Like the Sex Pistols’ January ‘78 tour of the Deep South, The Black Lips recent expedition to India was marked by a series of fairly seismic culture shocks. Everything from bottle-throwing fans at a gig in Pune, to livid show promoters in Chennai, all in response to a bunch of full-frontal punk rock provocateurs from Atlanta. For those that still haven’t heard the story, the band was booked to play on India’s equivalent of American Idol, The “Campus Rock Idol” Tour, a big-ticket televised series with large corporate sponsors. Last Saturday, in Chennai, the band entertained the crowd with what stateside fans would consider a typically raucous Black Lips show, replete with intra-band lip locking, and Cole de-pantsing, mooning the crowd, and attempting to play his six-string with, well, his privates. Barely okay in America, definitely NOT okay in India, the band was subsequently chased out of the country and the sponsors pulled the plug, effectively canceling the rest of the tour and the television season. The events have caused an international wave of news coverage, rounded out by everything from defensive “It’s only rock n roll” stories to meatier pieces that tease out the more nuanced concepts at play here, namely artistic freedom versus cultural respect.

Watch The Trailer For Black Lips In India:

http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=9786691001

Read The Letter Cole Alexander Sent After The Escape:

http://www.viceland.com/vicerecords/wordpress/?p=305

Read The Vice Interview With Drummer Joe Bradley:

http://vice.typepad.com/vice_magazine/2009/01/black-lips-indi.htm\

The Black Lips – Cold Hands