Inspired by reading the Death is... review on Typical Culture.
MC5 have been called so many different things equating them to being the grandfathers of punk. One of my favorite lines they were a 70's band in the 60's. The Motor City 5's first album with their biggest hit Kick Out the Jams was boycotted by major department stores because of the lyrics Kick Out the Jams Motherfuckers! The band took out full page ads in some newspapers saying Fuck You to the chain who wouldn't carry their albums, but the record company's balked when the chains threatened to drop all the label's records and dropped the MC5. They made a couple albums after but never got the backing they had from their first album. They had all kinds of other crazy moments like being one of the only bands that actually played outside the 1968 democratic convention before it all erupted. Politically charged lyrics and associations. Most importantly they made great music with a passion you can feel.
I imagine Detroit 35+ years ago was probably a little like some of the stuff we are going through right now and these bands play what we are feeling.
