Punk Rock Thread: Second Generation

[Super Leather]

Yeah, I volunteered there for about 10 years. I haven't been to Gilman in a long time though; working there became too big a part of my life and identity to where I have weird anxiety issues whenever I go there.

[The Valeyard]

Awesome stuff. Your stuff, both in playlist and article form, is by far some of my favorite on the site. I really wish I'd been old enough to have been part of the bay area scene.

[Super Leather]

Glad you like the stuff I'm posting; I plan on a few more book reviews before diving into specific records. I'm also slowly working on a Gauze article for the site, but am waiting to hear back from reliable sources about some factual info.

Book reviews are stalled because I'm currently reading The White Nationalist Skinhead Movement, which was released by Feral House a year or two ago. I've always been interested in reading more about that side of the skinhead subculture, but it sounds dull as dirty dishwater in the authors' hands. This isn't quite as dry as Tim Hornbaker's NWA book, but it's pretty damn close. I have about 450 pages to go and I'm probably going to give up before long. Who knew Nazi skinheads were so damn boring?

[Avid Warehouse Enthusiast]

Most of us. It takes a lot of stupid to go into a scene built on anarchy and equality while being gung ho about fascism and racial purity.

[Super Leather]

I'm actually amused at how tedious of a read it is, especially after years of stories about Nazi skins essentially portrayed as the Boogie Man of the punk scene.

[Super Leather]

http://culturecrossfire.com/music/crate-digger/

I tapped out on the boring Nazi book because life is too short. Here's my review of Bob Suren's book Crate Digger. Bob sang for the Florida hardcore bands Failure Face and Murder-Suicide Pact while also running the Sound Idea record store and mailorder distro. His hobby becomes an all-consuming obsession costing him what matters the most.

[cobainwasmurdered]

The way you write about his obsession was really great. The end about when you meet him especially.

[Super Leather]

Bob was a real nice guy when I met him at the reading. We have a few mutual friends who essentially grew up at his record store. I own every Failure Face record and always saw him as one of the people dedicated to keeping things going the way they should. Hearing him talk about feeling like that dedication had been a waste of time hit really close to home. I was not in a good place in life when I went to the reading either; it sucked having to tell Bob that I couldn't afford his book or dinner due to my circumstances.

I've been hitting the record stores and Discogs a little bit lately and added a nice stack of 7-inches to the collection. Noteworthy bands include Christ on Parade, Citizen's Arrest, Crimpshrine, Damad (pre-Kylesa), Dead Kennedys, Econochrist, His Hero is Gone, PHC, and Rupture. Completed my Capitalist Casualties 7-inches, at least of what I wanted to own. Also found DRI's Dealing With It (now owned on all three formats!), the first Buzzov-en album, and a reissue of the Bad Posture 12-inch.

[Super Leather]

http://culturecrossfire.com/music/notes-from-the-nest/

Here's my review of DRI vocalist Kurt Brecht's book Notes from the Nest. Read about Kurt living in a tree in Golden Gate Park and opening for Slayer in LA. Then you can go spend $150 to buy your own copy, heh.

[Super Leather]

http://culturecrossfire.com/music/violence-girl/

Here is my review of Alice Bag's autobiography Violence Girl. This isn't another story about a white guy from the suburbs discovering punk and acting like a bozo; it's about a Chicana growing up in East LA and finding herself while immersed in the early Hollywood scene. Although every self-respecting punk rocker should read Violence Girl, it is most relevant to women and POC in the scene.

[Saints_Fan_H]

My favorite band, all time, is Green Day. I have Kerplunk's artwork tattooed on my arm. I almost exclusively play Green Day (and their side projects) playlists on my Ipod. I randomly imagine myself in a Green Day cover band.

I decided to investigate some of their early contemporaries or influences if you will and started with "Operation Ivy" since GD covered Knowledge on "Slappy."  I added "contemporaries" since "influences" might be a stretch. 


This was an abject failure. I found myself skipping almost every song that came up in shuffle. I'd let a good 30-45 seconds, sometimes a full minute, play and almost every time it didn't resonate with me. In a weird kind of way, I've realized if this is what punk purists really enjoy, then I understand why purists get up in arms about Green Day. On a disparity in sound, at least.

I see where earlier in the thread Operation Ivy was referred to as "Ska" though. I might need some schooling.

[Super Leather]

Pete Shelley passed away today, so pour one out for him and blast some of your favorite Buzzcocks tunes.

[cobainwasmurdered]

damn i'll for sure be putting some on. 63 is pretty young too although maybe not for a punk rocker.

[Super Leather]

Ex-Isocracy/Filth/Strychnine guitarist Lenn Rokk (aka Lenny Johnson), RIP.
FUCK CANCER.

[pujoljunkie]

My favorite band, all time, is Green Day. I have Kerplunk's artwork tattooed on my arm. I almost exclusively play Green Day (and their side projects) playlists on my Ipod. I randomly imagine myself in a Green Day cover band.

I decided to investigate some of their early contemporaries or influences if you will and started with "Operation Ivy" since GD covered Knowledge on "Slappy."  I added "contemporaries" since "influences" might be a stretch. 


This was an abject failure. I found myself skipping almost every song that came up in shuffle. I'd let a good 30-45 seconds, sometimes a full minute, play and almost every time it didn't resonate with me. In a weird kind of way, I've realized if this is what punk purists really enjoy, then I understand why purists get up in arms about Green Day. On a disparity in sound, at least.

I see where earlier in the thread Operation Ivy was referred to as "Ska" though. I might need some schooling.

You might have more luck with the Mr. T Experience

[no fact, no matter]

My favorite band, all time, is Green Day. I have Kerplunk's artwork tattooed on my arm. I almost exclusively play Green Day (and their side projects) playlists on my Ipod. I randomly imagine myself in a Green Day cover band.

I decided to investigate some of their early contemporaries or influences if you will and started with "Operation Ivy" since GD covered Knowledge on "Slappy."  I added "contemporaries" since "influences" might be a stretch. 


This was an abject failure. I found myself skipping almost every song that came up in shuffle. I'd let a good 30-45 seconds, sometimes a full minute, play and almost every time it didn't resonate with me. In a weird kind of way, I've realized if this is what punk purists really enjoy, then I understand why purists get up in arms about Green Day. On a disparity in sound, at least.

I see where earlier in the thread Operation Ivy was referred to as "Ska" though. I might need some schooling.

OpIvy covers the entire spectrum from punk rock to ska punk, and even have a few tracks that veer off into the "hardcore" sub-genre. I definitely wouldn't have suggested them for a Green Day fan, though, so I'm not entirely surprised by your reaction to them.

Personally, I don't consider myself a "purist" per se, but I'm definitely less likely to enjoy post-success Green Day than I am their prior incarnation. Same goes for bands like Jawbreaker and even Rancid. As soon as they get money behind them, they just end up sounding like they've been sanitized for the masses. It's not that they don't make good music anymore.. it's just.. not the same and less enjoyable (for me). I think this is why OpIvy is a big fave for me (before they split and Rancid was formed). They're very raw sounding. A lot of their tracks aren't even in stereo. It just feels more visceral.

[Harley Quinn]

I feel like Green Day is hard to categorize in terms of similar sounding bands, especially in the punk vein, given the time they started getting big (1993-1995) because bands of similar ilk such as The Offspring, Weezer, or even No Doubt who maybe had punk leanings really transitioned hard into a poppier rock sound in general. To me at least, bands like a Pennywise tended to stay closer to their punk roots during this mid-90s era.

But to Saints_Fan_H, if you're willing to look at older influences: The Dickies and definitely The Buzzcocks would pop to mind as bands you'd probably dig if you liked Green Day's sound.

[Avid Warehouse Enthusiast]

Fair warning: the Dickies feel way more "hair band" than they do what you may think of as 80s punk. Killer live show, though, even seeing them past their prime in 2004 yielded a great experience.

[The Valeyard]

When in doubt, just bust out Stiff Little Fingers and some Buzzcocks. Slides together well, in my opinion.