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| (Suicide in NYC) |
So one of the things that I didn’t necessarily enjoy immediately, but came to appreciate as I got older was the wide variation of bands that used to be thrown into the punk label, and the variety of sounds that were coming out during that first and second wave of punk rock. I know punk started out as more of a style and scene than an actual sound back in NYC in the early 70’s. The Talking Heads, Television, New York Dolls, and Blondie were all part of that CBGB’s rock n roll scene. Of course there was also the influence of those Detroit bands, Mc5 and The Stooges, and some say punk was first referenced to describe the garage rock bands back in the 60’s. Eventually punk developed more of musical styling as the fast paced and high energy of The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Dead Boys and The Clash caught the ears of a burgeoning scene. Even when punk was forming more of a sound there was such a variety that could be found, and it was refreshing and brilliant for the time. Those early groups like Suicide, the Talking Heads and Wire set up the framework for post-punk, art punk, synthpunk and new wave pretty early on into its timeline.
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| (Nuggets Collection was a big influence) |
You look at that 80’s punk rock scene and you will find a variety of oddball bands just thrown in there. Labels at that time seemed to sign just what they wanted, and their interests were broad. In those early years of punk rock there was only so much punk rock that was influencing the writers. Bands and members tended to draw for a wider variety of inspirations, and just what they had been exposed to. The longer that Punk Rock existed, the more sufficient its catalog became. The songs and sounds that were well documented and distributed started to slowly define the overarching style more and more, and the subgenres within.
I don’t really know when things started to change really, I don’t even “technically” know if they have. I assume they have from my experience, I grew up on epitaph and fat wreckords punk rock in my early years. I came in with a pretty set punk rock sound and was at first weirded out by the stuff that got too experimental, ala butthole surfers early material or flipper. They were all bands that shocked me, but in time I came to see the brilliancy of a lot of their work. After the 80’s, somewhere along the way punk rock became kind of formulaic. On the other hand, styles also became a lot more defined. There is punk, street punk, crust punk, pop punk, skate punk, cow punk, thrashcore, powerviolence, art punk, synth punk, dance punk, anarcho-peace punk, Oi!, ska-punk, post-punk, post-hardcore, funk punk, hardcore punk, NYHC, youth crew, emo, screamo, hardcore emo, d-beat, riot grrl, proto-punk, folk punk, and then you can further dissect your some of these if you really want to (and sometimes I do=) ). These days though you don’t find the crossover of subgenres, or the experimentalism of a lot of the bands back in the 80’s.
One band that didn’t take on barriers and just played some awesome noise was Flipper. This is a band that I feel is super under appreciated by the majority, but highly adored by those who gave them a chance. They were kind of like an awesome trainwreck in the sense that they were so noisy and anti-formulaic that you want to stop listening at first, but you are drawn to the whole spectacle and attitude. I really wish I could have seen them live back in the day. They were a band that definitely did not play to the crowd, and were known to upset a lot of the scene just due the style they were playing. People didn’t understand what these rando’s with a Vietnam vet were doing playing this noisy debauchery with the likes of the other more traditional punk bands. Flipper is the essence of punk in that they were too punk for most of the scene. Flipper were also one of the forerunners of noisier rock and an influence of the sludge scene.
To look back at flyer's and see a show featuring The Minutemen, The Meat Puppets and Husker Du or Black Flag, DOA, The Descendents and once again Husker Du does make me envious of not being around during those earlier years. Sure I grew up in Texas so I may have not seen any of those shows in particular but we had the Big Boys, The Dicks, MDC (when they were still the Stains), Butthole Surfers, The Offenders, Really Red, Verbal Abuse, DRI, Bark Hard, and the Fearless Iranians from Hell. I have talked about the Big Boys before and I may be biased because they are from Tejas, but they easily are one of the best bands from that period that had a huge influence without always getting the recognition. Fortunately Thrasher Magazine got them some exposure back in the 80’s, so there is a cult core that shows proper appreciation.
Lets talk a little about the Meatpuppets. This is a band that most everyone who grew up in the 90’s had at least heard of, and knew that one song “Backwater” that got a lot of radio play around like 1994-96. The song was a catchy song, liked it when I heard it, seems kind of bland now, but what is forgotten is that the Meatpuppets had much better songs, and a pretty extensive back catalog filled with the roots of cow punk. It took me some years to come back and check them out fully because of that one song. I just kept always seeing these flyers though with them playing with some amazing punk bands, and eventually I figured there has to be something a little more to them. They were also a band that drew a lot of criticsm from people within the punk rock scene. They were called hippies, and confused people with their high use of byrds styled folk, psychedelic rock infused punk. They’re a band that I feel gets overlooked by a lot of us youngin’s as well and definitely deserve their place in the punk rock history.
People associate an image with punk, and there definitely is an image that is attached with it. Studded outfits, back patches, raggedy jeans and tattered tees, spiked hair and close pins through the nose. I was never bought fully into that whole being punk by dressing punk. I definitely tried a few things, but the styled felt forced when I did it, it felt more punk to dress how I wanted to. I think a lot of punk rockers feel this way, and you had and still have a varied lookin group at shows. You got the street punks, skins, “youth crew” lookin kids, the milo look, metal head crossover style, bro dude Cali punk, skaters, bangers, and greaser. They all have different connotations that I don’t really care to explain, and some are my own personal descriptors.
So the punk rock “image” was never my thing, but punk itself was just such a pure force that no matter what you look like, it was a haven for those who thought a bit differently. I grew up a punk rock kid, and still consider myself one to this day. My musical taste has expanded, but my heart and loyalties still go to punk. I fit the mold overall, a suburban kid who was tired of the status quo, wanting to find some outlet in which I could relate. Punk Rock helped me to change my way of thinking, make me question the things we are told not to question. It helped me identify what values I found important, it provided a lot of great life experiences, and provided a consistent social group to relate with. It made me want to be more aware of myself, more aware of what was happening outside of my little protected bubble, and taught me how to stick by what I truly believe. With all of that came a soundtrack that was aggressive at times, soothing and emotional, with lyrics that felt like they had meaning and sincerity behind them.
Punk Rock as music and as a scene has its flaws of course. You have a lot of nazi kids trying to get involved due to the aggressive sound of a lot of the music. It’s a male dominated genre, and females had to fight for equality in the scene as much as any other aspect of society, even with punk having highly influential female founders. Like any group, it can attract assholes who like to ruin the fun for the rest of us. A lot of bands can be stale, repetitive and sound forced. With all of these factors though, the good still outweighs the negative. Many great and caring people have played major parts in punks history, and so many great innovative musicians can be counted among the ranks of the punk legion. While it can be considered a young mans style, I don’t find myself parting ways with my love of punk anytime soon.
SFMTC Vol. 15 - My First Love... Punk Rock
01. Flipper - Sex Bomb
02. Generation X - Your Generation
03. Minor Threat - Seeing Red
04. Meat Puppets - Animal Kingdom
05. Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
06. The Adolescents - Kids Of The Black Hole
07. Crucifucks - Cops for Fertilizer
08. Peter and the Test Tube Babies - Run Like Hell
09. Misfits – She
10. Dead Boys - Ain't It Fun
11. The Accused - Martha Splatterhead
12. Wire – Champs
13. The Descendents - Good Good Things
14. DOOM - No Religion
15. Bad Brains - Banned in DC
16. G.I.S.M. - Nih Nightmare
17. The Gun Club - Ghost on the Highway
18. Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia
19. Hüsker Dü – Amusement
20. Big Boys - Hollywood Swinging
21. Rorschach - In the Year of our Lord
22. The Dead Milkmen - Beach Song
23. Crass - Poison in a Pretty Pill
24. Dayglo Abortions - Argh Fuck Kill-Die Sinners Die
25. Corrosion Of Conformity – RedneKKK
26. Charles Bronson - Green and Red Make Yellow
27. Black Flag -Drinking and Driving
28. Verbal Assault – Understand
29. Minutemen - Working Mean are Pissed
30. Cock Sparrer - Riot Squad
31. Amebix - The Power Remains
32. The Dickies - Infidel Zombie
33. Stiff Little Fingers - I Don't Like You
34. Social Distortion - Telling Them Social Distortion Mommy's Little Monster 128kbps
35. X-ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents
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