To Punk or Not To Punk

I was having a conversation with one of my friend's friend when i asked her my usual question I ask any new person I meet, " Do you listen to music?". She said yes and i asked her what is her genre of preference. She said she likes all genres of music which was said out of sheer diplomacy. Then i asked her what genre is she into right now and she said "PUNK". I was impressed and asked her who is her favorite artist in the genre. My stomach twisted a little when she said "AVRIL LAVIGNE"

If you need to piss me off this is one of the easiest ways to do it. Out of all the great artists like the Sex pistols, the Ramones and the Clash she had to mention this commercial wannabe sellout. I am a very broad minded person but there is only so much bullshit i can take. AVRIL LAVIGNE IS NOT PUNK.


Punk is poetry. Punk is a bold form of music which is Clear, to the point and very opinionated. It is a very well crafted message showcasing the perils and pitfalls of society. When i think of punk I remember lines like "Beat the brat with a base ball bat"
or "He wasn't fit to shuffle shit from one place to another" but the certainly not "Hey hey you you i want to be your girl friend". If that is punk then I am a 9 year old girl from Borneo.

So when I heard her refer to Avril Lavigne as punk I told her in the nicest way possible, " I got to go. you are giving me an ulcer" and walked away.

As 'NORM' al as ever.

Let me tell you a story, a story bout how i got the name 'Norm'. One fine evening a very good friend of mine walks up to me and says "Dude you gotta listen to this song" and played me a song on his phone. It was called 'Norm,the guy is cool' by a band named Tripwire. The song had a good riff and funny lyrics which you would like but wouldn't usually analyse for a deeper meaning. Well,thats what happened to me the first time. I liked the song but soon forgot about it. It was quite some time after that when me and my friend switched phones, that i heard the song again and it somehow got me hooked. I heard it a couple of times back to back and realised a good part of the song captured a good part of the person i was. The song was about a fat geek who loves to fart in any public and as much as this sounds like me there was another part that perfectly summed up what i thought of society, that it is designed to tear your creative side and push you into the downward spiral of being mediocre.

But Norm is one those people that who doesn't give a shit. He is constantly being judged for being the person he is. He is always being mocked for being different. But people dont realise that Norm is the one who will have a good night's sleep 'cause he has no issues regarding being true to himself. And doesn't waste time in pleasing people. He rather get wasted. So i truely believe that everyone in their own way should aspire to be like norm.

One more thing i pondered a bit about is when my friend told me the very first time i heard this song that it was about me. I thought he just said that because the character in the song was a freak. But i later realised that he had also analysed the song. So i truly thank him for making me listen to the song. Norm is what the world needs. Norm is a superhero. And although i am not close to the man he is i honestly aspire to be him in my own way.

Its been a long time since the first time i heard the song. But even today my friend calls me norm and i reply as a good friend sayin, "Buzz off you hippie".