The song John Lydon said anyone could retire after: “More than enough for a lifetime”
Does any artist get better on their 11th record? Has anyone ever uttered the phrase, ‘Oh, I wasn’t really into them until they finally clicked into gear around the album 16 mark’? For every rule, there are undoubted exceptions, but there is certainly something to be said for the power of the inspired and unrefined early days… especially in the realm of punk.
The Sex Pistols only mustered a solitary album, and aside from the asterisk of tragedy attached to that, from an artistic point of view, did they really have to deliver any more? There is a purity to Never Mind the Bollocks that still proves potent and resonant. Things ending when they did (not in the way they did), allowed John Lydon to set off down an experimental path.
That experimentalism has imbued PiL’s output with a sense of freshness at each turn. Lydon is never attempting to recapture former glories, because it’s perfectly clear that the punk horse has bolted, and it is a horse of no return. That can happen in music, when a Promethean work is never bettered, and nor should any artist attempt to do so without realising that retreading old ground can prove futile.
Reflecting on this concept, Lydon mused on the similarly outspoken Kurt Cobain, and commented to SongFacts, “As far as I’m aware, Kurt wrote one really excellent song, called ‘Teen Spirit’, which I think is more than enough for anyone in a lifetime. Even writing one most perfect pop song is quite great, that.”
While reducing Cobain’s back catalogue down to a solitary hit might trigger a fair few Nirvana fans, the pertinent point is the concept Lydon raises of effectively retiring after a masterpiece. While Nirvana obviously had more to offer, and even the band themselves somewhat dismissed ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, there is something to be said about its iconic status.
With a riveting hook, the anthemic track shone through the 1990s like an assegai of punk reimagined. It was almost anti-performative, but it remained rebellious, and joyously accessible. These were all tenets that Lydon admired, commenting to Pitchfork, “I remember being very angry at their album title being Nevermind. I thought Nevermind? Have you lost your bollocks or something? I was drawing a line on it all, perhaps too sharply.”
However, he conceded, “But I have to say ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is one of pop music’s all-time greatest.”
With a punchiness and prowess, the song landed like a mission statement, and it’s not often you can happen across one of those. That’s what Lydon recognised when he said, “That song is firmly embedded in my psyche. So, I forgive them. Most bands can’t come up with one complete song, and sometimes one is enough.”
