Punk Rock: how much of it really was truly "Punk rock?"

I don't think so. I don't see what Blondie did, besides cover "Tide Is High", not even a reggae song but rock steady.

The Clash did more than all those groups combined.

Also the Grateful Dead had the song "Estimated Prophet" original reggae song and would cover "Stir It Up", in the 1970s.

But really Bob Marley was pretty popular in the US, it's kind of insulting to say all those other bands made reggae as well known, especially since they are not mainly reggae groups.

 

reggae to me is like polka; it's fun to listen to for a song or two, but then it's time to move on to something else

YMMV

 

Point taken re Lydon, Malcolm McLaren may be to blame. I do agree about Blondie now that I look at it from the perspective of your comment. I was thinking more from Johnny Ramone's comment in the End Of The Century docu when asked about the commercial success of some of their contemporaries.

 

I agree they were not reggae groups but they planted the seeds of the scratch guitar and dub bass lines in the minds of the American music consumers.

Reggae has never been popular in the US, 99% of the population couldn't name one single Burning Spear, Dennis Brown or Jacob Miller song. Peter Tosh and Bob Marley were pretty much the only artists that got any mainstream FM radio play in the late 70's and 80's. Most people couldn't tell you who sang "many rivers to cross" or "you can get it if you really want" although they may recognize the song if they hear it.

 

Check out these guys called Phocus from Appleton if you get a chance. I've seen them a few times, mind blowing stuff. Kind of Stax/Volt mixed with hard Jamaican dub. Highly recommended.

 

What's your beef with the term protopunk?



I saw these guys Friday and really dug them. L.o.t.i.o.n. from New York.

 

I've also been on a bit of a French Oi! kick. These guys are great.

 

When I first heard ACDC in the 70s before they were big time in the USA I thought they sounded Punk. Generally anything gimmicky(not serious) I referred to as Punk. I still think there is a Punk ambiance in ACDCs music. Angus' costume for example.
Punk isn't necessarily mean bad or amateur. The Sex Pistols had good music despite all the theatrics. ACDC and Sex Pistols came out at the same time

 

now youre just trolling the thread

 

Don't forget the Shaggs when it comes to punk.

 

G.l.o.s.s. is probably the best new hardcore band I heard in 2015. Here's a video of them playing an elks lodge in Cambridge.

 

The sex pistols is probably in a Venn diagram of their own in being about the most referenced punk band by people who aren't involved or invested in punk, and the least listened to by people who are. They're like a third rate version of the stooges with better marketing.

Also, John Lydon's later band Public Image Limited is way better, at least for the first few albums before they started making bad pop music.

 

Some would probably point to This is Not a Love Song, Rise or Body but Disappointed is really their "shinny happy people" moment:

 

Blazer,

Holey scissor work! That was great!

2000 AD was the start of my retreat from current music, so I'm real happy to revisit that period and find such hucked gems.

Cheers,

Chas.

 

"Disappointed" is actually one of my favorite PiL tunes ever and 9 is my fave PiL album. I know it's more accessible than, say, The Flowers of Romance, but I love it. I much prefer Lydon's post-punk/avant guarde stuff. And you can count me as one of those (former) punks who got sick of the Pistols pretty fast and rarely listened to them; The Damned were way more interesting to me, because they just threw a bunch of musical influences and styles into a pot and came up with really entertaining stuff (even if it wasn't always strictly "punk" by a lot of peoples' definition.)