General Punk Week: Let’s get something straight: General Punk Week is waaaaay different from last year’s Untitled Punk Week. Number one, General Punk Week is titled. Second of all, the songs of General Punk Week are borne from the furnace of Hephaestus, refined from the lake of fire into piercing sabers that emit showers of sparks as they lacerate the flaccid surface of propertied complacency, bloodily moving borders and deterrents into inexact geometry and bold new calibers of fortitude and enduringness. Untitled Punk Week is thrown together like Oscar Meyer meats in a Cobb salad. But whatever the case, General Punk Week is absolutely not intended to fill in seven-day gaps in the schedule between theme weeks that are more labored over with clearer intent! Certainly not! Never! That would never happen here! Like, ever. Nope.
Knots’ “Action” is a treasured slice of New York punk circa 1977. Agitated guy looking for sexual congress, all terms negotiable. According to an epic treatment about this song on the fine blog Attacking the Beat, it almost got Knots signed to Sire Records when it snatched the ear of legendary executive Seymour Stein. Reportedly the lead singer’s alcoholism stood between Stein’s fountain pen and the dotted line. But Knots’ single featuring this on the B-side and “Heartbreaker” on the A-side fetched a handsome $700 on eBay sometime last decade, prompting songwriter Joey Pinter to ask, “Who do I send the bill to?” I’d suggest trying to worm it through Trump’s accounts payable department. What’s the worst that could happen?
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