On Dec. 8, 1980, while the rest of the world grimaced at its televisions following the murder of Beatles member John Lennon, punk scenes all over were receiving equally devastating news - the death of another musical god, Darby Crash of The Germs, who molded the L.A. punk scene. He was a singer, lyrical genius and incredible influence to many punk bands that came after him.
His philosophy and cryptic messages to fans are generally read as insanity. I can admit that in part, that is true. The man did kill himself very young and habitually used heroin.
That being taken into consideration, there are many useful lessons in youth we can learn from Crash.
Lesson one: Determination. The entire band had no idea how to play. Darby couldn't sing, Lorna couldn't play bass, Pat had little experience on guitar and they went through a lot of terrible drummers.
Their first real show was an open mic night, where Darby had hardly any lyrics and dipped the microphone in peanut butter. People who came to shows in the beginning were only friends.
At one point, they had to book shows under the name G.I. because they were banned from every venue in L.A. Instead of giving up, that only made them work harder. Take their song Lexicon Devil for inspiration: I'm lookin' for a future. The world's my aim. They taught themselves and within the year played intense sold out shows.
Lesson two: Preparation. Darby told everyone that he had a five-year plan. He did not elaborate on what his goals were personally, other than they involved the band. Sure, his plan did not end up so great in the end, but at least he had goals.
You're in college, probably for four years; long term goals will help you decide what you want your future to look like. Darby lived by the words of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: It is time for man to mark his goal; it is time for man to plant the germ of his highest hope.
Lesson three: Accept who you are and enjoy this time in your life. Darby had a hard time struggling with his sexuality, which in the end, some theorize, was what led to his extreme drug abuse. If you have a past you regret, or you aren't the person you think you could be right now, you will always have the future to change that. Be who you are and do not be afraid of what others are going to say.
Many of his fans agreed with that stance and let Darby give them a Germs Burn (cigarette burn) to imitate the blue circle he used to represent life: circle one. According to this philosophy, life operates in circles. Your life up until college may have been your circle one. When you got here, you may have changed or just accepted who you were.
This could be a fresh start if you let it; this could be your circle two.
Merri Collins is a sophomore studying journalism and a columnist for The Post. Tell her about other significant punk deaths that made an impact on your life at mc112609@ohiou.edu.
4 Opinion
Merri Collins
