Punk Rock Academy Fight Song – Anger is an energy

Last summer a good friend of mine introduced me to this then girlfriend at a BBQ by telling me that while they were discussing music he mentioned that I would probably be into some of the same bands as she was. Mind you my friends musical taste at times begins and end with DMX. So we proceeded to play rock and roll tennis -you know volleying the names of various indie alternative and Punk bands back and forth for a few minutes before she said “ I used to like Punk rock but I'm not that angry anymore.” I was taken aback for a moment but then I let it go and mentioned that I also liked The Killers and other stuff and then I politely walked over to the cooler for another beer to contemplate the exchange that had just taken place. It was almost like saying I used to like Marvin Gaye but I haven’t gotten laid in awhile so I’m over it.

Now I don’t consider my self a particularly angry guy, I’m not overflowing with misplaced aggression and unquenchable rage. I’m not the product of a broken home -I love my parents and I grew up in the suburbs. But things do get to me and things piss me off-my blood boils at people being disrespectful to women and I find it deplorable that racism exists- and you have to have an outlet-creative or otherwise. For years I worked at a group home for kids on probation and a lot these kids had big time problems with controlling their anger. They would fly off the handle for any little thing and would almost always wind up breaking something until they calmed down. So we would teach them techniques for managing their anger in an appropriate way -you know hitting a pillow instead of the wall or writing in a journal or stopping and counting to ten. now some of these worked and some did not and after a while it occurred to me that sometimes its alright to be angry and sometimes anger is a very acceptable and productive response. I like to call it righteous indignation. Being genuinely pissed off about some unjust situation and then doing something about it. Think about it without anger there would have been no civil rights movement, no American revolution, or any other action against tyranny and oppression. Hell there would be no overturned calls in sports for that matter. Sometimes you do have to argue sometimes you do have to “throw bricks”. Gandhi and MLK were angry they just channeled it into something positive. Just because I might be smiling does’nt mean I’m not angry. Now obviously being angry all time is not healthy or normal but then again neither is painting a fake smile on and pretending everything is all sunshine and rainbows. I just happen to think great things can come from properly channeled fury. It’s just like how water can sustain life, provide energy or create massive destruction.
 

 

-Daniel N-

 

 
Read more from Punk Rock Academy Fight Song HERE