One thing that has always confused me is the phrase “Christian punk”. The two words seem to be contradictory to me. As cultural ideologies, Christianity would appear to be dichotomous to punk. Punk is all about (or at least it used to be about) political upheaval, cultural discontent, raging against the system, and thoroughly wanking mom and dad off. In other words, anarchy for anarchy’s sake. But, maybe I’m lost in the days of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, The Pixies, and the Iggy Pop. Today we have what is called pop-punk, a concoction of Lou Pearlman hooks mixed with a bit of nu-metal angst propelled by droning snare drum finishing with a controversial, but not too controversial, message delivered with an ironic wink. Pop-punk is Blink 182 (Fischer-Price: My first Punk Band), Sum41, basically any band with a random collection of numbers in it’s name, all safely accessible to middle-class MTV teeny boppers wanting to rock the boat, but not so hard that it tips over. And, sadly, this is where Slick Shoes self-titled release falls.
Slick Shoes is a Christian pop-punk band straight out of Orange County, California. Formed in 1994, the band has released four full-length albums, including the current Slick Shoes. They continue their speed punk sound with the current album — the first track on the album “My Ignorance” erupting with a fast snare beat and chugging three-chord guitar rifts. But when lead man Ryan Kepke sings with a punk slur “Last night as I slept I saw my life slip away / then you were next to me / I couldn’t see your face but I knew that it was you / giving me a second chance / I’ll never really understand why I cannot comprehend your love and grace”, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Whether he is singing to a lover or to a more abstract savior, the line is still cheesy. Which is OK, in punk music. Cheesiness is fine. However, as the song continues, Kepke gets more melodramatic: “Sometimes I lack the strength I need / But you come through every time I fail you’re there to pick me up / when I need it most.” The rest of the album continues in this same fashion, the band moving to other subjects such as what to do on a Friday night, summer memories, the new school year, and spiritual frustration.
OK, I’ll admit it. Punk music caters to adolescence. It lives on the melodrama of the teenage years. But, recently, something seems to be lacking. Punk has become trivial. Gone are the themes of political upheaval, drug abuse, and rebellion for rebellion’s sake. Instead, themes such as lost infatuations, first kisses, masturbation, spiritual questioning, and adolescent insecurity have replaced them. I don’t mean to be a purist, but doesn’t this seem to be contradictory to the whole idea of punk? Pop-punk speaks to the smart-ass in all of us, but punk spoke to the asshole. Pop-punk is a sanitized punk.
I don’t mean to be a jerk, and I certainly don’t want to bad-mouth Christianity (there are some amazing Christian bands: the Juliana Theory, Pedro the Lion, etc.), but throwing up your fingers in a devil horn and moshing to “‘Cause every day I see your face / your beautiful green eyes / I find I love you more” seems to be a mess of contradictions.
I’m not saying Slick Shoes’ Slick Shoes is bad. It’s fun speed pseudo-punk. It’s a great album for parties: have a bunch of friends over, throw it on in the background and it livens up the atmosphere. But as a cultural production, Slick Shoes seems to be lacking in any substance. Which is alright, I guess. Unless you’re a pessimistic jerk like me who likes his punk meaningful, dark, cynical, and raging. Just like it used to be.