Like a lot of misfits my age, punk rock was the first music that sounded like "mine." Back in junior high, I had banged my head to Zeppelin, shook my ass to Chic, and poured my heart out with James Taylor - that was what we had in suburban Texas. (The New York Dolls? Forget about it!) But the first Ramones record (while it scared me silly) sounded like how I felt - angry, displaced, and ready to rock. That record (together with subsequent debuts by the Sex Pistols, Blondie, Elvis Costello, and others) was a cold slap in the face that said, "Hey, wake up, do something!" New Wave music - whatever that meant - was less threatening but equally invigorating and strange.

This music fell primarily during the years before "hardcore," "synth pop," "gothic" and other subgenres either petrified punk or transformed it. The Smiths and the Vandals may not have been mainstream entertainers, but they didn't really have much in common with the Clash or Talking Heads, either. Subsequent monikers like "post-modern" and "alternative" may be vague, but they'll have to do when referring to the fractured music that grew out of the punk scene.

Still, a lot of great singles and a crate's worth of classic albums were waxed before punk went back underground, becoming the secret language of a new generation. The roots of later power pop and ska revivals took hold then, and later, thanks to the dubious talents of Green Day and Blink 182, punk cracked the Top 10.

So, for me, punk is largely a thing of the past. Certain latter-day bands like Social Distortion thrill me unspeakably, but the music of rebellion means the most to the rebels - and I'm too old and jaded to rebel against anything. So, what once was my marching standard has become - to me - simply great music. Are you out there fighting the battle? Tell me about it. Drop me a line...

Randy Anthony

Hey ho, let's go!

The Punk Rock Bookshelf

• The Trouser Press Record Guides (Ira Robbins, 1983-1997)
• From The Velvets To The Voidoids: A Pre-Punk History (Clinton Heylin, 1993)
• Punk: The Illustrated History Of A Music Revolution (Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz, 1996)
• England's Dreaming : Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond (Jon Savage, 1991)
• In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music 1977-1992 (Greil Marcus, 1993)

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Punk & New Wave On The Web

• All Music Guide
• The Sex Pistols at Randy's Rodeo
• Hiljaiset Levyt (a.k.a. Punk Net '77)
• Mod-Pop-Punk Archives
• Punk Rock In My Veins!
• Punk '77
• Search & Destroy
• Lost Bands of the New Wave Era (blog)
• Google

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Feedback

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