US vs. UK: Punk Rock Throwdown (Vote Today!)By
Douglas Newman Share:
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There’s an age-old debate about where and when punk started. Did it dawn in Detroit in 1969 with the Stooges and MC5 or can its origins be traced back to London, 1965, with the emergence of the Who? Purists often cite 1976 as the year punk broke, with the Ramones in New York City and the Sex Pistols in London. We can debate this issue forever, but there’s no denying that punk, as we know it, was largely birthed from the grimy streets of New York and London, which brings me to the crux of this post – when it comes to punk, who reigns supreme, the US or UK?
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COMMENTS (47)
Meghan said:
Off the top of my head I would have answered the UK, but after looking at the entire post and which albums I voted for, I’m surprised to say US!! matt said:
I’m stuck in the pond and I can’t decide which shore to swim to… Twilight Serenade said:
I too thought mostly UK, but it was close with only a couple more UK Bands than the US. Nadia said:
Yeah the first thing I thought was the UK for sure but I do love me some Television and Patti Smith. Jesse said:
6-5 UK. But to be fair the comparison between The Clash and Blondie is sort of like comparing Joni Mitchell with The Beatles. There isn’t another album from the punk era that even comes close to the influence of “London Calling”. In fact, there aren’t many albums before or since that hold a candle to it. Nueuan said:
I can’t help but wonder if it matters, both countries did their own thing, both produced bands that fuckin’ rock, and both had flops. Instead of wondering where it came from, we should be thrashing and maybe… I dunno’ gettin’ pissed off and taking the original messages to heart and stand up. user said:
It doesn’t matter, it’s just fun to vote. Punk’s dead anyways. ken said:
i voted all the uk ones but wished i could have voted for both on some of them ,god bless em all Bennie said:
If we look back in the history books, we’ll see that punk (excluding all the “proto-punk” bands) started with the Ramones. The Sex Pistols caught wind and tried their own version of it. While both are very different in regards to their approach, I’m still happy to say that the US really holds the spark of ingenuity on that one. Dr. Donald B. MacGowan said:
How could you wankers make me vote between The Damned and The Dead Boys? Both are brilliant. Pere Ubu? I thought I was the only person in North America who actually bought a copy of The Modern Dance instead of waiting for the cut-out bin to fill…where’s The Rezillos? Where’s The Dead Kennedys? Where’s Screwdriver? Where’s Psychotic Turnbuckle? Stranglers? Where are the pioneers like MC5, Frigid Pink and The Stooges? macrascal said:
Yes Dead Kennedys and Stranglers should deffo be included hobittual said:
All of you who think that the Ramones or the Pistols started punk are stupid, i am UK and i know Iggy pop started it. The Ramones were never punk enough anyway. Too sloppy, no bite to them. hobittual said:
And i agree where are the Stranglers dog shit! epicentric said:
The obvious revelation here is that it’s damned hard to choose. Markster said:
The US gave us The New York Dolls, Patti Smith and The Ramones, Talking Heads and Television, which means that they edge the 70’s in the same way that the UK did in the 60’s with The Beatles and The Stones. When you consider that NYC in the 70’s simultaneously gave the world punk, disco and hip-hop, you quickly realise that later phenomena in the UK like Madchester and then Britpop are laughably derivative and parochial. spoing said:
Man, that damned album and that dead boys cd are two of my favorite albums of all time. I hate to pick between them. Young Loud and Snotty just fucking RULES. Andy said:
am i the only one in the world that think the ramones suck?? Ben said:
Jesus, it isn’t about their origins. It’s about the music they play. This is pathetic. Both countries have good and bad bands.. Hawk said:
Punk rock is a movement that made todays musicians think. UK or USA do we really need to vote. I know what I like and its the adrenolin all these bands have that makes it a draw. Danny said:
New York Dolls are NOT punk kim said:
why are siouxsie and patti smith against each other? and the plasmatics and the slits? they are in totally different categories. how could you expect me to choose? Altronix said:
I was surprised by such strong UK voting. I ended up choosing all UK but not cos i’m from there, but because i prefer that style of edgy punk. Phillip Flop said:
The US punk bands were all a bit soft. Chris said:
Were are the Bad Brains, circle jerks, D.O.A., black flag, C.O.C. ect…. jacoblp said:
Dear Chris, you just listed off hardcore bands which are not the first wave of punk. No mention of Iggy Pop being quite influential? I am on the london punk scene, so don’t get me wrong… The Sex Pistols sucked. They were just awful. They were slow and boring. They entirely about creating and forcing shock value. blah! what about: Wayne County And The Back Street Boys, The Heartbreakers (even though you have NY Dolls), suicide, the dictators, Flamin groovies anybody notice how Discharge and The Exploited suck in comparison to the Bad Brains or Black Flag? yup… GO RESTARTS! GO MORAL DILEMMA! GO ALL AGES RECORDS Douglas said:
I’M THE WRITER OF THIS POST: The reason I put Blondie against the Clash was the fact that both of these artists hit the Top 10 and had wide appeal way beyond the genre of “punk.” As Jacoblp astutely noted, I was trying to stay within the first wave of punk, therefore I left out Black Flag, Husker Du, Minutemen, Bad Brains, etc. The Stooges are w/o a question the godfathers of punk, but because they first appeared in 1969, I felt it was just too far removed from the first wave in the 1970’s. I do regret not adding Johnny Thunders and even more, Richard Hell & the Voidoids. Who would you put them against? I hope this clarifies things a bit. It’s not definitive or scientific, but I did my best. Please send in who you think should be matched together. Chris said:
I guess I failed to get the point of this post in my first reply. You are trying to get where punk started? Its kind of hard to do. Go back to the first band who ever played some shit that they did not care if the radio played it. That would be your punk band. The rest of it would be “alternative”? So I’m not trying to start anything. All the bands you have listed are in my collection. UK, USA its all good, but US punk is not soft. Or at least back in day is wasn’t. Dane said:
I was about half and half….I’m suprised you included X but not The Germs, The Screamers, The Wierdos, The Dils, and the rest of the LA punk scene. Ricky Ten Sleep said:
Considering that most of these bands were not punk rock it’s not possible to say if one or the other is better. James Marshall Black said:
Punk was starting both in the UK and the USA at the same time. Both countries were frequently being force fed the same bland, safe, boring musical pap by the radio stations and the record labels, both countries made a stance together. Tough to choose between the Ramones and the Sex Pistols mind coz both were so ultra superb, raw power, and both flicked the switch. The Glorious Lucifer said:
Why do people always complain instead of just having fun? Mmmmm… My votes: UK 9 / USA 1. I’m afraid I can’t choose between Pistols and Ramones. Tom said:
what about stiff little fingers vs. dirty looks? Christopher Grams said:
What about the Dead Kennedy’s? Or Peter and the test tube babies? Also there were a UK Subhumans and a US Subhumans. The Brits lorded that one. LIAM said:
WHAT about the Dead Kennedys amber said:
they missed some good bands Tony Daygo-ini said:
There’s not enough hardcore punk on here, where American punk began to shine IMO. Otherwise I don’t find it fair. Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Subhumans, and Choking Victim are sorely missing. And who the hell voted Blondie over the Clash? Doug S. said:
I that there is NOT enough HARDCORE. The bands in the poll are pretty much punk-lite, with the exception of The Dead Boys and The Plasmatics. [...] results of the UK vs US Punk Rock Throwdown are in. So, who reigns supreme? Take a [...] RomanianPunk said:
What about Dead Kennedys? kriss said:
uk marketed better?lets not forget should i stay or go sucks!sex pistols deep purple dressed like punk fashion designers,punk attitude starts with jerry lee lewis meet iggy and culture reveloution.uk made punk more political.the who first super group not punk!like the ramones or not thats the first distinctive punk rythem. secretplans said:
Tell you what, you put some punk on that list and I’ll vote. Bat Cave Punk said:
I´m from Finland and played in some local punk bands at the late 70´s. Here no-one had ever heard about punk bands before the Clash and the Pistols. Specially the Pistols made the whole thing as crazy as it was and even the finnish media was interested about the things around the band. The punk movement was also real strong here, I think it was in the UK too, but not so much in the US. Today it´s different. The kids seem to know much better the Ramones than those british bands and thats ok for me. My opinion is that punk rock was born in the US, but the peak was in the UK and there was a lot of good punk bands in the other languish areas too, but you don´t know them. Ricky Ten Sleep said:
Yeah Punk Rock is dead! It died with Sean Fightmaster. (see S.L.C. Punk) So long my friend We all miss you. Harry the Bastard said:
Making me choose between the Damned and Dead boys was a hard job.Two brilliant bands,but Dead Boys are my all time fave band.Young,Loud and Snotty gets my vote.Plasmatics were a great band,so were the Sex Pistols,The Clash,Ramones.ARRGH!!!.I can’t make up my mind.I’m gonna call it a draw! TrixRabbi said:
Black Flag? Anyways, US proved more important overall to punk by numbers. Plus, The Stooges were American. ****you said:
The only Us person I like is Blondie but she doesn’t even compare to the clash. Punk rock is about revolution where as the Clash and the Sex Pistols did a better job. ****you said:
(I am from the Uk) |
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