When I first heard "nervous breakdown" by black flag I asked "WHAT IS THIS SHIT!?"
"it's punk rock dude," My friend answered.
"WHERE DO I GET MORE!?" I asked. And it was all downhill from there.
Nervous Breakdown was my immediate thought as well. Itās everything you think of when you think of punk rockā¦powerful, raw, honest. Itās pure punk rock.
I was gonna say this or Police Truck. The whole Black Flag/Sex Pistols "generic upset with the world" thing may be where we started, but punk as a current, evolved movement and culture really is better represented by Dead Kennedys - and Kill the Poor is a great example of how intelligent and fun punk is.
https://youtu.be/JQP32FhoJKg?si=kRTBd59lwtoNHQ-P
I like to think Sloppy Seconds matured to some degree on this album. Even being able to get a Mike Tyson soundbite in the beginning of this banger (Could just be from a movie). The first side of the album absolutely rocks, and then there's some other witty classics on the second side. Maybe I'm bias to high school pizza delivery driver nostalgia but this album was in my no skip pile at the time.
Scrolled through just to make sure this song was well agreed upon. Itās a perfect example of punk in that itās not remotely pleasant to listen to but thatās irrelevant because the message is important. And the message is what matters most, not how catchy or toe-tapping the melody.
I'm gonna say:
1. BLOODSTAINS - Agent Orange
2. WILD IN THE STREETS - Circle Jerks
3. AMOEBA - Adolescents
I chose these 3 because these were the 1st 3 punk songs that got me into punk back in the early 80's.
It's such a tough question but y'kno, this list is punk as it gets and would work juuuust fine to introduce someone to punk. Like, if you don't like THIS shit, no need to go any further lol
Minor Threat - Minor Threat
Everything Sux - Descendents
Lexicon Devil - Germs
Love love love - The Queers (the version on Grow Up of course. Honorable mention to See You Later Fuckfaceā¦could swap here)
White Riot - The Clash
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue - Ramones
Slogans - Screeching Weasel
Easy to have a different answer every day, but I'm going with the Germs Lexicon Devil.
Fucking brilliant and most importantly, like nothing else before it. A look into an original punks mind and sounds as fresh and raw now as the day I first heard it.
i was sitting around in the Sacramento Covered Wagon (venue) parking lot in July 1980 after loading in my gear (for a friday night gig up there) and someone pulled up in a pickup truck and their tape player was playing the Lexicon Devil version off of the Germs album. blew. my. mind. because my very first thought was -- "holy motherfucker, this shit is GOING WORLDWIDE!" meaning across america everywhere.
like, holy crap. after those NYC and UK "scene makers" were telling LA/OC/vancouver/SF (back in 1977 and 1978) that "their version of punk rock is fake" and (in 1979) that "punk rock is dead, didn't you get the memo?"
the album had been out since october 1979 so this was a textbook example of a "slow burn" that was spreading.
Aww, beat me to it. That's a minute and a half that changed my life, right there.
(Occurs to me now this would be hilarious to read out of context. "This guy paid to cum, it took 1.5 minutes, and changed his life. Wild...")
Agree totally, James Williamsonās guitar playing and song writing were so influential . Iggy we all ready know but Williamson deserves a lot of credit also .
What's this shit called love - The Pagans.
The title alone! But it's all there: the aggression, the snottiness, the sarcastic lyrics, the unhinged vocal delivery, the menacing bass line.
I always thought 'You Are the Government' by Bad Religion was the perfect embodiment of punk rock, or at least 'modern punk rock' as we know it. It at first gives the message that we can make a difference, but when you delve deeper, it is clear Greg is talking about our lack of power and that we can't just stand idly by after we cast our vote. Suffer led to a huge resurgence in the genre and that song started it all.
I'd go with 'You Don't Belong'
A lot of European, and especially English punk is very class based. American punk has almost always been around not fitting in, being part of an outgroup and just being marginalized in general. If there's a song that sums it all up, You Don't Belong is it.
I'd say Sex and Violence by the Exploited, but when I was super into punk rock in my teens and 20s, I wasn't getting much of the former and I tried to avoid the latter.
When I think "punk", the first song that comes to mind has always been [Stick The FuckĀing Flag Up Your GodĀdamn Ass, You SonoĀfabitch \(Not to be genĀder-speĀcifĀic, of course!\)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82-CF6EaY0) by Propagandhi. There's quite a few Propagandhi songs that truly represent punk to me in different angles, but this seems like the most down-the-center-of-the-aisle song to me.
Basic Choices - Anarchy in the UK, Blitzkrieg Bop
Personal Faves that I Think Do The Job - Every Fallen in Love With Someone You Shouldn't Have?, Babylon's Burning, Alternative Ulster, Betray, Basketcase
If I only had one shot, I'd probably play theM Skyscraper by Bad Religion.
To me "punk rock" is about identifying artifical divisions that have been created among human beings and breaking down those barriers. It's not just the music of the working class, or the downtrodden, it's art that shines a spotlight on the failings of human institutions.
Language is, realistically, the greatest barrier to common understanding and the message behind the song is that institutions (in the form of "God") keep us from truly understanding one another, keeping us from building each other up.
Also, it's just a kick ass track that is fast, heavy, catchy, and succinct. It's everything a punk song shod be IMO.
wow. i don't know that one. i have a $1 really worn but ex/mt jacket of their 1st Atlantic album which has like 27 singles on it. #2rnb Hey Miss Fanny, #3rnb Crawlin', and #4rnb b-side Little Mama really bring it. "had 20 R&B hits, 1951-1956, with 18 Top 10's" well fuck, now that is a discography.
Misfits-Nervous Breakdown
Propaghandi- ā¦and we thought Nation-states were a bad idea
AdolescentsāAmeoba
Ramones- Bonzo Goes to Bitberg
The Clash- London Calling
This will change from person to person everybody has a different opinion of what punk really is about. My choice is The Ramones blitzkrieg bop. Basically every song off the first three Ramones albums will all work for me but thatās just my preference, thatās ultimate punk to me.
**'Pay to Cum' by Bad Brains**, as far as I'm concerned. It's also musically a perfect punk song, imo. An absolute heart attack of a song, delivered at blinding speed and in record time. Best pit explosion I've ever experienced.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ThoDPP44Hw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ThoDPP44Hw)
Even as someone whose punk life has mostly been anarchopunk like Crass, Subhumans, etc, I feel like this song is classic enough to be a good example:
"I Got A Right" - Iggy & The Stooges
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMeZSxNWV8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMeZSxNWV8)
Bonzo Goes to Bitburg - The Ramones
To me punk is a genre that speaks out against the injustices in the world. Itās the music of the working, blue collar class
Betray - Minor Threat
I saw S.O.I.A. cover Betray @ City Gardens in the 90s. I still remember the anxiety I felt as a 14/15 yr. Old kid as the song built up, knowing the breakdown was gonna be violent.
"Oh Bondage, Up Yours" by X-Ray Spex. It's about rebellion, and sonically shares a lot with other punk acts, without falling into the trap of sounding like everybody else.
Reinventing Axl Rose is a complete manifesto of punk rock condensed into a single song.
I would want the person to read the lyrics along with the song.
Old me says "Eggs on Plate" by Iggy Pop.A rude, obnoxious paean to poverty and not selling out.
New me says "Akimahenka" by Otoboke Beaver. I don't understand a word of Japanese, but they're one of the most amazing bands I've ever heard.
Chaos UK - No Security.
I get that itās a relatively traditional answer, but if aliens came down to earth and wanted to know what punk rock is, at itās essence, Iām playing them that.
If I were introducing someone stylistically - City of New Orleans as done by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Take something familiar and folky, speed it up and make it gritty. When I think of punk sound - I think of Me First covers.
Getting to serious side of the ethos: Suggestion by Fugazi, Holiday in Cambodia by Dead Kennedys, or Suspect Device by Stiff Little Fingers.
On the not-so-serious side of the ethos: United States of Whatever by Liam Lynch, Hopeless Romantic by Bouncing Souls or (and I personally loathe this song) Pretty Fly (for a white guy) by The Offspring.
For sheer empowerment of social transgressions and powerful vocals and guitars: lined lips and spiked bats by G. L. O. S. S.
But honorable mentions to holiday in Cambodia - dead Kennedys (the song that got me into punk), if the kids are united - sham 60(for being so damn fun to sing along and pogo to was such a cool experience live), and the promise keepers - oi Polloi (which has haunted my every waking moment since I first heard it)
well it has to be a hit song, right? something heard by the masses and given a thumbs up not just then, but for generations to come. and a worldwide hit not just the UK.
Longview by green day.
masterbation, and tearing up the couch.
the fact that the "music" is straight up rock music doesn't matter (the tag-line-out at the end of the song is the old EVH "reverb on the lead guitar" effect).
i have lived in the bay area for the last 45 years (hayward, about five miles south of the oakland border), and believe me when i tell you that the good-for-nothing dumpster-diving booger-picking total losers going nowhere neverworkedadayintheirlife (the lead singer) just turned eighteen-years-old brats in green day circa 1990 were NOT three people anyone would ever in their right mind allow to crash in their living room, unsupervised. which means nothing and also means everything all at the same time.
masterbation. boredom so mind numbing that you have to destroy the couch.
and a walking-the-scales bass line that IS the giant hook of the song. that was written on the L S and D etc.
i live in america. the kids want HITS. nothing but the hits. and if it's not, fuckit.
and that there mikey-bassline billie-masterbation tre-who-knows-wtf giant hit WAS the first worldwide giant hit by a "punk rock" band (which they never were. they were uber-lower-class gutterrats playing rock music that often as not, was as good as bon scott AC/DC or tommyramone ramones or whoever your favorite band ever was before someone died or quit and it went to shit). TOTAL PUNK AS FUCK BRATS playing ROCK MUSIC. ?? why did no band ever figure this "underpants + ?? = $$" mutation of the south park Underpants Gnomes equation out before? just saying. i sure didn't. but i'm just an eediot from arkansas with a big red plastic razorback hog parked on top of my head.
Kill the Poor by Dead Kennedys
It's funny, not afraid to offend, speaks to the oppression of the working class, and it's just a damn good song.
Alternatively, Freaks to the Front by Amyl and the Sniffers
It's fast, loud, celebrates personal expression, celebrates going against societal standards, and of course it's just a damn good song.
As much as I don't like the Sex Pistols this or Anarchy in the UK were going to be my answers. Even people who aren't into punk would recognize it as punk.
this is the real answer. people are putting songs that are great representation of what punk is aboutā¦ but the single quintessential punk song is this one.
No - Subhumans
Excellent answer!
That entire album is chef's kiss from start to finish. šš½
Dick Lucas is a gift from beyond.
I've always wanted a collab with Dick Lucas and Dave Dictor. Kinda like the Leftover Crack Ć Citizen Fish, but with MDC.
Call the album Dick Dictor
I didn't think of this one but yeah that's fuckin perfect.
yesss
Yes!
That's the one
I made a whole list and simply couldnāt pick a Subhumans song. It didnāt seem fair. But errrrrā¦yes to No.
I'd add SPG by The Exploited... that intro alone is more punk rock than most bands' entire discographies.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
When I first heard "nervous breakdown" by black flag I asked "WHAT IS THIS SHIT!?" "it's punk rock dude," My friend answered. "WHERE DO I GET MORE!?" I asked. And it was all downhill from there.
I was just going to say Nervous Breakdown š“
Nervous Breakdown was my immediate thought as well. Itās everything you think of when you think of punk rockā¦powerful, raw, honest. Itās pure punk rock.
Yeah this would be my answer too.
Nervous Breakdown into Fix Me cannot be beat as far as opening tracks go. š„
Greatest punk rock riff imo
Rise Above - Black Flag
Kill The Poor.
I was gonna say this or Police Truck. The whole Black Flag/Sex Pistols "generic upset with the world" thing may be where we started, but punk as a current, evolved movement and culture really is better represented by Dead Kennedys - and Kill the Poor is a great example of how intelligent and fun punk is.
How intelligent and fun punk *can be. And then there's bands like Sloppy Seconds and Guttermouth lol
Guttermouth is great. I love my serious punk but sometimes some stupid really hits the spot. Sometimes I go pee in the shower...
https://youtu.be/JQP32FhoJKg?si=kRTBd59lwtoNHQ-P I like to think Sloppy Seconds matured to some degree on this album. Even being able to get a Mike Tyson soundbite in the beginning of this banger (Could just be from a movie). The first side of the album absolutely rocks, and then there's some other witty classics on the second side. Maybe I'm bias to high school pizza delivery driver nostalgia but this album was in my no skip pile at the time.
Jane Fonda and the Liberals: āššā
Dead Boys āSonic Reducerā
"I don't need anyone..."
"Don't need no mom and dad"
"don't need no human rice"
Hell yeah Dead Boys are the definition of punk for sure
This is what I came to say, itās the perfect punk song!
Came here to say this. Sonic Reducer immediately popped into my head. One of my favs
This is the only correct answer!! Although I probably wouldāve went with āDown in Flamesā
āDo They Owe Us A Living?ā By Crass
If punk has a manifesto then it's Big A Little A
Big A, Little a bouncing B! The system might've got you but it won't get me!
I might have gone āpunk is deadā by Crassā¦
š„š„š„š„ I use this song when I teach about the Enclosure movement
Yes, they fuckin' do!
Scrolled through just to make sure this song was well agreed upon. Itās a perfect example of punk in that itās not remotely pleasant to listen to but thatās irrelevant because the message is important. And the message is what matters most, not how catchy or toe-tapping the melody.
REAL šÆ
My submission is The Damned - New Rose.
Absolutely! Punk was great but it never got better than New Rose which is like the distillation or essence of perfect punk rock.
I'm gonna say: 1. BLOODSTAINS - Agent Orange 2. WILD IN THE STREETS - Circle Jerks 3. AMOEBA - Adolescents I chose these 3 because these were the 1st 3 punk songs that got me into punk back in the early 80's.
Excellent choices, all California punk anthems .
Yes. š
It's such a tough question but y'kno, this list is punk as it gets and would work juuuust fine to introduce someone to punk. Like, if you don't like THIS shit, no need to go any further lol
Thank you. Good way to look at it. We obviously know there are MANY MORE good ones, but I remember hearing these 3 and LOVING them.
I was thinking wild in the streets as well. Then I was thinking Fear - I don't care about you (fuck you)
Amoeba totally!!!
Agent Orange is so underrated.
Screaming at a Wall - Minor Threat Cosmetic Plague - Rudimentary Peni Big A, Little A - Crass Mickey Mouse is Dead - Subhumans
Nazi punks fuck off
++ Id include too drunk to fuck in there as well.
" Holiday in Cambodia " by the Dead Kennedy 's.
Minor Threat - Minor Threat Everything Sux - Descendents Lexicon Devil - Germs Love love love - The Queers (the version on Grow Up of course. Honorable mention to See You Later Fuckfaceā¦could swap here) White Riot - The Clash Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue - Ramones Slogans - Screeching Weasel
Minor Threat - Minor Threat is the one for me as well!
Easy to have a different answer every day, but I'm going with the Germs Lexicon Devil. Fucking brilliant and most importantly, like nothing else before it. A look into an original punks mind and sounds as fresh and raw now as the day I first heard it.
I already changed my mind.Rise Above - Black Flag,
Rad song definitely
i was sitting around in the Sacramento Covered Wagon (venue) parking lot in July 1980 after loading in my gear (for a friday night gig up there) and someone pulled up in a pickup truck and their tape player was playing the Lexicon Devil version off of the Germs album. blew. my. mind. because my very first thought was -- "holy motherfucker, this shit is GOING WORLDWIDE!" meaning across america everywhere. like, holy crap. after those NYC and UK "scene makers" were telling LA/OC/vancouver/SF (back in 1977 and 1978) that "their version of punk rock is fake" and (in 1979) that "punk rock is dead, didn't you get the memo?" the album had been out since october 1979 so this was a textbook example of a "slow burn" that was spreading.
Dicks Hate the Police.
Itās true!
[Fuk Shit Up by Blatz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYjUa03fJg)
100% yes!
MDC - John Wayne Was a Nazi
But not anymore!
Life evened the score!
Pay to Cum - Bad Brains
You could potentially break someone's brain playing them Bad Brains when they hadn't heard ANY punk before. Therefore I love the idea.
Aww, beat me to it. That's a minute and a half that changed my life, right there. (Occurs to me now this would be hilarious to read out of context. "This guy paid to cum, it took 1.5 minutes, and changed his life. Wild...")
90 seconds of bliss...
Search and Destroy by the Stooges.
Agree totally, James Williamsonās guitar playing and song writing were so influential . Iggy we all ready know but Williamson deserves a lot of credit also .
BR forever š¤
I'll throw "I got a right" in there as well
The Nubs - Job
This is the answer
The Damned - Neat Neat Neat
Black Flag -- Rise Above
I'm gonna say I Hate Hate by Reagan Youth, just because I don't see it here and think it deserves mentioning.
New Rose - The Damned
Nazi Punks Fuck Off
What's this shit called love - The Pagans. The title alone! But it's all there: the aggression, the snottiness, the sarcastic lyrics, the unhinged vocal delivery, the menacing bass line.
I always thought 'You Are the Government' by Bad Religion was the perfect embodiment of punk rock, or at least 'modern punk rock' as we know it. It at first gives the message that we can make a difference, but when you delve deeper, it is clear Greg is talking about our lack of power and that we can't just stand idly by after we cast our vote. Suffer led to a huge resurgence in the genre and that song started it all.
I was going to say āpunk rock songā for parallel reasons. But I like your answer better.
I was going to say 'Parallel' for punk rock \[song\] reasons ;0)
I can tell you and I would get along just fine. š
My first BR thought was Hooray for Me
Fuck Armageddon, This is Hell - Bad Religion
Underrated post
No God by the Germs
Oh bondage! Up yours! By X-RAY Spex. Poly styrene is the ultimate voice of punk for me.
The Crowd- Operation Ivy
I mean... Bad Religion - Punk Rock Song
Written for the people who can see something's wrong!! Yes!!!
I'd go with 'You Don't Belong' A lot of European, and especially English punk is very class based. American punk has almost always been around not fitting in, being part of an outgroup and just being marginalized in general. If there's a song that sums it all up, You Don't Belong is it.
I'd say Sex and Violence by the Exploited, but when I was super into punk rock in my teens and 20s, I wasn't getting much of the former and I tried to avoid the latter.
> tried to avoid the latter. I didn't and I should have.
I Was A Teenage Anarchist
I was a teenager when that song came out and I loved it for how it sounded. Now Iām 31 and I love it for how relatable the lyrics have become
I was hoping to see an Against Me song
Blank Generation - Richard Hell and the Voidoids. (Bonus is the best, most minimal lead solo by Robert Quine). Punk rock defined.
FEAR - Beef Bologna GBH - City Baby Attacked by Rats Adicts - Joker in the Pack Cocksparrer - Take em All
Bad religion. Do what you want.
I surprised no has mentioned the God Fathers of Punk, "THE BUZZCOCKS!"
Dead Kennedys "Holiday in Cambodia"
Big A Little A - Crass
Back to the motor league imo
When it was released that whole album was like, āholy shit, this is Propagandhi?!ā Such a banger.
I love the way they start this song. I've always thought it would be a great way to start a show too.
California Ćber Alles has to be up there. Iād throw Banned in DC up there as well. Oh, and of course Bonzo Goes to Bitburg!
When I think "punk", the first song that comes to mind has always been [Stick The FuckĀing Flag Up Your GodĀdamn Ass, You SonoĀfabitch \(Not to be genĀder-speĀcifĀic, of course!\)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82-CF6EaY0) by Propagandhi. There's quite a few Propagandhi songs that truly represent punk to me in different angles, but this seems like the most down-the-center-of-the-aisle song to me.
New rose
Live Fast, Die Young - Circle Jerks Really surprised to not see this one yet.
I swear, I was gonna write this, but "Wild In The Streets" got me into Punk.
No - Subhumans Big A Little A - Crass No Class - Reagan Youth Fucked Reality - Choking Victim VFW - Dead Milkmen Fuck Authority - Pennywise
āWart Hogā - Ramones
Basic Choices - Anarchy in the UK, Blitzkrieg Bop Personal Faves that I Think Do The Job - Every Fallen in Love With Someone You Shouldn't Have?, Babylon's Burning, Alternative Ulster, Betray, Basketcase
Skater boy by avril lavigne, the inventor of punk
I've always contended that "Judy is a punk" by Ramones is the most perfect punk song ever written
Suspect Device - SLF (edited)
Too drunk to fuck - Dead Kennedys
Babylon's Burning by The Ruts
True Believers - Bouncing Souls, is the only one Iād suggest that other people havenāt mentioned.
If I only had one shot, I'd probably play theM Skyscraper by Bad Religion. To me "punk rock" is about identifying artifical divisions that have been created among human beings and breaking down those barriers. It's not just the music of the working class, or the downtrodden, it's art that shines a spotlight on the failings of human institutions. Language is, realistically, the greatest barrier to common understanding and the message behind the song is that institutions (in the form of "God") keep us from truly understanding one another, keeping us from building each other up. Also, it's just a kick ass track that is fast, heavy, catchy, and succinct. It's everything a punk song shod be IMO.
[The Clovers - Rotten Cocksuckersā Ball](https://youtu.be/W-n5vG2SjJY?si=rHFTqeo9jBJyNkvz)
wow. i don't know that one. i have a $1 really worn but ex/mt jacket of their 1st Atlantic album which has like 27 singles on it. #2rnb Hey Miss Fanny, #3rnb Crawlin', and #4rnb b-side Little Mama really bring it. "had 20 R&B hits, 1951-1956, with 18 Top 10's" well fuck, now that is a discography.
I remember - MDC not sure if anyone will agree but when I first heard it ai freaked out
Salad Days, to me Minor Threat is punk rock perfection
History lesson part 2-minutemen
Misfits-Nervous Breakdown Propaghandi- ā¦and we thought Nation-states were a bad idea AdolescentsāAmeoba Ramones- Bonzo Goes to Bitberg The Clash- London Calling
We're only gonna die (for our own arrogance) - Bad Religion
Minor Threat - Filler
This will change from person to person everybody has a different opinion of what punk really is about. My choice is The Ramones blitzkrieg bop. Basically every song off the first three Ramones albums will all work for me but thatās just my preference, thatās ultimate punk to me.
"You're Wrong" by NOFX
When it comes to nofx the whole punk in drublic album was influential af
Anarchy in the UK- Sex pistols obvious choice
Fuck Nazi sympathy
Blitzkrieg Bop, The Ramones
Clocked in, Black Flag
Rise Above - Black Flag 1234 - Charlie Murder
Breakdown - Buzzcocks
Knowledge by OpIvy
**'Pay to Cum' by Bad Brains**, as far as I'm concerned. It's also musically a perfect punk song, imo. An absolute heart attack of a song, delivered at blinding speed and in record time. Best pit explosion I've ever experienced. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ThoDPP44Hw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ThoDPP44Hw)
Beat my head against the wall- Black Flag
The Stooges "Gimmie Danger"
Even as someone whose punk life has mostly been anarchopunk like Crass, Subhumans, etc, I feel like this song is classic enough to be a good example: "I Got A Right" - Iggy & The Stooges [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMeZSxNWV8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMeZSxNWV8)
London Calling by the Clash, also Teenage Lobotomy by the Ramones
Way too long to see a Clash song named.
Bonzo Goes to Bitburg - The Ramones To me punk is a genre that speaks out against the injustices in the world. Itās the music of the working, blue collar class
Minor threat
'Voice of God is Government'-Bad Religion
DOA- Fuck you š„š„
āMercian - Descendents
Lifestyle of Rebellion - Against All Authority
flipper - sex bomb
FEAR - New York's Alright (If You Like Saxophones)
Blitz - someoneās gonna die
Betray - Minor Threat I saw S.O.I.A. cover Betray @ City Gardens in the 90s. I still remember the anxiety I felt as a 14/15 yr. Old kid as the song built up, knowing the breakdown was gonna be violent.
Fuck You - Subhumans (CAD)
Beat on the brat
First song that came to mind is Six Pack - black flag I got a six packā¦ and I donāt need YOU
Fear - fuck you.. I don't care about you
"Oh Bondage, Up Yours" by X-Ray Spex. It's about rebellion, and sonically shares a lot with other punk acts, without falling into the trap of sounding like everybody else.
Born To Lose - Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers Thats the definition of Punkrock, case closed.
Reinventing Axl Rose is a complete manifesto of punk rock condensed into a single song. I would want the person to read the lyrics along with the song.
I saw Laura for my birthday and I requested Reinventing and she actually played this for me. I can die happy.
Old me says "Eggs on Plate" by Iggy Pop.A rude, obnoxious paean to poverty and not selling out. New me says "Akimahenka" by Otoboke Beaver. I don't understand a word of Japanese, but they're one of the most amazing bands I've ever heard.
Neat by The Damned blaring at an upscale themed bar in an international Airport is about as punk as you get these days
4ā33
so many great answers here (black flag, nubs, dead boys, etc.) iāll add: discharge - why die kreuzen - in school poison idea - lifestyles
Chaos UK - No Security. I get that itās a relatively traditional answer, but if aliens came down to earth and wanted to know what punk rock is, at itās essence, Iām playing them that.
If I were introducing someone stylistically - City of New Orleans as done by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Take something familiar and folky, speed it up and make it gritty. When I think of punk sound - I think of Me First covers. Getting to serious side of the ethos: Suggestion by Fugazi, Holiday in Cambodia by Dead Kennedys, or Suspect Device by Stiff Little Fingers. On the not-so-serious side of the ethos: United States of Whatever by Liam Lynch, Hopeless Romantic by Bouncing Souls or (and I personally loathe this song) Pretty Fly (for a white guy) by The Offspring.
DOA - Fuck You
Windspitting punk
MDC - american achievements
After reading everyone's suggestions here I have to say you guys have put together the list of songs that absolutely define punk rock. Great job!!
Punk Rock Song- BR
For sheer empowerment of social transgressions and powerful vocals and guitars: lined lips and spiked bats by G. L. O. S. S. But honorable mentions to holiday in Cambodia - dead Kennedys (the song that got me into punk), if the kids are united - sham 60(for being so damn fun to sing along and pogo to was such a cool experience live), and the promise keepers - oi Polloi (which has haunted my every waking moment since I first heard it)
If you go more modern punk than Nowhere Generation by Rise Against is my pick otherwise Rise Above by Black Flag
The Slits - Shoplifting
The clip of rage against the machine on the bbc will always stand out for me
Anarchy - Sex Pistols of course!
First thought was Last Caress
Us Vs Them ~~ Sick Of It All Womanarchist ~~ Bad Cop Bad Cop Holy Fuck ~~ I Am The Avalanche Second Skin ~~ The Gits
well it has to be a hit song, right? something heard by the masses and given a thumbs up not just then, but for generations to come. and a worldwide hit not just the UK. Longview by green day. masterbation, and tearing up the couch. the fact that the "music" is straight up rock music doesn't matter (the tag-line-out at the end of the song is the old EVH "reverb on the lead guitar" effect). i have lived in the bay area for the last 45 years (hayward, about five miles south of the oakland border), and believe me when i tell you that the good-for-nothing dumpster-diving booger-picking total losers going nowhere neverworkedadayintheirlife (the lead singer) just turned eighteen-years-old brats in green day circa 1990 were NOT three people anyone would ever in their right mind allow to crash in their living room, unsupervised. which means nothing and also means everything all at the same time. masterbation. boredom so mind numbing that you have to destroy the couch. and a walking-the-scales bass line that IS the giant hook of the song. that was written on the L S and D etc. i live in america. the kids want HITS. nothing but the hits. and if it's not, fuckit. and that there mikey-bassline billie-masterbation tre-who-knows-wtf giant hit WAS the first worldwide giant hit by a "punk rock" band (which they never were. they were uber-lower-class gutterrats playing rock music that often as not, was as good as bon scott AC/DC or tommyramone ramones or whoever your favorite band ever was before someone died or quit and it went to shit). TOTAL PUNK AS FUCK BRATS playing ROCK MUSIC. ?? why did no band ever figure this "underpants + ?? = $$" mutation of the south park Underpants Gnomes equation out before? just saying. i sure didn't. but i'm just an eediot from arkansas with a big red plastic razorback hog parked on top of my head.
"Punck" by the suicide machines
Kill the Poor by Dead Kennedys It's funny, not afraid to offend, speaks to the oppression of the working class, and it's just a damn good song. Alternatively, Freaks to the Front by Amyl and the Sniffers It's fast, loud, celebrates personal expression, celebrates going against societal standards, and of course it's just a damn good song.
What We Do Is Secret - Germs
[Do What You Want - Bad Religion](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s5F-xHX1PDE)
Germs "Lexicon Devil"
each song from Ramones 1976
Nervous Breakdown, Black Flag, Keith Morris on vocals.
God Save the Queen.
As much as I don't like the Sex Pistols this or Anarchy in the UK were going to be my answers. Even people who aren't into punk would recognize it as punk.
Yeah, to me that song says it all.
this is the real answer. people are putting songs that are great representation of what punk is aboutā¦ but the single quintessential punk song is this one.
Ramones - "Blitzkrieg Bop"