The Punk Thread

[VerbalPuke]

It happens. A lot of bands change for the worse, but I understand it. Our tastes evolve, so naturally a musician would want to do something different as they get older, even if the fanbase still clamors for that old sound that rocked. Some bands don't change and it works, such as Motorhead. Some bands don't change and it just gets boring after awhile (can't think of an example right now). Then of course you have the groups that do something different, Bad Brains pulled it off with some success as they moved toward reggae, though nothing compared to the early days. On the other hand, I never did care for Black Flag after Henry Rollins joined, and especially not after they slowed down and went closer to metal. Depends on the person also, how have other critics/fans rated the new Refused?

I forgot how much I enjoyed Negative Approach. On a whim I bought their 7 Inch because it was cheap, and I sort of thought "Eh, wonder if I really wanted that one". But I got it, played it, and I'm glad I have it. It's definitely for people that like the 80s hardcore sound as it's non stop fast, abrasive, loud, raw, and angry. It's nice to revisit stuff that you jammed ten years ago, listen to it again and realize it still has the it factor for you. I listened to them like crazy when I was 19/20, and as I grew older some of the hardcore stuff fell out of favor with me. There is a lot of good, but if you were like me, you wanted to hear everybody and unfortunately a lot of hardcore starts to just sound awful. Bad recordings, shitty music that is fast to be fast, but some bands do it quite well. Bad Brains of course, Government Issue (another D.C. group, in fact D.C. had a great scene), Toxic Reasons, Battalion of Saints, Crucifix, good stuff that actually was put together well. Anyway, Negative Approach is a bit more abrasive than most, but it still holds up for me, took me back to being a kid.

[fourstarfizzle]

Yeh, I'm not big on the new Refused song, too polished and a little underwhelming.

Although in good news today I finally completed my Scream vinyl collection. I've been on the hunt for a good copy of "Your Choice Live Series Vol. 10 - Scream" for a few years and finally found one. I'm happy yet sad it's now complete.

[Lint]

Was listening to this, and got into a few older videos for bands I enjoy...Bad Religion, Social D etc...and realized something that made me feel very proud, but also very OLD...

My niece LOVES Dropkick Murphys. My niece is 14. I first heard Dropkick Murphys with this song

I heard this song on Hellcat Records Give'em The Boot comp...think I was around 17 or 18 when I first heard it. I'm 34 now.

It made me feel strange a few years ago, when DKM started to get big. My sister and brother in law both said "Hey, have you heard of this band, Dropkick Murphys?" and I'm like "Ummm...yes". I didn't take the route some "punks" might take. "Oh, their popular now, they suck". No. Fuck that. I saw these guys play in a club in Allentown that, by all rights, should've been condemned, and they were the opening act for the US Bombs. I remember seeing them with their original singer, Mike. I also remember a hell of a lot of Nazi skins getting the crap beaten out of them in the mosh pit. They earned their popularity.

[Nerf]

Just leaving this here because I've had various The Ergs! songs stuck in my head for months, and it's a fucking rad cover.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Social Justice Nerf

[MalaCloudy Black]

. On the other hand, I never did care for Black Flag after Henry Rollins joined, and especially not after they slowed down and went closer to metal.

Funny that, I think Rollins-era Black Flag with My War and the shift more towards doom in the mid 80's is probably my favorite incarnation of Black Flag. You can really see the influence Saint Vitus had on them with tracks like My War, Slip It In, Black Coffee etc. Likewise, you can kind of see Black Flag's influence on Saint Vitus in some of their material too. Plus they did a wicked good cover of Thirsty & Miserable.

[VerbalPuke]

I think the shift toward Doom was a turn off for me. I really want to love doom/stoner/sludge etc..some of it I do (anything in the vein of Black Sabbath obviously). Problem is, I don't like that heavy, slow, plodding style of music. I like slowed down music, but when I hear a good stoner rock riff I can't help but think "This riff would kick so much ass if they'd just fucking speed it up".

Probably why I gravitated toward punk in the first place.

Edit - Maybe somebody can help me out with the Stoner Rock thing. Off I go....

[Lint]

Call me biased. Weston came from the next town over from my hometown. This album came out in 1996, when I was 15 and addressed a lot of the ways I felt. I still think its one of the most under-appreciated pop-punk albums of the mid-to-late 90s

[MDK]

Best guitar solo in a punk song?

For me it is either Amoeba by The Adolescents or Everything Turns Grey by Agent Orange. Prove me wrong.

Altho not a solo, the bassline in Holiday in Cambodia is awesome.

[Nerf]

Hard to argue with Amoeba.

[MDK]

Hard to argue with Amoeba.

Fuck yeah

[MalaCloudy Black]

Huffington Post's new longform section has a story about The Runaways.

It's a good read, but kind of disturbing. Kim Fowley groomed young (15/16 year old) women and Jackie Fuchs broke her silence after all these years to say that Fowley raped her in front of the band. 

The musicians and journalists who formed Fowley’s inner circle back then wanted to see his menace as an act, a test to weed out the weak. But some of his behavior was simply too violent to dismiss. In September 1975, Audrey Pavia, who had just turned 18, ended up backstage at an early Runaways show, when the band was just a trio. Without warning, Fowley ran at her from across the room.

“He threw me up against the wall and he put his arm across my neck,” Pavia remembers. “Then he hammered his knee between my legs.” Fowley lifted her up off the ground and licked her face. He bit and sucked on her ear. She says she struggled to get away, but he pinned her to the wall for five minutes, telling her all the things he was going to do to her.

“I was terrified. I was embarrassed,” Pavia says. “This is the part that’s most embarrassing for me. … I was a virgin. This was the most physical contact I’d had with a man.” Afterward, she noticed that her hair was matted with his spit.

Victory Tischler-Blue was Jackie’s replacement on bass, and one of her main memories from her time as a Runaway was how some of the other members made fun of what happened to Jackie. “I heard about that nonstop,” she says now. “They would talk about Kim fucking Jackie like a dog. It was kind of a running joke.”

[VerbalPuke]

Best guitar solo in a punk song?

For me it is either Amoeba by The Adolescents or Everything Turns Grey by Agent Orange. Prove me wrong.

Altho not a solo, the bassline in Holiday in Cambodia is awesome.

Amoeba is a great call. There's a few others out there I could think of but I don't feel like it. Johnny Thunders.

 

Anyway, my Decline of Western Civilization DVDs came in today. Fucking stoked.

[VerbalPuke]

AND OH MAN YOU GUYS. I don't know if mentioned the bonus disk on top of the three disks that has well....bonus stuff. So I am about to watch the first Decline and there is MORE BONUS FEATURES. Seriously, there is more performances from Fear, the Germs, and even a performance by the Gears! This is awesome, I love the Gears, best money I ever spent. This rules.

[Nerf]

So, who do we all think is the best band in punk rock right now?

I can't look further than The Flatliners or The Menzingers. Both been around for a while, but constantly evolving and raising expectations for what I expect from contemporary punk.

Couple of really interesting bands coming up too (looking at you, PEARS). It's a really great time to be a punk fan.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Social Justice Nerf

[MDK]

So, who do we all think is the best band in punk rock right now?

I can't look further than The Flatliners or The Menzingers. Both been around for a while, but constantly evolving and raising expectations for what I expect from contemporary punk.

Couple of really interesting bands coming up too (looking at you, PEARS). It's a really great time to be a punk fan.

Dunno, I can only listen to punk I was listening to when I was growing up. For me I feel like being a 31 year old punk is a waste of time, what do I have to rebel against? I like the music but I feel that alt hip hop does more for me that some teenagers banging on about some bullshit I don't care about.

If you get me, I don't mean that in an aggressive way at all.

[Nerf]

So, who do we all think is the best band in punk rock right now?

I can't look further than The Flatliners or The Menzingers. Both been around for a while, but constantly evolving and raising expectations for what I expect from contemporary punk.

Couple of really interesting bands coming up too (looking at you, PEARS). It's a really great time to be a punk fan.

Dunno, I can only listen to punk I was listening to when I was growing up. For me I feel like being a 31 year old punk is a waste of time, what do I have to rebel against? I like the music but I feel that alt hip hop does more for me that some teenagers banging on about some bullshit I don't care about.

If you get me, I don't mean that in an aggressive way at all.

[MDK]

So, who do we all think is the best band in punk rock right now?

I can't look further than The Flatliners or The Menzingers. Both been around for a while, but constantly evolving and raising expectations for what I expect from contemporary punk.

Couple of really interesting bands coming up too (looking at you, PEARS). It's a really great time to be a punk fan.

Dunno, I can only listen to punk I was listening to when I was growing up. For me I feel like being a 31 year old punk is a waste of time, what do I have to rebel against? I like the music but I feel that alt hip hop does more for me that some teenagers banging on about some bullshit I don't care about.

If you get me, I don't mean that in an aggressive way at all.

Punk is all about being jaded and cynical now! You'll fit right in!

Shit, I used to be a cynic but now I'm a hipocryte, at least it is something to believe in.

Edited July 12, 2015 by MDK

[MDK]

But fuck it, you know Lars Frederisen, Dead Kennedys, Offspring, NOFX, Agent FUCKING Orange, Pennywise... The absolute balls. 

[MDK]

And Social D, fuck me 'ell son, how did I forget them lads?

[Lint]

 

Been listening to a lot of Kid Dynamite recently.  Was such a great band