Punk Music

Miles Davis seemed pretty punk to me. Let’s talk about punk music. Blink 182, Green Day, Lord help us, Good Charlotte. These are pop punk and they gave us a taste. But Bowling for Soup couldn’t explain Black Flag, arguably the epitome of punk. In my expert opinion they are the best punk band. I can only say this based off absolutely nothing and we’re all doomed so sit back and read my goddamn opinion on punk music and stop drifting through life scrolling.

Punk music started well beyond the Ramones but give credit where it’s due. The Ramones is an excellent, fun listen and the only reason you hate it is because of overexposure. This is all I’ll say on The Clash. They suck (boring ass try-hards). Ok, as I’m typing this and refusing to go backwards and make corrections, I’m just going to slightly redact my original statement and declare that The Misfits and Black Flag are the pinnacle of punk, no question. Let’s talk about everything in between.

Proto punk. What is it? The birth of subgenres and beyond. Stooges, MC5, Death (Detroit, not Florida). These bands brought something to the table that caused us to think and label and think and label until the elite started to smell their own farts and now we have transcendental black metal, and I just couldn’t be happier. Punk isn’t untouched by the pretentious hand of subgenres and here is a long list of subgenres that ChatGPT came up with for me.

Proto-Punk – The Stooges, MC5
Garage Punk – The Sonics, The Monks
Classic Punk – The Ramones, The Clash
Pub Rock – Dr. Feelgood, Eddie & the Hot Rods
Hardcore Punk – Black Flag, Minor Threat
Straight Edge – Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today
Youth Crew – Bold, Chain of Strength
Skate Punk – JFA, Suicidal Tendencies
Crossover Thrash – D.R.I., Municipal Waste
Crust Punk – Amebix, Doom
D-Beat – Discharge, Anti-Cimex
Street Punk – GBH, The Exploited
Oi! – Sham 69, The Business
Anarcho-Punk – Crass, Conflict
Peace Punk – Zounds, Flux of Pink Indians
Political Punk – Dead Kennedys, MDC
Post-Punk – Wire, Gang of Four
No Wave – Mars, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks
Melodic Hardcore – Bad Religion, Descendents
Pop Punk – Green Day, Blink-182
Skate Punk (’90s) – NOFX, Pennywise
Emo (1st Wave) – Rites of Spring, Embrace
Midwest Emo (2nd Wave) – Mineral, American Football
Post-Hardcore – Fugazi, At the Drive-In
Screamo – Pg.99, Saetia
Grindcore – Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer
Powerviolence – Infest, Spazz
Skacore – Operation Ivy, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Folk Punk – Against Me!, Defiance Ohio
Cowpunk – Social Distortion, Jason & the Scorchers
Queercore – Pansy Division, Team Dresch
Riot Grrrl – Bikini Kill, Bratmobile
Noise Punk – Flipper, Big Black
Garage Revival – The Hives, Jay Reatard
Post-Hardcore (modern) – La Dispute, Touché Amoré
Metalcore – Converge, Norma Jean
Emoviolence – Orchid, Jeromes Dream
Screamo Revival – Loma Prieta, Snowing
Easycore – Four Year Strong, The Wonder Years
Noise Rock / Punk – METZ, Lightning Bolt
Post-Punk Revival – IDLES, Interpol
Hardcore Revival – Turnstile, Have Heart
Neo-Crust – Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone
Blackened Crust – Fall of Efrafa, Martyrdöd
Anarcho-Folk – Oi Polloi, Blackbird Raum
Art Punk – Liars, Black Midi
Digital Hardcore – Atari Teenage Riot, EC8OR
Dance-Punk – LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture
Ecstatic Black Metal / Punk Spirit – Liturgy, Agriculture
DIY Emo / Bedroom Punk – Weatherday, Home Is Where
Deathrock / Goth Punk – 45 Grave, Arctic Flowers
Queer / Transcore – G.L.O.S.S., Dog Park Dissidents
Hardcore Renaissance – Scowl, Gel
Emo-Pop / Indie-Punk – Jeff Rosenstock, Joyce Manor
Political Anarcho Revival – Aus Rotten, CrimethInc collectives
Internet / Hyperpunk – Machine Girl, Deli Girls
Latin Hardcore / Punk – Los Crudos, Eskorbuto
Japanese Hardcore – Gauze, Bastard
Scandinavian Hardcore / Kängpunk – Anti-Cimex, Wolfbrigade
Post-Soviet Punk – Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Ploho
Indigenous / Native Punk – Weedrat, The Halluci Nation
Australian / Pacific Punk – The Chats, Amyl and the Sniffers

Woooooow that’s great. It takes a real big butt hole to not like Turnstile and IDLES just a little. However, if that’s all you’re listening to or god forbid you’re not listening to punk at all, there’s a great big world out there to explore.

The Ramones is a great album. Perfect intro for anyone to rock anywhere and everywhere. Just some kids with loud instruments and thank you very much. Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks is a solid, raw album. I heard they were kind of collected by a record executive and formed that way, and true or not, that makes me say pass. The Dead Kennedys, The Minutemen, The Descendents, Viagra Boys, Hüsker Dü. All of these classic punk outfits shaped the sound of punk to come. Oh wait, that sounds familiar.

Rancid’s ...And Out Come the Wolves helped represent a still pliable punk aesthetic that made us believe it was still a culture. Just a few years later, in the early 90s, everything started to mold into the MTV black hole tumor, and punk and all other subcultures started to mass around Carson Daly. And that, kids, is actually how Taylor Swift was born. She was a test tube baby born and bred in the same lab they keep Walt Disney’s head. No shit look it up.

Back on track.

Bands like NOFX ran as one of the best acts in this genre. NOFX turned into one of my personal favorites over time. There are plenty of others to mention from all over the world. There are, to this day, punk acts from across the globe in all shapes and sizes. NOFX – Punk in Drublic and So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes are among the top-tier punk records.

But what is pop punk?

It’s perfection. It’s what happens when you take actual punk and blend it with, I don’t know, The Cure, and bam, perfection. Pop punk, emo, who gives a shit. I love it and I want to be buried in a Dookie shirt. Green Day, the last band to sell out. Probably not true, but they were the last one we cared about. The Spotify war is hilarious because now artists of all kinds are running out of the belly of the beast like, “you hurt my feelings.” I think about canceling my account a bit, then I just think about what King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have actually ever done for me. They’ve made it impossible to keep up with their work. They really should buy their own record pressing plant and just press them as we buy them. It sure as shit would clean up the K and the discount sections at the record stores I don’t go to.

Blink-182 and Green Day. The biggest of the big. There isn’t a punk band bigger. You all know it’s true. You fucking gatekeeping boot-licking purists. We love you, and I’m here before no one at all to say after little thought that I’m here to champion gatekeepers. Maybe then we can kill the spirits of a few SoundCloud rappers and black metal projects. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and Blink-182 (self-titled), alongside Dookie and American Idiot punk or not, they’re all so good and a lot of different other things. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket has arguably one of the strongest B-sides I’ve ever heard in my life, and I’m constantly searching.

Black Flag are rage incarnate. Misfits are the best gimmick that’s ever been sold to me. I believe it. As I believe that when Danzig reads this he will fly to my house and punch me in the face. My War, Walk Among Us, and Static Age. These are punk legacy.

Buy your local gatekeepers drinks. Think about starting your own campaign to keep punk pure. Better yet, start your own punk band and yell about your boss. Be nice to people and pick the right moment to put a great album in someone’s hands. Enjoy it with them and make memories that are attached to these songs because they can mean so much. It’s never too late to go through a punk phase. If you email me I’ll set you up with a three-week program that’s only $49.00.