“The furthest extreme”: the artist John Lydon considered the new punk rock
When you think of extremes, it’s hard to imagine anyone more outrageous than John Lydon. Known more widely as Johnny Rotten, Lydon paved an entire career based solely on extremities. As the former frontman of the British punk band Sex Pistols, Lydon would more often than not take his lyrics, stage presence and public persona to daring new heights.
Lydon’s lyrics openly criticised British society, politics, and the monarchy, which incited outrage from media, politicians, and conservative social groups who weren’t used to such vocal backlash. After the Pistols disbanded in 1978, Lydon went on to form a slightly tamer project. While less shocking than his Sex Pistols days, he continued to be outspoken and confrontational, often making combative statements about the music industry, a habit he hasn’t quite shaken off.
During an interview with The Talks in 2012, Lydon was asked: “Is there anybody you can think of in the current music industry that resembles punk rock, even just a little bit?” In a typically blunt, paradoxical, Johnny Rotten fashion, he admitted a begrudging admiration for the singer: “I suppose the joy of Lady Gaga. Her audience likes to dress up and enjoys the pantomime of it.”
Lydon goes on to praise Gaga with an overriding, biting critique, one that feels far harsher than your basic backhanded compliment. After having a dig at her musicianship, he goes on to acknowledge her appearance as a form of punk in itself, adding: “The songs stink, the music stinks, but the lyrics are kind of sharp and witty. I like that. You see, Lady Gaga is quite an ugly person, but she’s made herself beautiful by going to the furthest extreme. And that’s what punk did, you know?”
For many who have watched her career closely from the beginning, Gaga has been a trailblazer for contemporary pop music, high fashion and a beacon of hope for people of all generations wanting to embrace their sexuality and identity. Since first bursting onto the scene in 2008 with ‘Just Dance’ as a ripe 20-year-old, Gaga has inevitably slowed down in recent years, concentrating on other endeavours like acting and philanthropy, as well as releasing a major autobiographical documentary.
Although just as influential, outspoken and busier than ever, it seems that the need to shock and impress fans and the wider press with gushing fake blood or a garish meat-clad dress is no longer felt, or some might say, less required than it would have been for a young woman entering the industry during the gossip column empire of the late 2000s.
Lydon’s words encapsulate the “ugliness” that defines punk at its core. Punk, for Lydon, is a vehicle through which social norms can be subverted, even if that rebellion is unpalatable or offensive – much like his views on Gaga. By valuing only her “witty” lyrics, he indirectly suggests that she – and, by extension, other women in the music industry – must prove their worth beyond their talents. On the one hand, you could view his opinion on Gaga as a medium for celebrating individuality, encouraging others to abandon traditional beauty standards. On the other, Lydon has defaulted to his usual shock value soundbites to create divisiveness, a sharp reminder that punk, for all its defiance, sometimes mirrors the very judgments it claims to reject.
When asked if he had taken a step back from the ‘excessiveness’ attributed to the rock and roll lifestyle, Lydon proudly denied ever doing so, explaining: “I haven’t! I’m no Puritan, not by any stretch. I’m quite comfortable doing what I do, and I see no need to cease anything. I’m not habitual. I could never be addicted to a substance, because I get bored with doing the same thing over and over.”
With a semi-retired outlook and a nightmare-worthy Country Life advert on his CV, it’s safe to say that by today’s standards, Lady Gaga is far more ‘punk’ than Lydon could now ever hope to be.
