Squonk wrote:
I remember in the 70's being this huge Prog Rock fan - Yes, ELP, Genesis, Floyd, van der Graaf Generator etc, etc, etc. After all these albums with songs that were 15 minutes long or even longer, I discovered the Punk Rock scene in about 1977, Most of it was crap, but what grabbed my attention was The Clash, they had these angry little songs "White Riot", "Police and Thieves", "I fought the Law", "Tommy Gun", "English Civil War" etc etc.
There was so much energy in their songs! "London Calling" what a song at the time, doesn't sound too shabby now. Just hearing the opening chord is just pure rock and roll to me! Joe Strummers howling vocals and rooster type thingies were just brilliant.
The Clash were IMO the most articulate of the punk bands. They also seemed to have seen earlier than anybody else that punk couldn't last. It was too restrictive, too dumbed down, and too many people missed the point. It became spitting and swearing and vomiting and rioting for it's own sake - self parodic. What had promised freedom and rebellion just became a different style of strait jacket in the end.
Punk was great because it kicked a stagnating scene up the jacksie and forced a reevaluation. Prog rock was getting boring - technique for technique's sake. Where was the passion, the energy? And where was the relevance to people's lives? Punk put those things back in the spotlight. It couldn't last, but it was fun for a while.
I love
London Calling. A great album. They retained the energy and passion but they started to open up musically. I think in some quarters it was seen as the beginning of a sell out.
Another Honorable ? mention would be 'The Stranglers'
Who could forget 'Peaches', 'Hangin Around', "Get a grip", "No more heroes", "Bring on the nubiles", "Nice and Sleazy"
Some angry energetic music from the 70's, before the 80's destroyed it all again ?
I was less impressed by The Stranglers. I thought they were just Doors wannabes. Maybe I was unfair.
I also liked the smart artists who embraced the punk energy but tried to incorporate greater craftsmanship as well. Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, the Police on their early albums (though some of those lyrics were a bit much).
