Contributions
10 bands that prove why Misfits endure, from Metallica to My Chemical Romance
Misfits are the very model of an influential punk band. Which was most likely not Glenn Danzig’s goal when he formed them in 1977 in his native Lodi, New Jersey, naming them for Marilyn Monroe’s final film from 1961. After initially being driven by Danzig’s distorted electric piano, Misfits became known for sludgy power chords […]
A history of horror punk, from the Damned and Misfits to Alkaline Trio
I Put A Spell On You: Horror-punk roots Horror punk? Well, the cheapest, tackiest horror films have always been part of the cultural detritus that’s informed the punk aesthetic. Think of Ramones’ ode to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, “Chain Saw.” Remember the bloody, dripping creature feature font adorning Iggy And The Stooges’ Raw Power […]
D.O.A.'s Joe Keithley on how punk rock prepared him to become a politician
D.O.A. are the longest-running survivors of Vancouver, BC’s late ‘70s punk scene, as well as one of the architects of hardcore. It was begun in 1978 by singer/guitarist Joe Keithley — who operated for several years under “Joey Shithead” — out of the ashes of the Skulls, which also spun off the other great Vancouver […]
10 best '70s London punk bands, from Siouxsie And The Banshees to Sex Pistols
As long as there’s been a punk scene, its denizens have argued as to which city invented it — New York or London? Truth be told, it was neither because history’s first proper punk band was the Stooges from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Which would make Detroit punk’s proper birthplace. But if much of the sound […]
The 15 best punk albums of 2002, from Sleater-Kinney to the Used
The most notable aspect of punk rock in 2002 was the mainstream ascension of garage for the first time since the ‘60s. But all those albums by the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Hives that went mega this year were all recorded and released in 2002. Which explains their inclusion on this list, rather […]
The 10 best punk drummers of the '90s, from Dave Grohl to Tobi Vail
The ‘90s was the moment when the experiments wrestled control of the laboratory away from the scientists. Suddenly, punk rock — the ragged step-sibling of rock and pop — was squarely in the mainstream of culture, after years of ruling the underground. It spawned alternative music and the latter’s most successful subthread, grunge. Grunge was […]
From DEVO to Le Tigre and more, these artists defined synth-punk
One of punk rock’s original goals was “the destruction of rock ‘n’ roll.” While that didn’t happen, most early punk musicians were rock fans, in spite of their espoused rhetoric. Hence why most early pogo soundtracks were basically Chuck Berry with a Marshall amp. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But this is hardly […]
20 songs that transformed punk, from "Raw Power" to "Rebel Girl"
There are a lot of people out there who know what punk rock is but have no idea how to explain it to a novice or an outsider. It would seem simple enough to define it as “three-chord teenage rebel music,” but what about all those songs that have four or more chords? Or all […]
How Minneapolis’ punk scene foreshadowed alt-rock, grunge and pop punk
Minneapolis: The state of Minnesota’s most densely populated city. It sits back to back with the state capital, St. Paul, forming what’s known as the Twin Cities. It also gets really freakin’ cold up there. So it naturally produced a huge crop of punk bands at one time, all seemingly falling out of clapped-out Ford […]