When Punks Clean Up

Johnny Rotten is dead and he has been for quite some time. Johnny Rotten is deader than Sid Vicious. In the popular imagination, Vicious is alive and well. He never faded away, reformed, or conformed. He died the way he lived: violent and unapologetic. But Rotten, he insisted on sticking around for a bit. He insisted on forming a new band, cleaning up, and hosting a dull VH1 television show which lasted a total of 3 episodes. And come on folks, walking out of a celebrity reality show that you shoudln't have been on in the first place does not make you a young rebel. Punks have to die young, it simply goes with the territory. If punks don't die young, than they just go away, outside of the public consciousness and away from view. When they don't, they simply become parodies of their former selves. Does Rotten think blowing up music memorabilia on VH1 is going to bring his fan base back to him? His fan base is long gone, they've moved on and grown up. So am I saying that it is impossible to retain dignity, to continue being wild and crazy into old age? Essentially, this is indeed what it boils down to. So is there no hope for young, wild and crazy punks who wish to avoid early death or permanent brain damage and retain their lives after reforming? Of course there is hope. There is always hope, but only those with special talent have managed to age with dignity and maturity. I think that Mark Motherbaugh, former DEVO frontman, did it best with a slow transition into movie soundtracks and out of the public image. If DEVO were still around today, they'd be a joke, yet Mothersbaugh's eloquent and amusing tunes behind the action of Pee Wee's Playhouse, The Rugrats, or Wes Anderson's films remind us that it is possible to age without becoming a parody. Of course, there is one major component to this, and that is that you've got to be smart and have talent. Maybe this is something which Mr. Lydon simply lacks. As Neil Young said, it's better to burn out than fade away. Otherwise you might just find yourself selling Luxury Watches.