I was quiet in my civil disobedience in my younger days, and didn't dye my hair, or put a safety pin through my face.  I didn't wear odd clothes, or really do too much to stand out in a crowd.  But, back in the day when the Sex Pistols were finding their way to the top of the charts in the UK by getting kicked off the radio with songs like "God Save the Queen," I was trying  to find a way to get more people to hear the band.

It put a smile on my face to hear that the Sex Pistols were announced as inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the smile grew as the band responded that they weren't the museum's monkeys, and they wouldn't be attending.

Liked this quote from Art for a Change:

True to form, the Pistols have once again stormed the world stage, reminding us all that it's possible to bite the hand that feeds us crap.

You want to give the band a tribute?  You want to tell these old fogies, who once upon a time sneered at the world that they made a difference?  And in a fashion where the world had to take notice.

There are a couple of things that you can do.  Go out, and buy a copy of  "Never mind the Bullocks" and play it.  Play it loud.

Even better, find a band that you like, regardless of how others feel about them, and show them some support. The Sex Pistols challenged society on a number of levels.  They made us question the way we dressed, the way we kowtowed to authority, and the way we played and listened to music.  That spirit of defiance, that call for change, it still exists today.

The band's response to the invitation:

"Next to the SEX PISTOLS rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. Your museum. Urine in wine. Were not coming. Were not your monkey and so what? Fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table, or $15,000 to squeak up in the gallery, goes to a non-profit organization selling us a load of old famous. Congradulations. If you voted for us, hope you noted your reasons.Your anonymous as judges, but your still music industry people. We're not coming.Your not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real SEX PISTOL."

John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) will be on the Jimmy Kimmel show this Friday.  Should be as fun as an induction ceremony.  D. Allan Kerr has a good point when he notes:

 John Lydon, by any name, is an obnoxious little poseur, even narcissistic in a curious kind of way. But God save the freakish fellow for once again giving the rock 'n' roll industry a boot in the ass when it was desperately in need.

The band is playing at fame in its own manner.  They won't be there to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but you're going to be hearing a lot of Sex Pistols in the very near future.  They're selling out. Sex Pistols action figures, and Sex Pistols displays in store windows on High Street, and ring tones, and radio and tv ads.  Will a Range Rover sell better accompanied to the sounds of "God Save the Queen?"

Is it angst and anger, and defiance fueling the decision by the band not to attend?  How would you feel if you were inducted into something like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you had to pay for tickets for your kids to attend?  The comment in the note from the Sex Pistols' website alludes to that.  The section about paying money.  The Independent explains, in B****cks to fame, we're the Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols' former bass player, Glen Matlock, told The Independent on Sunday yesterday it had been a unanimous decision by the band to steer clear. "It's nothing to do with the bands - it's all to do with business. When I first heard about it I was quite excited... but then I found I was going to have to pay thousands of pounds to take my kids. It's just a big corporate event, a bunch of Herberts in suits... just a money-making opportunity for multi-million shysters." 

You don't need to be an angry old punk rocker to get pissed off at that treatment.  What kind of honor is that?

Punk rock was partially about an older generation taking advantage of a younger generation, denying them jobs and opportunites, telling them how to think, how to act, how to look, and how to perform.  The American Music Industry is still trying to make a fast buck off of the Sex Pistols. 

The band may be selling rights to use its back catalog and likenesses in advertising and commercial products.  But they have control over which endeavors they will accept.  The negotiations are at arms length, with both sides treating each other as respectable human beings.

The Rock and Roll Museum is treating the band's legacy as a commodity that they have a right to exploit.  That type of exploitation, without negotiation, without treating the band members as human beings is the type of behavoir that sparked the defiance of punk rock in the first place.

Based upon Glenn Matlock's comment, I understand completely why the band told the Hall of Fame to stay away.