This is my punk...or something

[(phlemmy)]

I came pretty late into punk...like within the last 10-15 years. Growing up I was a metalhead, almost 100%. Many of my friends in the early 80s were skaters and as much as I didn't care for what they were listening to, I was familiar with it. Unfortunately, most of the skate rock and hardcore got thrown into the punk classification.

So here's a list of the punk/hardcore/skate rock bands that I'm into:

JFA(!!!)
GBH(!!!)
Black Flag (one band that should have never been labeled punk)
Reagan Youth
Minor Threat
Husker Du
Skrewdriver (yes, I said it...sue me)
Circle Jerks
Cro Mags(!!!)
Fear
Dead Aim
Disarm (80s band, not the current UK band)
COC
DRI
Dead Boys
Early Suicidal Tendencies (it was so bad that it was good)
TSOL
Agent Orange
a little Dead Kennedys


I never really dug The Clash, The Ramones, Pistols, Exploited and most of the British-punk. SoCal and NYHC styles were my preference, mainly for the aggression.

Then this newer wave of "punk" that came out really turned me off. Green Day? Punk? WTF? I don't get it. It's pop rock.

[(sowhat)]

Hope it wouldn't turn into a "Green Day is punk/Green Day is not punk, doooode" thread.
Great observation, Sean. And — if the question isn't too personal — why you don't dig the Exploited? Personally, i wouldn't call them tender, sweet and listener friendly.
And it would be great if you told more about hardcore phenomenon. I, for one, am sure you have a lot to tell about it.

[(captsandwich)]

There's some pretty cool bands on that list. I was more into the UK stuff of the same time, but also the Dead Kennedy's, DOA, X, and (later on) Husker Du. I don't know why I didn't discover Husker Du earlier. Why would you not consider Black Flag punk? They were one of the leaders of the hardcore scene, I thought.
I loved the first couple of Exploited albums, but then they went all Misfits on us and I lost interest.

[(sloop_john_b)]

Love love love Dead Kennedys!

[(peewee)]

Growing up in DC, I went to many a "hard core" show back in the day. We use to go to places that had multi bands on the bills and pay next to nothing. Some of those bands I recall seeing in their prime were Iron Cross, Black Flag, Marginal Man, Bad Brains, Cro-Mags, Minor Threat and many more that I can't even begin to remember LOL! Gotta remember that DC was second only to NYC back then in terms of a hard core scene. Really kinda wild when I think back about it because at that time if you didn't listen to Zeppelin, Skynyrd or Bad Co. you were a candidate for an a** whoopin'! Can't tell you how many times I was threatened by rednecks just because of the way I looked.....then I got wise and kept the attitude but looked more like Dee-Dee!

[(rickenrocker)]

I think it's funny how people argue about what is punk or what isn't.

Skins!


Straight Edge!


British!


America!


Punk is dead!




It's like Seuss' Sneetches! Who is really cool?

[(sowhat)]

Jeremiah: methinks it started long before punk — or at least long before punk got its "official" name. An example, a little bit off topic: back in the 40s here, in Russia (USSR then), there were real fights between female fans of two famous singers of the era, Lemeshev and Kozlovski — who's cooler, who's real, and such.
My humble opinion is, as long as music appeals to me, i don't really care whether it's punk or not, albeit if it is punk, that's even better. I knoooooow it's wrong, but please no tomatoes.
PS: as they say, punk's not dead, it just smells like that. I mean, as long as one believes punk is alive, it's alive.

[(janglerocker)]

Good list, Sean.
Reminds me of the time I saw Stiv Bators hang himself onstage with the mic cord. Threw the mic up over the rafters, couple times around the neck and he pulled himself about 3 feet off the stage. Of course this was just shortly after he had climbed inside the bass drum for Johnny Blitz to pummel him for an entire song.

Shaboo Inn, Willimantic CT around '78

[(jps)]

Back in the mid '70s I was in a band that share a practice space with the Dead Boys. It was pretty funny to watch them "practice"!

[(bitzerguy)]

In the 70's I was into:
The Angry Young Imps (out of Montreal),
Battered Wives (from Toronto),
the Vibrators, (out of OZ I believe),
New York Dolls,
Romantics,
and The Ramones.

Later on Husker Du, Dead Kennedies as well as Me, Mom And Morgentaler. There was a short lived band here in Montreal called Vomit and the Zits that were also a great live act. No albums though.

[(brianb)]

Geez Dan I haven't thought of the Shaboo in years! I grew up in Springfield. I don't suppose it's still there, is it? I was in a band that opened for The Dead Boys and Stiv's insanity was infectious. We got pie -eyed and forgot the 4 chords we knew but we had a lot of fun making noise.

[(blueflamerick)]

Here's a pic of Stiv and his band with some Ricks or Rick-inspired guitars.

[(janglerocker)]

Geez Dan I haven't thought of the Shaboo in years! I grew up in Springfield. I don't suppose it's still there, is it? I was in a band that opened for The Dead Boys and Stiv's insanity was infectious. We got pie -eyed and forgot the 4 chords we knew but we had a lot of fun making noise.

Brian, the Shaboo burned down in '81 if I remember correctly. Sorry if I missed your opening act. I seem to remember arriving late and being part of headlong dash/bash/crash to the front of the room. Needless to say we weren't invited back.

[(shamustwin)]

Had Lee Ving of Fear over to my house for a party once (long ago).
Sweet guy, nice family.
Scared the hell out of me before I met him just looking at his picture.

[(rickenrocker)]

My humble opinion is, as long as music appeals to me, i don't really care whether it's punk or not

Amen to that! , I love all the bands I listed.