Believe it or not,
lyrics are the heart of punk. Sure there's a lot of screaming and mindless
chord-grinding out there. But all the really good punk groups use their
lyrics (assuming you can hear them) as a way to make you think
about something. The reason they scream, as my friend Frank once explained,
is because the things they choose to write about are so gripping that
they have to scream, they can't just talk. That wouldn't do
their subjects justice. So, minus the screaming, here's what they are
trying to tell you.
Once again here's a warning:
Clicking one of the links below will take you to a page with one or
more music clips on them. The file size of the music clip is about 500k
(half a Megabyte). A telephone Internet connection might take 5 full
minutes to load the 500k clip. Don't
panic. But be ready to download some large
files.
-
The Dead Kennedys.
Who can talk about punk lyrics without mentioning the Dead Kennedys?
If you don't already know, you are about to find out why. Take a "Holiday
in Cambodia"
-
Bad Religion
invites you to share their shining vision of a "New America".
This is what Punk music is really all about, and if you didn't already
know it, you may be surprised.
-
Long Beach Short Bus
(L.B.S.B.) Anyone who knows me, knows that a lyric
that says "We have no place in Reality's realm" would speak
to me. Board the "Flying Ship of Fantasy"
-- These two groups aren't true punk, but the "Rock"
page was getting pretty full. And they definitely have the Punk attitude.
Call 'em AlternaPunk. --
-
Foo Fighters.
We live in interesting times. And whenever I think of that old Chinese
curse, I also think of Dave Grohl's song, "Times Like These"
-
The Ataris.
Now these guys definitely have the punk attitude. Check out this political
protest song: "Heaven Is Falling"
HONORABLE
MENTIONS -- |
- If you are looking
for the grinding guitars and the Cookie
Monster singing, you won't find any better than Mower.
Their song "Wrestle with the Pig" put music to that
old saying, "If you wrestle with a pig, you both get
dirty -- but the Pig... likes it." I find myself thinking
of that old pearl a lot when debating politics these days.
- Another classic
punk band is Pulley -- find their
song "Cashed In".
- If you still don't
think Punk is all about the lyrics, try this band which (in
various incarnations) is called All
or Screeching Weasel. Look for the
classic punk lament "She Broke My Dick" and other
hilarious songs such as "The World's On Heroin".
- The same could
be said for NOFX, with songs such
as "Don't Call Me White" and "New Boobs"
- 3against1,
SoCal locals, deserve mention here because their metal-guitar
style borders on Punk. I like the lyrics to their song "Monster".
But I don't think they'd really call themselves punks.
- The same could
be said for T-Minus-1,
whose style borders on Punk but I don't think that's how they
think of themselves.
- More great SoCal
local punks: Underminded,
Before Today.
- Rancid
are classic old punks, but they already have a huge number
of fans, so I don't feel the need to discuss them much here.
They kinda straddle the line between punk and pop (like an
earlier, nastier version of Green Day).
- For more political
punk, also check out the bands Anti-Flag
and Strike
Anywhere.
|
You
might also enjoy reading my definition of "Punk", written
around 2001 (click here)
Go Back to the Music Navigation
Wheel
|
