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10 Punks From Before Punk Was Born


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http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Feat...om-before-0119/

 

(by Dave Hunter | gibson.com)

 

Malcolm McClaren’s heavily hyped boy band of the late ’70s, the Sex Pistols, often laid claim to being “the first punk band”, but real punks of the day—the bands that existed before the genre became commercial enough to be given a name—are likely to consider that a double negative: viewed from any angle other than their own self-proclaimed status, the Sex Pistols were neither “first” nor “punk”. All due respect to Johnny, Steve, Paul and Sid (or Glen before him), and they certainly laid down some fun pop tunes in their day, but you want to hear some music that’s really worth ripping your jeans over? Check out these 10 formative masters of punk, who all set the standards before punk was officially born.

 

The Who

Kicking it off by going old school, back to the early ’60s. And yeah, sure, we’ve already got a name for what The Who were doing (as in “British invasion”), but if these guys hadn’t existed until the mid ’70s and suddenly released “My Generation” upon an unsuspecting pre-punk crowd… story over. Besides, what could be more punk than Pete Townshend’s wall full of smashed Rickenbackers? Unless it was Keith Moon’s drumming. Or perhaps…

 

The Kinks

Dave Davies slashed speakers a thoroughly punk-worthy maneuver undertaken in an effort to dirty up his guitar tone for the equally punk-worthy “You Really Got Me”, which was followed up by a similarly raucous “All Day And All of the Night”. This stuff qualifies by every definition.

 

The Velvet Underground

Considered by many to be the godfathers of punk, new wave, art rock, and anything else that has been right with electrified music for the past four decades, the Velvet Underground (1965-’73) spawned genuine stars in Lou Reed, John Cale, and Niko Case, as well as a devoted cult following that continues to grow. While early songs like “Heroin” (a recurring theme) and “Sunday Morning” imply a little more depth and artistry than the “pre-punk” title might imply, the unhinged energy behind tracks like “Run, Run, Run” and “I’m Waitin’ for the Man” get us back on track quickly.

 

The Stooges

Formed in Detroit in 1967 and on a roll until 1974, Iggy & The Stooges hammered out musical mayhem all up and down the country for masses of kids who weren’t ready to except the spoon-fed pap so often dealt out by commercial radio. Now only were they rough, raw and wild—with Iggy Pop, in particular, strutting the stage like a man with a live wire up his keister—they actually cranked out some surprisingly catchy tunes. Witness “Search and Destroy” and “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell” for prime examples.

 

MC5

Industrial-related effluence in the waters up there, or what? Who can say, but Detroit was cranking out some hairy bests of the pre-punk era, for sure (and we aren’t even dealing with The Nuge here). If Iggy was wild, the MC5 (shortened from Motor City Five) were just heavy. Formed in 1964 and active until ’72, these guys had an avid appreciation for pure volume and electric rock power, and knew how to slam both at you with maximum force. “Kick Out the Jams” is a must, and I have always had a soft spot for “Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)”.

 

New York Dolls

Formed in NYC in 1971, the New York Dolls brought glam rock, rampant asexuality, and street smarts to the rough-hewn music that was pre-punk in the hands of so many other practitioners. And although the band never quite cracked the mainstream, it also spawned three individual punk icons in the form of singer David Johansen and guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain. Alongside all the girl clothes and posing, they could crank out some infectious, pre-Stonesy rock and roll, too, as “Bad Girls” and “Personality Crisis” from their self-titled debut will attest.

 

Dead Boys

Formed in Cleveland in 1976 (out of the remnants of Rocket from the Tomb), the Dead Boys might have arrived toward the end of the pre-punk era—or just ahead of punk proper, viewed from another perspective—but their embodiment of the attitude, and some of the most incendiary shows that CBGBs ever saw certainly qualify them for the list. Plus: Dead. Boys. How much more punk do you want?

 

The Tubes

Punk is all about wild, but for live excess, The Tubes (1969-’85) take the biscuit. Their notorious live shows—involving chain saws, shaving cream, smashed TVs, and lots and lots of nudity (on the part of front man Fee Waybill and the several young women frequently paraded on stage)—came to define punk as performance art. Sure, plenty of their music was just… well, odd, but the foresightful “White Punks on Dope” from the band’s self-titled 1975 debut album helped to define a movement in the making.

 

Ramones

The band members themselves always declared they were just playing rock and roll (saving rock and roll, many fans would claim), but we all know what was really happening there. Ripped jeans, black leather jackets, “Bitzkrieg Bop”, “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” and a blistering cover of “Let’s Dance”, all on their ’76 debut. ’Nuff said.

 

Modern Lovers

Underappreciated in their time, Boston’s The Modern Lovers were with us for just the first four years of the ’70s (after which their singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonathan Richman often appropriated the name for his backing band, and their one album wasn’t released until two years after the band’s official split, but what an album that eponymous LP was. The cult favorite “Roadrunner” has got to be up toward the top of the list for “coolest track of all time” honors, and in addition to Richman’s own notable career, The Modern Lovers sent members Jerry Harrison (keyboards) to the Talking Heads and David Robinson (drummer) to The Cars—so how’s that for pedigree?

 

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Good list, but I would have found a way to work The Monks onto this list .......... and maybe a representative for the 1960s U.S. Garage Psychedelic Scene (e.g. Chocolate Watchband, Mouse And The Traps, Love)

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We'll agree to disagree. I found this in a book by Dave Marsh and James Bernard. While I loathe what Marsh has done with the RRHOF, he does have a few credentials.

 

The records that they believe influenced the punk movement the most are :

 

1. "Rumble" Link Wray and His Ray Men 1958 .

2. "Louie Louie" The Kingsmen 1963.

3. "Surfin' Bird" The Trashmen 1963.

4. "Gloria" Them 1965

5. "My Generation" The Who 1965.

6. "Wild Thing" The Troggs 1966.

7. "Freak Out" The Mothers of Invention 1967.

8. "The Velvet Underground and Nico" 1967.

9. "Kick Out the Jams" The MC5 1968.

10. "The Stooges" 1969.

11. "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" T. Rex 1971.

12. "School's Out" Alice Cooper 1972.

13. "America Eats Its Young" Funkadelic 1972.

14. "All the Young Dudes" Mott the Hoople 1972.

15. "The New York Dolls" 1973.

16. "Raw Power" Iggy and the Stooges 1973.

17. "Rock N Roll Animal" Lou Reed 1974.

18. "On the Beach" Neil Young 1974.

19. "The Tubes" 1975.

20. "Horses" The Patti Smith Group 1975.

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It was Joey Ramone's birthday yesterday, and none of you mentioned him. The last remaining of the Ramones. I'll still debate "I wanna be sedated" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMD7Ezp3gWc vs. "Momma weer all crazee now" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gPulu85q04 . I think Quiet Riot or The Runaways (which isn't a bad thing, when you have Joan Jett winking at you) singing :

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Pete Townshend announced the set list yesterday:

 

"Baba O'Riley"

"Pinball Wizard"

"See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You"

"Who Are You"

"Won't Get Fooled Again"

 

 

What? No “Happy Jack” or “My Generation”

 

The Mrs. is not going to like that. :no:

 

Sounds more like a CSI intro – Is the Super Bowl on CBS or something?

 

 

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