Punk in unusual places

At the moment I'm engrossed in an increasingly immense and complicated durational study of newspaper reports, books, films and advertising between the years 1975 and 1995 to assess how punk was written about, used, portrayed and how the written accounts, use of punk, and portrayals shifted and changed over time.

I haven't discovered what I expected to discover, it's been much more random and unexpected than that.

But I have been reminded of two TV ads from the late '80s which, at the time, I took at face value being young, but which in the first instance now seems definitely both weird and of its time and, in the second instance, still seems as hilarious as when I first saw it.

What Mary Did Next

Mary Timony, formerly of US riot grrrls Helium, and more recently of post riot grrrl supergroup Wild Flag, has an exciting new musical project on the go.

They are called Ex Hex, and comprise of Timony, Laura Harris and Betsy Wright. They will be releasing their debut album, Rips, in October.

In the meantime, here is an excellent sampler track, 'Don't Wanna Lose', which makes me nostalgic for the Go-Go's, Magnapop and Bratmobile.