Optimistic sellers

[husaberg]

1981 I was a 13yr old from a good family in suburbia with a tough taste in music. I was about as hard as HughHefner without Viagra.

I think i just about nearly became incontinent......

[HenryDorsetCase]

All punk bands were a bit terrible except the Stranglers, but it didn't matter, it was an antidote to the even worse music of the time. The Beegees, Abba, anything to do with paulfuking McCartney, RodSpewup, PaulSimon and whatever his faggy mate was. I owned some really bad music. Only the Stranglers and Siouxsie gets a repeat now.

depending on your definition of "punk" - unk: But as a bit of a history lesson the first punk band might have been the Velvet Underground. Or the Stooges, or the MC5. They (with others) were the nucleus of that east coast underground music scene which gave birth in the early 1970's to bands like the New York Dolls and later Television, Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Jim Carroll etc.

Punk as you're thinking of it, started in the UK started pretty much when Malcolm McLaren toured the New York Dolls there but there was a nascent scene there ready to explode: the "times" created an environment that just needed a spark. And it was provided by the Sex Pistols, without question. I often think if I could travel back in time I would go back to London c 1975 1976 and seek out those early shows. If you listen to tapes of them the band were actually pretty good. Decent rhythm section in Cook and Matlock, not a terrible guitarist (on a guitar stolen from Mick Ronson!) in Steve Jones, and Mr Lydon snarling over the top and talking about stuff that was definitely not on the BBC approved list.

What ruined it pretty much was it getting popular and them getting on national TV with Grundy and cue moral outrage.

Bands like The Clash and all the rest of that scene were slightly later though I would argue the Clash were at least as important as the Pistols.

the Stranglers were never a punk band though they did produce some decent albums - Rattus Norvegicus in particular, and I still enjoy "Live X Certificcate". I dont like the later stuff and detest shit like "Golden Brown".

That era (roughly 1966- 1978) is my favourite era in music from both sides of the Atlantic.

Listen to the Pistols again, and the Clash because that is some timeless quality rock and roll that sounds as fresh and angry now as it did in 1979-1980 when I first heard it.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Only the Stranglers and Siouxsie gets a repeat now.

Saw Siouxsie at The Old Town Hall back in the day. Robert Smith was playing for them...so double whammy really. Saw The Stranglers last year. They were fucking awesome, and they're coming back again next year.

[F5 Dave]

Couldn't afford that concert but I hear she sconed some skinhead with her mic.

Watched filth and the fury last week on the tube, pistols own take on the era. A revolution and they only had about 3 decent songs. All their albums were largely the same songs.

[Drew]

I always thought punk was just people bitching about society with no musical talent.

[Crasherfromwayback]

I always thought punk was just people bitching about society with no musical talent.

I thought that was thrash metal?

Get this into ya.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Couldn't afford that concert but I hear she sconed some skinhead with her mic.

.

She certainly did. Well deserved too.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Couldn't afford that concert but I hear she sconed some skinhead with her mic.

Watched filth and the fury last week on the tube, pistols own take on the era. A revolution and they only had about 3 decent songs. All their albums were largely the same songs.

Not that I am a Pistols nerd at all but........

The Pistols had ONE album - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. It was recorded nominally by the Cook - Jones - Vicious - Lydon lineup but in fact because Sid could not play bass really Steve Jones did most of the arrangements with the engineer and also did the bass parts on the album.

Any other Pistols album was demos, terrible live recordings, and outtakes plus a few tracks put together by Malcolm with Cook and Jones but not Lydon - notably the stuff with Ronnie Biggs and like that.

basically because of the fuckery with record labels (they wrote a song about it...) by the time they got to record, it was with the far inferior later lineup. Apparently because Sid was so terrible on the bass they used to unplug him or just turn him down in the mix and turn Steve up.

If you can track it down there's a good live record in "Live at Chelmsford Prison" which is a decent snapshot of the band.

Recommended further reading: "Lonely Boy" by Steve Jones, "Rotten" by John Lydon, and the book with the pink cover whose name escapes me right now.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I always thought punk was just people bitching about society with no musical talent.

No, but thanks for playing.

[Ocean1]

I always thought punk was just people bitching about society with no musical talent.

Pretty much describes music for teenagers since Adam was an ant.

'Cept Pink FLoyd. Dem's the real deal.

[F5 Dave]

I was late to the party due to age and bought the 1980 cynically titled Flogging a dead horse. Some of was awesome. Some of it was clearly filler made up at the time.

Got distracted by the Dead Kennedys along the way even if they were hated Americans -we all still had some misguided alliance to the motherland. My mate still laughs about me trying to order single Too drunk to Fuck from Chelsea records, of course the prettiest girl had to be serving at the time.

Sound track of my youth that was. . . Or more correctly Not given the opportunity to Fuck.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I was late to the party due to age and bought the 1980 cynically titled Flogging a dead horse. Some of was awesome. Some of it was clearly filler made up at the time.

Got distracted by the Dead Kennedys along the way even if they were hated Americans -we all still had some misguided alliance to the motherland. My mate still laughs about me trying to order single Too drunk to Fuck from Chelsea records, of course the prettiest girl had to be serving at the time.

Sound track of my youth that was. . . Or more correctly Not given the opportunity to Fuck.

LOL yup. That's a band with an interesting and chequered history. That SF hardcore scene of which they were pioneers produced some stellar stuff.

Pity that the (im)Moral Majority in Mrka fucked the DK's over - just because they called an album "Frankenchrist" - so much for the land of the free and the home of the brave!

[jasonu]

Watched filth and the fury last week on the tube, pistols own take on the era. A revolution and they only had about 3 decent songs. All their albums were largely the same songs.

Yep and they managed to make a lifetime living out of it.

[Drew]

I would rate hip hop much much higher than punk.

[Grumph]

I would rate hip hop much much higher than punk.

I no longer know you.....