Super srs about this request – I just simply don’t understand rockabilly. I mean, I get it as like an American ‘roots punk’ thing, but why the fuck is this stuff still popular? How is it that I still see dudes with greased back hair, bowling shirts with skulls and fuckin’ ugly brothel creepers?
The Cramps
I’m just gonna spew out what I know about rockabilly – and I’m sure I’m wrong as fuck on a lot of it – correct me! I suppose The Cramps and The Misfits really kicked this off – both complete entry-level early ’80s punk. The Misfits we’ve covered, but The Cramps had this total rockabilly thing wired – they just kinda updated it with AC/DC style sexual innuendo. It actually wasn’t until the 2000s when I downloaded ‘Songs The Cramps Taught Us’ that I realized they were mostly a rockabilly cover band?!?
What era was this taken? Srs!
I kinda would have thought after the mid ’80s this was done to death… but I thought wrong! I know that in the early/mid ’90s a retro-’60s thing took hold, street punk also took off with bands like The Bruisers (which fed into Dropkick Murphies), Social Distortion etc (prob a million more bands I don’t care about) – and mashed up skinhead street fashion with rockabilly. Fixing up cars also got thrown in there – I’ve got a Red Aunts/Clawhammer split 7″ from Gearhead magazine banging around somewhere in the basement…
Srs - I fuckin' get it. You can stop now.
But I guess this stuff lived on? Dudes just love slicking back their hair & slappin’ the old stand up bass? I really need someone to explain the appeal of all this to me? Is it like IKEAcore for the undereducated? Do young kids get into this stuff? What the fuck is up with rollerderby and the Betty Page worship?
Slap dat bass you crazy cat!
There’s def. a ton of lulz to be had with this stuff – the mere mention of Hi Fi & the Roadburners should send us oldz into hysterics… but I just really want to get my head around it! I’m not even going to link to/look up videos for this.. do your own damn homework!
Obligatory euros somehow getting it wrong...
Educate me! Do people still get into this, or is it limited to 30+ year oldz? How long before tr00 rockabilly takes root? Is this a symptom of only mild poor life choices? (AKA not studying in school?)
“Is it like IKEAcore for the undereducated?”
Pretty sure that nailed it, yeah.
speaking of undereducated: rockabilly is the precursor to rock and roll, but hey if shitting on others makes you feel better knock yourself out sparky.
One slightly humorous article = YOU ARE RAINING SHIT ON MY DREAMS!
You Sir are a Culture Hero!
Oldfags of genres they think are unique but are fucking annoying unless you are super old and already looked like that years ago. tattoo artists should be banned from endorsing this shitty behaviour
Bunch of car nerds that cant figure out how to look decent so their shitty old pictures of dudes with 50s cars dictate their retarded minds. damn this makes me angry
Re last picture: since when are Jedward rockabilly?
Lolololol zing
Haha – just barely got that!
Fuck is a jedward?
Alternate title for this post: Exhibit A in the trial against the white race
the evidence sure is starting to pile up
The bro with the stand up bass looks hispanic.
Actually wasn’t sure if a man, or a roller derby linebacker…
Rockabilly is huge with Hispanics, who aren’t white. So….
Rockabilly is huge with Hispanics, who aren’t white. So….
considering i went through a phase where i tried really hard to have a pomp, and now only somewhat resemble how i used to look back then style-wise (combover and cuffed pants ftw), best i can tell you is:
its a scene for close minded people who swear to whatever deity they believe in that rockabilly/psychobilly is the ONLY and the BEST style of music around. And that the more “vintage” looking your style, the more attention and popularity you get. I can equivocate it to scene kids and scene hair and all the music that encompasses that scene.
I was way into rockabilly and psychobilly and metalcore during the early 2000s and got sick of walking into the glasshouse/showcase theatre for “billy” shows and having it feel like i was walking naked into a classroom. All eyes on you, judging you for what you’re wearing. Some of the people are chill and open to other styles of music, but the vast majority of them are pricks. Granted, they know how to party, and some greaser chicks are beyond gorgeous, but for the most part its a shit scene that.
and this coming from a guy who is debating on seeing lee rocker this month haha.
Srs – thanks for this reply! Sounds exactly as nightmarish as I imagined. Now how did you ‘get into it’? I still dont understand how young kids pick up on this style…? But they do?
growing up (born in 82), my parents got me into old country (Cash and Hank), and as i got older punk/metal/hxc came into the picture. I fell in love with AFI and then heard Tiger Army. I was already a fan of the cramps and some stray cats, but TA got me into wanting to hear more because they combined punk and country like i had never heard before. From there it went to nekromantix/mad sin/demented are go and various others.
I still listen to alot of the stuff i listened to back then, but I choose to not be as completely into the scene as i once was simply because the people make it shit.
i think for alot of people, what entices them is the “tough” look that comes with looking like a greaser, and the attractive women that are drawn to that sort of thing. i’m sorry, but give me a bangin chick who looks more into the billy scene than the metal scene any day.
See it’s the country influence around here too. Like if you grew up poor and your parents listened to country and you hate life, there’s a chance you’ll wind up rockabilly/whatever.
The girls get into it like they get into any subculture, because they are looking for an identity and attention.
Re: girls- BOOM
It seems that the only redeeming quality of that scene is that it attracts a decent amount of hot women.
betty page hair = dealbreaker for me. so groce.
The hair doesn’t bother me as much as the personality of the girl who goes for that image.
Typically the type who thinks they are an “alt model” because some dude with a camera and an umbrella thingy took half naked pictures of them. Also, most likely writes a self important feminist blog and FUCKING LOVES SLUTWALK!
this exactly! the hair is just an indicator
You are from southern california, right? I feel like this stuff has always been moat popular there for some reason (orange county and the IE). i blame unbroken for contaminating hxc with pomps and creepers.
yea, born in LA county, migrated to Fontana, then Apple Valley, then Vegas hahaha. And yes, the IE and LA are the pretty much the only places in CA where the style is so predominant.
APPLE VALLEY REPRESENT. HOME OF THE WAFFLE IRON!
and Felony Flatts ;)
^this and morissey worship. Fuck.
Actually can support the actual music as something slightly different. At this point its still just country and punk mixed together.
But as it was said before after going to several rockabilly shows, still don’t understand the stupid need to be as blue collar as possible. I figured that if the faux-Irish punk scene is probably where ska kids went when they realized ska sucked, I’d fairly confident that rockabilly is were skinheads spent the rest of their days. This is based on the amount of blacked out tattoos I’ve seen at quite a few rockabilly shows
It’s like holding tank for future country fans/tea party members while they’re still in their 20′s and 30′s.
Like, people grow out of rockabilly and start listening to Kevin Fowler, Reckless Kelly and Roger Creager and other stuff that normal Texans like?
Hank Jr. around the kids, Johnny Rebel when you’ve had a few.
johnny rebel = constant fixture on my playlists
Rockabilly is not just for the old punks but young chicks and dudes too. It’s nice, I think. The punk image is ridiculous, this however not so much.
Don’t forget the strong correlation between rockabilly and “burlesque” aka: fat chicks not getting naked stripping that only other straight women think is “empowering”.
I was gonna post about this actually, I shit you not there is this new trend of “rockabily techno” starting. I inadvertently walked in on one of these parties recently, it’s basically old rockabilly shit remixed into house, and it was a big club packed with all standard old rockabilly people.
If you think dubstep is cheesey Peep this garbage
Looking forward greatly to this burlesque post. There is this solid 8 i went to college with who is always posting about her burlesque troupe in between pseudo-feminist bullshit like SlutWalk and other uppity matter.
Plus she has a chest tattoo. Lulz.
*possible burlesque post.
I misread. but someone please get on this! It is one of the funniest trends around.
yes, please someone post about this– worst shit ever!
Mother of fuck, I wanna smash his smirk into a contorted mass of dead retard and Brillcreem with a ballpeen hammer.
My dog feels the same way about Rockabilly.
This really feels like one of the more closed minded subcultures out there. I know very little about it except a few people I know almost got into after Swingers came out. That was durring the 90s revival though, so I guess lots of people almost got into it.
Rockabilly=hardcore/punk retirement plan.
Or goths who stopped being depressed.
wrong
rockabilly=skinheads retirement
i have to agree to this. At least in finland lots of guys went from being the early hc/punk scene into rock or rockabilly. Talked about this with one oldbro who’s been around the scene from the 90′s.
I think its cause it gets you laid more often.
I’ve met a few girls through okcupid who listed roller derby as an interest. I looked this up after like the 3rd or so instance of this and I’m baffled by it’s appeal. someone plz explain this idiocy to me. If I could hazard a guess I’d say it’s some faux-physical activity that gives one the feeling of playing in a competetive sport without the fear of getting teeth knocked out or sustaining a concussion plus it probably doubles as a conversation starter. amirite?
i think that is the best breakdown of rollerderby i have ever heard! i usually just thought of it as “rollerderby = fat arms,” but you are on some next-level shit there!
Yourite!!
Seems to be “tons” of rockabilly chicks on okcupid, not suprising since they are all 30+ fat spinsters who are prolly food bloggers, knitting enthusiasts.
Totally serious: I got this message fom some nasty rockabilly chick on ok Cupid, the sheet she is refering to is a pic I had of my ghost Halloween. Costume…
“You are adorable and I like an infinite amount of things about you. Mainly the way you look with a sheet over your head. I have a kkk rape fantasy and I think you will work perfectly for it. let’s talk about when we are going out to show each other off in public.
Biggest hugs ever,
Betty”
That was me. Forgot to log in. Anyone wants to date this chick hit me up I’ll send you her okcupid profile!
No date interest, but you gotta send me her profile pics!! Will provide discreet email address….
can’t decide whether to barf, raeg, or high-five you first. maybe ill try all three at once
You’re perfect for rape fantasies? AWESOME! BRO FIST!
lololol KKK rape fantasy. Ive heard the black man gang rape fantasy more than a few times, but this is beyond me.
gf sent a few girls to the hospital playing derby including a concussion, so you’re kind of weak there, everything else is ok tho
I was in a psychobilly band in high school, and my friends and former bandmates are still into this shit. Like any other style (tr00 hxc, punk, metal) it’s the combination of how filled with oldz the style is (therefore more exclusive/tr00/underground), and how easy it is to mold your life around the status quo (tattoos, white shirts, cuffed pants, creepers, pomp, drink pbr, work on cars, etc.) that attracts young kids looking to define who they are while satisfying their desire to be better than everyone at their high school.
More than half of the tatto artists here are hardcore dudes that got into tattooing. They all have slicked back hair, drive old cars, and wear fake Buddy Holly glasses. Thing is they all hate the music. I dont get it.
Someone once wrote on a blog (metalinquisition maybe?) that all old punks end up rockabilly eventually. I think it is a retirement club for old punks. Because you can’t get a real job looking like a gutter punk/Sid wannabe. But you can get a respectable job with a rockabilly look. At least that’s how I see it.
Also all those hot chicks with the Betty Page haircut. You know what they say: crazy in the head = crazy in bed.
It’s for stupid punks who fucked up their chances, realized they were aging quickly, and needed to stop time. There’s some stupid punk fashion flair thrown into the mix, but to me it seems that rockabilly, politically, is the complete antithesis of punk. Punk’s got this political, change the world/fuck the world/prank the world ethos to it, and rockabilly is all about “simpler time” (read:bullshit), nostalgic, apolitical, “cruisin’” music.
I’ve always felt there’s an undercurrent of racism in rockabilly that turns me right off, too.
rockabilly would be way cooler if they had knife fights and “rumbles” and chickie runs. as it is, it’s one of the grocest subcultures on every level.
My dad is almost 60 and he likes Stray Cats and more old shit like this. Is he tr00 rockabilly?
I almost feel like i’m being baited into responding haha, rockabilly was one of the original styles of rock n roll (not rock) when it formed in the 50′s. Eventually the punks got ahold of it, and called it psychobilly but honestly there is not much of a difference between modern rockabilly and psychobilly. I knew a couple people who were into it, the type that goes on and on about how awesome analog equipment is but couldn’t tell you the different for a shitty digital guitar pedal vs that “vintage” tube screamer
i forgot to mention, a couple of my BFFs from high school ended up being in what i am told are popular “western swing” bands (Deke Dickerson and Big Sandy are the ones I remember). They were into the Bosstones, NOFX and Rancid in high school, then turned rockabilly or whatever a couple years later. Great dudes and I love them forever but man…. it hurts to see your bros in vintage Levis playing hollowbody guitars, you know??
do they like big bad voodoo daddy? lulz
I knew a guy in high school who was into Rockabilly shit and he was insufferable. He would write a new song every week, some combination of three chords, all about takin’ it easy and fighting the man by smokin’ weed and sitting on a grassy hill or some shit.
He was a pretty sick double bass player, but he looked down on like, every kind of music unless it was rockabilly. He wouldn’t even acknowledge Punk Rock or any of Rockabillys’ progenitors. It was all shit to him. Was really fun to troll him by saying we all ‘really liked The Living End’ (in Australia, TLE are as mainstream as it goes)
The Living End had like 1.5 good songs- I liked that “roll on” song though!
Recently I unknowingly walked into a sort of rockabilly night at this dive bar I sometimes frequent to get piss drunk and play Area 51. I can definitely see how you dudes are saying they are judgmental on how others look because me and my buddies were dressed like actual adults who have real jobs, and all eyes were on us. As the night went on some chick got on stage and did a boner murdering burlesque routine, complete with Betty Page hair and nipple tape. It was getting to be closing time and one of my friends went to use the bathroom before we left. According to him he walked in on the burlesque dancer holding “her” huge penis and pissing.
Now I relate all rockabilly chicks to huge dick transexuals.
too bad no Rockabilly dudes will show up in the comments to call people jive and silly jerk offs (or whatever insults are common in their circles) because I assume they are all so retro they don’t own anything but a typewriter and bowling shirts.
watch out, they’ll burn your house to the ground with hair gel and tiki torches
I’m cool. I live on a road where all cars must be made after 1980. I’m the only member of the Neighborhood Association that I just now made up, so I kind of get to make whatever rules I want.
Also, I said 1980 because there are some dudes down the street with 1980s oldsmobiles on 24 inch rims with various snack/morning cartoon graphics on them. They’re cool though.
those dudes… are they jewish or korean?? i am assuming they MUST be one of the two, right?
nope. I think they are Jamaican, but maybe just black.
shocking!! just goes to show you CANNOT stereotype! whenever i hear about early 80s Oldsmobile with gold spoke rims and Taz paintings on the side, i always assume it’s the Jews. Boy was I wrong!
Not Gold rims, spoked silver.
this scene is kind of huge in chicago. the dudes are trying to emulate tom cruise in the outsiders which is just mind boggling to me. i mean denim jackets with no sleeves and skinny jeans? and the hair. jesus. i knew some dudes that hung around the punk scene like 15 years ago that turned all rockabilly after like two years and thought that they were socially and musically superior to everyone they knew. plus they were hanging out with chicks that looked like old pictures of my grandma. i don’t know dude. i went to a couple bars where this shit used to pop off and usually it just turned into me drinking too much whiskey and getting into a brawl with like me against 8 dudes. apparently this shit still goes down. i think it’s teetering on northside hipster garbage these days which i avoid at all costs.
I feel I have to mention here: I fucking LOATHE 50′s nostalgia in all its vile forms. It’s almost as bad as racism IMO
much worse IMO- racism is funny, this bullshit is just annoying and at best mildly amusing
Racism is really funny but an actual problem. 50′s nostalgia is just a dumb thing that annoys me. So… in the end they break even, I think.
ever notice how most girls goin for the Betty Page look are always 200 lbs+ Mashed up jugs arent always a good thing.
i graduated high school and i would consider myself a smart fella. I love rockabilly and the whole 60s scene, its just like the rest of you, everyone of you follow a “scene” and if you saw someone ripping on yours you wouldnt be so enthused. So please, just except all “scenes” and get back to what matters. Who you are to yourself
congrats! you really “get it” bro! :)
I’m a smart fella who can’t distinguish between accept/except.
YOUR A LOOSER
PLEASE EXCEPT IT WHO ARE TO YOURSELF
Skipped other comments.
The band “The Living End” uses a stand-up bass and I really like their sound. I’ve only heard the album “Roll On” but it’s solid stuff. I suppose it’s punk rock, but it actually rocks, and it’s not overdistorted horse shit.
Social Distortion’s singer pisses me off.
yeah! they’re a rock band with a stand up bass, liked them up until Who’s Gonna Save Us?
This scene is huge in Oakland… pretty much all hipsters who are over the age of 30 roll with the Rockabilly style. It’s even worse on Alameda, a small island next to Oakland. Every single bar is a Rockabilly bar and/or Tiki bar.
I went to one of those bars once and watched one hep cat in overalls fight another in a white T (complete with cigarette pack rolled in the sleeve)… so much grease flying all over the bar. I think the look can be hot on girls, but the ratio of fatties to smashables is way off in that scene.
jesus, there are 3 tiki bars on alameda i think! i see these people everywhere.. my neighbors have a vintage pink cadillac and are always wearing wife beaters, outside working on their car. YUCKO
fuking groce, brah
The rockabilly/psychobilly scene is that worst combination: it’s really image-obsessed and all about the look and having the right gear and hair etc, but it’s also full of guys who are totally in denial about the fact that it is image-obsessed and claim it’s all about the music, even though they will gang up to try and beat you down if you look wrong. Basically a bunch of guys who spend a whole heap of money trying to look like working-class gas station attendants from the 50s.
Plus it’s real No Fun Club, they hate anything that isn’t true to rockabilly/psychobilly (especially psychobilly – jeezus those guys are closed-minded) and even though its all songs about cadillacs and coffins and shit they take it super-serious. Post mentions the Cramps, Misfits, Social D, and I’ve seen comments about Tiger Army and Living End – trust me when I say, there are a whole bunch of rockabilly guys who will think you are worse than Hitler for listening to those bands and that you should only listen to 50s shit on vinyl or only ever listen to the Meteors or some shit.
Plus its a scene with a lot of way old dudes ‘cos most of the bands around today are the same ones who started that shit, so their fans still go to shows but now they are just fat dudes with three hairs left on their head slicked into a quiff… so that makes them even more judgemental and more likely to be angry at kids being kids, or for being on their lawns or something.
The girls are better ‘cos most are punk girls who got into rockabilly ‘cos they go tired of dressing like roadkill and like to pretend they’re housewives in 1950, so they are fun and listen to other stuff too, but the whole Betty Page thing is way too overdone and it’s an ugly haircut – really, they’re good if you like tattooed chicks with big tits who wear pedal pushers but there’s not a lot of variety, plus they won’t fuck you unless you look like Johnny Depp in Crybaby or some shit so most have way too high expectations of the sort of guys they can actually get.
Every single chick I ever met who did rollerderby was a lesbian. Every. Single. One. Or bi and on a girl phase. The minute she puts on a pair of rollerskates and starts grabbing other bishes tits, she stops liking dudes.
you know you’ve truly hit rock bottom when you are voluntarily listening to the fucking Meteors
I’d assume that it’s just a subspecies of hipsters. I don’t listen to any pre-Beatles music; shit’s boring. And yes, I still listen to The Beatles in 2011.
it is a successful troll to tell people i only like “i wanna hold your hand”-era Beatles?
I think it would be successful if you said, “I only like I wanna hold your hand era Beatles because they sold the fuck out after that.”
Hipster version of the troll: “I only listen to Cavern Club era Beatles. It’s pretty exclusive… you probably wouldn’t get it”
i only like early Beatles srs hahaha
Never tried. Sounds like it would work if you’re talking to any sort of music nerd/hipster/guy wearing a Rush shirt though.
You forgot the most important Rockabilly band of all.. The Stray Cats!
I’m no big Rockabilly fan but I do love me some Stray Cats, mainly because Brian Setzer is an incredible player.
-VN
i remember reading like 10 years ago about how he did guitar toss-n-catch, only he missed the catch and since it was a hollowbody Gretsch it just shattered. HOW I WISH YOUTUBE EXISTED THEN!
This rockabilly crap only exists because when women into punk start to work real world jobs they ditch their identity to make money, then feel bad about it when life becomes too normal so they think if they take on rockabilly that they can look elegant, yet at the same time get more tattoos.
They have no problem claiming rockabilly because they just make people think that since they were into punk they must have been into rockabilly too.
also every ex-scene kid and tr00 hc kid has a pompadour
Lots of this in Nashville.
It seems somewhat easier than being a hipster. You can gain tons of weight and you don’t have to be a lame vegan or super PC.
Dat tag,roller derby bull dykes,omg gold.
lololol missed that one!
Flo the Progressive.com lady is punkabilly as fuck.
Mentor, OH is full of these people. I am glad of rockabilly though, for the super lulzy Euro stuff like Nekromantix, always there when you need a laugh.
I’m no expert on Southern music, but I do know a thing or two about the South (getting my master’s in Southern Cultural Studies) and I have a theory about why it’s still popular.
Rockabilly’s origins (skip if you know): Dating back to the early 1950s, rockabilly is a blend of rock n roll & hillbilly music. It’s also influenced by swing, boogie woogie, & rhythm & blues. It primarily developed in the South. Its popularity dwindled in the 1960s, but in the 1970s & 1980s it experienced a major revival.
With integration occurring in the 1970s, a highly commercialized market/lifestyle emerging, and other changes happening in the country, people sought (and still seek) authenticity. The desire for authenticity is an important factor for people who listen to more non-mainstream music. Although everyone has their own definition of “authentic,” authenticity is often something that is not commercialized, mass produced, or overtly created for a mass market. Whether it is metal, rockabilly, jazz, punk, rap, or any other genre, many people seek these genres for their authenticity. For people interested in rockabilly, there is something about the echoes of the 1950s that appeals to them.
And (to get particularly regional) we can also get into the sense of fear of losing Southern identity as the South becomes Americanized, which drives people to seek, revive, & maintain cultural elements that are or seem truly Southern.
Thanks Professor Braniac! (srs!)
Haha, welcome! Don’t worry, I know I’m a total nerd about this stuff.
Also, just looked at your tumblr. Hilarious! Now following you.
I remember the whole swing dance shit back in highschool. 1992-1995. The whole zoot suit riot shit song? Is swing dance Rock-a-billy? And fucking tiki parties. Then blamo. I dunno these fucks all dancing and shit like that dressing like Popeye the sailor man and shit with some chick dressed like fred flinstones wife. Fucking swing dancing. Fuck 50′s nostalgia. These rock abilly fucks if they were tr00 they would set up separate drinking fountains and shit for the coloreds and watch Howdy Doody. Fuck I don’t even know what I am saying. Peace out from Afghanistan.
How is that nobody has mentioned that rockabilly basically means HILLBILLY rock music and these people are mostly from areas far, far, away from Appalachia? I remember the first time I met one of these idiots (I’m actually from rural WV- like Deliverance country crossed with Texas Chainsaw Massacre basically); and when they said they were into Rockabilly and played me a song from some band from Finland or some such place I was flabberfucked. They’re basically whiggers immitating actual white nxxers so they’re DOUBLE WHIGGERS.
and to clarify Hillbilly and Southern are NOT the same thing.