NYC first wave
NYC invented punk, the first wave (as I understand it) coagulating around CBGB in 75 and 76. It is characterized by nihilism and decadence of a fairly profound sort: the sort that leads to early death. That is not of course true of everyone in the scene, but of the scene as a whole. It instantiates the idea that anyone can make music, as often these folks could barely play when they started out, but also I must say many turned out to be excellent musicians.
Blondie
They certainly were associated with early punk at CBGBs, and it's at least possible to read their first couple of albums ("Blondie" and "Plastic Letters")
as emerging from that milieu. On the other hand of course they because great eclectic pop stars, playing everything from reggae to hip hop, and doing it
all extremely well. They are one of my favorite bands in rock history: I love practically every song they ever made, even after they faded as #1 hitmakers.
Their drummer, Clem Burke, is among the best that rock has produced. Debbie Harry's vocals are supple, strong, and as time goes on, more and
more emotive. The song craft is consummate. I recommend the Harry solo albums too as neglected classics. Rock Bird was produced with great pop sensibility by
Seth Justman of the J. Geils Band just after he made "Freeze Frame." Kookoo is a Nile Rogers (Chic) classic that no one ever heard. one way or another
Dead Boys
The Dead Boys - Stiv Bators, Cheetah Chrome, Johnny Blitz, and Jeff Magnum - were perhaps the quintessential firstwave punks: they emigrated from Cleveland to NYC. Unbelievable alcoholics and drug addicts, they
also played around with Nazi symbology etc, helping to show everybody that punks weren't hippies, which is
extremely important. One interesting thing is that they were reasonably talented musicians. Their best songs were well-made little rock gems with that black wave of nausea and nihilism that
made it all worthwhile. I saw Chrome in the early eighties touring as a solo act; one of the worst shows I have ever attended. ain't it fun. all this and more
The Dictators
Handsome Dick Manitoba &co weren't really joiners and probably didn't see themselves as part of any movement (especially because they lived in the Bronx, not Manhattan), but rather as a straight-up rock band.
Neverthless they probably saw and were seen by all the bands listed here, and they play played with an appropriate primality. They first recorded in 1975, and gave the world
"Faster and Louder." Also they were as consistent and long-lived as any of these bands, with the exception of the Ramones. down on avenue a
The Heartbreakers
This punk "supergroup" rocked like hell, or like Hell, by all accounts. The principals were Richard Hell and ex-NY Doll and fulltime junkie
Johnny Thunders. I guess maybe the recordings don't do them justice, though they have their moments. little bit of whore
Richard Hell and the Voidoids
"Blank Generation" is possibly the single most summary punk song, a national anthem of nihilism. Richard Hell was actually quite a serious musician,
early on associated with Tom Verlaine, later with Robert Quine. He's a ferocious singer, managing if such a thing is possible to be both intelligent and primal.
Ramones
Well I'm not alone when I say the Ramones were the best and most influential punk band, and one of the best handful of bands in rock history.
Reprehensible NYC street urchins (particularly Dee Dee, who was a male prostitute), when they sang "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" you thought they were
kidding...but maybe not. The songs were amazingly well-crafted 2-minute cartoons with three chords and a ton of momentum, and a sly undercurrent of
actual knowledge of the rock tradition, from Eddie Cochran to girl groups to surf. A lot of people thought they peaked on their classic first three
albums, which obviously were incomparably influential ("I Wanna Be Sedated," "Beat on the Brat," "Blitkrieg Bop," etc etc.). But I actually believe that
they had one of the longest runs of excellence in the history of rock, and I think they deepened throughout the eighties and early nineties (poison heart), even experimenting
with hardcore etc, but also becoming a beautifully melodic ensemble. The Ramones have been dropping like flies. I like to think this is the last thing joey recorded.
Among the albums below that I particularly love: Subterranean Jungle, Pleasant Dreams, Acid Eaters (a great collection of sicties covers: "Somebody to Love" is amazing.
the kkk took my baby away.
Talking Heads
Like Blondie, you wouldn't necessarly immediately say "punk," but like Blondie they were there at the beginning. Actually, the lesson you shoukld
draw immediately is that there was never any single style called punk. Talking Heads always had an art-school/Beat-Poetry/high concept/geeky unique thing
going. And though maybe David Byrne was not quite as deep in the beginning as he and everyone else believed, they made strong and very original music. I am
not a huge fan.
Television
was and is a cult. People really think that this is the best rock band ever, but at the time they passed almost without notice beyond NYC. They remain perhaps
the only punk "jam band" and Tom Verlaine was an amazing guitarist, drawing from all styles of rock. In fact they were intensely eclectic: sometimes
it sounded like Thelonious Monk was sitting in. I am not a member of the cult, but I understand why it exists. marquee moon
