Pure Punk Pick
The Avengers – “I Believe In Me”
So straight up- The Avengers and Richard Hell & The Voidoids are my all-time favorite punk bands.
This is not my favorite Avengers song, though there’s so many of them, but it is surely the song that means the most to me, that I most want to write about.
Penelope Houston, the singer and lyricist of the band, has said she was very influenced by Patti Smith, who I love, also.
Patti Smith is and was a poet, long before she sang and wrote songs. And she often likes to improvise word-wise in her songs. And I’m assuming that Penelope got the idea from her for this songs structure.
The chorus of this song was written before it was recorded, just two lines, really, but all the verses are improvised. And she still sticks to that format when she performs this song live today.
And though the band disbanded in the late seventies, she along with the guitarist still occasionally performs as The Avengers and I’ve been lucky enough to see them three times. Twice at the defunct TT’s The Bears in Cambridge and once at the legendary Gilman Street in Berkeley, California.
After a Ramones like 1,2,3,4- this song comes barreling out with smashing chords sounding like if The Who were hopped up on speed (which they probably were but why didn’t they play this fast?)
“I believe in me. I make my dreams real. I believe in me. I believe in me.”
This song has the perfect balance, like many early punk songs, of an aggressive, almost arrogant statement coupled with an unsure, bluster- an awkward proclamation. I’m thinking of song like the Dead Boys “Sonic Reducer,” which to me gives it a lot of its’ charm.
Maybe you can point out some song that has as much energy, more feeling and desire, more over-the-top excitement, than this tune. But I have to go by the fact, that to my knowledge, that song doesn’t exist.
The instruments grind and pull with so much energy that it’s like the world’s about to end and we’ve got one last kick, one last “Fuck You” to get in. And, it’s true, that is how a lot of punks felt back then, that the world and we were headed to oblivion, and unfortunately, for many it was true.
So much joy, so much desperation, so much intelligence and creativity, and awareness and danger sparking off of every second, every moment of this time, reflected in every sound of this release.
“I Believe In Me,” just not the song but the notion, is a great thing to believe in , I believe. Probably the next best thing next to punk to believe in.
Because, you know why? Society is wrong- Newsflash!- it generally sucks! And if society is saying you are wrong, it’s pretty much a given, there’s a really, great chance that you are on the right track. That you are not only equal but most certainly, better than any of the bullshit they’re trying to force feed you.
You should say- I believe in me because I’m a minority.
I believe in me because I’m a woman.
I believe in me because I’m gay.
I believe in me because I’m transgender.
I believe in me because I just don’t fit in with the narrow constraints that society spells out concerning gender, sexuality and lifestyle.
I believe in me, because I believe in music that’s unpopular, music that will always be, unpopular, and I reject politics geared toward a common denominator and instead, actually think for myself. And I believe in all of you reading this because, I assume, I believe you’re some kind of misfit like me.
And I believe in The Avengers who were a ferocious, punk band out of San Fran that epitomized the best aspects of punk- full of passion, full of energy, full of political, and personal awareness that set my ears and brain on fire back in the seventies with their urgent, vibrant art and that fire’s still not been put out or extinguished today.
And it’s not so much I believe in me, but I do believe in the current punk community I write about. I believe in everyone, strongly, with an unwavering, intensity that can’t be matched.
And I believe that the young will rise and right the rotting corpse our society is right now. I believe you all will correct all the wrongs and lead us to a better life, a better way.
I believe in this song, I believe in The Avengers, I believe in punk rock… but most of all-
I believe in you.
(Slimedog)
