McLaren is Dead

Malcolm McLaren, manager of the infamous, yet relatively boring Sex Pistols, died today in Switzerland. What!? Yeah, I said it!

The Sex Pistols were not as amazing as their offspring and followers. It's a fact that hordes of disaffected youth in Britain and the US started bands after hearing Sex Pistols records or seeing them live. However, The Pistols weren't as compelling as Public Image Ltd. (P.I.L.) - the group John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) started after the breakup. Nor were they as innovative as Joy Division whose members decided to get serious about music after seeing The Pistols slog through a frantic show in Manchester.

That said, the group were terribly important to the burgeoning punk scene in London and Manchester and became the de facto poster boys for the UK punk scene of the late 70s despite breaking up in 1978. They remain the goto group for teenagers on both sides of the pond when having a conversation about 'punk' music. Their t-shirts still sell and their mystique lives on as I suspect it will for generations. After all, with names like Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten in the band... there has to be something there, right?

Anyway, this was supposed to be about Malcolm McLaren. After his career with The Pistols, he went on to do various odd things such as selling S&M gear. Nevertheless, he didn't abandon music. In fact, he went on to make some relatively interesting stuff over the years. His 1983 club/dance album Duck Rock was actually pretty innovative and sold quite well. I recall a line in Trainspotting where Sick Boy and Renton are talking about it...