Music Time: Punk Rock. Oh and R&B day 3

Yep it's day 3 of red and black week (that was made by Sophistique Noir  ) today I actually wore something red and black! Hey, I think I'm the only man  doing this so I should get something (most likely the feeling of doing something).


OK I think it's time for a blog that's a little more happier, so here it is my 2nd of most likely many, many, many blogs about music (can you tell I like music? Still I don't seem to like it as much as my dad, he has 6 of those big 336 pocket folders filled with all his CD's, and he still has records and cassette tapes ). I think this blog goes well with what I wore today kind of well.

This is actually the logo of the band Bad Religion. I swear I'm done doing the small stuff, tomorrow I'll wear an "outfit" (red shirt with black pants is the most likely outcome. Whatever it is, it won't be that creative, that's what I'm saving for Friday).

So seeing as Bad Religion is a punk band I will be discussing my views on the Punk genre as a whole as well as listing off my favorite punk bands.

About my history with punk music:
I think most of the music I heard as a kid was in the punk genre since my dad was obsessed with it for a while. I've heard bands like The Clash, the Ramones, The Sex Pistols (I think they were the first punk rock band I heard, but they might have just been the first band I heard that I knew were punk rock) As well as some others. I've also heard quite a few newer punk bands like Rancid, Green Day, and even newer punk music like Rise Against.

It's interesting to compare punk music from different decades and see how different it is. What's also strange is how these bands seem to get worse with popularity (at least to me). Rise Against was pretty good but then their "Appeal to Reason" album kept on playing on the radio and everyone I knew suddenly liked them, then they released their new CD and I don't even like it that much (but I loved their other CD). Then there was Green Day. Do I even have to say how bad they are? After their greatest hits CD Billy Armstrong changed styles (he became emo and really changed the way Green Day's music was, making it less energetic and more emotional). This lead to mainstream success (of course lol), and I can't stand their new music anymore. Did I also say that a few of the songs I've heard on their newest CD sound very identical to American idiot but with different lyrics? (don't worry I didn't buy a CD of a band I don't like, my dad still likes them so he has almost all their CD's). Another band that has become a little worse with popularity is Rancid. After their song Time bomb was on the radio their next CD sounded a little worse to me. They're still good though, Tim Armstrong is a beast.

History of Punk Music:
Some of the first couple of punk bands were The Stooges, and the Velvet Underground, David Bowie and also The Who (these bands are classsified as protopunk bands though which means that they were the ones that greatly influenced punk rock music as seen by many punk rock artists siting them as their influence).

As far as I can tell (and I was just skimming wikipedia so who knows how accurate this is) the Ramones were the first real punk band, then there was the Sex Pistols which was another early punk rock band along with The Talking Heads. There was also the formation of the Buzzcocks and The Clash. Oh I forgot one band that's very important, Joy Division! Can't forget that band since it was technically the first Gothic Rock band.

The next wave of of Punk had bands such as the Misfits (they do one of my favorite songs but I don't like them that much, and I guess they're more horror punk but whatever that's still punk) and the Bad Brain (one of the first Hardcore punk bands, it's funny to think that without them and a few of the other Hardcore punk bands there would be no emo subculture since that's about post-hardcore and emotional hardcore music, which are offshoots of Hardcore punk lol). I guess there was also The Police here too. Oh and also The Dead Kennedies, Black flag, and the Circle Jerks.

Later post-punk emerged
This is a very important part for the Goth subculture since it was when the bands that would start the whole Gothic movement emerged such as Bauhaus, The Birthday Party, The Cure, and Siouxsie and the Banshees (actually they started earlier as a punk rock band but transitioned into the post-punk genre). I guess Joy Division is also in this category too.

Then there was the modern revival of punk (my favorite) with bands like  Operation Ivy (later Tim Armstrong formed Rancid, my favorite punk band), and Bad Religion (actually from '79) Reel Big Fish, and NOFX.

There were also some very mainstream punk bands like Blink-182, Sum41 and The Offspring. All are bands I actually kind of like.



Things that marked the punk subculture
- DIY (Do It Yourself) Clothing
- Moshing at concerts (In my opinion it's the worst thing to come out of punk)
- Anti-Authority attitude/ideals (it doesn't have to be violent most of it's more left winged stuff, and they're usually not violent, like everyone else. Even though that's not what the media wants you to think, but the media obviously doesn't know anything about subcultures lol)
- Mohawks (Hell yeah, I'm 99% sure I'm never going to have one though, but I wanted one when I was in grade school lol)
- Chains and spikes? I always thought they were more punk than anything else but I guess I might be wrong about that (at least according to wikipedia).

My favorite Punk Bands (Oh and I have to say I think that short punk songs are so much better than the long ones. They have all the energy (most of the time) and still end up getting their point across in a short amount of time.) Yep, there are links

1. Rancid (I love this band, they were one of the few
2. Green Day (before American Idiot I loved this band)
3. Bad Religion
4. NOFX
5. The Offspring (I was going to link to their song "I choose" but you can easily hear the pop influence in that song. This song also made my mom get a little pissed off at my music taste, lol).

Also check out:
The Talking Heads
The Dead Kennedys 
Ramones
The Misfits (They only do one song I really like, but I really really like it lol. I always see their pins at my local/downtown record store though, and I have to say those are pretty cool).
The Police (I'm still confused at why this band is punk but whatever, I guess that's just because they don't have a crap load of energy. It does remind me of the book "Lolita" though, never read it but I know what it's about).
The Clash (I love this song, they really don't make songs like this anymore)
The Stooges (I hope I look like Iggy Pop when I'm as old as he is lol)
Reel Big Fish (I wish I could see them again this year but I don't think that will happen ).
Be Your Own Pet (That one band who had 3 "banned" songs in the US for no real reason, it's kind of funny though because one of the "banned" songs was made into a music video)

I didn't put any Gothic rock bands on the list because I will probably talk about that in the future and that list will have the bands like Bauhaus.

Before I go (AKA Random stuff)
First, off I'm starting my job search again. I've been looking for a job since last year and so far only one place has called back :( Hopefully I end up finding a good job sometime soon though. I'm thinking of applying at an independent record store that's supposed to be close to my house but I have no idea where it is. I might also see if I can get a job at my local vet too since I love animals. Sadly I don't think they have any positions open right now but there are a few positions that don't require any previous experience. I might also try the usual fast food places that are around my house again, hopefully I'll at least get a call if not a job.

I also want to advertise a newer person on youtube that you might like, I don't find her videos that interesting but that's because she doesn't talk about stuff I'm really into. However I am betting that you might like it if any of you are into thrift store finds or book reviews. She also seems like a cool person (at least on camera), plus I like helping out people who are new to things. http://www.youtube.com/user/NightshadeNursery Oh and who said Goths have to be white?

Reminder for Blog #13: Everything changes with time.