Okay, so I did not want to get into the whole Queen Elizabeth dying thing. On the one hand, I want to remain respectful of anyone who recently died. That said, I am a bit perplexed by the unabashed adoration that the Royal Family has received during this time. At the risk of sounding disrespectful, some of the grief feels frankly excessive. There are ordinary, everyday people on the news who are literally in tears at her death. That is something that I frankly just don't really get, especially when it is from a country, like the United States or France, both of which fought in revolutions specifically aimed at getting rid of rule by monarchs.
With that sentiment, another thing that I just have not understood is the behavior by John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten, the former frontman for the legendary punk band The Sex Pistols. Of course, this is not the first time that Lydon's words and/or behavior and views have disappointed me, as he revealed years ago that he was a Trump supporter.
In any case, it began humbly enough, when Lydon paid his respect for the late Queen Elizabeth II in a recent Tweet. This was his message:
“Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II. Send her victorious.”
Fair enough. That, despite the punk band's biggest song famously being one that mocked the Royal Family, and likened it to fascism, with Rotten accusing England of dreaming in regards to the nation's fixation with the Royal Family. So such a peaceful sentiment by him might seem like a respectful, even a classy move.
Okay. No problem there. But then it turned ugly. Lydon began to accuse his former Sex Pistols bandmates of attempting to cash in on the Queen's death.
John Lydon wishes to distance himself from any Sex Pistols activity which aims to cash in on Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The musicians in the band and their management have approved a number of requests against John’s wishes on the basis of the majority court-ruling agreement.
In John’s view, the timing for endorsing any Sex Pistols requests for commercial gain in connection with ‘God Save The Queen’ in particular is tasteless and disrespectful to the Queen and her family at this moment in time.
John wrote the lyrics to this historical song, and while he has never supported the monarchy, he feels that the family deserves some respect in this difficult time, as would be expected for any other person or family when someone close to them has died.
It does not seem all that specific. If anything, it seems that the other members of the band simply granted permission for the song and/or artwork surrounding the famous song to be used in news broadcasts, since it was a famous reaction to the Royal Family. Since it lacks any specifics, the accusatory nature feels a bit like Lydon is simply trying to stir up trouble, without offering much in the way of proof.
The other members of The Sex Pistols had something to say about it:
In response, a spokesman for Steve Jones and Paul Cook offered this statement to Blabbermouth: “We cannot understand what he would be referring to. Other than a couple requests for use of imagery or audio in news reports on The Queen and her impact on culture, there’s nothing new relating to ‘God Save The Queen’ being promoted or released in any way.”
Is it just me, or has Lydon gotten very weird as he has grown older? And frankly, not really in a good way, either.
Here is the link to the article which I used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which I obtained all of the quotes used above:
Sex Pistols Respond To John Lydon’s Claim They’re Tying To Cash In On The Queen’s Death by Chris DeVille, September 15, 2022:
https://www.stereogum.com/2199668/sex-pistols-respond-to-john-lydons-claim-theyre-tying-to-cash-in-on-the-queens-death/news/
Frankly, I've reached the point where I can't stand the sight or the sound of him anymore. I deleted my Sex Pistols and P.I.L. (Public Image Limited, in case you don't recognize those initials) playlists on YouTube, and plan on giving away those albums at some point. He was always grating – an acquired taste, if you will – but there was a time when he struck me as someone who for the most part directed his ire at people who, in my estimation, clearly had it coming. Someone who sought to shake Britain out of its lethargy and complacency, to destroy the idea of "sacred cows" which aren't to be questioned, criticized or subjected to scrutiny of any kind. An iconoclast in the noblest sense of the term.
ReplyDeleteAt some point however, he lapsed into self-parody. I'm not entirely sure if he was always an insufferable contrarian who simply derives perverse pleasure from being an asshole for its own sake, or if he morphed into that over time. All I know is that in my view, he's destroyed his legacy, and cast serious doubt on whatever level of sincerity I credited him until a few years ago. The MAGA crowd can have him – I for one am done.
Yeah, I'm beginning to feel the same way about him. Yes, I like Public Image Limited, particularly the song Rise, even though it is radically different from the Pistols stuff. Still like the music, and guess the impact that he and the Pistols has can still be appreciated, at least from a historical perspective. Think that Britain needed that. But all of that said, as you suggested, I too began to suspect that he was kind of trying to be an asshole just because he seems to get some kind of sick pleasure out of it. One more case of someone famous who I used to think highly of, and possibly even admire, winding up being a disappointment. And agreed, it does cast a serious shadow on his legacy, and calls into question just how sincere he was with some of his earlier stated convictions as a young man. If he's such a fan of Trump, then yeah, let the MAGA crowd have him indeed. Shock value without intelligence, just for the sake of shock value, seems to fit the mold there.
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