Remember when punk was punk? A lot of people blame Green Day and Blink 182 for watering down punk sensibilities to make it more palatable for the masses. I think you have to go further back, to 1978. Despite the punk revolution that was booming at the time, and the great bands like Buzzcocks, the Damned, Ramones..the list goes on....one band in particular stood out. Generation X. This band not only propelled Billy Idol to stardom, but captured the punk spirit and made it commercially successful for the first time. It made radio-friendly music, with just a hint of the ferocity of the punk movement to keep it out of the complete mainstream. They sang of rock and roll, of drugs, of teenaged angst, with little hints of the political clime here and there. To a lot of music scholars, Gen X was punk-lite. But for me, they were musical geniuses. Of all the bands during the era, whether in England or here in the US, they had a musicality and songwriting knack that very few bands, even pop bands had at the time. And they also knew that the guitar was more than a 3-chord progression.

So let's go back in time, to '78. For some this is old school and maudlin. To others, especially the new kids out there who've made it big playing their faux punk, they need to bow down to their masters from a generation ago.

Kiss Me Deadly

Shh. Be quiet.

Or The Killers will cover it and ruin it forever.

It was a different time, a time I sometimes miss. I really enjoyed The Ramones.

Great video.

I graduated HS in 1985 and was a teenage Punk.
Just about everyone was into hair bands by that time at my school.
I listened to enough of it to date girls, but my bands were The Dead Kennedys,Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, The Stooges, Siouxsie and the Banshees,PIL, Wendy O Williams, The Clash and many others.
There was so much passion ,violence and beauty in those songs.

I was lucky enough to catch the last of Punk, and was even luckier to experiance it in the UK in 87.

I agree that by the time Green Day showed up it was over. I think Green Day gave a rebirth to mainstream Top 40 Punk.

True Punk rock has been gone since the early 90s.

It's hard to sing Punk anymore in this country.
The land of plenty doesnt make that kind of art.

The Queen.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxygqSTO1lQ

Come on guys... you know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...WSjg&feature=related

Oh man, I was a punk rocker in high school.
From Black Flag to the Dead Kennedys!

quote:

Originally posted by jager1:
Come on guys... you know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...WSjg&feature=related

Oh hell yes. Still one of the greatest bands of all time.

Have any of you guys read "Punk Diaries"?
Such great stuff if you're even a remote fan.

Still one of my favorite punk albums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mkf0iJIbZM

One of my faves from college radio days, Dead Boys. Their Young, Loud and Snotty record had about 5 hit singles on it. Along with Gun Club, Plasmatics, Black Flag, Suicide Commandos, Bad Brains, Ramones, Husker Du etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...next_from=PL&index=5

When they diluted Punk into New Wave so they could play it on the radio it almost killed Punk Rock off.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by BillF:
When they diluted Punk into New Wave so they could play it on the radio it almost killed Punk Rock off.

Bill

not sure where you were in the early 80's, but New Wave was a rarity on the radio in my area, (not a slam but a fact!)

one AM station, that was limited in range, and gone by 81,
one college station, with even more limited area

and one AOR station that only played Elvis Costello, and then only a couple of songs,

however

many punk bands toured in this area,

black flag, loose nut tour 84 (great show, still have the t shirt!)
dead kennedy's in 83 (I think), another great show

minutemen opened for REM, in 87 (IIRC)

and probably more that I missed,

quote:

Originally posted by Flyinfast:
Great video.

I graduated HS in 1985 and was a teenage Punk.
Just about everyone was into hair bands by that time at my school.
I listened to enough of it to date girls, but my bands were The Dead Kennedys,Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, The Stooges, Siouxsie and the Banshees,PIL, Wendy O Williams, The Clash and many others.
There was so much passion ,violence and beauty in those songs.

I was lucky enough to catch the last of Punk, and was even luckier to experiance it in the UK in 87.

I agree that by the time Green Day showed up it was over. I think Green Day gave a rebirth to mainstream Top 40 Punk.

True Punk rock has been gone since the early 90s.

It's hard to sing Punk anymore in this country.
The land of plenty doesnt make that kind of art.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Shh. Be quiet.

Or The Killers will cover it and ruin it forever.

I like the Joy Dicision cover the Killers did

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Shh. Be quiet.

Or The Killers will cover it and ruin it forever.

I like the Joy Division cover the Killers did

quote:

Originally posted by Flyinfast:
Great video.

I graduated HS in 1985 and was a teenage Punk.
Just about everyone was into hair bands by that time at my school.
I listened to enough of it to date girls, but my bands were The Dead Kennedys,Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, The Stooges, Siouxsie and the Banshees,PIL, Wendy O Williams, The Clash and many others.
There was so much passion ,violence and beauty in those songs.

I was lucky enough to catch the last of Punk, and was even luckier to experiance it in the UK in 87.

I agree that by the time Green Day showed up it was over. I think Green Day gave a rebirth to mainstream Top 40 Punk.

True Punk rock has been gone since the early 90s.

It's hard to sing Punk anymore in this country.
The land of plenty doesnt make that kind of art.

I graduated in 81,

my high school had a senior's picnic each year,

basically we all went to the football field, put some music over the intercom, and hung out,

most popular music then was lynard skynard etc,

so a buddy and I convinced the DJ (if you want to call him that) to play a song,

the incredible shrinking dickies


needless to say, it did not go over well,,,,


great band tho

ETA, damn double tap, (or too much fine belgian beer while posting!!)

Gotta love old punk.
January 10, 1978, the Sex Pistols at the Longhorn Ballroom.

The only thing consistent about punk rock is the claim by any generation that true punk died during so and so era. I grew up on punk in the late 80s early 90s and back then it was, <whine> "Why don't people listen to punk instead of mainstream music?" Then, when the Offspring and Green Day hit it big it was <whine> "Oh, those bands aren't real punk, they're too melodic!" Gimme a break. There have always been a lot of different sounding bands. Black Flag sounds nothing like Screaching Weasel who sounds nothing like Bad Religion who sounds nothing like The Exploited who sound nothing like The Decendants/All etc. They're all punk.

Naked Raygun and Pegboy trump them all IMO

Yeahh used to be a punk too -
A few more I'l throw out there - The Stranglers,Crass, Gang of Four. Even started getting into the industrial stuff (TG - Skinny Puppy).

Boy those were the days - WTF happened? Now a conservative,husband - father of two. I'm glad my kids didn't try any real crazy shit like I used to.