Jen Perry "Raincoats".

 ■ Jen Perry "Raincoats".

The Japanese translation for a four-year-old book, written about the 1979 debut in the UK of an all-girls band, was published at the end of 2021.

This is what I consider and revere, alongside PiL, as punk.

The full album is available to listen on YouTube, so please at least give the first track a chance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQlX3jgAbvc

Go Punk. This is my topic.

I define "punk" as "destroy to create."

It's about overturning history, tradition, and lineage to create something new.

It involves breaking style, fashion, legitimacy, and common sense to build anew on what remains.

Once what's been overturned to create anew has then become stylized and fashionable, it's no longer punk; it turns into a target to make punk.

That's why punk is hard to sustain.

The punk music born after the start of punk is like enka (a traditional-style of Japanese popular ballads), and punk fashion is the traditional dress accompanying it.

The Raincoats were punk only up to their second album in 1981, as was PiL. Which is just enough.

The Raincoats. Drums, guitar, bass, violin, vocals.

Each part is independent in their own free spirited way, yet synchronizes.

Precariously delicate, suddenly fierce, and screaming.

One part rushes while another loosens up, playing with dissonance, achieving unity.

It miraculously works.

Dressed in plain everyday clothes, their sound is the true essence of being completely exposed.

Giving the soul a straightforward ride in a distorted, non-linear way.

Wild and minimal, opposite of pretentious artistry.

That’s why conventional rock fans and critics often harshly criticize it.

This is punk.

Oddly unique and standing apart.

Yet neither soaring at the pinnacle nor incomprehensible, but popular.

An irreplaceable presence gleaming in the rich nook of our world.

Perhaps it makes sense if I compare it to Henri Rousseau's paintings, Tsuge Tadao's manga, Ichiyo Higuchi's novels, or Pasolini's films.

Guitar (Ana da Silva) from Madeira, Portugal.

Bass (Gina Birch) from Andalusia, Spain.

Drums (Palmolive) from Nottingham, UK.

Violin (Vicky Aspinall) from South Africa.

Although I have no interest in the political aspect conducted by these girls from the countryside, the music they create is very much universal.

The all-girls lineup was only for the first album in 1979; from the second in 1981, a man joined on drums, changing the dynamic.

In the meantime, in 1980, John Lydon of PiL declared, “Rock’n’roll is shit … music has reached an all-time low – except for The Raincoats.”

PiL and The Raincoats were both making waves in London at the same time.

I, too, took in that atmosphere in London.

This book also serves as a mirror reflecting my youth.

In 1981, I raised my hand for an initiative by the Kyoto Yamashiro Lions Club, chaired by the president of Fukujuen’s Iemon, Mr. Fukui, and went on a short study abroad trip to the UK.

Amidst the light and shadow of London, turbulent due to the "British disease," yet energetic for the Royal Wedding, I walked the streets listening to PiL and The Raincoats on the first model Walkman.

That winter, upon my return, Shōnen Knife was formed.

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana loved both Shōnen Knife and The Raincoats.

In 1992, Nirvana and Shōnen Knife toured the UK together.

That same year, The Raincoats were also scheduled to tour the UK with them.

Just a week before the tour began, Kurt Cobain committed suicide with a shotgun.

During the summer of 1981 in London, I eagerly bought up singles from Rough Trade Records discussed in this book.

Cabaret Voltaire, Peru Ubu, Kleenex, The Pop Group, Young Marble Giants, The Slits.

And Scritti Politti, treated much like The Raincoats’ group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn4HC2Dfm_k

Scritti Politti became a popular, rhythmic pop band in the 1980s, but they were a punk band only with their 1979 singles.

Their 16mm films of that era still remain on YouTube.

I bought those two singles seen in the below footage; they are so precious to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn4HC2Dfm_k

The reason I’m recounting my story from 40 years ago is that there hasn't been a musical impact that surpasses that era.

Alternative, grunge, hip-hop. J-POP, K-POP.

Even though rock has evolved since then, I remain frozen in the moment of 1979-1981.

Perhaps it was a blessing to have been showered in such profound influence during a sensitive period.

As punk, such as The Raincoats, is revisited on its 40th anniversary, one wonders why this book now.

Perhaps it’s because contemporaries like myself are aging and reaching our final years.

Punk emerged 30–40 years after rock's genesis, when expression had become saturated.

Now, 40 years later, have we reached another impasse? Is that why there’s a reassessment?