Please donate to help save PopMatters. We are moving to WordPress in December out of necessity and need your help.

The Top 20 Punk Protest Songs for July 4th

As punk music history verifies, American citizenry are not all shiny, happy people. These 20 songs reflect the other side of patriotism -- free speech brandished by the brave and uncouth.

                                      
Music
    
        12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums
    
AJ Ramirez
Jennifer Makowsky

        11 Feb 2020
    
Music
    
        Bleached: The Beatles' White Album Effect on the US Alt-rock Explosion of 1988-95
    
Adam Mason

        19 Nov 2018
    
Music
    
        The 21 Best Album Re-Issues of 2017
    
PopMatters Staff

        21 Dec 2017

Recent

Reviews

'Complicated Fun' Is a Thorough Study of the Glory Days of the Twin Cities Punk and Indie Scenes

The tales of a record store, a set of like-minded club owners, and a record label all tie together into a beautiful narrative of the burgeoning Minneapolis music scene.

Music

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 3: 60 - 41

Some songs are too weird to attract mainstream success.

Music

Counterbalance: Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade

Something I learned today: Black and white is always grey. And this week's Counterbalance takes a look at a 1984 turning point in punk. Turn on the news for the 219th most acclaimed album of all time.

Music

Bob Mould: Beauty & Ruin

Legends like Bob Mould are held to a different standard, and Beauty & Ruin has just raised his bar higher.

Music

Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart to Release New Album (stream)

Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart has a new solo project releasing this summer via Domino Records.

Music

The Fishing Journal: The Fishing Journal EP

A dispatch in lo-fi aggression, the eponymous EP from Columbia, South Carolina’s the Fishing Journal is an affair more focused on catharsis than on creating new tributaries in the indie rock landscape.

Reviews

'Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements' Paints 'Minor Band' with Major Strokes

The first-ever documentary about The Replacements reminds fans that we are not alone in our firm belief that the Minneapolis misfits should have been as big as The Rolling Stones.

Events

Bob Mould: 7 September 2012 - New York

Bob Mould gave a great performance to a barely half full audience at Williamsburg Park.

Music

Sugar: Copper Blue / File Under: Easy Listening (Deluxe Editions)

Well-positioned after the ascension of the Alternative Nation, Bob Mould's post-Hüsker Dü band managed two great albums (and an EP) in its short lifespan. Now here's the perfect chance to dig into its tiny catalog.

Music

Jason Clackley: To the Few and Far Between

Jason Clackley's leanings as a singer and songwriter are equal part Blake Schwarzenbach, Bob Mould, and Ronnie Spector, and that's probably the only time I'll say that about anyone, ever. His vision is few and far between.

Music

Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock

What the world really needs is a straight-up account of one of the most important rock groups of all time, Hüsker Dü. Now we have it in the form of music scribe Andrew Earles.

Reviews

'Step It Up and Go' Gives North Carolina Music Its Dues

Collapse Expand Reviews

BROWSE ALL ALBUM REVIEWS

Features

¡Printing the Revolution!: The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now (excerpt)

Collapse Expand Features

PM Picks

Collapse Expand Pm Picks

Bleached: The Beatles' White Album Effect on the US Alt-rock Explosion of 1988-95

The 21 Best Album Re-Issues of 2017

'Complicated Fun' Is a Thorough Study of the Glory Days of the Twin Cities Punk and Indie Scenes

The tales of a record store, a set of like-minded club owners, and a record label all tie together into a beautiful narrative of the burgeoning Minneapolis music scene.

Counterbalance: Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade

Something I learned today: Black and white is always grey. And this week's Counterbalance takes a look at a 1984 turning point in punk. Turn on the news for the 219th most acclaimed album of all time.

Bob Mould: Beauty & Ruin

Legends like Bob Mould are held to a different standard, and Beauty & Ruin has just raised his bar higher.

Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart to Release New Album (stream)

Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart has a new solo project releasing this summer via Domino Records.

The Fishing Journal: The Fishing Journal EP

A dispatch in lo-fi aggression, the eponymous EP from Columbia, South Carolina’s the Fishing Journal is an affair more focused on catharsis than on creating new tributaries in the indie rock landscape.

'Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements' Paints 'Minor Band' with Major Strokes

The first-ever documentary about The Replacements reminds fans that we are not alone in our firm belief that the Minneapolis misfits should have been as big as The Rolling Stones.

Bob Mould: 7 September 2012 - New York

Bob Mould gave a great performance to a barely half full audience at Williamsburg Park.

Sugar: Copper Blue / File Under: Easy Listening (Deluxe Editions)

Well-positioned after the ascension of the Alternative Nation, Bob Mould's post-Hüsker Dü band managed two great albums (and an EP) in its short lifespan. Now here's the perfect chance to dig into its tiny catalog.

Jason Clackley: To the Few and Far Between

Jason Clackley's leanings as a singer and songwriter are equal part Blake Schwarzenbach, Bob Mould, and Ronnie Spector, and that's probably the only time I'll say that about anyone, ever. His vision is few and far between.

Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock

What the world really needs is a straight-up account of one of the most important rock groups of all time, Hüsker Dü. Now we have it in the form of music scribe Andrew Earles.

Hüsker Dü: New Day Rising

One of the foundations of the alternative rock genre, Hüsker Dü's best album is a vital, hook-laden work that deserves far greater recognition.

'Step It Up and Go' Gives North Carolina Music Its Dues

Kelsey Waldon Takes Up the Fight on 'They'll Never Keep Us Down'

Coil's 'Musick to Play in the Dark' Gets a 20th Anniversary Re-Issue

Finding Joe Castro's 'Passion Flower'

Shirley Jackson's Story on Film Is But a Flickering Shadow

Tristan Perich's 'Drift Multiply' Charts a New Course for the Fusion of Composition and Electronics

What Once Sounded Like the Future Still Sounds Fresh on Craig Taborn's 'Junk Magic'

Yo La Tengo Leaf Through Their Back Pages on 'Sleepless Night'

Between the Grooves: Nine Inch Nails - 'Broken'

Pre-Brexit Optimism in Basia's London Warsaw New York

Robert Altman's Quirky 'Popeye' Boasts a Can Full of Geniuses

Between the Grooves: The Beach Boys - 'The Beach Boys Today!'

Sci-fi/Fantasy Writer Elizabeth Bear on Diversity, Mental Health, and Queers in Space

Drag Queen Dance-Popster Katya Discusses 'Vampire Fitness'

As punk music history verifies, American citizenry are not all shiny, happy people. These 20 songs reflect the other side of patriotism -- free speech brandished by the brave and uncouth.

The tales of a record store, a set of like-minded club owners, and a record label all tie together into a beautiful narrative of the burgeoning Minneapolis music scene.

Some songs are too weird to attract mainstream success.

Something I learned today: Black and white is always grey. And this week's Counterbalance takes a look at a 1984 turning point in punk. Turn on the news for the 219th most acclaimed album of all time.

Legends like Bob Mould are held to a different standard, and Beauty & Ruin has just raised his bar higher.

Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart has a new solo project releasing this summer via Domino Records.

A dispatch in lo-fi aggression, the eponymous EP from Columbia, South Carolina’s the Fishing Journal is an affair more focused on catharsis than on creating new tributaries in the indie rock landscape.

The first-ever documentary about The Replacements reminds fans that we are not alone in our firm belief that the Minneapolis misfits should have been as big as The Rolling Stones.

Bob Mould gave a great performance to a barely half full audience at Williamsburg Park.

Not every band borne out of a great predecessor can measure up. Here are five that do.

Well-positioned after the ascension of the Alternative Nation, Bob Mould's post-Hüsker Dü band managed two great albums (and an EP) in its short lifespan. Now here's the perfect chance to dig into its tiny catalog.

Jason Clackley's leanings as a singer and songwriter are equal part Blake Schwarzenbach, Bob Mould, and Ronnie Spector, and that's probably the only time I'll say that about anyone, ever. His vision is few and far between.

What the world really needs is a straight-up account of one of the most important rock groups of all time, Hüsker Dü. Now we have it in the form of music scribe Andrew Earles.

One of the foundations of the alternative rock genre, Hüsker Dü's best album is a vital, hook-laden work that deserves far greater recognition.