Contributions
11 LGBTQIA+ punk musicians who changed the genre forever
It stands to reason LGBTQIA+ culture informed, inspired and enmeshed with punk, down to the crossover with the ’70s glam scene that helped spawn it. After all, both worlds were essentially the Island of Misfit Toys, from the Rankin/Bass 1964 holiday special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: a rebel culture for those whose ideas don’t fit […]
10 punk vocalists from the ’70s who upended mainstream rock standards
Nashville songwriting great Harlan Howard once defined country music as “three chords and the truth.” Many have said that definition could also be applied to punk rock. Therefore, it stands to reason that the figure writhing behind the mic stand might be the most essential member of any punk band. After all, it isn’t the […]
10 legendary bands who built the foundation of the grunge genre
Despite the grousings of certain members of punk’s first generation, grunge most certainly earned its place on rock’s historical timeline, the perfect antidote to the cliche-ridden joke hardcore became fairly quickly: Everyone attempting to run the 100-yard dash in two seconds? Why not take a nice, leisurely stroll, instead? Most know that meat turns out […]
10 bands who put the Canadian punk scene on the map
Though all but forgotten by this point—save for documentary films like excellent Vancouver overview Bloodied But Unbowed and recent Teenage Head retrospective Picture My Face—Canada once boasted one of the world’s best punk scenes. The quality/quantity of Great White North pogo-rock acts, plus their music’s sheer ferocity, belied our neighbors’ more mild-mannered and civilized reputation. […]
15 artists who draw influence from the Clash’s dynamic punk spirit
Some promo copywriter at the Clash’s American label, Epic Records, came up with the questionable slogan “19 songs by the only band that matters” for the sticker that appeared on the face of 1980’s U.S. release of London Calling. While singer/guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon didn’t […]
15 alternative music stars who got their start working in record stores
Record stores are magical places. A good, well-stocked and curated record shop with a knowledgeable staff can influence tastes, expand horizons and serve as the hub for a local musical community. It can be a community center, a place to meet with your friends, promote your band’s upcoming shows by hanging up flyers, even sell […]
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts team up with Z2 Comics for graphic anthology
Z2 Comics, the music-based comics publisher, is teaming up with Blackheart Records for a new title celebrating the 40th anniversary of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ breakthrough album, I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll. Titled Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 40×40, the graphic anthology celebrates Jett’s achievements via a series of pieces based on the 20 […]
15 albums from 1995 that are a perfect gateway into the world of punk
In 1996, Your Punk Professor interviewed the Clash’s distinguished lead guitarist Mick Jones for a proposed Alternative Press piece on punk’s original guitar heroes. Though it remains unpublished, I asked in the course of it what he thought of Rancid. Jones waxed effusive, noting he’d met the Berkeley punk traditionalists in the course of a […]
10 old-school punk bands who created the blueprint for the hardcore scene
1979: As far as the American record business was concerned, punk rock was finished. They’d spent a packet on the Sex Pistols, Ramones and Dead Boys, and those albums seemingly shipped straight to the cut-out bins. The Pistols self-destructed at the end of their U.S. tour the previous year, and now that Sid Vicious kid […]