So here we go. I'm bored, you guys aren't very familiar with punk, so here we go. I'll try to list off every damn subgenre I can think of and a song that best exemplifies it.
First things first, proto-punk, AKA punk music before anyone coined the term and before the genre truly started. Examples of proto-punk would be best exemplified by bands like MC5 and The Stooges. Here's a sample of some classic proto-punk:
Next up we've got the original British punk of the early to mid 1970s, bands like The Clash, The Damned, Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, etc. These are the bands that along with the NY Punk scene of the 70s basically invented and popularized the genre. Obviously we know the success the Pistols and The Clash have had, so I really doubt I need to play you some of their songs. Here are some other fine examples of that first initial wave of British punk, the first of which is considered by many to be the first real punk song to be recorded and released, by The Damned in 1975. They were finding success with punk 2 years before the Pistols ever came into existence.
I'm only going to include a song from the Buzzcocks early days there simply because their later work was more post-punk and melodic than their early, raw days of just pure Brit-punk. After this first wave a whole shitload of great bands rose up out of the influence, bands like X-Ray Spex, The Adverts, and most importantly Crass. Crass is extremely influential and along with bands like Flux of Pink Indians, Zounds, Anthrax and the Subhumans helped start the genre of anarcho-punk, taking hardcore to the next level with extremely politicized lyrics of an anarchist philosophy. These bands were fast, righteous, intelligent, and kicked fucking ass. Here are some classic anarcho-punk songs:
Now at the same time that this is all happening in England, in New York a similar revolution in music is taking place with bands like the New York Dolls, The Ramones, the Dead Boys, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Television, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers, any many other great bands. New York punk had an extremely distinct sound to it that bands almost always adhered to EXCEPT for The Ramones, who all but invented pop-punk with their insanely simply and insanely melodic and catchy songs, usually never longer than 2 minutes, which catapulted them into international success and to be one of the most popular punk bands ever. To give you a taste of some early Ramones, here's one of my favorite songs from their first album from 1976:
Now, for some other NY Punk which is very different from the Ramones style, most NY Punk bands tended to be more complex and more traditional than the Ramones almost-hardcore style, bands like Television and the Dead Boys probably best exemplified this sound:
Also during this mid-70s period in Australia there was a pretty damn good scene as well taking cues from both NY and London, great bands like The Saints and Radio Birdman:
And whew, yeah, gonna stop there. There you go, there's most of the history of punk in the 70s and the main scenes/subgenres of the time. I didn't include street punk, oi, or hardcore either as I'll tackle those next time.
Yes, I really just posted all of that. Why? Boredom. Now pump that fucking fist in the air and listen to some good music.
