This is Ben just mocking the punk scene. "They had a bad case of nostalgic blues / And started a group just to cop the tunes" is talking about how they listen to punk music (likely getting 'nostalgic' for the days of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and the Clash) and start writing the same exact songs that've already been written -- punk songs tend to follow the ol' I-IV-V format.
"And if we could break the rules that were already broken before we were born
Then we could hold them to their guns cause we'd be a punk rock band too"
The original punk bands did it all -- any and all rules they could break have been done. There's no room to do anything further -- so you'll just be breaking the same rules to be the same punk band. Right in line with the question he asks: "What could they possibly do next to shock the crowd?" Not much -- it's all been done.
Ben's not really a fan of punk music; there's a radio interview he did in either '96 or '98, I believe where he quite directly rips on the punk scene a bit. I had to laugh, even though I enjoy a little punk now and then.
This is Ben just mocking the punk scene. "They had a bad case of nostalgic blues / And started a group just to cop the tunes" is talking about how they listen to punk music (likely getting 'nostalgic' for the days of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and the Clash) and start writing the same exact songs that've already been written -- punk songs tend to follow the ol' I-IV-V format.
"And if we could break the rules that were already broken before we were born Then we could hold them to their guns cause we'd be a punk rock band too"
The original punk bands did it all -- any and all rules they could break have been done. There's no room to do anything further -- so you'll just be breaking the same rules to be the same punk band. Right in line with the question he asks: "What could they possibly do next to shock the crowd?" Not much -- it's all been done.
Ben's not really a fan of punk music; there's a radio interview he did in either '96 or '98, I believe where he quite directly rips on the punk scene a bit. I had to laugh, even though I enjoy a little punk now and then.