I'm now most of the way through A Drink With Shane MacGowan, a biography of the former Pogues front man. The man is a messed up but undeniable genius. More on that in a later blog.

What really strikes me reading it is how important group identity is (or was) in London, compared to here in the US. In the 70s at least, everyone there was either a hippie, soul boy, mod, rocker, lad, punk, or whatever, each with their own music, style of dress, haircut, etc... I mean, that sort of thing here certainly occurs here, what with gangs and cliques and such, but I think we prize individuality a lot more. On the flip side, I think fear of appearing conformist prevents us achieving some of the highs -- in achievement AND enjoyment -- that can be reached as a group.

Interesting also was his assertion that punk was the first really egalitarian youth movement to appear in England. Like, for the first time, a woman could walk down the street with six guys without being considered loose.