December 22

On the 22nd in 1964, Lenny Bruce was convicted of obscenity. Viewed from a vantage point over 40 years on, Bruce’s conviction seems just plain silly. His brand of comedy now seems distressingly banal. But then again many things that at one time seemed frightening are now simply plain, edging ever closer to becoming unforgivably boring. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when rock and roll was innovative and dangerous; now it is nothing more than the rather tepid, corpulent beneficiary of corporate largesse. Today people react rather than respond to musicians like Marilyn Manson whereas they responded to Marc Bolan and Ziggy Stardust. There is a huge difference between reacting and responding and I find this development to be somewhat sad in a way. Personally, I think rock and roll was far more interesting when it was dangerous.