THERE'S SOMETHING ROTTEN IN TODAY'S MUSIC, SAYS EX-PISTOL.Byline: FRED SHUSTER>MUSIC WRITER John Lydon's been keeping busy being Rotten. The singer and lyricist lyr·i·cist n. A writer of song lyrics. Also called lyrist. Noun 1. lyricist - a person who writes the words for songs lyrist of the Sex Pistols, perhaps the shortest-lived yet most influential band in rock history, hasn't been doing much music lately in public, but he has been mouthing off at every opportunity -- most recently as a talent judge on the reality TV series "Bodog Music Battle of the Bands," in which 10 bands competed. The finale at the House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. airs at 7 tonight on the Fuse channel. The 51 year-old Lydon, whose avant-garde Public Image Ltd. (PIL (Publishing Interchange Language) A standard for document interchange that defines the placement of text and graphics objects on the page. It does not address the content of the objects. PIL - Procedure Implementation Language. ) followed the demise of the Pistols before running out of steam, lives in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and keeps a firm grip on the Pistols' legacy. He and the other living ex-members had a hand in the making of director Julien Temple's superb "The Filth and the Fury" documentary, which told the story of the punk group in artful fashion. We caught up with Lydon last week. What's the attraction of this Bodog competition? Sometimes, it makes me want to jump up onstage and join them. Most of them are good from one night to another. What more can you ask for? Watching them perform live with all the sheer panic and stress that comes from knowing it will be shown to millions of people on TV. It's not about hard knocks or cruelty like "American Idol." It's about celebrating the art of songwriting. What's the state of songwriting these days? It's horrible. Music is just another career choice for young people. They're not using any of their life experiences. That was the joy for me -- writing songs that directly related to my life. And that isn't happening anymore." Why is that? It's all lost in a malaise of video games and mummy and daddy buying everything for you. The result is you get alleged pop stars preening about how much wealth they've got. It's this smug cynicism. People just sit on their lazy computerized asses, complaining about everything and saying, "I want, I want." In such a state, where will the next youth culture spring from? Iraq perhaps? (Laughs) Yes, with weapons of mass destruction Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or on drums. It's not for me to say where the next youth culture will spring up. You were an early supporter of reggae. Reggae to me is not an affectation af·fec·ta·tion n. 1. A show, pretense, or display. 2. a. Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality. b. A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression. . I heard it growing up in the council flats (the U.K.'s low-cost government housing). It's a way of life, it's not entertainment. Now saying that, Jamaican music has been ruined by the American gangsta rap gang·sta rap also gangster rap n. A style of rap music associated with urban street gangs and characterized by violent, tough-talking, often misogynistic lyrics. influence. There's a nastiness and bitterness in the music now. I don't think they know who the enemy is anymore. The 30th anniversary of the release of the Pistols' album just passed, and nothing was mentioned by the label. We're having difficulties with Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . It's been done. I don't want to put some repackaging or all the nonsense. It's done. It's out there. Fred Shuster (818) 713-3676 fred.shuster@dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: "Music is just another career choice for young people. They're not using any of their life experiences. That was the joy for me -- writing songs that directly related to my life," says John Lydon. >GETTY IMAGES |
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