The Jello Biafra sit in at FoV put me over the edge. Dylan, Phish, Beefheart of my youth kept punk far away from my ears. Over the years, though, I have been getting more and more interested. Double Nickels on the Dime is one I’ve loved for a while now, for instance. But Gizzard has definitely put me in closer touch with punk and now that I have actually seen Jello Biafra live and deliberately listened to Dead Kennedys albums, I’m wondering what the hell? How did I wait this long? And I’m hearing the sounds of more familiar music like Beefheart and Zappa especially in an album like Plastic Surgery Disasters. I’m finally tied in. Lots of listening to do now.
Anybody else realizing that their punk period is coming in late?
You might want to check out The Replacements. Paul Westerberg is like the Bob Dylan of punk…from Minneapolis too. They didn’t stay punk and their best songs would probably be considered post punk or rock, but with a punk attitude if that makes sense.
I had it the other way around. Grew up on punk and got funny looks when the blue haired kid starting wearing a pink floyd shirt, lol. I remember driving across the country with DK’s Mutiny on the Bay on repeat. Such a great live punk album. I fucking lost it when Jello came out for Police Truck. Discovering early Butthole Surfers and Flaming Lips filled a gap between punk and psychedelia for me and Gizz just finished filling in the pieces.
You’ve found a great place to start with Minutemen! Mike Watt is a national treasure.
Check out their upper midwest rivals, Husker Du, next. The Zen Arcade Album in particular.
A few other faves -
Big Black - Hammer Party
Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls, and Marches
Mission of Burma - Vs.
Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song single (the b-side, Max Ernst, is excellent as well)
And in addition, as has been mentioned - The Replacements. Also give Black Flag (‘Damaged’, ‘Slip It In’), Minor Threat (Self Titled), and Death - …For The Whole World To See. The album by Death is from 1975, its some very interesting proto-punk sort of stuff.
I think it’s really funny - my other friend was really into Jello and Dead Kennedys, and he got us all into his music. We all collectively lost our shit when the FoV lineup was announced.
Not sure where to post this, but since this is about punk, might be fitting in some way.
I know Iggy Pop likes to do “Fuck” chants, he just yelling “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck” on stage, crowd joins in and then it goes on for a while. I heard it quite some times and love it, but can’t remember a performance where he did it. So maybe someone remembers a video in which he did it, a link to it would be very appreciated.
If you want my advice, start from the beginning and work your way through the history. Start with the proto-punk stuff like MC5 and Death…For the Whole World to See (their Netflix doc was still up on YouTube last time I checked, totally worth checking out, they have an interesting tie to Phish…) then get into the OG shit like Ramones, the Clash, Sex Pistols (and take a moment to dig how Nirvana is basically a cross between the Ramones and REM), then get into the 80’s stuff and beyond.
Was going to say there is plenty of great contemporary Australian punk! A favourite I never see talked about is Pinch Points, great for anyone who likes that sibilant in your face Minutemen sound.
Private Function are great too, just doing it like it’s still the 80s and are properly transgressive too.
I appreciate all of the advice! I’ve been listening to bits and pieces of these bands you all have mentioned. No fully formed thoughts yet but I’m having fun checking everything out. Next up are W.B.T.G Slinger’s recommendations on my drive to work today.
