Pure Punk Picks
Drunk In Babylon – The Saints
Babylon, among the Rastafarians, is “a contemptuous or dismissive term for aspects of a society seen as degenerate or oppressive, especially the police.”
I guess to be outside Babylon would be righteous, but to be drunk in Babylon might be the height of sin.
But I feel sin is holy, is like a sacrament when it harms no other but one’s self.
And I know, it’s true, I’ve spent much of my time drunk in Babylon.
At the beginning of punk, New York had The Ramones, England had The Clash and The Sex Pistols. And in Australia? They had The Saints.
Sure, The Saints are a lot less known than those other bands but they meant as much to their city- Brisbane, as those other more famous bands did to their cities.
And unlike those other bands, led by Chris Bailey the only remaining original member, they continue to this day.
They are important to me, as well, for a song that I’ve already written about, and that great song is “Stranded.”
If you were listening to punk radio shows on college stations from Boston and Cambridge in ’77, ’78- you heard that song as much as you heard “Beat On The Brat”, “White Riot” or “God Save The Queen.”
“Stranded” was the first punk single released outside of America, beating out all the UK bands. Their style was similar to The Ramones- buzzsaw guitar, energetic beats with catchy, melodic vocals.
But unlike many other bands, both bands seem to hit upon their style, simultaneously. The Saints were unlike other bands who were influenced (copying) The Ramones.
Also, it was a legit hit song in Australia at the time and is now included in the Top 30 Australian singles of all time!
But the song I’m writing about today, “Drunk In Babylon”, I only know from one source and that’s from a live show in Hoboken, New Jersey from 2007 up on YouTube. That I happened to stumble upon in the last year or two and I think it’s a really great tune!
With some unobtrusive guitar signaling, creating a mood that something is about to happen, which I recall hearing in the beginning of several Mission Of Burma songs in the eighties. It was the calm before the storm before an avalanche of energy and passionate noise was about to descend upon one’s ears.
“Drunk In Babylon” tumbles out with a glorious, garage rock riff with a strutting, Stones like rock’n’roll beat.
“I’ve been pushing my luck for far too long.”
But luckily, everything falls perfectly in place with the writing and the performance as it fully renders to me, what a great, local band might’ve been playing at The Rat in the late seventies. Maybe that band was La Peste, The Thrills or Nervous Eaters or loads of others.
Either way, this song has boppin’ beats that make one want to shake their ass, gritty, grungy guitar that hits your heart and your loins at the same time, and some music that suggests, entices you to live some dangerously, fun times.
Is this song so fast that it appears to speed past the speed of life?- No.
Does this song hit you hard like an anvil being dropped upon your head from a building rooftop?- No.
Do the words of this song, knock you for a loop by putting your thoughts and feelings into a form that you could never imagine would happen?- No.
So what does this song do for you Slimedog?
Well, it makes me feel like I’m dancing even if I’m lying still. It makes me feel like a double shot of espresso was just mainlined to my heart. It makes me feel relaxed and excited at the same time. A peaceful mind coupled with ecstatic joy.
It makes me smile with the belief and the lie that everything and every moment from now on will be perfect and right.
And I may still be drunk in Babylon. Maybe I’m drinking along to that great song by The New York Dolls “Babylon,” as well.
But I’m gonna try to work myself to a healthier place, far from Babylon. ‘Cause songs like this? Well, they’re the ultimate high.
And there’s no better place to be.
(Slimedog)
