TRAIN WRECK LIFE

Subversity has had this thread going for a few days now about the top ten punk/hardcore records of all time. Other folks ( myself included), have tossed in our two cents. So far, we are all about the same age, give or take 5 years. As far as I can tell, all of the records are from the late 70's to the early 80's. One band on my list, Flux of Pink Indians, got a lot of play in it's original vinyl and the sub standard cassette version I made for listening at work and in the car. I love that record. I have been trying to find it on CD for a while now and finally found it via amazon last night. I'm not sure when it was originally released, but I got it at Sound Exchange ( now a trendy upscale taco place) in 1983. Me and my buddy Dirk were pretty active politically at that time, marching in demonstrations from bread not bombs to anti john birch society events. It's been so long ago, that I can't tell you about John Birch without doing a google search. Oh yeah, I remember now (thanks google). They are an organization of the radical right. Anyway...
Dirk and I stayed up into the wee hours before a march hand copying propaganda flyers from this record to poster board size versions... one was a starving african child, complete with distended belly and obscene extruding belly button. The slogan read "There's enough for all our need, but not for all our greed". The other depicted two children with their arms around each others shoulders and it read "All the arms we need" . After the march, I stored them in a tube from christmas wrap...my ex threw that tube away.
And now I'm rambling...back to the point. I had been marching for years...since the protests during Viet Nam with my dad when he was a student at UT. Punk injected a new energy for me into the whole thing, prior to my discovering the Pistols, I was your typical stoner rock kid, Sabbath, Zeppelin, that kind of stuff. Finally, there was music that reflected the times. They didn't pull any punches...they were angry about what was happening in the world and produced volumes of recorded material screaming it to anyone who would listen. I listened. Everyone who has posted a list (so far) at Vic's site makes reference to the attitude or the ideal that was punk/hardcore. Rail against the system...force change...Believe. That's what it said to me, and that's what I did. Inside I still feel that way, but how do you reconcile age with attitude?
Things are happening in the world today that could sorely use a swift kick in the ass from us punks, but were not 20 anymore, and speaking for myself the last 25 years have taken most of the wind out of my sails. So...Whats an old hippy/punk to do? I'm gonna blow the dust off my old records and check my mail box daily for that CD I ordered last night. And when it gets here I'm gonna play it really loud, and remember.
And if I find that spark hibernating in me, I might even write some songs, if I do that I'll need a band. I don't think any of the wolves are interested in doing punk/hardcore music so it'll have to be a new band.
If it happens we'll be called Train wreck life. It's got a ring to it I think.