Saturday, February 21, 2015

Structurally, both punk and craft beer are left-wing movements.

Different art form, similar reasoning.

"Craft" beer originated with revolutionary upheaval against the stultifying weight of special interests as exemplified by robber baron capitalism. How can that ever be viewed as right-wing? It's simply impossible, without gutting the conceptual basis.

As for punk, it's an old article, but still relevant.

Left Wing Punk, by satanicpanic (Daily Kos)

So the other day I did a diary on whether or no Punk is Right Wing, discussing a Johnny Ramone quote stating that it is. And I have to disagree. Punk is structurally leftwing- it's democratic, populist and anti-authoritarian. It naturally attracts left wing minds. And it has. A LOT. Left wing bands far outnumber right wing bands in both number and influence, which tends to push the overall feel of the music to the left, maybe more than any other genre. Punk music has covered left/liberal issues like environmentalism, gender, sexual orientation, class, consumerism, religious freedom from the beginning. Rather than trying to name them all, I just wanted to share some of the many left leaning punk bands, artists and songs that I like. And to try to explain why they matter. This is by no means exhaustive, so feel free to add your faves in the comments!

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