Punk! What is it? Where is it? Why is it?
Clearly, the answer to that question isn't as simple as it might sound. To some, the word, "Punk," may conjure up instant images of spitting, fighting and vomiting but my incredibly extensive research for this post tells me that, at one point, in the 1970s, even the Bay City Rollers were labelled a Punk act.
This would at least explain why every BBC documentary I've ever seen about Punk claims that Eddie and the Hot Rods were the first British band to be labelled a Punk outfit, even though, to me, they always seemed far closer to the Rollers in visual style than they were to the Pistols.
From this, we can conclude that - as one would expect of a genre with a DIY aesthetic - Punk is a broad church, encompassing pretty much any act that thinks it's in it, including Iggy Pop who never thought he was in it but found himself put in it anyway.
Thus, within its many aisles, we find acts as diverse as the Stooges, Patti Smith, Blondie, the Stranglers, the Sex Pistols. the Damned, X-Ray Spex, the Slits, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Ramones, the Clash, Jonathan Richman, Devo, the Buzzcocks, the Boomtown Rats, the Undertones, Toyah(!), Sigue Sigue Sputnik(!), the Doors(!) and a million others.
Where does Garage end and Pub start? Where does Pub end and Punk start? Where does Punk end and New Wave begin? Where does New Wave end and Grunge begin? Where does Grunge end and Lo-fi start?
I have no idea.
You, on the other hand, may know the answer to all of these vital questions.
Clearly, in the face of such confusion, there's no rational response but to bow to recent public pressure in this site's comments section and launch a poll to decide just what is the greatest Punk song of all time. Therefore, if you have any nominations, feel free to make them in the comments section below and I shall collate them into a poll which I shall launch on Tuesday and then leave in place for a week, in order to give the whole world a chance to vote.
What are my nominations? I must confess I'm not an expert on Punk, having been more of a New Wave fan but the tracks that leap quickest to my mind are Anarchy in the UK, London Calling, No More Heroes, Jilted John and Looking Through Gary Gilmore's Eyes.
But those are only my suggestions. So, get your safety pin in your nose, get that super-glue in your hair, get your tartan scarves out, get ready to sing that great Punk anthem Shang-a-Lang and give us your nominations.
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42 comments:
I’d go for My Way by Te Sex Pistols.
But I was never into punk, so I expect genuine punks hate that song as much as Slade fans hate Merry Christmas Everybody.
I'd pick either White Man in Hammersmith Palais by the Clash or Safety Pin Through My Heart by Patrik Fitzgerald.
Dangermash and Craven, thanks for your suggestions.
But, wait. Slade fans don't like Merry Xmas Everybody? Are they completely mad? Don't they know it's not Christmas until Noddy Holder says it is?
You're right about this being trickier than it seems Steve - after all, I suggested Death Disco, but apparently these days Public Image are generally considered to be "post-punk".
Perhaps guidelines for nominations would be an idea; like, maybe limit suggestions to the late '70s? Once you go past '79 "punk" is really only Oi, Hardcore and Goths, and before '76 its just hippies that couldn't play well.
Anyway, I'm going to suggest the classic Electrocute Your Cock by the Voms. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
-sean
It's true. I did toy with including Hong Kong Gardens on my list but I couldn't convince myself it's genuinely Punk.
Like a lot of music genres, we could argue what is and isn't punk for as long as it takes to pick a favourite.
I'm just gonna suggest a couple I enjoy, The Buzzcocks 'Ever Fallen In Love' and Sham 69's 'If The Kids Are United'.
I was tempted to squeeze in Oliver's Army, I'm sure an argument could be made for it being punk but it didn't feel right.
New Rose by The Damned, save some time and crown this 1976 gem.
If Blondie is punk can I nominate "The Tide Is High" as the greatest ever punk single?
Otherwise, I'll stick with the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen" as I suggested in the aforementioned comments section.
God Save The Queen,
This Fascist Regime.
God Save The Queen,
She ain't no human bein'.
Yeah, let's demolish that fascist b*tch (actually, on the day of the Queen's Silver Jubilee I was 11 years old and I was scoffing sandwiches and fairy-cakes at the Jubilee party in the village hall).
As far as I know I’ve never heard a single punk song in my life! Unless Punk Rock Girl counts. But it sure doesn’t fit my mental image of Punk which is in context above about “what is punk?”
Thank you for all the suggestions so far. I shall add them all to the poll.
Colin, on Silver Jubilee Day, I was reading issue #9 of Marvel UK's The Super-Heroes, the one where the Surfer comes up against the modern-day Dr Frankenstein, just like I knew Sid Vicious would have wanted me to.
Gentlemen-
I've come to the conclusion that I may not be able to announce , in my opinion, what the greatest punk song ever truly is.
I attempted it yesterday, and had to stop, as my brain gaskets started to blast out.
If I would have continued I would of ended up sitting in a corner blank eyed with drool running out of the corner of my mouth.
What I can do, is list a bunch of favorites, which I will shortly, that are diffinetly contenders.
Agree with Steve that"Hong Kong Garden" isn't punk. Muck like many punk bands that went commercial to sell records. I never used the term "sell out".
I worked in the business. What's wrong with wanting to pay your bills?
If you are an artist and do more than just survive doing your craft, atta boy!
Soon as I get outta the pub I will unleash my nominations.
Alright. Since this is a British blog site, and the Pistols win hands down, especially when most of you fellows admit that you are not punk fans, I'm still going to toss out some nominations:
THE STOOGES- Search & Destroy, Yer
Pretty Face is Going to Hell
NEW YORK DOLLS- Personality Crisis, Looking For A Kiss
SEX PISTOLS- yeah, Anarchy/Uk & God/Queen. Ill toss in Holidays In the Sun on top of that. Maybe Pretty Vacant also.
SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES- Love In A Void, Carcass (oops, thers's that cannibalism again.)
GBH- Gimmie Fire, Big Women
DEAD KENNEDYS- Too Drunk To F***, Holiday in Cambodia, Cesspool In Eden, Chicken Farm, Soup is Good Food.
MISFITS- Where Eagles Dare, Attitude, We Are 138, Bullet
CRAMPS- Garbageman
CIRCLE JERKS- When The S*** Hits The Fan
AGENT ORANGE - Bloodstains
DRI- God Is Broke
DAYGLOW ABORTIONS - Stupid Songs.
TMA- What's For Dinner?
D.I - Johnny's Got A Problem
TEX & THE HORSEHEADS - Bartender Sam
DECRY - Island Paradise
NAKED RAYGUN - Metastasis & Rat Patrol
Uh.. What the he'll am I wasting my time for? None of you guys are going to check out these songs.
So just pop in the best of Lulu or Barry Manilow, get a cup of warm milk and go noddy-blinkers.
Steve, #9 of The Superheroes was the only issue I had from the entire 50-issue run!
I remember buying it along with a Matchbox car (or maybe Dinky or Corgi).
Killdumpster, you forgot FRIGGIN' IN THE RIGGIN' by the Sex Pistols - the lyrics are totally obscene so it's a worthy punk song!
I think the Dead Kennedys' TOO DRUNK TO F*** was actually a UK Top 40 hit!
Ohhh my! Such language! 😂
Frigging in the Rigging is a howl!
Think it was in The Great Rock & Roll Swindle film.
Well, this is a bit annoying. It seems that, a couple of months ago, Google decided to retire Blogger's poll widget, as part of a round of, "improvements," which means it's no longer possible to post proper polls on this site.
Therefore, I'll have to do it manually, via the comments section. So, these are the songs that you the public have nominated:
Fr*ggin in the Rigging.
White Man in Hammersmith Palais.
Safety Pin Through My Heart.
Death Disco.
Electr*cute Your C*ck.
Ever Fallen In L*ve?
If The K*ds Are United.
New Rose.
The T*de Is High.
God Save the Qu*en.
Punk Rock Girl.
Search & Destroy.
Yer Pretty Face is Going to Hell.
Personality Crisis.
Looking For A K*ss.
Holidays In the Sun.
Pretty Vacant.
Love In A Void.
Carcass.
Gimmie Fire.
Big Women.
Too Drunk To F***.
H*liday in Cambodia.
Cesspool In Eden.
Chicken Farm.
Soup is Good Food.
Where Eagles Dare.
Attitude.
We Are 138.
Bullet.
Garbageman.
When The S*** Hits The Fan.
Bloodstains.
God Is Broke.
Stupid Songs.
What's For D*nner?
Johnny's Got A Problem.
Bartender Sam.
Island Paradise.
Metastasis.
Rat Patrol.
Jilted J*hn.
No More Heroes.
An*rchy in the UK.
Gary Gilmore's Eyes.
London Calling.
Please feel free to vote for your favourite. I shall compile the results in a week from now and post the findings. Remember, only one vote per person - mostly because I'm going to have to add them all up manually and it's probably going to take me forever. Plus, I'm no good at counting.
Wow, Steve-
You are the hardest working man in blog business.
Tally my vote for "Bloodstains", for 3 reasons:
1) THE SONG ROCKS!!!
2) I worked for Agent Orange. They were ultra-cool & put on a helluva show.
3) When that song came out I could virtually identify with every lyric at that point in my life. NO other song I have ever heard in my life was that relatable.
Colin,
You were joking when you nominated " The Tide Is High", right?
I would have nominated a couple Slits songs, but I couldn't remember the titles.
I picked up one of their later albums, but it was too reggae flavored for me. Seems a lot of English punk bands went that avenue. Guess that might have been the birth of Ska.
If London Calling is punk, it's got my vote!
Yes, Charlie, there is a Santa Cl...ere.. It is punk.
My Favorite Clash song is "White Riot".
I had a boatload more nominations, but I was already worn-out by work & slugging down frosties that I had to stop when I did.
Anyone remember Sham 69's "Hurry Up Harry"?
Or Eater's "You Ain't Got No Brains"? I have a film that I think MAY have been theatrically released called "The Punk Rock Movie". Mostly club footage of Johnny Thunders, Pistols, Wayne County & X-Ray Specs. Tons of footage of Slits in practice, Siouxsie backstage, Clash on the road and a lot of other bands long forgotten. Also a very young Billy Idol in Generation X. Highly Recommend.
A Punk time capsule of pogo & slam dancing, and off the wall hair & clothes styles before they became "fashionable".
Its pretty funny. The new "punks" look pretty "normal".
When I worked at a music warehouse the kids there had tattoos up and into their faces, 20 pound of piercings in their lips, tongue, cheeks, ears & eyebrows. Multi-colored dreadlocks to boot.
When the warehouse closed they all cryed to me, because I was a "punk rocker".
"How am I gonna find a job?!!" a half dozen of them cried. I said "it's not like you're handicapped. You did this to yourselves. Get a "normal" haircut, long sleeve high neck shirts & and loss the metal in your face."
I had Sid Vicious hair during my punk days, but that was about it.
I told those kids that when I was a little boy we had to pay an xtra 50 cents to see people like them in the freak show at the circus.
They got mad. I just said "Grow up, face reality & then look for a job."
In the immortal words of an Exploited song "PUNK'S NOT DEAD!!"
Once again, I salute you, Steve.
You have the greatest blog on the planet.
For good or ill, you got me locked in. Lol.
Thanks, Killdumpster.
Killdumpster, yes The Tide Is High was meant to be joke!
A proper punk song should be totally in-your-face and f*ck the establishment so I'll have to nominate God Save The Queen because what could be more anti-establishment than saying the Queen ain't no human bein' and declaring her a fascist...at the very time of the Queen's Silver Jubilee!!
Totally agree.
“Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust!” Is pretty “ in your face,” no?
Yeah, most punks back-in-the-day hated the Beatles, or were just plain tired of them.
The Slits best single was Typical Girls, but like Public Image they generally seem to be labelled "post punk" these days - it seems to be the term for any record from that scene with audible lyrics and more than a couple of chords in it.
So my vote goes to Electrocute your Cock.
-sean
Sorry for not using asterisks Steve, although in my defence your use of them seemed a little over cautious, eg Ever Fallen in L*ve.
-sean
I do feel that one can never be too liberal with the use of ast*risks.
L*ve is a four letter word, and rightly so. Along with "work". I guess you can't really get by without either. Lol.
God, the barmaid where I work at, who also plays guitar during our open-stage night only knows punk as the Ramones.
If there was a higher power, he would save me from having to put up with stoner hippies.
While I DO enjoy the Ramones, they don't have razor teeth. I dated a Deadhead of and on. Her music collection virtually consisted of an ENTIRE WALL OF BOOTLEG GRATEFUL DEAD TAPES!!!
When I got her back to my place, guess who I turned her onto, Charlie.
THE MILKMEN & MOJO NIXION!
Soon all her tied-dyed pals were buying up their records.
I would've loved to have seen the look on their faces when they heard the Milkmen's "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies".
Yes, Charlie, there is a Santa Cl.. Oops... the Dead Milkmen are punk. FOLK-punk, but punk non-the-less.
I was riding in a car with my Deadhead girlfriend and her hippie "professional" friends, I put in the Ramones-mania cassette I had in my pocket. They said "Hmm, this is interesting..." "Who is this?" I said "The Ramones." Mr. College-Professor-Goatee said " I do believe I've heard of them."
I turned around from the front seat, mad-foaming spit coming out of my mouth, and screamed " THESE GUYS ARE F***ING LEGENDS!!!"
I did see the Ramones in 1983 in a club outside Chicago about as big as the bar in Cheers. Tix were $9! Never thought of them as possible punk until I heard Milkmen’s Punk Rock Girl last weekend on YouTube LOL! (Only knew our ukulele version the last two years.)
Steve's use of asterisks in his list was very comical but I feel he was taking the p*ss - a very punk thing to do.
In my previous comment I said I "nominate" God Save The Queen but I meant I VOTE FOR IT. It is my choice for best punk song in the Steve Does Comics best punk song poll.
I must sheepishly admit that my knowledge of punk mainly begins and ends with the Sex Pistols. In 1977 I was only 11 years old and much more into comics than music. And the music I did like was songs like "Angelo" and "Silver Lady" rather than any punk songs :)
All these 40 years I was thinking Ramones were “rock”!in the sub genre of “garage band” sound lol!
That's an honest mistake, Charlie.
I saw the Ramones 2 years before Joey died. It was a great show, but it made me realize I was getting too old for the "Pit".
A kid was crowd-surfing and his Doc Martin's smacked me square in the face. Didn't break my nose, but I bled like a gusher.
Totally ruined the evening
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