Punk rock gets a fair amount of play around the gheorghosphere, and it certainly did over the last few days. Hope you took a few minutes to watch tomorrow's community leaders play the role of patient boy.
I usually click on Google News sometime in the morning to make sure I haven't missed anything. That said, lately these days my scans have been fewer and more cursory. The news is too bad, too ugly, too depressing. Even the non-Trump tribulations are items like the fact that 34 years ago today, the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
I do, however, enjoy the modern technology feature of search returns and news feeds being tailored to taste. And as such, I get punk rock news -- of which there is not a ton, mind you. This isn't Kings Road, 1977.
One of today's headlines, though, made me chuckle. To begin with, punk band names are the best. And then there's the unintended, more literal interpretation.
Unfamiliar eyes would be rather horrified. Which is, of course the intent of it all. God love the Circle Jerks. They were even name-checked in a Camper van Beethoven song in 1985.
Some punk and hardcore acts take it a bit far, going full-offensive, but those aren't particularly gheorghey. Even the Dead Kennedys rile some people beyond musical consideration. For now, we asked local DJ Les Coole to check in with his favorite punk rock band names of all time:
X
Misfits
The Clash
Social Distortion
Butthole Surfers
Meat Puppets
Circle Jerks
Bad Religion
The Slits
The Damned
Therapy?
Slightly Stoopid
The Runaways
Suicidal Tendencies
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Buzzcocks
Germs
Fugazi (Fouled Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In)
Cock Sparrer
Richard Hell and the Voidoids
The Cramps
Random Idiots
The Stooges
Scrod Rocket
Rancid
Pogue Mahone
Black Flag
999
Southern Culture on the Skids
Agent Orange
Minor Threat
Pavement
Ween
The Skids
The Ruts
The Dead Milkmen
Ramones
Bad Brains
GWAR
[20 bands that start with Anti-...]
The Boomtown Rats
Flogging Molly
The Sex Pistols
Napalm Death
Bikini Kill
Greasetruck
The All-American Rejects
Agnostic Front
Generation X
The Hives
Killing Joke
Hole
Sham 69
The Vibrators
Dead Kennedys
Beastie Boys
Now more than ever, rebellion seems about right. Anarchy in the GTB.
Number 1: You have the right not to be killed. Murder is a crime. Unless it was done by a policeman or an aristocrat.
Oh, know your rights.
And Number 2: You have the right to food money. Providing of course you don't mind a little investigation, humiliation, and, if you cross your fingers, rehabilitation.
These are your rights. Oh, know these rights.
Number 3: You have the right to free speech. As long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it.
Know your rights. These are your rights. All three of them.
It has been suggested in some quarters that this is not enough. Well, get off the streets.
On the third day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me
Three Punk Rock Playlists Two Digits Throughout History And the debut of Mac McFis-ty
Rounding out Day Three. I'm exhausted, but I enjoyed working on this. You're forgiven if you gloss over my meandering text, but listen to the music. If music could talk...
I could talk all day about The Clash. (I won’t.) They are known internationally as The Only Band That Matters. Mattered, I guess, though they seem alive and well when you’re cranking “Clash City Rockers” at a high volume. I consider Joe Strummer to be, in addition to punk rock warlord, a high prophet and one of the coolest guys not just to rock a Mohawk but ever to roam the planet. The Clash are, and have been since the 1980’s, my favorite band of all time. Bar none.
Essential Facts
Joe Strummer (née John Mellor) – sang and played guitar
Mick Jones – sang and played guitar
Paul Simonon – played bass and sang on rare occasions
Nicky “Topper” Headon – drummed (like a mf)
[There were others: Terry Chimes, the original drummer who plays on the first album, and the three younger dudes who stepped in and filled out what would later be called The Clash II when Joe sacked most everyone, a subsequently disavowed record and lineup. But the four above comprise The Clash to most.]
They are all still alive except Joe. Joe Strummer died right before Christmas in 2002 at age 52. I know some folks were bummed at the recent deaths of Bowie, Prince, and others they grew up listening to; I talked to our pal Otis, another huge Clash fan, right after Strummer died. The sentiment exchanged was disbelief. Not just that Joe died from an undiagnosed congenital heart defect right as he was trying to re-form The Clash, months before they would be honored at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . . . but disbelief that the passing of someone we’d never met saddened us that overwhelmingly. It sucked, it still sucks. Years later, this article depicted people who'd obviously been hit harder by it. Life is short. Live well. Please read this interview and listen to Joe’s BBC words to keep you on the righteous path: Without people, you’re nothing. Amen.
Whitney and Joe, NYC
The Clash began as a band owing some small credit to The Sex Pistols (and The Damned and others who get less obvious credit), a London punk band in 1976. Refusing to rest on those laurels or be caged inside hi-fi stereotype, however, they almost immediately rose above punk’s three chord din and infused a number of other elements into their mix. If you can imagine the Pistols covering “Police and Thieves,” which the Clash did in 1977, as anything but a snide send-up, your imagination is more inventive than mine. Time has been kind to The Clash; my earliest education of the band made them seem runners-up to the Pistols in the punk movement, but by now, the reputation and credibility of The Clash lapped the loutish lads in Lydon’s lot long ago.
That said, their presence on the airwaves is still nearly completely limited to the Big 4:
“London Calling” (omnipresent backdrop to any TV show or movie scene where people travel to the UK…ugh)
“Rock the Casbah” (I’d be sick of it and change the station at first note if it weren’t so damn good)
“Train in Vain (Stand By Me)” still a classic with an oft-sampled Topper drum track
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” (more on this later)
If it unspools, use a pencil
That's all you hear. Just silly, as there are many more Clash tunes deserving of airplay. I’ll throw some at you below. When I was a kid, I had heard two of the Big 4 on the radio but didn’t know much of the band beyond that.
Then Combat Rock hit in 1982, and it was one of my earliest cassette purchases. Wore it out. Side 1 was aces, Side 2 was deuces. Rewind button hit frequently. Thinking about doing that takes me back.
Wish I’d been old/smart/cool enough to see them at William and Mary Hall that year. Dammit.
Seven years later, I took a job working for part of the summer at Willoughby Bay Marina. The once huge marina facility is now gone, leveled to make room for condos that never got built thanks to recessive times, but you see the land where it was every time you ascend from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel heading westbound. Crap job I had. I scraped barnacles off the bottom of sailboats and repainted the hulls, did odd jobs, and invented stupid games that the lifers who worked there picked up on immediately. Long hours in the summer swelter with my brain in dry-dock storage. The best hours of the day were in my folks’ car going to and fro. With AC. And a tape deck.
A somewhat random purchase at the start of the summer proved to be a real highlight and an introduction to a back catalogue that made me think that I was way late to the party, but one has kept me entertained for going on three decades since. The Story of The Clash Volume 1, on two clear cassettes. (Vol. 2 never happened.) First listens of “Complete Control,” “Tommy Gun,” "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais,” and the like all thoroughly intrigued. Loved it. Put it in the Walkman while I painted. Wore it out.
* * * * *
The Clash formed in 1976 as a supergroup with members from the London SS and the 101ers. The latter band actually had an album of raw but enjoyable materials. "Keys to Your Heart" and "Letsagetabitarockin" entertain but foreshadow very little of what would come next.
The Clash's eponymously titled first record is pure punk rock. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. Give 'Em Enough Rope followed, including Dave's favorite Clash song. Softened some of the rough edges. Once again, no hint at what would follow.
London Calling was released this month, 1979. And then it was on. 19 songs. 2 LP's. 5 million copies sold. Enough has been written on this record. Rolling Stone named it the best album since ever, back when they wrote articles about music. Just get it, sit down, and spend an hour with the volume way up. ("Elevator, goin' up!")
Sandinista! followed the next year, a bloated 3-LP mixed bag of reggae, pop, experimental, dub, children singing, maybe a little punk, what have you. Critiqued less glowingly. Underrated. I sent Otis a list of what it could have been as a single album. Damn fine:
Police on My Back
Rebel Waltz
Somebody Got Murdered
The Leader
The Call Up
Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)
The Magnificent Seven
Charlie Don't Surf
Lose This Skin
One More Time
Let's Go Crazy
If Music Could Talk
The aforementioned Combat Rock followed, after a few one-off singles. New popular heights, which absolutely killed the band. Trust Clarence, it's hard to handle such acclaim.
Then:
Topper gets punted for being a junkie's junkie. "The Human Drum Machine" wallows in his misery for decades. This story here is well told and has a happy ending, but not until after some depravity. One particularly sad scene is told by Topper when he saw Terry Chimes mimicking drums in the video for "Rock the Casbah," released after Topper had been clipped from the band. That song was Topper's own; he'd been in the studio without his mates one day and had laid down the drums, bass and piano (which comprise most of the music in the song). Joe added new lyrics later. Arguably the Clash's biggest hit, "Rock the Casbah" wasn't a Strummer/Jones composition for once, but Topper's brainchild, and watching Chimes at the kit for all the world to see sent him spiraling further downward.
Mick, the Keith to Joe's Mick or the John to Joe's Paul, is sent packing while Paul stays. Follow? Joe and Paul then pick up three young blokes to round out a pseudo-Clash that produces Cut the Crap but loses remaining street cred and is later considered to never have happened, like Rocky V, Jaws 3-D, or Highlander II. (It did produce twosongs I enjoy. Guilty pleasure.)
And then they're done. Big Audio Dynamite, Havana 3AM, The Good Bad and the Queen, Carbon/Silicon, and The Mescaleros ensue. Decent to very good. But not The Clash. They told us lightning strikes not once but twice, but they had it in a bottle for seven years and once it was gone, it was gone for good. Especially now that Joe is up in heaven.
* * * * *
Rob knows that I have somewhat obsessively populated my Clash library in the years that followed. Disc and digital acquisitions of every studio album, live material galore, b-sides, rarities, outtakes, demos, compilations of every sort. A bit over the top, actually. (I don't have these.) Here’s what you “need”:
Essential Viewing: I loved The Future Is Unwritten, the documentary about Joe Strummer. Trailer here. Westway to the World and The Rise and Fall of The Clash also entertain and educate. Would like to see the tangentially related London Town, out this year. Pre-release showings in London, NYC, Norfolk, VA, and I fucking missed it. Clarence can fail.
Essential Reading: There are dozens of books about The Only Band That Matters, including at least one with that title. Way too many. Enough cashing in already. I’ve read a few. I liked Last Gang in Town by Marcus Gray, A Riot of Our Own by former roadie and road manager Johnny Green, and the huge neon pink tome simply titled The Clash.
Essential Listening: In the album-buying era, you could do plenty worse than that Story of the Clash Volume 1 grab bag. Clash on Broadway expanded upon that. As far as studio albums, it generally goes without saying that you start with London Calling and travel wherever you want from there. That album brings it well beyond any hype about it.
Honestly, they have five albums, six if you count that the US version of the first album is markedly different than the UK. Throw in Black Market Clash and you have a 7-pack of the best stuff ever composed and compiled. I have tried to shy away from good/bad/better/best when it comes to artistic opinion, but come now, children. This shit is the best. Listening to all this music while penning this post has reminded me just how much that's true.
Anyway… in August of this year, Dave posted a Stranger Things clip at SoD that featured “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” In a tremendously pompous and music snobby retort, someone commented:
“The Clash is indeed the only band that matters. Though I would put SISOSIG at about my 37th favorite Clash tune.
I can list 1-36 if you run out of content here.”
Dave, after much consideration, here’s the list. Enjoy. And remember: without people, you're nothing.
God Save the Clarence: Punk Chronicles Vol.4 - The Sex Pistols -
The Sex Pistols. It would be hard to name any band in history as surrounded with mythology, misinformation, and made-up memories. Maybe Spinal Tap or The Rutles.
Most music fans fall into one of two categories:
The Sex Pistols invented punk. They were the first punk band to make it big, and they were pioneers for all the rest. Their songs like "Anarchy in the U.K." stand the test of time, and their influence remains visible across the industry.
The Sex Pistols were all hype. They couldn't play their instruments, but their form of vulgar shock rock made them heroes of the underground, immortalized by public acts of rudeness like the infamous Bill Grundy interview on English television. They were merely puppets of Malcolm McLaren, and their diminutive half-life is evidence that they were talentless hacks acting the part.
The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. There is some actuality in each camp:
They were one of the first punk bands to break through into commercial success.
While their output is extremely limited, songs like "Anarchy" and "God Save the Queen" are among the very best of punk's heyday.
Some of them couldn't play their instruments worth a damn. ('ello, Sid.)
They were certainly thrust into the public spotlight by that TV spot and other acts of extreme vulgarity.
There are just as many myths needing debunking, though:
They didn't invent anything (musically speaking). The Ramones' debut, The Damned, and a number of other albums predated Never Mind the Bollocks. And you could argue that Iggy and others from a decade prior fathered them all.
They were not devoid of talent; Steve Jones is a respected guitarist, and Glen Matlock did write good songs.
Let's take a step back and provide some overview.
Essential Facts (I say "facts," but any truths about this band are debatable and usually at least embellished.)
The Players
John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, sang and whined and shouted and postured (sod off)
Steve Jones, played guitars and bass when Sid sucked too bad
Paul Cook, drummed
Glen Matlock, played bass and wrote music; jettisoned mid-launch
John Simon Ritchie or Simon John Ritchie or John Beverley or Simon Beverley, aka Sid Vicious, smacked his bass around and sang a few bits
Malcolm McLaren, shop owner (called SEX) and manager of the band, master manipulator
Nancy Spungen, screechy girlfriend who was Yoko x 100 but suffered a terrible fate
The Stats and Story
Number of studio albums: 1 (Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols)
Number of RnR Hall of Fame inductions: 1 (sort of... they rejected it)
Formed in 1975
In 1977, Glen Matlock left. Cited reasons vary, the one I like best is that he was sacked because he said he liked The Beatles.
Enter Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten's buddy who'd been window dressing in Siouxsie and the Banshees and just a fan who got in fights at shows. He played bass, but the consensus was among everyone that ever played with him that he had zero skill at it. No matter, as he wasn't really hired to play bass, but rather complete the look, attitude, and reputation of The Sex Pistols. Cursing, spitting, sneering, fighting, self-mutilating, and doing extraordinary amounts of very hard narcotics were all part of the job description, and Sid's performance evals were tip-top.
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols released 10/28/1977. 1.3 million copies sold worldwide.
The Pistols imploded in January 1978. D-bag McLaren had booked them gigs in redneck bars in the American deep south, then waited to see what would happen. Sid's heroin habit had ballooned and he brawled with fans. A number of dates were cancelled. Not one month into the tour, they split, with Johnny Rotten formally announcing the end. Cited reasons vary, as always.
There were a number of reasons why they couldn't sustain this carnival: it was never about the music to at least half the band; they had a self-serving weasel of a manager who fueled chaos without the experience or inclination to actually lead the band somewhere beneficial; a reputation that become bigger than the band, one they had to live up to at every moment, and which elicited hatred from the mainstream masses and violent fanaticism from the disenfranchised. (Sound familiar?)
Sid went solo, silly as that is to say. His take on Sinatra's "My Way" is everything you'd guess it would be and much, much less. Worth a cringy listen (below).
Johnny Rotten reverted to John Lydon and formed Public Image Ltd (PiL), an eighties band you'd file under "alternative" more than "punk rock." I like "This Is Not a Love Song," "Rise," and "Seattle." He's now 60.
Steve Jones and Paul Cook formed a band called The Professionals, then Jones did some solo work plus some acting and disc jockeying in LA. Pre-Sentence Dave bought his solo album Fire and Gasoline, mainly because it had Ian and Billy on a song or two. It wasn't terrible, as I recall. Jones is now 61, Cook is 60. Steve Jones also did a brooding PSA about not doing drugs, the kind of ad that was de rigeur in the 80's. Drugs suck.
Glen Matlock formed the Rich Kids upon his departure, and has subsequently been a member of a whopping 15 different bands. Honestly, it reads like the Monty Python "Rock Notes" sketch that was the genesis of Toad the Wet Sprocket's name. He is 60.
Malcolm McLaren created something called The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, a film and accompanying "album" in 1980 that tried to make one last buck off their name, reunion tours in 1996, 2006, etc. notwithstanding. He died in 2010 at 64.
No one involved ever became part of anything that overshadowed their 2+ years as The Sex Pistols. Some parlayed it into serviceable careers in the music and adjacent industries. John Lydon even has a very reputable body of work behind him. Malcolm McLaren should've made this list when it came out, and he went on to propel/wreck Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow along the way, but it's worth saying that he somewhat intentionally, somewhat inadvertently created the largest punk rock sensation that ever was.
The legacy of the Pistols was less in punk music but more in the style-over-substance engineered fame for fame's sake that was sadly repeatable through the ages. How many bands could we name who fit that description? It was never really about the music. We're lucky we got a few great songs out of the whole affair.
All of that didn't come without a significant casualty. Simon/John/Sid. After the Pistols disintegrated, Sid went to New York with Nancy. Bad times ensued. Of all the unknown/mistold stories of the Sex Pistols, what happened the night of October 12, 1978 remains the biggest mystery to most. Nancy was stabbed in the stomach and died. Sid found her when he awoke from a heroin-induced slumber. Hypotheses vary greatly, ranging from the Occam's razor postulation (no pun intended) that she was annoying and he was a blithering idiot and killed her, to some interesting third party accusations, to the utterly ridiculous, but the scene has been much investigated and leaves some room for doubt.
After bail and legal counsel (aided by Mick Jagger), some more legal trouble, and an ominous sense of a prison sentence, Sid was hanging with family and some junkie buddies on 1 Feb 1979. He partied, OD'ed, was resuscitated, and partied some more. Then some more. And then he passed out and died. Allegations include the one that his mom gave him the lethal dose, fearing a worse fate for him in prison. A suicide note was found in his pocket, one which read, "We had a death pact, and I have to keep my half of the bargain. Please bury me next to my baby. Bury me in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots. Goodbye." Horrible all around. His ashes were scattered on Nancy's grave. He was 21.
Depraved and disgusting, utterly romantic, pathetic, or sadly tragic, depending on your worldview.
Essential Listening: Never Mind the Bollocks. That's it.
Essential Viewing: Sid and Nancy. Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb. Ebert gave it 4 stars. It's gritty, well-acted, and pretty cool. Good soundtrack that includes Joe Strummer.
If you haven't seen it, watch the whole movie, but if you have, and liked it, and want to be reminded of a phenomenal last scene that gave me chills, watch this 2:37 clip again. I don't know, I used to err on the Sid was pathetic side, but I now think he was victimized pretty fully in it all, and in the end he was just a romantic fool in love with someone who was bad for him but who loved him warts and all in a way that cost them both everything. Wow. All right.
On the third day of Gheorghemas,
Big Gheorghe gave to me
Three Punk Rock Playlists Two Digits Throughout History And the debut of Mac McFis-ty
On Friday, November 15, 2013, I unveiled a the first in a 5-part segment on punk rock. The quintet of posts would be a love letter to the music genre, as I hold punk in very high regard. (Clarence’s loves are known as the 3 P’s: punk, pilsner, and, well, this is a family blog, so we’ll leave it at that.)
I didn’t reveal the breakdown of the five posts at the time, but here’s what it came down to (click the links to review if you're killing time):
Ah, the best laid plans of squirrels and men. Part 2 arrived on the G:TB scene in August of 2015. Reminiscent of the Cauc Hop final. But a hair better than Whitney’s still to-be-delivered Day 12 from last year. Or TR’s never-to-be-completed Topps baseball card review.
And so today I determine not to drag this out any further. It’s not all that fascinating a series of posts, and if this year has taught us anything, we just don’t know how long we have on this orb. I’d hate to have our intern have to finish this for me posthumously. Here we go, Parts 3, 4, and 5. In pieces. In reverse. Punk rock.
Holiday in Clarencia: Punk Chronicles Vol. 3 -1980's until today-
Punk was preheated in the late 1960’s by The Stooges and MC5 and the like, prepped a bit in the early 70’s by the New York Dolls and T. Rex and friends, and then served up at the end of the decade by the horde of acts listed in Chapter 1 of this bus wreck and beyond. So what happened next?
The early 80’s saw some continuity; The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, and Black Flag kept on keepin’ on, while newcomers like X, Descendents, Minor Threat, and Social Distortion assumed the mantle. But… a number of bands previously punk now fell more into the new wave synth and melody, even they retained their punk f-u sensibilities. Devo, I’m looking at you. The Jam began flexing muscles that had a whiff of Motown. Blondie went pop, and for a second, hip-hop. Talking Heads got really good, but went to world music and a dozen other genres. And a bunch of groups who were pretty much punk could better be labeled something else. Bad Brains (hardcore), The Misfits (horror rock), The Cramps (psychobilly), and a whole lot of music that now got called “alternative rock.”
Hell, there are way, way too many categories and tons of crossover to where it’s pointless to even try: pop-punk, underground, indie, garage rock, post-punk, ska-core, 15 kinds of metal, alt-whatever, grunge, and just rock and roll. Random Idiots were as punk as they got, but the label filed them under “death reggae” and “folk speed metal.” What a mess.
So let’s not get hung up on rigid genre characterization. Let’s listen to some music. Enjoy the Spotify playlist below that is compiled of 69 Punk or Punkish tunes from 1980-2016. There are the usual suspects (Dropkick Murphys, Green Day, The Minutemen, Fugazi), but more than a few random surprises. Feedback and favorites welcomed.
It’s not really safe for work. You figured that, I figure.
18 months ago, I launched segment number one of a five-part piece on punk rock. At this rate, you guys will have to write and read numbers four and five at my funeral. In that piece, I ran through 25 punk rock classics from the 1970's. Intentionally, I left out three individual bands worthy of their own post/playlist. Here's a take on one of them . . .
Hey -- Ho -- Let's Go
The Ramones
Writing an excess of words on the band, while very Clarence, does not suit the Ramones. This is a band that crammed 5 minutes' worth of playing into two-minute songs for two decades. Here's what you need to know, Cliffs Ramone style.
Essential Facts
Jeff Hyman, John Cummings, Doug Colvin, Tom Erdelyi, later Marc Bell and some others
Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy, Marky Ramone, et al
Supposedly "Ramones" had a link to Paul McCartney checking into hotels as Paul Ramon. Also possibly linked to producer Phil Ramone. Probably neither so much as just a random choice of a universal surname for all band members.
Joey was on drums at first. Tommy was the manager, then he took over behind the kit and Joey went out front. Good call, dudes.
Have you see Joey Ramone up close? And considering how shy he was, he was a less likely candidate for successful frontman than Stipe, Ian Curtis, and Andy Partridge put together.
The Ramones' eponymous debut was released in 1976. It makes the G:TB list of best debut albums of all time.
Johnny Ramone stole Joey's girlfriend and married her. This was never really resolved.
Johnny Ramone was staunchly conservative in his political leanings. Joey was diametrically opposed. This mattered when it came to occasional lyrical content like in "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg."
Dee Dee was the only original who really did many drugs. Way many.
Joey died in 2001 from lymphoma. Dee Dee finally OD'ed in 2002. Johnny succumbed to prostate cancer in 2004. Tommy died last year from bile duct cancer. Name another rock and roll band whose founding members are all deceased. I know of two. Because I googled it.
Essential Listening: I bought Mania when it came out in 1988, then eventually went back to the first album and started working my way through from the beginning. Not a bad way to do it, and it may be how everyone is doing it. Mania was the only certified gold record The Ramones had, ludicrous as it seems to me. Until last year -- when Ramoneswent gold, 38 years after its release. Hundreds of years from now, watch for sales of Too Tough to Die to skyrocket.
In the meantime, here's Clarence's take on the music. Come on, let's rock and roll with the Ramones.
What You Already Know
(or you damn well should)
1. "Blitzkrieg Bop," Ramones 1976 Hey Ho Let's Go
2. "I Wanna Be Sedated," Road to Ruin 1978 Hurry hurry hurry, before I go loco
3. "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," Rocket to Russia 1977 New York City really has it all
4. "Rock & Roll High School," End of the Century, 1980 I just wanna get some chicks
5. "Do You Remember Rock & Roll Radio?" End of the Century, 1980 'Cause lately it all sounds the same to me
What You May Well Know
1. "We're a Happy Family," Rocket to Russia 1977 Siting here in Queens / Eating refried beans
2. "The KKK Took My Baby Away," Pleasant Dreams, 1981 Ring me ring me ring me up the President / And find out where my baby went
3. "Pinhead," Leave Home, 1977 Gabba gabba hey
4. "Rockaway Beach," Rocket to Russia 1977 The sun is out, and I want some
5. "Pet Sematary," Brain Drain, 1989 I don't want to live my life again
Brilliance in Under Two Minutes
1. "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," Ramones, 1976 - 1:36 All the kids want somethin' to do
[This might be the perfect rock song. It's like it sired "Wasted" by Black Flag.]
2. "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment," Leave Home, 1977 - 1:43 Peace and love is here to stay
3. "Cretin Hop," Rocket to Russia 1977 - 1:59 There's no stoppin' the cretins from hoppin'
Top Ramones Covers
1. "California Sun," The Rivieras
2. "Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen
3. "Let's Dance," Chris Montez
4. "Needles and Pins," Jackie DeShannon
5. "Spiderman," TV Cartoon
3 Good Ramones Songs That Aren't Very Ramones-y
1. "Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La), Too Tough to Die, 1985 I want to steal from the rich and give to the poor
2. "Danny Says," End of the Century, 1980 Listening to Sheena on the radio
Phil Spector... uh...
3. "She Talks to Rainbows," Adios Amigos! 1994 She talks to trees / She talks to bees / She don't talk to me
Bizarrely silly lyrics, but I really like this tune a lot.
Also: "Something to Believe In," Animal Boy, 1986 If people weren't such dicks and I never made mistakes / Then I could find forgiveness
I don't love the song, but a video worth watching, Ramones Aid, a USA for Africa parody with guest stars.
JDGRS (Just Damn Good Ramones Songs)
Teenage Lobotomy Psycho Therapy 53rd & 3rd Bop 'Til You Drop I Remember You Chinese Rock Too Tough to Die Garden of Serenity Beat On the Brat Glad to See You Go I Want You Around Havana Affair
At the Boathouse in Norfolk
Clarence's All-Time Favorites
(In addition to several of the above)
1. "Judy Is a Punk," Ramones, 1976 Perhaps they'll die, oh yeah
2. "Commando," Leave Home, 1977 Fourth rule is: Eat kosher salamis
1:55 of pure punk rock, kicked off with vintage Dee Dee 1-2-3-4.
3. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow," Rocket to Russia 1977 Someone had to pay the price Dispelling misconceptions that all Ramones songs are frenetic punk with shallow content . . .
4. "I Just Wanna Have Something to Do," Road to Ruin 1978 Hanging out on Second Avenue / Eating chicken vindaloo
. . . but some are, and they are excellent.
5. "We Want the Airwaves," Pleasant Dreams, 1981 Mr. Programmer / I got my hammer / and I'm gonna Smash my / Smash my / Radio
6. "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg (My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down)," Animal Boy 1986 As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
7. "Somebody Put Something In My Drink," Animal Boy 1986 Tanqueray and tonic's my favorite drink / I don't like anything colored pink / That just stinks
Inspired the Random idiots song "Someone Slipped a Mickey in My 27th Beer."
8. "I Wanna Live," Halfway to Sanity, 1987 As I execute my killers / The morning is near
I don't know if it'll make any change, but I figured it's time for me to start posting some music stuff again.
Last time around, I offered up 25 vintage 1980’s rap classics. This time I’ll throw out a five part-series of one of my favorite genres: the widely encompassing label known as punk. For what it’s worth, I love punk rock in all its form, really good and totally crappy.
If, as Harlan Howard surmised, country music is simply “three chords and the truth,” punk rock might be two chords and a sneer. Punk, after all, was and is much more about the attitude than the musicality. (“When I saw the Pistols, I suddenly realized that I wasn’t alone in the fact that I couldn’t play too well.” – Joe Strummer) In most cases in rock history, style over substance has made for utterly shite tunes . . . Somehow in this case that ridiculous formula worked masterfully in many cases, with the dirty little secret being that a lot of these guys were/became pretty damn skilled.
Here’s a layman’s recipe for punk rock music. Chuck in equal parts:
Driving guitars
Vitriolic disdain
Defiantly simplistic lyrics
Defiantly simplistic chords
Atonal singing
Nothing pretty at all costs
Short songs, some times startlingly so
A horribly menacing sound
Content that equates a middle finger or two
Your natural accent . . . or a bizarrely affected accent
Social message
Or antisocial message
Or anarchic message
Or peaceful message
Or no message
Or whatever the hell you want
Mix together and remember one thing more than the rest:
If it’s worth playing, it’s worth playing loud
The first segment of this playlist series is punk’s heyday, the 1970’s. I have intentionally left out three of the stalwarts of the genre, as they deserve individual playlists of their own. You’ll know of whom I speak right away.
1-2-3-4 . . .
1. The Adverts, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”
Gary Gilmore was one of the most interesting murderers of all time, immortalized by Tommy Lee Jones, Norman Mailer, and The Adverts. Gilmore donated his eyes to science. Some poor sucker got them. Yikes.
1977
2. Tom Robinson Band, “2-4-6-8 Motorway”
Dave likes songs that count or say the days of the week (a la “Police on My Back”), and this one does the evens and odds for him. Enjoy, D. Pave. 1977
4. The Undertones, “Teenage Kicks”
This song was known for a couple of things – Feargal Sharkey and his mates were 19-year-olds from Northern Ireland who shot to fame and never really matched it, and famed British DJ John Peel fell head over heels in love with this tune like none before or since. Hype aside, it’s pretty damn good.
1978
5. Richard Hell and the Voidoids, “Blank Generation”
While Billy Idol’s Generation X would see their name plagiarized by lazy twentysomethings in flannel resembling Rob and me in the 1990’s, the blank generation was its punk predecessor. Other than Jello Biafra, John Doe, and Death, Richard Hell is arguably the best punk name.
1977
7. The Damned, “New Rose”
The Damned did everything first and got nearly zero credit, aside from Bob Marley’s song “Punky Reggae Party.” Damned if you do...
1976
8. The Modern Lovers, “Pablo Picasso”
So good, so punk attitude. You know Jonathan Richman from There’s Something About Mary, but long before, he explained the quintessential difference between guys like you and guys like Pablo Picasso. He never got called asshole. Not like you.
1976
9. Wreckless Eric, “Whole Wide World”
A little-seen film (that I heartily enjoy) called Stranger Than Fictionresuscitated this tune a few years back, but it’s another off-kilter song worth hearing or trying to play.
1977
10. X-Ray Spex, “Oh Bondage Up Yours!”
If you think the title or the shouted lyrics are punk, they pale in comparison to whatever the hell that ridiculous instrumentation that comes in about the :20 mark. (Bad sax?) Random Idiots-esque, and somehow they made it popular.
1977
11. Alternative TV, “Action Time Vision”
Lousy band name, lousy song name, but a rock song worth turning up.
1978
12. Blondie, “Hanging on the Telephone”
Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, and Co. went fairly pop before too long, but this is by far my favorite of their early efforts. And she was super-hot, for those that have only seen the latter-day beefy Blondie.
1978
13. The Jam, “Eton Rifles”
Beyond the Pistols and The Clash, you’d probably list The Jam as the next most prolific punk-origined band. Either “In the City” or this one as top early number.
1978
15. Television, “Marquee Moon”
Not terribly punk – the weak singing excepted, but it’s good guitar rock by rebellious bastards with some random cross to bear. Two chords, my ass, I can’t play it.
1977
17. Stiff Little Fingers, “Alternative Ulster”
Made me consult an atlas. And write “Alternative Norfolk,” which never made the charts.
1979
18. The Members, “The Sounds of the Suburbs”
The ultimate pain-in-the-ass middle class kid’s rejection of his surroundings. This is the sound.
1979
19. 999, “Homicide”
In punk songwriting, a one-word chorus is just fine, if that word is “homicide.”
1978
20. The Skids, “The Saints Are Coming”
Given a rebirth by Green Day and Bono on MNF when the Superdome reopened after Katrina, the original featured later Big Countryman Stuart Adamson. Good shit.
1978
. . . and now my 5 favorite punk songs of the 1970’s (not performed by The Clash, Ramones, or Sex Pistols)
21. The Buzzcocks, “Ever Fallen In Love”
Part of what's great about punk rock – just when you start to have it pegged, you’re wrong. Frenzied, guitar driven lover’s lament. The answer is yes. 1978
22. Dead Kennedys, “California Über Alles”
Easily one of my favorite punk acts for its humor-drenched fantastic rock songs. This should be the Cali state song.
1979
23. Wire, “Mannequin”
This is a real rock song, and a great one, while . . .
1977
24. Wire, “I Am the Fly”
. . . this is one of the most menacing songs ever recorded. It exists basically to torment, and is therefore exquisite. The repetition, aggravating sounds, and degenerate lyrics make it almost the perfect punk song. Second only to . . .
1978
25. Black Flag, “Wasted”
Pre-Henry Rollins. 52 seconds. Simple. Rocking. So great. This should be the first song every fledgling band learns. And it won’t take long. Did I mention 52 seconds?
1978
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