The Clash – “Complete Control”īy 1977 in England, punk was perceived as something to be tamed - and that didn’t sit right by The Clash.

8 on the Modern Rock Tracks (now Alternative Airplay) chart. Helping to fuel the rise of punk rock to the mainstream in the mid-’90s, Rancid stood apart from bands like The Offspring and Green Day for the ska influences of songs like “Time Bomb.” Released as the second single from their breakout album, …And Out Come the Wolves, the story of a gang member’s rise and fall was a mainstay on MTV and rock radio, peaking at No. While punk’s sonically heavy origins are important, tracks like “Unsatisfied” prove that the genre’s essence can prevail without them. The genre’s history is rooted in an expression of disaffection, and Paul Westerberg’s lyrics about disillusionment and, well, feeling unsatisfied encompass this fully. Spencer Kaufmanĭon’t let its gentle score distract you: “Unsatisfied” is brimming with a bona fide punk attitude. Hearing Danzig sing “I got something to say/ I killed your baby today” on top of an upbeat, ’50s-inspired rock instrumental is one of punk’s most disconcerting moments, but, hot damn, it’s catchy as hell - so much so that Metallica famously covered it, as did a bevy of other bands. The demented mind of Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig brought a new subgenre called horror punk into the world, and the song “Last Caress” contains some of the most infamous lyrics in rock history. Is there anything more punk than an anti-punk punk song? Against Me! were already getting slack for “abandoning” (read: progressing from) the thrashing sounds of their earlier releases when they dropped “I Was a Teenage Anarchist,” a melodic cut that calls into question the rigidity of punk’s “bloodless ideology.” The line “the revolution was a lie” is screamed out as the music drops away, drawing a rebuttal from Rise Against on “Architects.” But damn if Laura Jane Grace didn’t have a point. Against Me! – “I Was A Teenage Anarchist” It would become a staple of the latter’s career, even after Hell left the Heartbreakers in 1976. Instead, Hell took it to the Heartbreakers, his band with Johnny Thunders. It was intended to be a Ramones song, but the band rejected it due to the overt heroin references. Johnny Thunder and the Heartbreakers – “Chinese Rocks”įew songs have as much punk pedigree as “Chinese Rocks,” written by Dee Dee Ramone and Richard Hell.

Rancid if the kids are united lyrics