sex pistols

You would think television (the medium, as opposed to Television, the band) and punk rock were a match made in heaven. After all, the music and culture are sharp, edgy and visually arresting. This should have made punk flawless televisual fodder, right? Truthfully, punk and TV collisions have more often resulted in mutual incomprehension and […]

Punk was, by design, meant to be small and regional. True, bands might break out and become national or even international. But the overarching idea was keeping things small and accessible. You wanted to be able to reach out and touch your favorite band in a small sweaty club, maybe have a beer with the […]

Akron, Ohio born and bred Christine Ellen Hynde has led the Pretenders from the top of the charts since the band’s debut single, a 1979 rethink of Ray Davies’ “Stop Your Sobbing” that killed the Kinks’ 1964 Mersey Beat-ish original on contact. Sort of a spiritual big sister to Joan Jett, she led that gang […]

When pub-rock singer Joe Strummer of the 101ers first met with former London SS guitarist Mick Jones in 1976 to brainstorm material for a new band eventually named the Clash, Strummer was shown one of his songs, “I’m So Bored With You.” He wasn’t having it: “‘Ere, let’s rewrite this now!” The rather wimpy romantic […]

Welcome to Alternative Press’ pick of the 15 best punk guitarists of the ’90s. One notable difference between this list and the other two we’ve compiled is the inclusion of several women. Punk did much to democratize rock ’n’ roll in the ’70s, with many pioneering all-female (the Runaways, the Slits) or mixed-gender lineups (X-Ray […]

Bad Brains, the righteous and ferocious Washington, DC-based rastapunk quartet who arguably invented hardcore, have won back the rights to their back catalog. In the near future, they will undertake an extensive remaster/reissue campaign. The records will be issued on a custom imprint, Bad Brains Records via Org Music. “Hey what’s up Bad Brains family,” […]

Whether you’re curating your own wish list or getting ideas for your closest friends and family, it’s never too early to start sorting out your holiday shopping plans. Department stores might have the classics, but what about shopping for the punk in your life? Maybe you need a quick list to share with your own […]

Welcome to Alternative Press’ 15 best punk albums of 1989. It’s easy to look at the final year of the decade and see it as transitional. But there are portents of the future all over this list. Yet, truth be told, haven’t we seen that with all these lists? As we’ve worked on this series, […]

When he was a tweener, Black Veil Brides’ Andy Biersack would frequently accompany his father for trips to their favorite record store in the Cincinnati vicinity. On one particular visit, the elder Biersack asked his son to make a choice as to which records he wanted. He held up the debut album by the Sex […]

High-powered punks Anti-Flag recently celebrated the release of their documentary, Beyond Barricades: The Story Of Anti-Flag. Over the course of nearly three decades, the Pittsburgh-based punks have opened ears, eyes and hearts across the world with their political consciousness. While their tenure in the punk scene is certainly noteworthy, we asked them to weigh in […]

Maybe you’re a grizzled punk lifer who hates the kids. Perhaps you came of a certain age where you use the term ”melodic hardcore” more than “pop punk.” You may be a new listener doing a deep immersion into punk history. If you identify with any of these terms, we know you understand the importance […]

Part of the initial hype around punk rock was it had “no guitar heroes.” That was an exaggeration. To clarify, punk (in part) was meant to destroy the cult of technique. The obsession with 15-minute guitar solos, cramming in every note and lick you know at lightning speed. After all, what’s the point of playing […]

Playlist culture has changed the way most individuals discover new music, so it’s no surprise that limitations based on genre are slowly fading away. For those who always used to stick their nose up at what was most popular on the radio, it may be a tough pill to swallow. But with new innovations and […]

Record collectors of any sort can be a persnickety bunch. But few can be worse than punk-rock record collectors with titles spanning from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and beyond. They can make Simpsons character Jeffrey “Jeff” Albertson (aka “Comic Book Guy”) look positively well-adjusted. Come on: In a world in chaos, much like the lyrics […]

Pop punk is often associated with the turn of the century when power chords, skateboarders and forever-young tunes on MTV ruled the scene. More recently, there’s the puzzling association of the genre with pizza that has turned into a giant inside joke.  But the music dates back decades, with staying power that outlasted most predictions. […]

We know you already have a closet filled with Vans, so you’re probably itching to grab yourself a pair from their forthcoming punk-themed collab inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s iconic designs. From the brand’s debut logo in 1976 on The Vans #95 (now known as The Era) to keeping up to date with recent trends, Vans […]

Sid McCray, the original frontman for the Washington D.C. hardcore punk group Bad Brains, has passed away. The band confirmed the news over the weekend. Read more: The internet doesn’t think Matthew Lillard died in ‘Scream’ and he agrees On Saturday, Bad Brains confirmed that McCray passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 9. R.I.P to the […]

No, those are not death-metal album covers. Neither are the lyrics. Horrorcore, a subversive blend of hardcore hip-hop and horror themes, ventured into new territories in the past decade and continues to evolve. Horrorcore 2.0 features our favorite horror movie tropes while also embracing industrial, witch house, noise, trap metal, emo rap and art pop. […]