Not happy. Not happy at all.

I'm very much a live and let live kind of chap when it comes to music and fashion; clearly I have my preferences with either, as I believe those who listen to Jack Johnson or wear oh-so trendy ill-fitting clothing in East London to be complete tits. But every now and again my goat is well and truly got.

Earlier this week, source of much web-based merriment Buzzfeed published an article on why punk is dead (http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexnaidus/pieces-of-evidence-that-punk-is-dead) and continued to cite 23 instances of popular starlets wearing classic punk-style regalia or having their merchandise plagiarise famous punk imagery. To be honest, it really shouldn't have pissed me off as much as it did. I know that a tonne of alternative music sites are nonplussed by the whole affair but I cannot help but be filled with a monumental rage.

Seeing r'n'b bellend Chris Brown bowling around in a studded leather jacket with The Exploited and Cro-Mags written on it is not cool. The man who famously beat the shit out of his missus is not worthy of the punk world. Operation Ivy t-shirts being sold for multiple hundreds of dollars is NOT punk. And fucking One Direction wearing Top Shop Ramones shirts makes me want to be permanently sedated...THAT'S A RAMONES REFERENCE YOU BASTARDS!

Things like Taylor Swift dressing a bit punky can't really annoy anyone but to have iconic bands ripped off or adorning the millionaire frame of individuals who are clearly doing nothing more than tapping into a high street trend riles me. There are of course counter arguments, which it shall now rebuff:

1. Punk is a trend, it always has been, so why should it be different now?

Because punk had a sound and punks had a look. Yes, it is/was a trend, but it's something adopted by people who love the bands and don't want to (I hate to use this phrase) conform to the perception of 'normal'. By pop stars and major celebs wearing punk garments they're destroying the very meaning of punk.

2. How can you be elitist about what people wear? They might really love the bands

In which case, why are they fucking ruining their legacy? I have no doubt in my mind that I give more of a shit than the remaining Ramones about One Direction using their logo, but if you were doing it genuinely and not just following trends why haven't you always dressed like this? Why hasn't your merchandise always looked like this?

3. Punk clothing has often ripped off the mainstream, why can't it be vice versa?

Because the point of punk is that it is anti-mainstream. The point of the mainstream is not to be anti punk, you knob.

4. Isn't it a good thing that these celebs are raising awareness of bands that younger generations may never have heard of?

No.

5. Punk and alternative imagery has always had some presence in the mainstream, why does it matter now?

Look, 'that' Rolling Stones t-shirt and H&M selling AC/DC tops is a different thing altogether. These are multi-million selling crossover bands; they could sell out any arena anywhere in the world. The irritation comes from celebs who, in their quest to be edgy and left field, festoon themselves in images of bands they probably know nothing about, and a scene they know nothing about. Simply put, If I see someone with a tidy beard, skinny jeans, Ray Ban wayfarers and a diamanté Leatherface t-shirt I will kill myself.

I appreciate that this opinion is not shared by everyone, but it is mine, and it is right.

M

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Hello and goodbye

I'm a very shuffley kind of chap. My daily 4-and-a-bit hour commute tends to be underpinned by a soundtrack of miscellaneous albums that arrive in the Metal Harmony inbox over the course of the week. Nine times out of ten I listen blindly to my non-Apple MP3 player, with no idea who or what is playing. This is good as it means I'm listening to everything with a completely open mind. The downside is that when people ask me if I've heard x song by y band, I probably have but just don't remember it.

However, every now and again, whilst nestled into a sweaty armpit on a packed Underground train, a song will come on that grabs me by the metaphysical balls. This happened a few days ago when for the first time, I came across Streetlight Manifesto.

My love of skate/ska/SoCal punk is well documented and whilst I don't profess to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre, I could bore people for several hours if required. Streetlight Manifesto are a new one on me, so when If Only For Memories from their latest album, The Hand That Thieves, started playing in my ears I was intrigued. Think NOFX-plays-mariachi and you'd be getting close.

I stopped shuffling and decided to play the album in its entirety, and I've been pretty much doing so for the last five days. I fucking love it. Massive singalong choruses, huge skanking riffs and a brass section; this is so far up my street it's untrue. If you like Mad Caddies, Less Than Jake, Voodoo Glow Skulls, you have literally no option but to listen to this band immediately.

It transpires that Streetlight have been around for a decade and have released five albums but this is their final release on Victory, a label with whom they have a serious amount of beef. As a band, they recently released a statement saying they're slowing down their touring schedule and reading between the lines, it looks like they'll be in officially packing it in over the coming months.

So in essence, my new favourite band will soon be no more, and I doubt I'll ever see them play live. The technical term for this is 'a right pisser'.

M

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