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Most Influential Punks


johnnyguitar

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The first people that people usually think of are The Sex Pistols. But let's not forget that they were put together just like a teen pop group. At least they had the attitude.

I agree with Sammy about the Kinks, but also want to add MC5, who were fairly punkish back in the 60's.

And don't forget that The Police, Blondie and Elvis Costello were part of the late 70's British punk movement.

I don't know who they would be proud of, save for Sting, who would be most proud of himself.

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The Police, Blondie and Elvis C did, indeed, turn up on many 'punk' compilations in the UK (as did Squeeze) but nobody seriously thought they were punks.

By the way, the Pistols were not a 'manufactured band' like, hand picked and auditioned...in the same sense as the Monkees were (for instance) they were a real bunch of blokes in a band who were picked up and 'launched' by their manager....just like the Sweet (for example) and many other bands...searching for an image.

I'd vote for the Pink Fairies and the Edgar Broughton Band in the UK and MC5 in the states...remember we're talking lifestyle here as well, playing for free, fighting the man...etc etc. :shades:

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Iggy and the Stooges were the first ones out there, they're number one. And The MC5 too. After that, the Ramones. The Ramones were inspired by The Stooges and they then went on to inspire others, like the Sex Pistols and The Clash.

This is from Wikipedia:

An oft-cited moment in punk rock's history is a July 4, 1976 concert by the Ramones at the Roundhouse in London (The Stranglers were also on the bill). Many of the future leaders of the UK punk rock scene were inspired by this show, and almost immediately after it, the UK punk scene quickly got into full swing. By the end of 1976, many fans of the Sex Pistols had formed their own bands, including The Clash, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Adverts, Generation X, The Slits and X-Ray Spex. Other UK bands to emerge in this milieu included The Damned (the first to release a single, the classic "New Rose"), The Jam and Buzzcocks. In November of 1976, the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and other bands united for the Anarchy Tour, a series of gigs throughout the U.K. Many of the gigs were cancelled by venue owners, after tabloid newspapers and other media seized on sensational stories regarding the antics of both the bands and their fans.

The Ramones are THE best punk band :bow: :bow:

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Wow. I didn't relize I knew (and liked) so many punk bands. The Pretenders? The Police? Punk? Really?

I think my definition of what punk music is may be a lot more narrow in scope than everyone else's.

What exactly are the parameters of what is considered punk music, anyway?

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Also from Wikipedia:

Punk rock was also a reaction against certain tendencies that had overtaken popular music in the 1970s, including what the punks saw as superficial "disco" music and grandiose forms of heavy metal, progressive rock and "arena rock." Punk also rejected the remnants of the hippie counterculture of the 1960s. Bands such as Jefferson Airplane, which had survived the 1960s, were regarded by most punks as having become fatuous and an embarrassment to their former claims of radicality. Eric Clapton's appearance in television beer ads in the mid-1970s was often cited as an example of how the icons of 1960s rock had literally sold themselves to the system they once opposed.

The British punk movement also found a precedent in the "do-it-yourself" attitude of the Skiffle craze that emerged amid the post-World War II austerity of 1950s Britain. Skiffle music led directly to the tremendous worldwide success of The Beatles (who began as a Skiffle group) and the subsequent British Invasion of the U.S. record charts. Punk rock in Britain coincided with the rise of Thatcherism, and nearly all British punk bands expressed an attitude of angry social alienation.

In a sense merely listing musical precursors to punk music is misleading, because, as rock critic Jon Savage has pointed out, punk drew on all pre-existing popular music genres. So, in a subterranean fashion the influence of, for example, glam rock, funk, rockabilly and (especially) reggae and ska can also be heard in many of the bands we now term punk.

The Ramones define punk music for me because I feel that they are the antithesis to a lot of the over produced, self indulgent tripe that was on offer in the 1970's.

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For the LA/Orange County Punk scene, a partial listing:

The Screamers

The Germs

X

DOA

The Flesh Eaters

Dead Kennedys

Circle Jerks

The Minutemen

Suicidal Tendancies

The Weirdos

The Dickies

There are more that I can not think of right now, but of these listed, X has always been my favorite and I have seen them the most. Some people can not get past Exene's voice, but I think it sounds good with John Doe's. But then, of course, I like Neil Youngs voice,,,,,

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OK...so the Rock world was turned upside down by 'punk'....but who were the 'real deal'? Who are the godfathers/mothers of punk....and of which of their offspring would they be most proud? :bow:

I think you've answered your own question right there! I know I've already said that, but I thought this was a more clever way of stating my opinion.

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