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Punk Bands


MindCrime

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since when are Sonic Youth and the Velvet Underground punk bands? :P

if they include Celtic Punk like Dropkick Murphies and Flogging Molly, they could have included Gogol Bordello as well :cool:

and where are The Ruts?

otherwise, all in all, not too bad of a list (from my non-expert view) ;)

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Sex Pistols should be top 10

Dead Kennedys may be top 5, but #1 is stretching it a bit

Leftöver Crack rating over Rancid, NOFX, Social Distortion, and AFI is questionable

Pennywise is way too low, seeing as how they have a bigger fanbase than a lot of the bands that ranked before them

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Also: those of you who are all :o , :confused: , or :smirk: about the inclusion of Patti Smiith are advised to do a bit more serious reading around the subject of punk. Patti Smith is one of the essential figures in the history of its development, an inspiration to many; her role should not be underestimated. You need to remember that for any musical movement which becomes fashionable, a generic look/sound only tends to arise after the genre has achieved public prominence: a media-facilitated perception/pastiche of the genre's essential features creates a perpetually self-reinforcing cycle destined to be continually re-packaged and re-sold. So it is easy to categorise as "punk" only those bands / artists which appear to conform to our perception of what constitutes "punk" now, based on current standards and expectations. But punk rock is, was, and always has been more than just 3-chord rock'n'roll played by guys with short spiky hair and leather jackets. Most of its main players did not tend to conform to what would later become the generic norm.

Patti Smith was active as a confrontational rock'n'roll artist in the mid-70s - several years before punk's subsequent interpretation, assimilation and regurgitation in a generic image - using rock'n'roll as a platform to present challenging lyrical and philosophical ideas, incorporating Romantic, libertarian and anti-establishment themes. Listening to "Rock'n Roll *******", "Piss Factory", "Horses" or Smith's version of "My Generation" - and putting them in their historical context- enables a better understanding of Patti Smith as a crucial player in punk's evolution. Apart from anything else, she is arguably one of the most significant female role-models in "rock", largely responsible for punk and post-punk developing as relatively inclusive movements which encouraged female participation and challenged the traditional roles and stereotypes of women in rock (submissive, lust-objects, window-dressing, apolitical, not to be taken seriously, etc.). Punk was not about being easy on the eye or ear; women were enabled to be un-pretty, loud, challenging (i.e. unfeminine) misfits. Whilst this "liberation" might have occurred anyway, many important female artists of the punk/post-punk period would cite Patti Smith as an empowering influence.

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But punk rock is, was, and always has been more than just 3-chord rock'n'roll played by guys with short spiky hair and leather jackets. Most of its main players did not tend to conform to what would later become the generic norm.

yes, you're right, I guess my definition of punk was a bit close minded...

and maybe these people were even more 'punk' because they didn't simply follow the generic 'trend'? ;)

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Here's a list for people to tear apart! :D

I'm not exactly going to tear it apart; It's an interesting enough read, and commendable on some of its astute, imaginative and broad-minded inclusions, e.g. Sonic Youth, Gang Of Four, Flux Of Pink Indians. However, it is incredibly Americocentric and subjective, somewhat irrational in its sense of order/status, and appears to have a massive over-emphasis on the (frankly quite tiresome) genres of ska-punk / ska-core.

I find myself thinking, "EH? Citizen Fish over the Buzzcocks; WTF???"... "Subhumans over Crass???!!!".

Cock Sparrer (much as I have a soft spot for them) and The Adicts in the Top 30, The Filaments at #48 (Who????!!! apparently a UK band, but...really...I've read the write-up and I'm not convinced...) whilst there is no place at all for the significant likes of The Angelic Upstarts, X Ray Spex, The Ruts or, for that matter, PIL, Killing Joke, Siouxsie And The Banshees...

The Sex Pistols at #12 (???), four places below (the no-doubt legendary) Street Light Manifesto. Pur-leeeze. Etc., etc.

Also, if they are astute enough to include Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, et al, why not also make room for The Butthole Surfers, Rudimentary Peni, Big Black, Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard, The Birthday Party; all as punk as f**k and infinitely superior to many/most of the bands featured. The reason is that this "punk forum" is probably frequented predominantly by youthful Americans, late-comers to the genre whose knowledge and opinion is informed by the kind of received history, (common lore, back issues of Maximum R'n'R / Flipside, etc.), which, by virtue of its cyclical nature, elevates some bands to revered status (sometimes on the most spurious basis: e.g. "hardworking commitment to the scene", longevity, etc.) while causing others to be misrepresented or overlooked and, eventually, forgotten.

Some of the band write-ups are laughably simplistic summaries; you question the wisdom of their undoubtedly enthusiastic and well-intentioned authors.

A case in point:

Citizen Fish: "Successfully unsuccessful since 1989." This band from the former frontman of Subhumans, Dick Lucas comes. They have been putting out material on their record label from the late 80's and are still to present day. Dick has took his intelligent anarcho lyrics from Subhumans and his ska-punk from Culture Shock and formed them into the ultime band known as Citizen Fish. This band is the leader of ska-punk today and still tours and Dick Lucas shows no sign of giving in. The passion found in this band is truly remarkable. Citizen Fish is one of the best bands to ever come out of the ska and punk scene. Afterall, nothing can beat anarcho lyrics with catchy beats.
Uh, yeah, right.

When my band supported Citizen Fish (nearly 20 years ago), they wouldn't even talk to us. They were either very shy or right up their own arses.

They must have been pretty bloody hungry too; they and their entourage had the appetising vegetarian rider all for themselves, leaving just one solitary golfball-sized potato for the humble support band to share between the three of us.

Not that I bear a grudge.

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You make me sound like a right twat, mate.

Anyway: C is also for Cockney Rejects.

Now regarded (by many) as legendary on account of their influence upon the strand of punk that became known as "street-punk" or Oi! Initially, the Rejects were influenced by The Sex Pistols and The Clash, and adopted a fairly generic-punk musical template, but with additional amateurishness, and a certain "football-terrace singalong" quality which yobbishly celebrated East End-working class lifestyles and endeared them to the more proletarian end of the punk fan-base. (ie. alongside Sham 69, Angelic Upstarts: poles apart from the art-punk / post-punk (Wire, Banshees, PIL, Joy Division) After two albums of shouty, Oi! style punk, The Cockney Rejects adopted tattoos, bandanas and heavy metal and lost it for me.

"I'm Not A Fool"

"Flares And Slippers"

"Police Car"

Sadly, there appears to be no youtube footage of my favourite Rejects tune, "Hate Of the City".

Morrissey remains a big fan of The Cockney Rejects (a remnant from his days as one of the first UK punks): he staged a Rejects reunion gig (as his support band), when he curated the Meltdown Festival a few years ago.

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I'm going to do a separate feature on the phenomenon of "anarcho-punk", so Crass can wait till then.

In the meantime, D is for The Damned

The Damned were widely disdained and ridiculed by many of their 1976 contemporaries in the punk crucible; perceived as artless jesters, who simply didn't take the whole thing seriously enough. Where some punk gigs would be characterised by intimidation and violent stand-offs, at a Damned show you'd be more likely to become embroiled in a custard-pie fight than be assailed by somebody's bicycle chain. Fact is, whilst others in the punk fold were foolishly denouncing the history of rock'n'roll, The Damned embraced it, recognised that punk was a continuation of its tradition and that, for all the youthful intensity of the time - the confrontation, challenge, resistance - there still had to be room for "entertainment". This may have lost them credibility in the eyes of some scenesters, but helped them gain an ardent and loyal following amongst the youth at large, which would serve them well after the death of punk as a commercially viable fad, at the end of the decade. It's a long story, but, one way or another, while The Pistols were messing about getting signed and unsigned, The Damned sneakily released what is now broadly acknowledged as the first UK punk single, "New Rose". Ultimately, The Damned went on to prove their early critics wrong, and by dint of their musical broadmindedness and (rather unexpected) prowess, they amassed a string of fine singles (including chart hits such as "Grimly Fiendish" and and a cover of Barry Ryan's 60s hit, "Eloise") and several pretty good albums, which drew on their members' fondness for 60s/70s psychedelic rock and pop.

The Damned: a splendid band and, for the uninitiated, well worth checking out.

"New Rose"

"Neat Neat Neat"

"Smash It Up"

"Love Song"

"Plan 9 Channel 7"

"I Just Can't Be Happy Today"

"Rabid Over You"

"Wait For The Blackout"

"The History Of The World"

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I always liked "The Damned" They were punk,stuck to it....no excuses...Liked PIL too...and a band I could never figure out..."The Plasmatics" Probably one of the strangest shows I've seen in my life...musically different but the stage show was basically "Wendy O. Williams" with her knobs hanging out...screeching,guitars getting sawed up...and very strange visual thingies...it made no sense but, I was a happy camper when I left...

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