The Punk Prophecies of John Cale
October 24th, 2002
Having recently acquired some bootleg John Cale live recordings from the early 1980’s, I am in utter shock at the downright poignancy that’s hidden within the music I’m hearing, especially in light of current events… or maybe it’s just me reading into things again. Twenty years ago critics passed off these rough-cut performance pieces as the fascist-like ranting of a Welsh musical prodigy (or otherwise madman). Yet, these European recordings, which reflect Cale’s avant-garde style and his short-lived flirtation with punk politics and primal urgency, could stand today as both a sharp narrative satire and a biting criticism to much of our modern chaos.
Musically, the songs put off just enough pop sensibility to be highly listenable, but not in the sense of today’s light-hearted teen melodies. The short guitar riffs infused with baroque-like piano segues offset the downward spiral and moodiness contained within the songs. Cale was obviously feeling morbid in thought when he wrote most of this material.
Now that I’m a little more familiar with his solo work, I’ve learned a new appreciation for him beyond just being a founding creative member of the Velvet Underdground. If today’s generation of rock wanna-be stars isn’t drawing any kind of inspiration from Cale’s unique body of work, it would only be further proof that they have been hopelessly duped into acceptance of a bland musical atmosphere.