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- Ramones(self-titled)= da bruddahs from ForestHills,Queens that brought the excitement back into rockn'roll in the early seventies when it was long gone replaced by long,boring solos and drumming your grandmother could play. Essential Recordings: judy is a punk,blitzkrieg bop, havana affair,oh i love her so, pinhead,carbona not glue,suzy is a headbanger,cretin hop,rockaway beach,sheena is a punk rocker,we're a happy family,teenage lobotomy.
Flogging Molly:"Swagger"- When I say that I like FM, I always hear,"Well, they ain't nothing when the DropkickMurphys are around!" Can't you tell that FM are more celtic than DM, that DM is more punk than FM... so yeah, don't put them in the same equation. So this band is combination of irish roots music, with some punk guitar, and they combine it brilliantly with some deep heartfelt lyrics sung by the acoustic guitarist Dave King.This album never leaves my ears, with tracks like,"SelfishMan", "DevilsDanceFloor", "BlackFridayRule", "LifeInATenementSquare", you can see why. If you don't, go drink a pint of Guinness you lousy pasty mick bastard.
Los Straitjackets: True rocknroll instrumentalists, no vocals, no lyrics, just a bass, drums, two guitars and some fine classic rock musicianship, for fans of the ReverendHortonHeat, HillbillyHellcats,Ace and the Ragers and the like. Essential Recordings: Wrong Plantet, Tailspin, Itchy Chicken to name a few.
TheVelvetUnderground: Great band from the 60's. Andy Warhol took this band under his wing and produced their first album. One of the most influential bands of all time despite their low sale figures. The originators of guitar noise, way ahead of their time. I can't describe the kind of feeling their first record puts me through, it's almost euphoric. Thank God for music. Essential Recordings: Heroin, Stephanie Says, I'm Waiting For The Man, Run Run Run, All Tomorrows Parties, WhiteLight/WhiteHeat
Voodoo Glow Skulls: One of my all-time favorite bands. Ska-Core at it's finest, but don't get them confused with the likes of Less than Jake... there is a difference here. The horns are a little more latin, and the guitar work is a bit on metallic-side. They even use timbales. The songs are alot of fun but not stupid, don't expect to catch the lyrics right away because they come out fast and sometimes in some good ol', espanol. Essential Recordings: El Coo Cooi, Fat Randy, Shoot the Moon, Insubordination (the riff starts out like Black Sabbath's "CrazyTrain"), Ugly Stick, The Kids Will Have To Pay, Left For Dead, Los Hombres No Lloran, Brodie Johnson Weekend, Jocks From Hell, Land of Misfit Toys, La Migra, We're Back, The Silencer, Drop In, Yo No Tengo Tiempo Para Ti, Adicto a Tienda Segunda Mano, Nada En La Cabeza, Steady As She Goes, Band Geek Mafia, They Always Come Back, Malas Palabras, Say Goodnight.
The (International) Noise Conspiracy: I truly can't describe this band without sounding like a complete ignorant dumbass, but here goes. Umm....f%$cking awesome! How's that. Garage rock mixed with soulful singing and bits of techno flare, all done in the punk spirit but not sounding stereotypically "punk" at all. Self-described similarity to The Kinks on third album. Essential Recordings: Smash It Up, The Reproduction of Death, I Wanna Know About You, Abolish Work, Young Pretenders Army, Black Mask, T.I.M.E.B.O.M.B., A Northwest Passage, Up For Sale, Breakout 2001, Capitalism Stole My Virginity, A New Morning Changing Weather.
Dead Kennedys: Also one of my favorite bands of all time. One of the truest punk bands ever...smart, clever lyrics, comical yet creepy vocals by the legendary Jello Biafra. Creative guitar work, had an undeniable influence on System of A Down, (by the way, SOAD has said it themselves, so don't bitch about it) the similarities are uncanny, and also listen to them to understand why Serj Tankian is constantly referred to as the Jello Biafra of today. The only bad thing about this band is that they have been plagued by poor production on their first few albums, but I mean come on, this was way back in 1980 so it is understandable. Essential Recordings: Chemical Warfare, Holiday in Cambodia, California Uber Alles, Police Truck, Nazi Punks Fuck Off, Terminal Preppie, Forest Fire, Bleed For Me, Too Drunk Too Fuck, Jock O Rama, Soup Is Good Food, This Could Be Anywhere, MTV Get Off The Air, Stars and Stripes of Corruption, Take This Job And Shove It, Dear Abby, Macho Insecurity, I Spy, Lie Detector.
The White Stripes: You can make fun of this band all you want, but for those of us who actually "get it", we know how great this bands music is. Dismissed by some only because they choose not have a bass, but think about it, the bass in rock n roll is used mostly as a filler, it doesn't really get creative and become it's own thing, it's just added for making the sound fuller. What an insult to an instrument that actually can be used creatively (i.e. Violent Femmes) like Charles Mingus. Jack White's guitar in the first album is so fucking raw it sounds like it's going to explode (check out their performance on Saturday Night Live and you'll know what I mean). The drumming is simple, that's obvious to everyone, but that's the point, it's a minimalistic sound. If you over-analyze things in music then you'll miss out on some good stuff, just like many people missed out on the Ramones in the 70's thinking they were dumb and childish. Well, that "dumb" band incited a musical and cultural revolution which the music INDUSTRY has never recovered from. The White Stripes show you just how much of an enormous sound two people can make. In my opinion, their best album is De Stijl, their second one. Essential Recordings: Let's Build A Home, Jumble Jumble, Lafayette Blues, Astro, Cannon, Truth Doesn't Make a Noise, Little Bird, Apple Blossom, I Can't Wait, St.James Infirmary Blues, When I Hear My Name, Hello Operator and Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground.
MC5: This band was in a class of its own back in their day. Back in the 60's, this band was playing fast and raw, alot different from the hippie lovey dovey psychedelia going around in those days. This band was punk before punk, with radical politics to boot. The vocalist is just great, Rob Tyner had plenty of soul and on their first album, Kick Out the Jams, you get a good feeling of just how intense and full of energy they were. Don't overlook this band. Essential Recordings: Ramblin' Rose, Kick Out the Jams, Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa, Skunk, The American Ruse, Motor City Is Burning, I Can Only Give You Everything and others.
Violen Femmes: This band is so much fun to listen to. The only way I can describe their sound is acoustic punk rock. The bass in this band is specially fun to listen too, as well as the drumming. Gordon Gano's tone of voice can be dark, childish and playful in so many of their songs. This is just some good ol' American music. Essential Recordings: Blister In The Sun, Add It Up, Gone Daddy Gone, Kiss Off, Confessions, Good Feeling, Waiting For The Bus, Country Death Song, Black Girls and 36-24-36.
The Clash: What kind I say about The Clash other than I love them. I mean, out of the 77UK punk bands, they are my fave. They were also one of the truest punk bands ever, because they also thought differently in terms of music instead of their peers of their time. Even on their first release, they showed they were more than just punk, and of London Calling, the album that had it all in terms of music, a collage of great sounds. What I loved alot about the Clash, was Joe Strummer's voice, damn it, it had a pub drunk brute swagger to it, and on their first album, you can tell he's singing with all the heart that's in him. The Clash dared to be different, and dared to care and think about what was going on in the world, instead of being some loser anarchist nihilists. Listen to the Clash, and thank me later. Essential Recordings : Janie Jones, Protex Blue, Cheat, 48 Hours, Deny, London's Burning, I'm So Bored With the U.S.A., Complete Control, White Riot, What's My Name, Garageland, Career Oppurtunities, London Calling, Brand New Cadillac, Spanish Bombs, Guns of Brixton, Lost in the Supermarket, Death or Glory, Rock the Casbah.
The Sounds: I dont know where to start with this band, all I can say is that with the first listen, I was hooked for life! Plus Point: the vocalist is an absolutely insanely beautiful blonde named Maja Ivarsson, and more importantly, she can sing so well. She can carry any kind of song, a nice sweet song, an angry song, anything. If you must know what they sound like, then I can only tell you they sound as if they were a great band from the 80s. Guys, you might feel gay when you listen to this. Girls: youre gonna love this. I basically listen to their album, "Living in America", like non-stop, everyday, all the time, its that fucking great. Not one throw away track, the whole album is a slice of 80s pop heaven. Thank you Dave Grohl for your taste is shirts!
ALSO CHECK OUT THESE BANDS:
The Hives, The Who (earlier stuff preferably), Hepcat (really good ska), Buddy Holly, Clincic, Sex Pistols, Refused, The Nerve Agents (good hardcore), Division of Laura Lee( trippy garage rock hybrid), Ozomatli( latin stuff) , Manu Chao( latin stuff, samples), Michael Jackson, Barry White, Vue, Jerry Lee Lewis, Beastie Boys, James Brown (definitely), AFI, The Rolling Stones (60's albums, especially Aftermath), Rage Against the Machine, At the Drive In (Vaya), the Beatles, Dick Dale and His Del-Tones (good surf music), Link Wray, the Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, Operation Ivy, Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
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