Contributions
These 10 bands showcase the Ramones’ undying influence on music
Boston, Massachusetts, Sept. 25, 2021: The 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar played by Johnny Ramone on every Ramones album from 1977 onward and at 1,985 of their live shows sold at auction for $937,500. Not bad, considering the punk guitar architect paid $200 for it, after his original one he bought for $50 in […]
1999’s 15 best punk albums heralded a new age of mainstream rock
Welcome to Alternative Press’ pick of 1999’s best punk albums. It can be argued that the tone for the entire year was set in its first two months. For one thing, the 21-day impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton for perjuring himself in the investigation into the scandal over his affair with White House intern […]
X’s John Doe talks recent ‘ALPHABETLAND’ LP, how to stay fresh and more
X grew from the fertile soil that was Los Angeles’ late ‘70s punk scene. Singer/bassist John Doe answered an ad that rockabilly guitar virtuoso Billy Zoom placed in local classified ads paper The Recycler. It sought musicians for a band along the lines of the Ramones. “Two bass players answered that ad,” Zoom told Razorcake […]
From 1973-1980, San Francisco was one of the great American punk cities
Welcome to Alternative Press’ look at San Francisco’s original punk scene, from 1973-1980. The Golden City has long been a bohemian enclave. It was the soil upon which the Beat Generation writers staked their claim, even though most of the principals—Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, especially—met at and around NYC’s Columbia University […]
The 10 best punk vocalists of the 2010s upheld tradition in a new era
Welcome to Alternative Press’ 10 best punk vocalists of the ‘10s. As we noted when counting down punk’s greatest guitarists of this period, the genre was 35 years old in 2010. Punk rock had a history and a tradition by now, as well as a rule book it was never supposed to have. Which, of […]
Gang Of Four on what they learned from James Brown, COVID-19 and more
Welcome to the second installment of our exclusive two-part conversation with Leeds, U.K. post-punk icons Gang Of Four, represented by singer Jon King and drummer Hugo Burnham. We learned last time what the Marxist funkateers picked up from organizing political demonstrations and seeing early punk bands in the student refectory as Leeds University students. We […]
10 times different artists collaborated to make inspiring music
September 1963: A young R&B combo called the Rolling Stones are rehearsing, preparing for a recording session. Their manager, former Beatles publicist Andrew Loog Oldham, was tearing his hair out. They were about to record their second single, a follow-up to their modestly successful remake of Chuck Berry’s “Come On.” But they had one problem: […]
These 10 performers demonstrate the enduring influence of Sparks
Due to English director Edgar Wright’s (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) recent cinematic hagiography The Sparks Brothers, 2021 has become the year of Sparks. Variously described as “the best British band to come from Los Angeles,” “your favorite band’s favorite band” and “the greatest band you’ve never heard of,” it’s high time. After all, […]
1998’s top 15 punk albums simultaneously changed and preserved the form
Top 15 punk albums of 1998? You’d be forgiven for thinking that there weren’t any in the year the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal dominated the news. A quick perusal of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles of the year sees domination by several R&B (Destiny’s Child, Janet Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey) or hip-hop (Puff Daddy, Master P, […]