BELOW YOU WILL FIND LINKS TO THE FEATURED ARTISTS ALONG WITH BASIC NOTES EXPLAINING MUSICAL CHOICES AND INSPIRATIONS
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE MADE AWARE WHEN FUTURE PROJECTS BECOME AVAILABLE,
THEN PLEASE
THIS IS NOT A MONEY MAKING EXERCISE
IT HAS BEEN DONE PURELY FOR
THE LOVE OF MUSIC
AND WE ARE HAVING AN ABSOLUTE BLAST
FANBASE ONLY SONG - CHRISTIAN FITNESS
So I should state from the outset that the tunes on this set are not all traditional punk – this is not a Sex Pistols / Clash retrospective. This is more to do with a DIY philosophy and expressing how cheesed off you are via the medium of pop. Christian Fitness self-releases on Bandcamp and is brilliant – the bass is in your face and the lyrics are caustic and funny.
This was released in 1975! Before the Ramones, before the Sex Pistols, before The Damned, before The Clash. Crucially, it is also very good. I only found out about this band in the last few years and whilst I don’t think they invented punk (I’m going for Iggy & The Stooges for that accolade) they are right there at the very forefront.
There is a great clip on YouTube of Sweep from Sooty ‘singing’ this. I’ve obviously known ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ for years and years, but I was actually late to the genius of this band. Thankfully got to see them twice before Pete Shelley’s recent passing.
OH BONDAGE! UP YOURS - X-RAY SPEX
She really screams these lyrics. Probably a bit overlooked at the time – certainly commercially. I think they are getting a bit more attention 40 years later and getting some recognition for their output. And, y’know…punk sax…
CALIFORNIA UBER ALLES - DEAD KENNEDYS
This is a bit of an anthem isn’t it? I wish I’d known more of this band’s work when I was a younger heavy pc. The bass line is thunderous and sometimes that’s all that’s needed.
What I most like about punk is that anyone can do it. Vi Subversa was 44 when she had her first single with the Poison Girls and went on to have a true ‘underground’ music career until her death in 2016. The music sounds manic and urgent but I also think there is a cool underlying melody.
BEAUTIFUL PICTURES - FATAL MICROBES
There is a proper DIY ethic to this tune - I like its simplicity and this is one that John Peel really liked as well. Typically British punk this which leads us onto…
…some typical American punk. I bet Green Day wish they could sound like this. Love this as a short sharp shock.
SUPERMODEL - SUPERFICIAL - VOODOO QUEENS
Changing things up a bit here – a touch of Riot Grrrrl from the early 90s. Needless to say this is one I first heard on Peel – listen in the background there is some really cool synth noises amongst the general noise. I like the genuine anger in this track and the screaming/singing is ace!
BABES IN TOYLAND - DUSTCAKE BOYS
It would be easy to throw in some Nirvana or Sonic Youth but how about an underrated band from the 90s? I saw Babes in Toyland at a couple of festivals back then and they MEANT it. This sounds more ferocious than anything else in this show and the drums!!
I loved it when the Beasties bought out the instruments! This band are more Punk than Hip-Hop…
One of my favourite performances on The Word – Huggy Bear played this tune and then tried to disrupt the TV show. They must have been on the scene for six months at the most and then disappeared into obscurity, but I have liked this track ever since – strangely it’s the harmonies I enjoy.
MOUTH BREATHER - THE JESUS LIZARD
Testing the boundaries of the genre here but the lyrics sound punk to me where maybe the guitar riff is something different altogether. Nevertheless, a band with a punk ethic and I like the lyrics “Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy, I like him just fine, but he's a mouth breather”
Mark E. Smith doesn’t have a pink Mohican or wear leathers and safety pins. He was, however, the ultimate DIYer. I chose this track because I really like the Brix era Fall stuff.
I love this London band. The brass on this is so creaky and fragile, with another cracking bassline. I don’t really know what is going on with this track – it’s just weird!
This is cracking. A driving riff and great lyrics. If this lot were about in my youth and I’d watched them live I would have Aff-stomped accordingly. Nowadays, I nod my head relatively hard.
THE PUNK WAS IN ME (AND IT HAD COME OUT) - CTMF
There is something very English about this track and the way it is performed. Rousing stuff from Wild Billy Childish.
I make no apologies for using the Blind Shake in another show – great band and a great tune with a surf punk vibe.
I'M NOT SEXY - HANG ON THE BOX
Chinese punk from the turn of the century – I went through a phase of listening to punk from the Far East. Had I put together this show in 2003 then there would have been buckets of punk from the East.
Fuzzy!
A new band, which demonstrates that my finger is well and truly on the pulse. I even know about Drake, Ariana Grande, and Post Malone! I think this is great – sometimes it’s all about a good voice and people who know how to play.
Rah!
I don’t know much about this band other than I once heard this track on the radio and instantly added it to my library. Again, I like the surf-guitar sound it has going on. This was a contender for a future surf/garage show I have in mind – might still use it.
TOTAL FOOTBALL - PARQUET COURTS
This is a good shouty song from the very good New York band and more recent stuff illustrating the fact that I’m so in touch with the zeitgeist that we have our own direct phone line…
like Batman and Commissioner Gordon, there is HEAVY PC and The Zeitgeist.
NO ONE'S BOTHERED - SLEAFORD MODS
Bovvered?
I'VE SEEN FOOTAGE - DEATH GRIPS
I’m testing the boundaries of what can be considered Punk. What is this though? Punk? Hip Hop? Noise Core? All I know is that it is loud and angry.
DIGGING FOR WINDOWS - ZACK DE LA ROCHA
One day there will be a ZDLR full solo album and I will be at the front of the queue. In the meantime we will have to live with the one solo song he has ever put out. Fits well alongside the Death Grips track I thought?
I like Priests – they’re good for a mixtape.
Why not have something a bit lighter towards the end? It has been a furious last hour and 20 minutes.
I really like the UK indie scene from ’89-’94 – before Britpop and all that nonsense. Additionally, I’ve always wanted to get this track into a mixtape but for reasons I won’t go into it needed editing to the CD version – hoorah that it finally makes it.
ALTERNATIVELY, FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW FOR THE 60 MINUTE
APPLE MUSIC 'SOFT EDIT'