The 10 Best Early Billy Bragg Songs
In his first records, Billy Bragg slashes and burns his way through the political and personal struggles of early adulthood with youth’s passion and idealism.
punk rock
Shame Move Beyond Post-Punk on the Euphoric ‘Food for Worms’
Post-punk revivalists Shame’s Food for Worms shows a band unafraid to move beyond their sound. The result is anthemic, pulverizing, thoughtful, and expansive.
Shonen Knife Endure with ‘Our Best Place’
Japanese pop-punkers Shonen Knife recognize their perceived novelty to outsiders and utilize it to their advantage: cute and zany as a means of empowerment.
Iggy Pop Is in a Frenzy on ‘Every Loser’
After more than 35 minutes of masterful music on Every Loser, does Iggy Pop seem to be a winner, a loser, or somewhere between the two? He is true to himself.
Warm and Cool: Thoughts on Television’s Tom Verlaine (1949-2023)
Tom Verlaine’s death symbolizes the continued denouement of a certain period of New York City history, a time when the word “bohemian” still held some meaning.
The 10 Heaviest Nirvana Songs
We have compiled ten tracks from Nirvana’s small yet monumentally impactful discography to form the heaviest Nirvana mixtape of them all.
Fucked Up Are Just Fine on ‘One Day’
Fucked Up’s One Day possesses a brightness and sense of happiness that’s addictive and optimistic, even if the lyrics at times insinuate the opposite.
The Day the Specials Kicked Their Doc Martens Against the Door
The ska revival kicked to life by the Specials blended previous subcultural styles in their own Cuisinart: Kingston, Jamaica, Mod, Skinhead and Jamaican rude-boy.
Show Me the Body’s ‘Trouble the Water’ Is an Empowering Proclamation for Truth and Action
Brooklyn-based hardcore band Show Me the Body strive to escape banality and preach for the sake of the outcasts on Trouble the Water.
Never Mind the Sex Pistols: ‘Never Mind the Bullocks’ at 45
The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks is a solid album of the punk era, but it neither reflects the most explosive music of the era nor the most creative.
The Bobby Lees’ ‘Bellevue’ Is Their Most Scorching, Definitive LP
The Bobby Lees have always rocked and rocked hard, and they continue to do so on Bellevue; that part of the formula (thankfully) remains unchanged.
Thus Love’s ‘Memorial’ Sports Top-Flight Goth and Post-Punk Influences
Thus Love began as a fuzzy, overly goth-influenced band, but they have since polished their messy sound to a confident post-punk sheen on Memorial.
