1-2-3-4!
Punk is coming.It’s 1975.
And we are 10.
And we are ready for it.It’s 1976.
And Punk is here.
And now we’re Punk and we say fuck.
[under our breathWe say fuck Fernando.
And the fucking drums and guns in the number one spot for fourteen fucking weeks.
[it’s enough to make me almost cry
while spite drying the dishes
wishing those cannons would blow ABBA sky fucking highIt’s 1976.
Fuck the Bay City Rollers. And their tartan.We want Punk.
And anarchy.
[we don’t know what anarchy is but it sounds dangerous and
angry and we are angry inside and we
like the hard angular shape the word makes in our head
like the name of our town
broke broke broke broke
broken Broken HillIt’s 1977.
And there’s no money for records.
[there’s no fucking fun
you’ve been fucking cheated
of all the fucking funIt’s 1977.
And we’re broke broke broke in the Silver City.
[in this city there’s a thousand things you can’t afford to doBut we can read the music charts.
And see that the S-asterisk-X Pistols are still unfairly number two.
[with a blanked out title but we know which songIt’s 1977 and Daryl and Marcia are the King and Queen of Pop.
It’s 1977 and fuck the Dirge of Kintyre.
It’s 1977 and thank fuck for The Saints.It’s 1978.
And we’re Punk pretenders.
[we’re too afraid
to show we’re Punk
we cover our tracks with the Punk-adjacentIt’s 1978.
And we have spike resistant hair.
[our father’s Californian Poppy sends us back to the 1950sIt’s 1978.
And we want to paint our bedroom black.
And dye our hair black.
And be like Patti Smith.
[and that’s not going to fucking happenIt’s 1979.
We’re closet Punks.
We stick a TV Week Boom Town Rats poster up when no-one else is home.It’s 1979 and London is calling us on a Sunday night.
It’s 1979 and The Clash are jammed.
[on Countdown
in between the Bee Gees and the Electric Light OrchestraIt’s 1979 and Iggy Pop is bored on Countdown.
[we’re bored with CountdownIt’s 1979.
Yes you can go to the school dance.
No you can’t dress fucking Punk.
There’s no fucking money for Punk clothes.
[in broke broke broke Broken Hill
fuck your shiny disco pants bought in Adelaide
but i love their shiny disco pants bought in Adelaide
and i’m dance dance dancing to Donna SummerOn page 56 of the high school magazine there is a photo from that night.
Three girls.
You’re the one dressed Punk.
[you’re wearing a hand knitted vest from the op-shop
A FUCKING HAND KNITTED VESTYou’re wearing a sign.
A fucking sign.
[it says Baby PunkThe sign is attached with a novelty nappy pin you’ve nicked from home.
The sign might as well say kick me.
[KICK ME!But you’re not kicked.
You’re not kicked because you’re there with the two coolest girls in your year.
[they look so fucking coolThey look like Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks.
And there’s you.
With your badly cut fringe.
Blowing a bubble gum bubble.
[POP!And some-fucking-how.
You’ve ended up looking more like Ian Curtis than Johnny Rotten.It’s 1979 and you’re too late for Punk.
It’s 1979 and you’re post-Punk and you don’t even know it.
It’s 1979 and you don’t look happy.
[but at that moment you actually are happy
you’re Autistic
you just don’t know it yet[let’s just call it your resting Punk face
It’s 1979 and New Wave is coming.
It’s 1980.
And New Wave is here!It’s 1980.
And you’re 15.It’s 1980.
And now you’re really fucking ready for it.
No. You’re not fucking ready for it.
[your life is the same
as it ever fucking was***
Image: “Three Girls at the School Dance”. The Quondong Magazine, 1979: Broken Hill High School.
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones