Thoreau, Punk, & the Uncompromising Spirit

If there is one significant quality that is synonymous with both Thoreau and punk, it is an uncompromising sensibility. From an early age, Thoreau did not capitulate, did not give in, did not compromise when it came to values and beliefs. Such a firm conviction is what inspired him to quit his first teaching job rather than give in to the expectation, even the requirement, that he implement corporal punishment. He would not hit his students, and so he quit. The same can be for one of his most well-known revolutionary acts – the refusal to pay his taxes in protest of the Mexican-American War and to subsequently go to jail rather than capitulate, rather than compromise. 

Interestingly, just like Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, Johnny Ramone, and pretty much the entire hardcore punk scene, Thoreau was often described as “prickly” and grumpy and not particularly concerned with making others happy. In The Adventures of Henry David Thoreau: a Young Man’s Unlikely Path to Walden Pond, Michael Sims writes how Thoreau “never strove to be popular and seemed not only resigned to not fitting in, but to sometimes revel in it.” For example, in some ways he was even dressing punk in the 1830s – while black was the standard dress for church, Thoreau might show up wearing green. He wore what he wanted, ate what he wanted, did what he wanted, and lived how he wanted, and he did so at a time and in a place that was much more reserved and homogeneous than the society where punk arose a century and a half later. 

So much of contemporary society, especially in terms of music and popular culture has always been about giving in, softening or amplifying an original vision in submission to a more popular and broader one. In fact, the record industry and consumer have so strictly demanded compromise, from song length to haircuts on the album cover, that such rules are a primary reason punk remained outside of the mainstream. For, truly, to become part of the mainstream there has to be compromise. If an uncompromising sense is paramount to punk, then the founder of Civil Disobedience must be the most punk of all. An uncompromising spirit is a key to punk, as it is a key to Thoreau.

The Politics of Thoreauvian Punk

Thoreau’s innovations in American political thought, specifically in an uncompromising sense of justice and a refusal to capitulate to what is easy or popular, is also the essence of punk rock, which is associated with challenging institutional authority on everything from musical forms to clothing styles to language. Just as Black Flag’s Henry Rollins and Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin led the charge for many second wave punk bands calling out the bankrupt '80s economic positions of the Reagan Revolution, Henry David Thoreau rejected and refused to support the foreign policy disasters of President Polk, and he openly challenged any passive acceptance of the institution of slavery, especially in his native Massachusetts following the capture and re-enslavement of Anthony Burns, per passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Thoreau's passionate defense of abolitionist Captain John Brown is one of his most aggressive and overtly political stances, indicating a support for civil disobedience by violent means if necessary. Thoreau’s support for Brown in opposition to Brown’s conviction and execution was resolute and unwavering. 

In taking the very public stands he did, Henry David Thoreau was a true American original, as significant as any of the Founding Fathers for his innovative and influential political and philosophical ideas. While not overly famous in his lifetime, Thoreau has only grown in fame over the past one hundred and fifty years. In his eulogy Emerson noted, “no truer American existed than Thoreau.” Thoreau's connection to contemporary society specifically in punk culture is related to the passion and determination with which both operate. Henry Rollins has said he believes punk is where you have “young people in vitality,” and nothing could be a more apt description of Thoreau. Pushing back against authority and the established norms of the time was a key motivator in the life of Henry Thoreau, and it is a guiding principle of punk. When Thoreau walked into the woods to build his cabin and see if he could “live deliberately” it was an absolute expression of what is now known as Punk.

Walden Pond Punk

Henry David Thoreau has played many roles as an American writer and philosopher – environmentalist, abolitionist, progressive, libertarian, and punk rock poet. While the punk label is less well known, if acknowledged at all, it’s every bit as valid and worthy of discussion. The punk of Thoreau, the transcendental punk whose lineage runs throughout American history, is not the stereotyped punk of spiked hair, tattered clothes, anarchy symbols splayed across leather jackets, mosh pits, slam dancing, and loud, fast, riveting guitar rock. It’s the punk of individual liberty, authenticity in the sense of self, and the rejection of conformity amidst a mindless society.

This small paragraph is the beginning of a piece I published several years ago with Pop Matters. It's really the beginning of the idea that I have now decided might be a longer project, a book even. Read the rest of the piece here:

Henry Thoreau as Performance Art

 Far from being a hermit and a recluse in the woods, Henry Thoreau actually lived a very public life, and he was every bit a citizen of his Concord community. As I've noted before, if Thoreau truly hated people and wanted to go off and live in the woods somewhere secluded, he easily could have and would have. Instead, as Laura Dassow Wells notes in her esteemed biography, "... the circumstances meant it [his journey] would be performed on a very public stage. His two years living at Walden Pond became and remain an iconic work of performance art."

Thoreau's experiment at the pond was meant to be seen and talked about, for he intended to be "a rooster crowing to bring in the dawn." He had a strong message to deliver to his neighbors, whom he feared lived "lives of quiet desperation," and he wanted to be asked about his work, his thoughts, his realizations, and his insights. The economic argument in which he grounds - and introduces - his performance was enthusiastic social commentary, calling out and even mocking the drab, dour existence of the Puritans as well as the work-driven existence promoted by Adam Smith.

Because the market economy and the rise of consumer culture treated people inhumanely as simple cogs in a machine, and because writers like Smith promoted well-being and self-worth solely through material wealth and the exchange of labor for money, Thoreau saw people diminished to an inauthentic human experience. He sought to explore and model a life lived for experience and knowledge. And, in many ways, the philosopher in him took the action of living his performance as a test of whether man could live as he believed.

Wild & Free

Here's the final Thoreau mixed media piece I recently put together last weekend. This uses a shadow print of Felix Edouard Vallotton’s portrait over selections from Thoreau essays “Walking” and “Civil Disobedience.” While Thoreau is obviously known first and foremost for Walden, and as a nature writer, he was also an ardent advocate for individual liberty. Civil Disobedience is perhaps his second best known piece, while "Walking" is known mostly to Thoreau scholars and fans for its discussion on his "case for the Wild."

Wild Heart

 Another Thoreau-inspired mixed media piece. This piece draws from the Lynchian theme "Wild at Heart and Weird on Top," and works in some Thoreau quotes on "the Wild." While many know Thoreau as an early environmentalist and nature writer, many of his passages are often misquoted as talking about "wilderness" rather than "wildness."

Thoreauvian Wild

 I've been meaning to do some Thoreau-inspired mixed media art that emphasizes the Thoreauvian Punk vibe I've been writing about. So, when a local gallery put out a show call centered on David Lynch and his film Wild at Heart, I figured it was the perfect time. 

I'm decently happy with this piece, though I'm still learning the technique.

These Are the Best Music Venues in Fort Collins

Home to the Fort Collins Musicians Association, FoCo, or Fort Collins, CO, is a town that is overflowing with live music from local and touring musicians. Home to the heart of Colorado's craft beer industry and a legendary punk rock recording studio The Blasting Room, Fort Collins is a dream location for musical artists, young and old. In fact, I loved the music scene so much after visiting for FoCoMX, the local music festival, that I moved here. I just published a feature on the best places to see live music in town:

Fort Collins, home to FoCoMX, the "biggest little music festival in America," is a genuine music town that can rival the best in the country for its support of the local scene. Anchored by a tight-knit community of musicians and artists through the Fort Collins Musicians Association, the area is always vibing to great music across every imaginable genre. Fort Collins residents simply love to go out for live music, many doing so several nights a week, and there's no lack of opportunities.

Just a drive up I-25 from Denver, FoCo's thriving music scene is supported by a seemingly endless network of bars, breweries, restaurants and venues that showcase the best in both local and national touring music. Discover your next favorite music venue in Fort Collins below:

For the complete list, check out the rest of the story at Westword.com

What is Punk & Who is Thoreau?

In a video clip asking What is Punk?, former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins explains that punk in his view is “everything from the Velvet Underground to Occupy Wall Street and everything in between.” In that regard, then, Rollins, like many other punk musicians and artists, moves the term beyond simply a descriptor for a musical genre and into the realm of an idea, an attitude, a philosophy, a subculture, and even a socio-political movement. A similar board stroke could be used to characterize the life, identity, persona, and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, who defied simple explanations and encompassed a universe of ideas during his brief forty-four year life. Henry was a brilliant young man who lived, studied, worked, and wrote at the time of the New England Renaissance. Punk is a musical style that originated in New York and London in the early to mid 1970s with the rise of bands like Television, the Ramones, the Clash, and the Sex Pistols. Henry was a Harvard graduate who worked as a surveyor while also writing essays and poetry. Punk is a anti-authoritarian subculture that coalesced around alternative styles which rejected and challenged mainstream institutions. Thoreau was “simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.” Punk is three chords and aggressive beats. Thoreau was an abolitionist who developed and articulated ideas of civil disobedience to challenge the abuse and overreach of government. Punk is an attitude that rejects oppression by societal institutions that are unresponsive to the margins of society. Thoreau was a man who “lived deliberately … front[ing] only the essential facts of life.” Punk is a way of life boiled down to the essentials.

Groundhog Day — “An Existential New Year”

It’s not about monotony — it’s about re-birth.

Twenty-six years ago, an unassuming little film about a cantankerous weatherman on the most random of holidays became a pop culture phenomenon that ingrained itself in our consciousness. The title became a metaphor for reluctantly acknowledging the dailiness of life. With the silly story of Phil Connors waking up everyday in Punxsutawney, PA, with Sonny and Cher singing “I’ve Got You Babe” on an endless string of February seconds, Groundhog Day entered the lexicon as a way to describe the drudgery and repetition of daily life. But the movie was never simply about the mundane nature of existence. It was always about self-awareness and second chances and reinvention and hope.

Let’s face it, by February 2 the New Year’s resolutions are fading, the fitness centers are back to the regulars, and we’re all bogged down in the drudgery of winter. These moments are ripe for a bit of pop culture existentialism, and the quirky film from Harold Ramis and Danny Rubin puts that long cold winter, the odd little holiday, and the repetitiveness of daily life in perspective. Watching the story of a disgruntled weatherman pondering the absurdity of a weather-forecasting rodent provides a second chance at mid-winter self-reflection and re-invention. The conceit of the film is not only the ridiculous holiday but also the inexplicable weirdness of Phil Connors’ predicament.

The film Groundhog Day is actually a wonderful primer for the wisdom of existentialism, and when I taught the philosophy in my college literature class, I would often lead or conclude with a viewing of Bill Murray’s brilliant portrayal of a man trying to bring some sense of meaning to a life that seems nothing short of absurd ....

Read the rest of the story on Medium

Dead Pioneers Are Punk Rock’s New Conscience

I've written about this new punk band out of Denver before for the alt-weekly Westword. In the past year, the band has seen some incredible growth and exciting new opportunities.

Gregg Deal has a warning for everyone: “America is a pyramid scheme, and youain’t on top!” The self-proclaimed “Bad Indian” behind the new Denver punk band Dead Pioneers delivers that blunt assessment in the opening track “Tired” from the band’s 2023 self-titled first album. It’s a scathing indictment of capitalism, racism, sexism, and every insidious side of prejudice and corruption pulsing through contemporary American society.

Delivered in aggressive spoken word against a backdrop of riveting punk guitar riffs from veteran punk rockers Josh Rivera and Abe Brennan, the song launches a new band, a new sound, and a necessary, timely new voice in punk rock music. Though Deal ends the song by acknowledging, “I’m so very, very tired,” he has channeled that centuries-long weariness into a powerful, energetic music project that projects a bold social consciousness.

Read the rest of the story at PopMatters.

Thoreauvian Punk: Rebel and Revolt

 Few political theorists ever note the political side of Henry Thoreau's writing, and, true to form, Thoreau often disavowed any explicitly political slant to his writing. However, that's difficult to accept of one of American history's most ardent abolitionists and a man who wrote a pivotal piece of American political philosophy that has come to be known as Civil Disobedience.

Scholar and Vermont history professor Bob Pepperman Taylor has written two books specifically focused on the political angle of Thoreau's work, and in a classic punk rock connection, Pepperman notes that "Thoreau exhibits a young person's rebelliousness." A classic criticism of Thoreau has been that his writings, especially early pieces, were "so youthful as to appear immature." Was Thoreau too young and inexperienced to be a true political philosopher? Or was the spirit of his passion, young and inexperienced, not old and jaded. 

Pepperman also observes how Thoreau's reflections on economy in the opening section of Walden enable us to "think of Thoreau as the first and perhaps greatest American writer to attack the complacency of the emerging American middle class." And that characterization is an apt connection to the early 80s post-punk, early hardcore of Greg Graffin's band Bad Religion and Henry Rollins work with Black Flag.