My Top 20 Punk Songs

Released in1976, this is the first single released by a U.S. punk act from the West Coast.
The sound of robotic yells of despair against white-hot guitar riffs is very cool, though offensive and confrontational.
Crime never recorded an album with a major studio and self produced and self financed their singles. They used images of Hitler on show flyers and were banned from playing at numerous venues as a result.
During that era, club bookers, journalists, record shop owners, deejays and the like were a close-knit group of hippies.
When most venues wouldn't book the group, Crime purposely caused animosity.
The group was able to secure regular appearances at the Mabuhay Gardens. They made rare apperances in Seattle and Los Angeles and had an infamous show at San Quentin Penitentiary, which they played in full police regalia.

In a scene that outcasts embrace, Crime became outsiders within the outsiders. Crime was primarily a San Francisco phenomenon that stubbornly stayed a liberal city that considered them rude and primitive.

19) I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones
Road to Ruin

The vocals of Joey Ramone laid against one of the catchiest punk rock beats ever, this song is about releasing the type of energy that can only come from being bored. This wonderfully fun tune is one of the best known punk songs.

18) X Offender - Blondie
Private Stock Records

Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry wrote x-Offender, which was Blondie's first hit.
Originally the song was titled "Sex Offender" and told of an 18-year-old boy who was arrested for having sex with his younger girlfriend. Debbie Harry changed the lyrics into a story about a prostitute who was attracted to the police officer that had arrested her.
Before the album's release, Private Stock Records asked that the title be changed to X-Offender because they feared a backlash about the title. Since the single was made in a limited number, an original pressing costs almost $800.00 on the private collectors market.

17) Kick Out The Jams - The MC5
Kick Out The Jams

Originally formed in 1964, MC5 played a music that was comprised of a variety of multiple styles such as hard rock, blues, garage and psychedelic rock.
Kick Out The Jams was so promising that Rolling Stone Magazine gave them a cover appearance before their debut album was even recorded.
MC5's career was unfortunately short-lived. However, within a few years of their dissolution, MC5 had not left the memories of fans and critics and were often cited as one of the most important American hard rock groups of the 1960's.

16) Zombie Warfare (Can't Let You Down) - Chrome
Half Machine Lip Moves

The group created challenging music by using home made tapes, dismembered vocals, strangulated guitars and keyboard noises. The result was sci-fi future-punk rock. Zombie Warfare is a perfect example of the group's style.
Chrome was a band that reached the pinnacle of success to early and then faded into the background.
Despite this, their influence can be heard in more modern groups like Nine Inch Nails and Flaming Lips.

15) Fairytale in the Supermarket - The Raincoats
Kitchen Tapes

The Raincoats were an all female punk band. They wrote inspiring anthems that reach deep down and don't let go. The lyrics intelligently critique consumerism and patriarchy which had a part in shaping the overall tone of the genre. Sadly, the band never really achieved the popularity they deserve due to being ripped apart by critics.
They do deserve to be more widely heard.

14) Longview - Green Day
Dookie

While this song was not really a hit, the lyrics are honest and the video received substantial airplay on MTV.

In an interview with VH1, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said: "I was just in a creative rut. I was in between houses sleeping on people's couches. It's a song about trying not to feel pathetic and lonely. I didn't think that masturbation was really seen from the point of view that I was looking at it. In songs like 'Turning Japanese' it always seemed more about people pulling a pud or something. I was coming from a lonely guy's perspective: No girlfriend, no life, complete loser."

In a 1995 Rolling Stone magazine interview, bassist Mike Dirnt revealed that he initially wrote the unique bass riff to this song while on an acid trip. The next day a sober Mike, along with Billie Joe, had a hard time remembering the riff they liked so much the night before. What became the song's bass line was what they could remember to the best of their ability.

13) Free Money - Patti Smith
Horses

The album had a huge impact on the New York punk rock scene. Patti Smith is responsible for developing an intellectual and feminist take on rock 'n' roll.
The free style poetry set against dissonant chords and snarling guitar is intense. Patti makes the spoken/sung lyric compelling. This song and album set a certain standard that has not been reached since.

12) Nazi Punks F*** Off - Dead Kennedys
Alternative Tentacles

Though earlier songs like "Kill the Poor" and "California Über Alles" are meant to be satire, they attracted the attention of some members of the Neo-Nazi movement.
Taking the lyrics at face value, Dead Kennedy concerts started to be attended by Neo-Nazis in recognizable numbers.
In response to this, Dead Kennedys wrote "Nazi Punks F*** Off". It was performed at the beginning of concerts that had a strong Neo-Nazi presence.
When the single was released, it included an armband with a crossed-out swastika.
The Dead Kennedys and anti-racist punks have since adapted the design.

11) Alternative Ulster - Stiff Little Fingers

Stiff Little Fingers was originally called Belfast's The Clash and it's a little known fact that this band is a big influence on the band, Green Day.
The frustration of living in the time of IRA repression is channeled through the song.
The lyrics and sound have a raw edge that isn't found often in music.
Until the release of Inflammable Materials, Northern Ireland artists veiled their songs when talking about political issues. SLF broke that taboo and the song caused significant controversy.

10) Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies

Institutionalized is the band's most popular song. Within it, the narrator describes how his family suspects he is using drugs and sends him to a mental institution. "Institutionalized" was one of the first hardcore punk videos to be aired repeatedly on MTV.

Critic Ira Robbins said that, "Half-sung, half-recited and built on repeated sudden tempo changes, 'Institutionalized' is a unique, devastating centerpiece. One of the era's quintessential expressions of teen dislocation, it converts generation gap misunderstandings into a complete communications breakdown, encapsulating all the punk sociology of such films as Repo Man and Suburbia in four minutes."

9) Psycho Killer - Talking Heads

This song was the only track on the Talking Heads debut album to reach the Billboard charts. The wonderfully dark lyrics reflect the thoughts of a serial killer as he is committing murders. The song contains one of the best insistent rhythms and some of the most memorable bass lines.
The bridge lyrics are in French, as is the prominent chorus line "Qu'est-ce que c'est ?" ("What is it?").

8) Angels With Dirty Faces - Sham 69

Angels With Dirty Faces is from the band's debut album, Tell Us the Truth, which is a mixture of live and studio recordings released in 1978.
While Sham 69 is not as commercially successful as other punk bands, they are a huge musical influence on the street punk genre. The band members used a unique combination of football chant backup vocals inarticulate political populism.
This song highlights an underlying problem with certain youths all over the world. The lyrics are powerful and the vocals of Jimmy Pursey give the song an interesting and distinct characteristic.

7) London Calling - The Clash
London Calling

Written and sung by Joe Strummer, the lyrics were influenced by the nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. The song also tells of the rise of unemployment, racial conflict and the rise of drug use in Britain. This song has to ability to reflect nearly any time period and the emotions of the band are prevalent in his vocals. You can actually feel it.

6) Anarchy in the UK - Sex Pistols
Anarchy in the UK

The story behind the odd pronunciation of "anarchist" is that John Lyndon couldn't think of anything to rhyme with "Antichrist" so the pronunciation of the word "anarchist" as "An-ar-KHIST" instead of "An-ar-KIST" was born.
This song takes an extreme view on anarchy and is a wonderful reflection of the time in which it was written. The lyrics contain references to the MPLA, the UDA, and the IRA, which were notorious and oppressive organizations.

5) See No Evil - Television
Marquee Moon

While this could technically be called, "Post Punk" I am including this song due to the fact that the entire album of Marquee Moon is simply amazing. Marquee Moon features sparse and complex guitar, bass and drums set against some of the best vocals to ever grace the music scene.
Though it's been just over 30 years since it's release, the lyrics are timeless and the music always sounds fresh and surprising due to the deeply introspective tone.

4) Mommy's Little Monster - Social Distortion
Social Distortion

People who are only familiar with Social Distortions radio hits such as "Ball & Chain", "Ring of Fire", and "When The Angels Sing" might be somewhat put off by this song.
The lyrics tell of a child who doesn't hesitate to admit and be proud of his imperfections, no matter how self-destructive they may be.
In my opinion, this song is unarguably a raw, in your face, punk rock classic and a must for any collection.

3) New Rose - The Damned

New Rose was the first British Punk Rock single to be produced and officially released. It debuted on October 22, 1976 and was released in Germany, and France in 1977.
While The Sex Pistols and The Clash certainly have their place in Punk History, The Damned did it first.

2) Radio Radio - Elvis Costello and The Attractions

Debuting in the UK in October 1978, the song is a protest against the recording studios and the commercialization of radio broadcasts. Since the companies wouldn't often play politically explicit punk songs,
Part of the lyrics go, "You better shut up or get cut out/They don't wanna hear about it/It's only inches on the reel-to-reel" and "They don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason,"
This is a veiled reference to the Sex Pistols' song, "God Save the Queen".

1) The Shaggs - My Pal Foot Foot
Philosphy of the World

The Shaggs are one of the most under rated punk bands. In the beginning, they couldn't sing, play instruments or write music. However, that didn't stop them.
Their father tutored the four sisters who comprise the band.
He home schooled them and involved his daughters in long practice sessions.
The result of this was a studio sessions that produced the bands only album, Philosophy of the World, which was released in 1969.
"My Pal Foot Foot" is the best known song from the album. The song revolves around them attempting to locate Foot Foot, their cat.

And why am I making this number one? Well, because The Shaggs are ground zero in the world of outsider music. The Shaggs are responsible for artists like Tiny Tim, Daniel Johnston, and Wesley Willis.
And it shouldn't be over looked that Kurt Cobain, John Zorn and Frank Zappa were all enthralled with The Shaggs. Interestingly enough, Frank Zappa declared The Shaggs to be greater than The Beatles.

Any of the songs mentioned in this list can be downloaded through ITunes, purchased through Amazon.com or
The Rough Trade Shop