We set the trash on fire...

The development of this future society is something which I intend to go in detail, although not here. I want to avoid the sort of nuke-blighted future that has been a feature of Dark Knight, Watchmen, Ronin, and a log of other futures presented in comic books and other media, like the Road Warrior films and their ilk, because I feel that is becoming something of a cliché, and, while it’s gone some way towards serving its purpose and alerting people to the dangers of the present day by pointing out the possible effects waiting in the future, I personally feel that it’s all but outlived its usefulness as a motif in Twentieth Century function and would prefer to come up with a different kind of holocaust. What I want to show is a world which, having lived through the terrors of the Fifties through the early Nineties with overhanging terror of a nuclear Armageddon that seemed inevitable at the time, has found itself faced with the equally inconceivable and terrifying notion that there might not be an apocalypse. That mankind might actually have a future, and might thus be faced with the terrifying prospect of having to deal with it rather than allowing himself the indulgence of getting rid of that responsibility with a convenient mushroom cloud or nine hundred. Following the predictions made by Alvin Toffler and other eminent futurologists, I want to show a future in which everything from the family structure to the economy is decentralizing into an entirely new form, that, while it might ultimately be better suited to survival in the changed conditions of life in the Twenty-First Century, is in a constant an incomprehensible state of flux and hcaos for those living through it, caught in one of those violent historical niches where one mode of society changes to another, through an upheaval more abstract and bizarre but every bit as violent, and as their institutions crumble in the face of the wave of social change, they find themselves clinging to the various clans who represent their only anchor of stability in this rapidly altering world.
-Alan Moore, in his Twilight of the Superheroes proposal

There's nothing wholly new or original in the above passage, but as I came across it a few minutes ago, it just sorta clicked with me and what I was thinking about for this post today. Well, sort of, but I'm running late with this and I just found out I might be going to see Springsteen tonight so I gotta keep shit relevant, you know? I'm not feeling especially apocalyptic or anything today, but then as soon as they're talking about people having sex with robots (seriously), you never know what to think. Anyway, I never really thought much about an apocalypse in my lifetime when I was younger, in fact I'm pretty sure I worked pretty hard not to. When I was in college, though, I had a Rhetoric in Politics class that really had an impact on me. Actually, it might be the only class from which I truly retained any knowledge whatsoever. One day during the middle of the semester, the professor (who was a major speechwriter and political analyst for some cable news station) started telling us about the Bay of Pigs, and how utterly scared he and all of his friends were at this point. He told us how he lugged a mattress and a case of whiskey down into the basement of his apartment building and spent the next 3 days hiding out down there with the lights off, having sex with his girlfriend and getting drunk by candlelight. He seemed almost nostalgic when he was telling us this (I guess nothing makes one appreciate existence more than the sudden thread of losing it, right?) and when he was finished he looked at the 50 or so kids in front of him and said "we were convinced that nobody was going to survive that situation. And you kids have been in closer calls than that a hundred times in your life without even realizing it". I tell this story a lot.
But goddamn that's a creepy thing to hear. and thinking about it now, I'm sure he was right. That threat of total annihilation isn't as serious now without an opposing superpower, but I guess even that hope is dwindling by the day. There's too many serially incompetent people in control of these sort of weapons not to be concerned. But as long as we're safe from the terrorists it's all good. Wait, what the fuck would nuclear weapons do against terrorists? Eh, who fucking cares, if it happens, you're not gonna have time to worry about it.
X was probably the first band that I ever considered to be postmodern in that sort of apocalyptic sense. Not so much in a physical sense, but a cultural one. Their lyrics were dark and ridden with ennui and lawlessness. I always think of Steve Erickson's writing (specifically Amnesiascope) when I listen to these guys, though the logical choice would've been Bret Easton Ellis. How come the whole X theme was completely deleted from the movie version of Less Than Zero? Blame Rick Rubin.
Listening to X now, though, I wonder how I ever thought them to be removed from the Rock and roll band that they are. Billy Zoom plays rockabilly guitar, fer chrissakes, and John Doe is the man that every fucking hipster on the planet wishes they could be whether they realize it or not. D.J. Bonebrake is every bit the standard rock drummer, and Exene. Well, barring Joan Jett there isn't a more important figure to the female rock singer than Exene Cervenka. I truly believe this. She was smart and sexy, and embodied everything that was lovable about that band. I forget who referred to has as "this little girl in giant combat boots", but I always think of that line when considering her.
A few years ago they all got back together (Billy Zoom had taken off for awhile, and there were some other problems in the band) and they've been touring for a few years now, kicking the shit out ov venues all across the country. I highly recommend you see them if you get the chance (they're touring with the Rollings Band this summer. How L.A. is that?), they're one of the tightest bands I can ever recal seeing, and they haven't lost a step in their absence. These songs are from a live record they recorded in L.A. in 2004.

"Blue Spark" - X
"I'm Coming Over" - X
"The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss" - X

Buy Live in Los Angeles here

Turns out I am going to this show tonight. Should be pretty great, I'll try to write a little something about it to post on Thursday.