Anarchy: a five minute history of punk rock

The tenth episode of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt presents the main characters as a rock band playing a TeddyLoid song.

The music video makes quite a few references to existing music videos, as well as to famous scenes in rock and punk music. For the curious, I’ve listed all those I was able to recognize below. Panty’s concert outfit references riot-grrl performers in general, whereas Stocking looks generally like a gothloli (think Kanon Wakeshima in darker colors, with a slightly different hat.) Costumes change quite a bit; Garterbelt starts out in nondescript black and is at one point dressed as Freddie Mercury (which is about as far from nondescript as one can get.) The imprint in the corner of the screen, PSG, resembles the MTV logo imprint. More specific references follow:

1:08 The close up when Panty suggests that a male member is “delicious” mirrors the look and mannerisms of Courtney Love. (Note the fingers, the nose, and the lips, which are thicker than in other close-ups of Panty.)

1:12 In this shot Garterbelt plays the drums with only one arm, the way that Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen did. The drum kit is set up similarly, and both are using their right arms.

1:22 This is a classic framed shot of the band playing.  It is very common – acts as diverse as Nirvana, Relient K, Angels to Airwaves, and the Beat Crusaders have all used it in their videos, just to name a few.

1:24 The band poses outside Buckingham Palace – not far from where the Sex Pistols once had a press conference.

1:30 Panty gets off the plane and flashes the crowd – something Green Day did, though Jim Morrisson pioneered it.

1:37 The band appears on a late night show, and the host resembles Conan O’Brien.


1:42 The duo in Elvis suits and hair.

1:47 The band dress as Kiss with white makeup, black eyeshadow, spiked black clothes, and fire breathing.

1:50 The band reenact the famous shot of the Beatles walking across an Abbey Road crosswalk.

1:53 The ruined wall, band in long coats and black shades, and NWO black helicopters flying overhead are from the Oasis music video ‘D’you know what I mean?’

1:58 A montage of notable locations: the Statue of Liberty in New York, Taj Mahal, Ayers Rock, Tunguska, Russia (with the Aurora Borealis and a burning meteorite), the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, the Parthenon in Greece, Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, and finally Times Square, in New York again.

2:16 The Jeep stuck in the desert mirrors a scene in the 1975 movie The Passenger. (Chrno Crusade and Full Metal Alchemist had similar scenes; The Passenger is famous among filmmakers for its technical ingenuity.)

3:23 Panty wrapped in police tape and dancing with women behind her is from Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone.’

3:25 Garterbelt strikes a Freddy Mercury pose. He’s wearing the same uniform.

3:27 This is a blend between t.A.T.u.’s performance of and album cover for ‘Dangerous and Moving’ (though oddly enough, the Japanese release cover had different art.)

3:29 Panty is Jimi Hendrix (iconic shot at Woodstock, facing the crowd, with bandana.)

3:31 The girls pose as the Sex Pistols (who did ‘Anarchy in the UK.’ The song was eventually covered by seiyuu Rie Tanaka.)

3:33 Panty burns her guitar a la Jimi Hendrix.

3:34 The band dressed as Marilyn Manson (note the black feathers) and his band.

3:36 The band depicted in the style of Gorrilaz (as they were in ‘Clint Eastwood‘)

A number of album covers:

Menhirs – Pink Floyd – The Division Bell
Panty riding a banana – The Velvet Underground & Nico
Stocking underwater, chasing sweets – Nirvana – Nevermind
Garterbelt screaming – King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King


4:30 In the end the whole thing devolves into a riot, with Stocking smashing her bass and Garterbelt upending his drums, in the infamous manner of the Who. While perhaps not a specific reference to any one concert, the pandemonium mirrors that of a 1994 Green Day performance in Boston, where police and even a prison gang were ultimately called in to keep order.

The final shot, of Panty flipping off the camera, could be referencing any number of celebrities doing so.

The lyrics are for the most part in excellent English, though there are one or two probable errors:

My name is Panty the crazy
Sexy blondie
And I’m not dumb

I’m breaking the news now boys –
Us girls, we’re full time horny too

Hey check out that hot one
Damn he’s got a big one
[Expletive] delicious

It’s time to get dirty now
So will y’all excuse me
Read the air
I’m busy

Garterbelt
Can you dial D-CITY to 900
Answer line
Copy that, we’re the city

Anarchy
Everyone wants to be me
Anarchy yeah
Get it up so I can see
Anarchy
Let it flow wild and free
Anarchy – yeah – You’re ready for the game

[bridge]

By the way my name is Stocking
I still fan of [sic]
Streaming hairless (?)
And I’ve got sweet tooth for lollipops
Loligoth
I make good

These stripes will strike you down
I got no receipt for Journalism

My friends, they all love me
‘Cause I kick it real tasty
I get high being nasty

Garterbelt! You keep slapping my butt around!
Answer line! Freaky girl coming your way!

Anarchy
Everyone wants to be me
Anarchy yeah
Standing ovation please
Anarchy
Shake that thing wild and free
Anarchy – yeah –
Standing ready for the game

[guitar solo]

I know you know
Those wings inside of you
I know you know
They do get naughty too

Before I go
There’s something I wanna say:
Your sleepy anarchy –
Wake it up! Wake it up!

Anarchy
Everyone wants to be me
Anarchy yeah
Get it up so I can see
Anarchy
Let it flow wild and free
Anarchy – yeah –
You’re ready for the game

Author: moritheil

One might be forgiven for thinking that Moritheil is a postmodern literary critic who started reviewing video games in 2001, and spent the early 2000s learning at the right hand of con staff and fansubbers. However, those rumors are spurious: Moritheil is actually a distant relative of Genghis Khan who stands poised to conquer the world via the Internet. Follow along at http://twitter.com/moritheil.

2 thoughts on “Anarchy: a five minute history of punk rock

  1. Very interesting! Wow, so many references! I could recognize some, like Abby Road, Division Bell, and Elvis.

    Yeah, Jim Morrison got pardoned, that was pretty hilarious.

    I like Vampire Knight ED. That kind of style girls find very charming. I think they like noble class victorian style, baroque europe style. I find gothloli girls pretty attractive. Panty and Stocking’s combi is like Shimotsuma Monogatari (kamikaze girls). Though I’m more cyberproletarian, net-cafe refugees, precariat. Yet, the opinion leader of precariat movement in Japan, Karin Amamiya, is also a gothic-lolita. So, I feel close to Stocking.

    I also admire Panty’s pursuit of sensual indulgence, i.e., skinship, ahh, I want to have skinship, but 3-D world’s been really cruel. Thus, refugee in 2-D, real anarchy.

  2. It’s interesting that you should put it that way. Actually at the Green Day concert I mentioned, which was originally for peace, one of the performers said, “This isn’t peace – this is anarchy!” I feel like that is a statement in keeping with the spirit behind Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt.

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