Cowpunk?

**Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:49 pm**

I guess I'm behind the times. I first encountered the word "cowpunk" in the thread on the BBC folk series but saw it a couple of times in James's articles. What characteristics of the Pogues permit them to be described as "cowpunk?"

I looked on Wikipedia and Google but they weren't too helpful.

-Nate

**Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:28 am**

That's a new one to me. Perhaps it refers to punk with a country tinge?

**Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:01 am**

Reference.com (from Psychobilly article):<blockquote>"Cowpunk" was a subgenre of psychobilly confined to southern California in the 1980s, especially Los Angeles. It tended to downplay the fashion elements, and grew directly out of the influence of bands like the Cramps and The Gun Club with few direct ties to the British movement. Bands associated with cowpunk include Blood On The Saddle, The Lazy Cowgirls, The Screamin' Sirens, Frank Black and the Catholics, Tex and the Horseheads, and others. Social Distortion, while initially a melodic hardcore punk band, had moved in a cowpunk direction in the late 1980s. The influence of cowpunk today is most apparent in the work of Reverend Horton Heat and The Supersuckers, and traces of its influence can be detected in some of the work of The White Stripes.</blockquote>Full URL

Wikipedia insists Cowpunk or Country Punk is a subgenre of punk rock that began in southern California in the 1980s... and so on..

Allmusic.com:
<blockquote>A precursor to the alternative country-rock of the decade to follow, Cowpunk was a 1980s phenomenon incorporating the mood and texture of traditional country music with the energy and attitude of punk. </blockquote> Full URL with examples

Rhapsody.com:
<blockquote>A forerunner of the 1990s Alt-Country phenomenon, Cowpunk flourished for a time in the '80s as Jason and the Scorchers, the Beat Farmers and Dash Rip Rock built up solid cult followings. The music itself was a manic take on country music, fusing Punk's raw energy and rough-hewn playing with rural themes and fashion. Though not as focused nor polished as the Alt Country that arose a decade later, Cowpunk was nonetheless a key component in the '80s Punk scene; floating around the fringes, yet unique and pervasive enough to be taken seriously. </blockquote> Full URL with examples

**Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:40 am**

Cheers MacRua,

I don't know if that sheds much light on the use of the term as it applies to the Pogues, though. It doesn't seem like the Pogues looked like anything emanating from Southern California -- but Mr. Fearnley's residence in Los Angeles may have yielded his use of the term though, at least not to my eyes, a tan.

Additionally, the bands noted in the excerpts seem to have little to do with the Pogues and their ethos, don't you agree? Or maybe I'm wrong!

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 5:38 pm**

spaghetti westerns count?

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:34 pm**

inmyliverpoolhome wrote:scuse me person, who came up with the term sphaggeti western and why? I know this is not what these forums are for but i have often wondered that, well not often really but when i read it just now i did think about it

These fora are for all kinds of horizons broadening. ;-)

From Wikipedia:
Spaghetti Westerns is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most of them were produced by Italian studios. Originally they had in common the Italian language, low budgets, and a recognizable highly fluid, violent, minimalist cinematography that eschewed (some said "demythologized") many of the conventions of earlier Westerns—partly intentionally, partly as a result of the work being done in a different cultural background and with limited funds. The term was originally used disparagingly, but by the 1980s many of these films came to be held in high regard, particularly because it was hard to ignore the influence they had in redefining the entire idea of a western up to that point.

Or from here:
SPAGHETTI WESTERN - "Nickname for a Western film; it is typically set in the southwestern part of North America during the late 1880s, but it actually is produced and filmed in Italy or its nearby countries (e.g., Spain or Yugoslavia). The term originated when describing a collection of such films that came to prominence in the 1960s. Popular examples include: 'A Fistful of Dollars' (1964), 'For a Few Dollars More' (1965), 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' (1966), 'Hang 'em High' (1968), 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1969), 'They Call Me Trinity' (1971), and 'My Name is Nobody' (1974)." (Filmmaker's Dictionary)

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:40 pm**

never fails to please our Zuzana.

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:55 pm**

You mean "never fails to show off"?

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 8:50 pm**

LIVERPOOL BOY: the movie starring the POGUES and JOE STRUMMER is classified as "spaghetti western"

Straight to Hell
(1986, 86 min, 35mm)

This adrenaline-charged, resolutely insane spaghetti Western follows a trio of would-be thieves (Sy Richardson, Dick Rude, Joe Strummer) to Blanco Town, where they run afoul of the villainous, caffeine-addicted MacMahon clan (The Pogues).

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 8:56 pm**

I'd call it a camp parody of a spag western. There is one part where the dialogue is so rediculously over-the-top existentialist crap, and intentionally so, that I nearly wet myself every time I hear it.

**Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:17 pm**

yes--meant to a spoof of spaghetti western.silly movie--but i love it!

**Sun Jan 22, 2006 3:03 pm**

Zuzana wrote:You mean "never fails to show off"?

hahhah! Yeah!!

Nothing but a BIG SHOW OFF!

Perhaps we should boot her off the forum.. no one likes smart arses!

only kidding Zu!

Love you!!

**Sun Jan 22, 2006 4:48 pm**

MacRua wrote:Reference.com (from Psychobilly article):<blockquote>"Cowpunk" was a subgenre of psychobilly confined to southern California in the 1980s, especially Los Angeles.</blockquote>

No, it was big in London when the pogues began. There were whole cowpunk festivals around camden. Bands like the cropdusters............

**Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:05 am**

Anonymous wrote:
MacRua wrote:Reference.com (from Psychobilly article):<blockquote>"Cowpunk" was a subgenre of psychobilly confined to southern California in the 1980s, especially Los Angeles.</blockquote>

No, it was big in London when the pogues began. There were whole cowpunk festivals around camden. Bands like the cropdusters............

It's still very much a common thing here. Even at the pub where James Fearnley plays. It's more of a subgenre of punk more than psychobilly though.

**Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:30 am**

I'm thinking X/Knitters is a good example. Yes? Here you had a punk band in L.A. with obvious talent and some country influence, so why not put out some country music with a raw edge, or at least what the punk fans could/should get into. Same early formula as the Pogues (swap out country for Irish). Besides, early Pogues was apparently, at least in part, country rockabily rock and roll with a cowboy hat music, or so I am led to believe by some of the literature. Correct me if I'm wrong, people.

By the way, the Knitters or X would be great openers for the Pogues. For those of you who don't know, swap out the lead guitarist for the Blasters with Billy Zoom from X, with the whole X line-up, and you have the Knitters -- they play country songs like you want to hear them. I can't explain. Buy Poor Little Critter In The Road. You will get it.

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