Before getting around to writing about 1994 I felt it's important to give a short primer on Punk Rock.
It's the year (1994) that bands like The Offspring, Green Day, and Rancid broke through to the mainstream and brought Punk Rock to the masses. Some folks may argue that the former two bands aren't punk rock at all, and while that's the case now they were punk rock bands when they first started out. In most cases for those of us who had no idea about Punk those bands helped expose us to it, and led us to go seek out other punk bands like NOFX, or The Ramones, or The Sex Pistols. I didn't start seeking out these other bands until around 1999 when I grew tired of what was being played on the radio. I wanted something different.
This list doesn't follow any particular decade or sub-genre. This is the first entry in a series of what punk rock is to me.
Check out the companion playlist: Spotify, YouTube, iTunes.
On to the playlist...
1. Circle Jerks - Wild In The Streets.
2. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks. - A good friend of mine in college from Ireland who was taking classes abroad here in the good old U.S.A. made me a CD of the best Undertones songs. They're from Ireland and they wrote some amazing songs that should not be ignored.
3. The Clash - I'm So Bored With The U.S.A. - I've always loved The Clash. Their first 3 albums are incredible.
4. Sex Pistols - Holidays In The Sun. - The album "Nevermind The Bullocks. Here's The Sex Pistols" is one of the greatest albums ever made in any genre.
5. Sham 69 - Hurry Up Harry.
6. Anti-Nowhere League - We're The League. - These guys are the meanest looking band ever. Lead singer, Animal looks like he would stab you with a broken bottle in a bar fight.
I first discovered these guys after hearing Metallica's cover of their song "So What?" which is the most vulgar song I've ever heard. Metallica still performs it live to this day, and every once in a while, Animal will join them on stage.
The song I'm covering in this blog entry "We're The League" is my favorite Anti-Nowhere League song.
7. NOFX - Bob. - I first heard this band in college after seeing lots of people wearing their T - Shirts and seeing their bumper stickers on cars. I had to find out what they were all about.
I met Fat Mike on a warped tour show, and he was kind of rude to me but he did sign an autograph . Years later I don't think asking for autographs from punk rock icons is cool.
NOFX are one of few independent bands to sell millions of records without any radio airplay.
8. Operation Ivy- Yellin' In My Ear. - I have to thank Green Day for exposing me to this band. It was their cover of "Knowledge" that led me to discover these guys.
Operation Ivy's album "Energy" is super amazing and you should check it out.
Their guitarist, Lint aka Tim Armstrong went on to form Rancid.
Years after Operation Ivy broke up, I got to see Jesse Michaels short lived band "Common Rider" live in 2002. They were incredible. I wish they would have lasted for more than two albums. I wish Operation Ivy would do a reunion.
9. Green Day - 2000 Light Years Away.
10. Screeching Weasel - Cool Kids.
11. Black Flag - No Values. - This is my favorite Black Flag song.
12. The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop. - I figured if I'm going to give a primer on punk rock I need to include this band's most well known song. If you're hearing this band for the first time you need to start with this song.
I love The Ramones. I got highly offended when a co-worker called them a novelty act.
13. Fear - Responsibility. - This is my favorite Punk Rock band of all time. Lead singer, Lee Ving got his start playing in blues and soul bands before moving from Philly to Los Angeles to form this band.
They are the only band to be banned from performing on Saturday Night Live for life after the band's crowd caused over $100,000 dollars worth of damage to the SNL set. They were invited to perform on SNL after John Belushi urged the producers of the show to let them on.
This is the only Punk song I know of to have a Harmonica solo in it. I think that's what I've always loved about this band is the amazing musicianship.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea got his start in this band.
14. Gang Green - Skate To Hell.
15. Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks F*** Off.
16. The Adicts - Viva La Revolution.
17. Generation X - One Hundred Punks. - This Billy Idol fronted band doesn't have many good songs, but the few they had were really good.
18. Bad Religion - Hooray For Me. - As I get older the more and more I'm able to apply the lyrics of this song to my life. The lyric " I don't exactly want to apologize for anything" describes how I feel at this point in my life.
19. The Vandals - People That Are Going To Hell.
20. The Bouncing Souls - Apartment 5F. - I've seen this New Jersey band perform live five times.
21. The Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today.
22. The Misfits - Horror Hotel.
23. Descendents - GCF. - All anybody ever wants is some good clean fun. Did you know that lead singer Milo Auckerman is a bio-chemist?
24. The Minutemen - Case Closed.
25. Adam And The Ants - Beat My Guest.
If you would like to read my other entries you can do so by clicking here.
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