The Undertones, "The Undertones"

The Undertones
"The Undertones"
Sire (1979)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

All in all, London wasn't that bad a place to live during the '70s. That didn't stop the Sex Pistols from making it seem like a third-world hellhole, however. One can only imagine that punk groups coming from Northern Ireland, a true war zone thanks to clashes between the Protestant majority and the Catholic terrorists of the IRA, would be spilling over with social commentary. If you take The Undertones' word for it however, punks have other things to worry about when they're young, aside from political upheaval.

The band's 1979 eponymous debut focused on subjects that the other 95% of teenage males were concerned with: picking up chicks. The best example is "Girls Don't Like It," which laments the difficultly in impressing the Irish lasses, stating in the chorus, "what else can you do if the girls don't like it?" The girl problems continue on tracks like "I Gotta Getta," "True Confessions" and "Runaround (She's A)." The immediate argument dividing fans of punk is of course: Is it still punk if you sing about girl problems?

My answer is yes, but I would place The Undertones into the relatively new classification of "pop-punk." The sub-genre consists of bands like Blink-182, which more-or-less follow the musical formula of punk, if not the social formula. The argument of fans of say, Black Flag, is that if you don't buy into the social beliefs, you aren't punk. However, if you look at The Ramones, the first band to be labeled explicitly as punk, you see a pop-punk band. That band popularized the three-chord songwriting structure that would define the genre to many, and yet it didn't write about overthrowing the government; it wrote about whether or not they wanted to go down to the basement.

Granted, The Undertones are poppy even for a pop-punk band. Modern pop-punks like Blink establish the rebellious side of punk via profanity, but The Undertones were looking for mainstream radio play. Vocalist Feargal Sharkey has potential for caustic Johnny-Rotten-style vocals, but he doesn't push it. The music, although still far from polished, also doesn't reach the levels of rawness displayed by the Pistols. The band's popularity was aided by influential London disc jockey John Peel, but he couldn't have done anything for the group if it hadn't settled on such pop-friendly fare to begin with. "Here Comes The Summer" sounds almost as if the Beach Boys had decided to give punk rock a try.

The band has its moments of traditional punk attitude, such as the waggish opener "Family Entertainment" and the faster "Jump Boys," but even those have a pop sensibility about them. This album is not going to impress the hardcore fans of hardcore punk, but it's a great start for someone easing into the genre. On the whole, and this is strictly my opinion (so don't jump down my throat), I would recommend this album over The Ramones' debut any day.

INTERESTING FACT: John Peel, the aforementioned disc jockey who helped The Undertones gain attention, is somewhat the Dick Clark of England. Therefore it is noteworthy to mention that he claimed The Undertones' single "Teenage Kicks" (which was released prior to its debut album) was his favorite song of all time.

The Damned, "Machine Gun Etiquette"

The Damned
"Machine Gun Etiquette"
Chiswick (1979)
1001 Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die

When punk rock became "punk rock," there were two bands at the forefront. In America, there was the popular Ramones and from England, The Sex Pistols. Iggy Pop is now considered the "godfather of punk," but at the time The Stooges were just performing raucous rock 'n' roll. Punk is now almost-defined by the stereotypical three-chord structure of the two previously mentioned bands, but that model died (only to be revived in the late '80s). No, early punk was full of groups that didn't mind stretching the genre's boundaries. The Damned were one of those bands, and "Machine Gun Etiquette" was its flagship record.

First, there have to be distinct elements of punk rock for something to earn the genre's acceptance. The Damned have plenty to qualify. First, and most importantly, there's the rebellious attitude. "Anti-Pope" is an obvious example, poking fun at churchgoing folks, and "Liar" borrows an unsophisticated approach to narrative from The Ramones. Other very punk touches include call-and-response style vocals for tracks like "Machine Gun Etiquette" and "Noise Noise Noise," and drummer Christopher "Rat Scabies" Millar's abuse of the crash cymbals.

On the other hand, the band takes moments to get away from the punk moniker as well. Opening single "Love Song" sounds like a punk track instrumentally, but the lyrics are as fluffy as anything in pop music. The happiness is short-lived, but the mood of gloom takes on other forms throughout. "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" sounds like a predecessor to goth rock, and "Plan 9 Channel 7" is post-punk before the genre could really exist. The bridge during the cover of MC5's "Looking At You" leans toward jam session, almost the ultimate irony in punk. Almost.

The album's closing track and most enduring song, "Smash It Up," is a two part song. The first is the ultimate punk irony, an instrumental. Part two muddies the water further. The musical approach is removed from punk, or at least the punk we expect after hearing songs like the title track, but the lyrics are the most telling on the album. Vocalist Dave Vanian calls for "smashing it up" and other anarchic behavior, while at the same time calling out the hippie culture for its passive approach to reform. Basically, the the most "pure" expression of the punk attitude.

"Smash It Up" is important, because although it keeps a foot in multiple genres, at no point are The Damned wishy-washy about it. Many bands had no qualms about expressing skilled musicianship within punk (namely the American hardcore bands) but few embraced jumping boundaries like this group.

INTERESTING FACT: The Damned combined with heavy metal band Motörhead to form the supergroup "Motördamned." The project only got halfway through recording a few songs, none of which were officially released. One track was to be a cover of The Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz."

Black Flag, "Damaged"

Black Flag
"Damaged"
SST (1981)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die + 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

Punk was far removed from today's relative popularity during the '80s, and arguments involving which band was best is usually narrowed down to about four: Bad Brains, Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat (if I'm missing any, it's probably because you didn't put enough of their patches on your backpack). In strict terms of influence, Black Flag wins.

Punk has spread in roughly a million directions since the early '80s, but the most prototypical style that is still played by high school bands in garages can be traced back to Black Flag. Bands like Brains and the Kennedys didn't stick to the simple three-chord structure that was laid down by the Ramones. Time signatures were juggled and solos were encouraged, not frowned upon. To be straight, guitarist Greg Ginn of Black Flag was a perfectly capable guitarist who tore off on frequent solos, but Flag's riffs tended toward the Ramones' style, if more aggressive. The rough and fast riffs almost command the listener to mosh, and the band quickly emerged at the forefront of the hardcore scene it was a creator of.

Vocalist Henry Rollins was another major influence on scores of bands to follow. Rollins, arguably the most revered punk artist today, was an angry 20-year old when "Damaged" was recorded, and he sounds like it too. Although Ginn wrote most of the lyrics, Rollins scowling mug was the face of the band's social-pariah message. His raw, smoker's roar became the standard for punk vocals, especially evident in artists like Rancid/Operation Ivy frontman Tim Armstrong among others.

The lyrics were rarely intelligent (see the especially blunt "Damaged I" and "Damaged II") but the attitude was clear. Rarely did the band get too political (aside from "Police Story" and "Rise Above"), preferring to stick to issues of angst and alienation, but the group's notoriously violent shows and influence (its famous four-bar logo began appearing all over Los Angeles) earned them the title of "social terrorists" from the LAPD. That sort of reputation is the stuff of punk legend. The Dead Kennedys were undeniably more open in its distaste for government, but Black Flag was the poster child for the anarchist subculture.

Despite its long-lasting influence, Black Flag did not stay this punk for too long. Ginn was hesitant to dwell on any given style, and the band's follow-up album "My War" would end up being an influence on the grunge movement later during the decade. It's not hard to understand how; Ginn's scratchy solos sound like what Jerry Cantrell and Kim Thayil would play for Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, respectively, and when Ginn slows it down, like the intro to "Life of Pain," the sludgy sound is undeniably grungy. However, nothing would reach the renown of "Damaged," hence its inclusion in both of my books, and its countless imitations from hundreds of bands.

INTERESTING FACT: Rollins didn't have a formal tryout for the band. He simply jumped on stage at one of its shows and began singing. Ginn soon invited him to join full time. The moral: If you want something, take it.

Drive Like Jehu, "Yank Crime"

Drive Like Jehu
"Yank Crime"
Interscope (1994)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Rarely in punk is bigger considered to be better. But then again, Drive Like Jehu wasn’t exactly aiming for normalcy. The band was a part of the San Diego hardcore scene of the early ‘90s which would later be classified widely as “post-hardcore.” The attitude of ‘80s Los Angeles hardcore bands was evident in the post hardcore scene, but musicians were much more likely to experiment and less inclined to stick with sub-three-minute songs.

Drive Like Jehu has been linked with two non-punk genres, progressive and emo, and I’ll discuss the former more because the similarities are more striking We’ll come back to emo.

Drive certainly did not embrace the “keep ‘em short” approach to songwriting, with four of the nine tracks on “Yank Crime” surpassing seven minutes. They also didn’t feel the need to base songs around riffs or even simple time signatures. Songs like “Do You Compute” feature multiple, meandering bridges and off-kilter timing during the “verses.” “Sinews,” the second longest track at 9:13, features frequent and dramatic changes in pace, rarely with a transition easing into them. Erratic time signature? Wandering instrumentals? Songs approaching ten-minutes in length? Sounds pretty prog to me. The band folded after “Yank Crime,” its second album, because as vocalist John Reis put it, playing such complex music was too difficult to be fun. At times the band could tone it down and produce shorter, punchier numbers like “Golden Brown,” however.

The emo connection is not entirely misplaced. Actual early emo music often featured odd time signatures, not just emotionally wrenched vocals. But, emotionally wrenched vocals are a key part of the genre, and vocalist John Reis has a vocal style similar to Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath: far from whiny, but expressing equal parts frustration and desperation.

Because of the group’s similarity to the two aforementioned genres, it would be easy to suggest that it wasn’t really punk at all. But bands like Drive Like Jehu serve as a reminder that often, being “punk” is more indicative of attitude than musical style. Jehu and its more popular Swedish counterpart Refused make complex music that is every bit as punk as Rancid. Purists might argue with that last statement, but I think intention is everything.

INTERESTING FACT: The band’s title is from the Book of Kings in the Old Testament, specifically this line: “the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.”

"Luau"

Bad Brains, "I Against I"

Bad Brains
"I Against I"
SST (1986)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die + 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die

When Tom Moon and Tim Scott respectively write about punk band Bad Brains, you immediately get the idea that there is something offset in the band’s music that makes it reggae. This needs a little clarification.

Does the music sound reggae? No. Not at all. The music could be described as funkier because bassist Darryl Jennifer is more audible than your typical punk record, but it's still a stretch. There is certainly no “ska stroke” guitar here however. That would be, well, ridiculous, at the speed normally endorsed by hardcore punk bands. The reggae is in the lyrics. Whereas the Dead Kennedys were playing fast and more talented than the average punk band on the West Coast, with a snarling and often deranged attitude, Bad Brains was doing the same thing with less radical solutions to the problem.

It’s easy to understand, coming from four Rastafarian individuals in the area of Washington D.C. Reggae is the obvious genre for the Rasta, but Bad Brains felt punk and by God they were. The variety of the ‘80s punk scene in the District is incredible. Bad Brains were rowdy and energetic, but they couldn’t be any more different than the area’s straightedge superstars, Minor Threat.

As I mentioned, Bad Brains was similar to other hardcore bands of the era, especially the Dead Kennedys, because they weren’t afraid to show some talent on their instruments. Punk has unfortunately come to be overly simplistic. Technical and tough instrumental movements are frowned upon because it contradicts the “low man on the totem pole” attitude of the movement. The DK may beat BB overall in terms of clever lyrics, but the talent of guitarist Gary “Dr. Know” Miller is uncontested within punk. His influence on later bands is obvious on tracks like “Re-Ignition;” the riff sounds like early Offspring (if you consider them punk) and his blistering solos clearly inspired later black rock bands such as Living Colour.

The group sometimes veers from its punk roots into “hard-rock” towards the end of the album, but the cream is on the first half. The title track and “Let Me Help” is the band at its punk best. Vocalist Paul “H.R.” Hudson’s intonation changes are great for the style because he doesn’t take himself too seriously. The less-hardcore attitude than that of other hardcore bands might be a turn off for some punk fans, but the level of instrumental talent should be an inspiration for all punk artists.

INTERESTING FACT: This is stated in both books, but certainly merits repeating: The vocals for “Sacred Love” were recorded via prison-telephone call while Hudson was incarcerated on marijuana possession charges. I can only imagine how they organized this.