Contributions
These 15 punk albums of 1987 brought more noise and power than ever
Welcome to the best punk albums of 1987. But first, some context. Feb. 20, 1987: An attack by a domestic terrorist called “the Unabomber” plants a bomb in a Salt Lake City computer store. The owner is injured. March 4: President Ronald Reagan owns up to what was swiftly called the Iran-Contra Affair in a […]
QUIZ: How much ’70s punk trivia do you really know?
For many, first-wave punk was the sound of liberation. Chainsaw guitars, locomotive drums and screaming singers delivered brutal street poetry about the times. It saved us from a lifetime of dull progressive rock, snooze-worthy singer-songwriters and six-string heavy metal. For certain die-hards, ’70s punk is the only punk. For them, both the music and the […]
The sleeves of these 25 old-school punk singles are as cool as the music
As recently established here, the 45 RPM record was the greatest medium for punk rock. It’s compact, it’s affordable and brevity’s of essence—distill all of your best moments in three minutes or less. You can also master these seven-inch beauties hot, perfect for loud music. Then you have the picture sleeves. With punk being so […]
These 15 punk albums of 1986 mutated the underground even further
1986 was the year that speed metal and crossover (metal/core a la Cro-Mags’ The Age Of Quarrel) metastasized across the now-stale hardcore scene. The true sound of mid-’80s punk was the seeds of pop punk. Hüsker Dü were the kings of this, although Descendents really are the square root of every band who eventually played […]
These 10 punk singles of the '70s didn't need an LP release to stay great
The seven-inch 45 RPM single was built for punk rock. Pick your two best songs, say your piece in two or three minutes and get out. It was an affordable medium for bands who didn’t have a record deal. The promise of entire albums were lost to time when groups dissolved after maybe one strong […]
These 15 punk albums from 1985 are the roots of alternative rock
The year is 1985: Punk’s now 10 years old and changing again. Hardcore was now a formula: 1. Pick a seemingly random number of initials for your name (Say, SRI – Social Reagan Injustice); 2. Play at light speed. 3. Sing about how you hate Reagan and nuclear war. 4. Shave your head. Like rock […]
These 5 records by Buzzcocks practically invented pop punk
June 21, 2019, Royal Albert Hall, London: What was intended as a celebration of perhaps English punk’s most universally beloved band, Buzzcocks, is now a wake. On Dec. 6, 2018, frontman Pete Shelley died of a heart attack in Estonia, where he’d been enjoying a less hectic existence than London had afforded him for 30 […]
These 5 albums embody the Damned’s punk-rock magnificence
Oct. 28, 2019: Dissatisfied with being the first at everything in English punk-rock history (first U.K. punk 45, first U.K. punk LP, first Britpunks to tour America, first U.K. punk band to break up, first to reform), the Damned called upon the masses to help them enter The Guinness Book Of World Records. Booking the […]
These 14 punk albums of 1984 made the year heavier and meaner
First, some background about the motives of punk albums of 1984. Jello Biafra, in the Dead Kennedys‘ masterly 1979 debut single “California Über Alles,” predicted 1984 as the year presidential hopeful Jerry Brown‘s “suede/denim secret police” would be “knock-knock(ing) at your front door” to haul “your uncool niece” to a reeducation camp because “Zen fascists […]