“The Other F Word” – Fatherhood in the Punk Rock World

This past weekend, while up in the wee hours of the morning trying to adjust to the time change after coming home from a week in Colorado, I stumbled upon a documentary called The Other F Word.

It was a documentary about punk rockers changing and adapting their lifestyle after becoming fathers.

In case you weren’t aware, I love me some punk rock.

The Ramones, Black Flag, The Rollins Band, Pennywise, Rise Against…the list goes on and on!

I was happy to see that Black Flag and one of my favorite newer punk rock bands, Rise Against, were featured in the documentary.

The thing is, the documentary featured some whom I don’t actually associate with punk rock.

Like Mark Hoppus of Blink 182.

Don’t get me wrong, Blink 182 is my third favorite band (seriously, they are right up there, only being outdone by Led Zeppelin and the Beatles), and I am basically obsessed with Mark Hoppus.

BUT BLINK 182 IS NOT PUNK ROCK. 

Sure, back in their early days – years ago – they were pretty raunchy and crazy, but that all ended with Enema of the State and that album is 13 years old. Even in their garage band hay day, Blink 182 was more ska than anything else.

Now they’re labeled pop-punk, which I believe was an accurate description prior to Tom Delonge becoming obsessed with emo rock.

There were bands like Pennywise, Black Flag and freaking The Ramones and the Sex Pistols mentioned in the documentary. Can Blink 182 really compare to that level of punk rock badassery?

I think not.

I really enjoyed the documentary. It was surreal to see the dads behind the bands – there were scenes that melted my heart, like when Art Alexakis explained the story behind his song “Father of Mine,” which was of his father abandoning him at an early age and having to endure a childhood of being sexually assaulted by the older boys in the ghetto.

Dude, I will never be able to listen to Father of Mine again without bawling.

The thing about punk rock is that it’s a music born out of anger and frustration. Many of the musicians in the documentary talked about how their fathers abandoned their families at a young age.

Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers said that his mother and step father were so horrible that he actually ran away at age 12.

AGE 12, PEOPLE.

It’s no wonder these musicians make such loud, raw and powerful music.

So, we went from the likes of Punk Rock heavyweights like Jim Lindberg of Pennywise to…freaking Tony Hawk.

Really?

Tony Hawk?!?!

I was actually offended as Tony Hawk said that skaters see themselves as punk rockers because they share the same lifestyle.

Um excuse me, but since when did skate boarding count as making music that affected entire generations?

I realize that Tony Hawk is a skate boarding legend, but is his legacy really on par with Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols?

Maybe I was absent that day from Music Appreciation 101.

I found it insulting that Tony Hawk talked about having to make sacrifices in his career for his family – while he sat in a mansion paid for by his sponsors and the line of video games named after him.

Tony Hawk is not punk rock. 

If you are into punk rock, or even want to know more about the rock n roll lifestyle in general, I suggest checking out this documentary. While you may not always recognize the musicians or the bands mentioned, the statement of fatherhood and parenthood in general is one that I think we can all relate to.

I was hopeful that Henry Rollins, my punk rock hero, would appear in the documentary, but then I remembered his famous 1998 interview with NY Rock, in which he said “I don’t want a wife and I don’t want kids.” so he probably wouldn’t fit in a documentary about punk rock dads, right?