ALBUMS: Singles Going Steady (1979); A Different Kind of Tension (1980)
MVC Rating: Singles, 5.0$$$; Different: 4.5/ $$$
Punk. I’ll be using that word in a totally unrelated way about street basketball. Posting that one in the next few days.
But I don’t have a lot of what you would definitely call punk music. I love the Clash and have some but they were more than punk. Listen to Sandinista. A friend of mine in 9th grade (mid to late 1970s) brought over a record by a new sensation, the Sex Pistols.
God save the Queen, she ain’t no human being, they spat-sang
It was three chords turned up to 11 spewing anger, a response or stand-up to classic rock music played by multimillionaires, Pink Floyd, the Who, Rolling Stones, all aging rock stars who ‘made it.’
The Sex Pistols point was heard, loudly. That point, we’re mad dammit. Angry about the way things are set up in society, so the next best thing to a revolution is to scream about it at volumes sure to sink into our fat heads.
Problem was, the music was pretty much driven by relentless spewed anger, effective on one level but often lacking basic musicality. The older groups, such as the Who actually did do this kind of stuff decades ago, smashing instruments, screaming they won’t get fooled again, and being, well, punks. But of course that wasn’t the point. The point was, the punks said that the music was for the people not the greedy record industry and be angry about that as your starting point.
Enter the Buzzcocks. A most influential band that had clever lyrics, a driving raucous rhythm section (bass and drum) and rock and roll, Chuck Berry, Bo Didley guitar chords.
Lyrics? Well the song ‘Orgasm Addict’ was banned from British radio. My favorite songs off of the two records I have are ‘Hollow Inside,’ ‘Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,’ and the more ambitious songs like ‘I Believe’ and the title track. Catchy punky short songs that some listeners will inevitably say sounds all the same. If really doesn’t, especially when you get to the ‘Tension’ record. Some thought provoking slam music here.
Buzzcocks are an obvious influence of Green Day, those Berkeley garage punksters that actually did become multimillionaires with the Buzzcock sound. For an interesting but silly debate on that influence, go here.
Counting down my 678 vinyl records before I die of brain disease.