Hands Off The Plasmatics

I’ve moaned about this here before, but it disheartens me to see people blithely pick from the carcass of The Plasmatics when they were so roundly disrespected in their day.

Sure, you might think they looked cool —and they damn well did —but unless you were genuinely invested in them, you shouldn’t go around appropriating their aesthetic unless you’re prepared to back it up with comparable aplomb.

I’m talking, of course, about Miley Cyrus, whose new album and promotional initiative pay a lot of lip service to her alleged “punk” roots and fandom for the Plasmatics. Witness the cover art on the right...

Speaking as someone who was unduly fond of the Plasmatics while they were still a going concern —for better or worse —I still harbor a lot of fond associations with the band. That they’ve been reduced to a punchline —especially considering the 1998 suicide of Wendy O. Williams —or a fetching t-shirt to be worn either ironically or by revisionist millennial twits is a fucking travesty.

Waggling your tongue about, wearing skimpy clothes and talking a load of crap does not equate you with the Plasmatics. For their myriad faults, the Plasmatics traded in provocation flecked with the dangerous and the verboten (granted, maybe not as much as, say, GG Allin or Missing Foundation, but those are different stories). The Plasmatics were loud, gloriously obnoxious, indelicate and endearingly ludicrous. They did a lot of stupid shit to be sure, but what they DIDN’T do was write and play slick, schmaltzy radio-friendly, r&b-flecked pop tunes.

As such, let’s leave their fucking iconography alone, shall we?

Comments

[Alondra]

Thank you for this I’m disgusted she did this. She’s ridiculous and keeps stealing things. Untalented. Makes me angry. Disrespectful!!!

[Karas' Mom]

Why you do theese to me Demi?

WHY?!!

[S. Norman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rrfrrYYv4

[S. Norman]

Odd... There was this quote from an article:
"If we look at my career as an entirety, there's always that kind of punk rock provocateur". Dubious even after correcting for grammar. It has since been changed to: “If we seek for at my occupation as an entirety, there’s repeatedly that more or less punk rock provocateur." Why bother?
The whole article reads like a Google translate job.

https://newshimalaya.com/2020/08/18/miley-cyrus-says-her-upcoming-album-will-be-utterly-assorted-from-heart-of-the-night-sky/

[Natasha]

As a millennial twit although not a revisionist one, I might add - I wholeheartedly agree with you! It does my head in when banal cretins, like Mylie Cyrus, totally rip of the aesthetic of an awesome band, like the Plasmatics and attach it to total tripe.

[jul]

it's clearly an homage, yall never get tired of gatekeeping

[Alex in NYC]

No one is denying it's homage, but it's a superficial homage. Want to genuinely pay tribute? Then cover "Masterplan," "Fast Food Service" or "Lunacy" instead of Blondie's "Heart of Glass."

[Jeremhie]

Miley has been paying hommage to a lot of rock legends on her album. She doesn't hide about paying tribute to the Plasmatic, she even wore one of their shirt on her last interview. It's a tribute, nothing more. Moreover, it's a good way for a younger generation to know about them. As someone who's 20 and who's not american i've never heard about them before Miley references them in her album !

[Steve Mesa]

I am feeling a bit conflicted on this. I am a 90s punk fanboy who came to love the punk anti-establishment vibe via The Offspring. (Best selling punk album of all time) From there many other less mainstream bands. She's definitely ripping off Wendy o, but I had not run into The Plasmatics until I saw Miley rocking the shirt. Went out and bought 3 Plasmatic albims....love Wendy O RIP

[BezBez]

I draw the line at the fact that her sound and the lady ten years of her artistry really just seems like modeling herself off of The Plasmatics. If it's about increasing exposure, why is it her voice sounds like Wendy? Why did I never really hear her talk about them? That doesn't mean she never referenced them. It is an indicator of frequency though. Awareness is something you cultivate. If you take away the references, it's intellectual property theft.

[troublepeach12]

Gen Z will call it gatekeeping. Punk millennials will be reminded of the time Ramones shirts were worn by everyone and their mom. Boomers will stay mad.