Tonight We're Going To Give It 35%

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Here's your question and answer of the week from the Punknews Formspring:

Q: Do you have any hero(es)?

A: Sure. I've got lots of heroes. My parents and siblings for one. Maybe the reason I've never really fit in with the punk crowd is that I don't hate my parents. In fact, my parents continue to inspire me to this very day.

But, on a less sappy angle, I respect people who go the distance and take chances. A lot of people like to give props to artists that quit while they were ahead… or died while they were ahead…. but to me, I respect the artist who achieves greatness, and then jeopardizes his/her "image" and strives for that same thing again. If I may quote Nas, because last I checked, Nas was the hallmark standard for punk, "Oh, you went platinum? That's nice. now let's see you do the same thing twice, three times, four times, then a couple of more times…"

Platinum can mean any number of things, so I respect artists who dare to keep trying to make good art. To me, that's the true artist and not the guy who makes a few good works and then quits or makes a few good works and then doesn't take any further risks.

So, I respect artists like Keith Morris, The Melvins, Jello, Blag, and all the other guys who kept on keepin on, and making neat stuff later on down the line.

I also respect artists who were prolific and revolutionary for their time. Shakespeare is awesome, yo. I mean, like, really, Shakespeare wrote some awesome stories. Mark Twain is another champion. He has waaaaay more beyond Tom and Huck. Catullus and Plautus are both ultimate homeboys.

Sometimes punk urges to "destroy your heroes," but I think that's a stupid concept. A hero is an ideal which you can strive for, or even just a fuel for your own works. Seeing that Mark Twain wrote so many awesome stories, and had such killer dialogue allows me to say to myself "I'm gunning for your spot, Twainny." It doesn't even matter if the real mark twain doesn't live up to his reputation, because it's the reputation that you sets your saites on, not the person.

I think the "no more heroes" idea came from the fact that people saw a disconnect between their concepts of legends and the actual people. Well, boo dee hoo hoo. Get over it. No one is perfect. Just because you can't ever achieve perfection doesn't mean that you shouldn't strive for it.

-John G

P.S. Okay, okay. Men at Work's "Business as Usual" is perfect. Also, Misfits.

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