Oh, the dangers of being a blogcritic - I was actually accused of not being punk! I'll admit the post was about The Doors and that would tend to set the archetypical punk rocker off in this post Operation Ivy/Rancid world, not that there's anything wrong with Op Ivy or Rancid. This got me to thinking about what ten albums would constitute core punk records from my collection. After thinking about it I ended up with ten records that now seem almost mainstream to me after so many years of listening to them, traveling in circles of people that also listen to them, and seeing them make best of lists over the years. I'm going to list them anyways just to see if anybody has a disagreement or anything else to add.
1. The Stooges - debut album set a standard for anti-social angst and heavy rock abandon.
2. The Ramones - debut album is a simple classic that never grows old. It was the template for them for the rest of their career.
3. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks - snarling, contemptous, and the wall of guitar production create a one off triumph that has never gone out of style no matter how many piss poor records John Lydon has made since.
4. The Clash - debut, British or American version - either one cuts to the quick.
5. Black Flag - Damaged is still a mindblower all these years later with anger to spare and Robo's insane drumming.
6. Bad Brains - debut album on ROIR makes Black Flag almost seem like easy listening.
7. Minor Threat - complete CD since Minor Threat never recorded a bad song. My wife always asks why does Ian have to scream all the time and it makes me laugh.
8. Suicidal Tendencies - first album - this is the one that I think people would disagree with, but the album is hilarious and the speed metal guitar licks point the way to the punk/metal crossover.
9. Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime with great lyrics and the nerve to cover some classic rock tunes, gasp. D. Boon will always live in our hearts 'nuff said,
10. Husker Du - New Day Rising had more focus than Zen Arcade and like the Suicidals pointed the way to the future of music whether you think this is good or bad.
That's what I come up with so let me know what albums would make your ten prime list. Next time around I'll try to come up with a list of obscure punk hits.
3 comments:
The problem with best of punk lists is that only the mainstream stuff makes the list (which is probably why it is mainstream in the first place because it is the best). But with punk so much of it was (and is) under the radar that a lot of great stuff never gets heard. However, I tend to agree with most of your list. In fact, most of those records are in my record and tape collection. I would say that your list is dead-on for 'Best of Punk - Phase 1).
But where do you draw the line as to what is classified as punk? I think Kurt Cobain probably thought Nirvana was a punk band. If so, then I would say Nirvana should make the list. Thurston Moore thinks Sonic Youth is a punk band (at least I think he does based on the title of their movie 'The Year Punk Broke'). I might put them on my list if they were punk. A lot of newer punk seems to be kind posing as what they think punk was supposed to be like before they were born. But that said, I like the hell out of Rancid. I think they are living the life rather than just wearing the clothes. Their records (to my ear) sound just as good as most of what is on the 'List'.
My wife used to be a dj at the college station in Knoxville when we were at school and she would bring me boxes of punk records that the station was discarding. There was so much great stuff there that no one's heard.
Verbal Abuse - Rocks Your Liver, The Detonators - Just Another Reason, Don't No - Incite the Riot, and my all-time favorite The Disturbed - Totolled Volvo with the best punk song ever "You're So Beautiful, But You're a Slut"!
Elliott
Depending on how far back you want to go and how loose you want to be, I think an argument can be made for the first New York Dolls album. The sloppy, we-don't-care attitude suits.
The Buzzcocks "Singles Going Steady" (technically a best-of) is a classic. Still listen to it today.
The first or second Ultravox! albums (when John Foxx was still their singer) certainly count. Primitive apocalyptic rock.
And I'm sorry, but The Doors are not punk. They were the very thing punk rebelled against: hedonism, rock god, long rambling jams, pseudo-intellectual.
The Buzzcocks "Singles Going Steady" is easily one of my all time faves. I think I've had three copies of it on vinyl at one time, just like the Jam's "In The City" which is another great record. The Buzzcocks could have definitely made it, but I left them off because of the sweetness of their sound. The Dolls are also contenders. My position on The Doors is they didn't get the chance to become the bloated dinosaur corporate crap the punks railed against. There was hedonism, I'll grant that, but Sid Vicious was straight edge by any means. The Doors music was also atypical from the pop or rock mainstream - I'm still amazed that "Light My Fire" crossed over to the Top Forty. They didn't even have a bass player which seems pretty punk to me. Liking them was just part of the general swirl of counter culture stuff I was digging back them. Once I heard the Velvet Underground I put away my Doors albums for a very long time.
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