lovers courting in war-torn Ukraine; there are lovers in the bombed-out rubble of Gaza Strip and West Bank; there are lovers in the Mexican borderlands, fleeing for their lives from Cartels and ICE alike; heck, there are lovers in our American cities, simmering for the next riot. If these peoples can love each other, how much less excuse have we? |