'77 London..'81 DC

[clash77]

I know this a losing battle on this fuckin board but I ask the question???

[version sound]

I love the Pistols, Damned, and Clash, but I'm not that big into other '77 punk, so...Void, SOA, GI, Artificial Peace, Faith, Minor Threat, Youth Brigade, Red C, Deadline, Double O...gotta go with DC for sheer volume of great bands.

I'd take DC in '85 over either, though.

[gregpolard]

I love the Pistols, Damned, and Clash, but I'm not that big into other '77 punk, so...Void, SOA, GI, Artificial Peace, Faith, Minor Threat, Youth Brigade, Red C, Deadline, Double O...gotta go with DC for sheer volume of great bands.

I'd take DC in '85 over either, though.

Except for that melodic soft stuff like Dag Nasty.

[version sound]

I like Dag Nasty. I bought all their records from the beginning. Hell, I still have my original copies of CIS and WOAD, and that's saying something. That being said, I never had quite the hard on for them that some of you have.

[yourenotevil]

if they stopped after the first album, i could live with that. in the end, i like swiz way more(not saying they were all that similar, but the connection between singers, etc).

[JGJR]

I'd take DC in '85 over either, though.

'77 London, but if I'm going with DC, it would have to be '85 over '81 (not even close).

[Janelle]

Clash what about LA '80s?!!!!!!!!!! <3

[patient_ot]

I'd take DC in '85 over either, though.

I'd probably agree. Though if we're throwing out other things, I'd have to go with Manchester '79.

I will say this...I am not as well versed in early DC hardcore as a lot of folks on this board, but Minor Threat and Void would rank among my all time favorites,certainly in my top 10-15 for anything punk related.

[JGJR]

Though if we're throwing out other things, I'd have to go with Manchester '79.

I will say this...I am not as well versed in early DC hardcore as a lot of folks on this board, but Minor Threat and Void would rank among my all time favorites,certainly in my top 10-15 for anything punk related.

This wins. Fall, Buzzcocks, Joy Division...also the DC hardcore bands you listed (other than The Faith) were the best of the bunch from that time period IMO.

[danny]

for me it's london 77, without hesitation.

damned, xray spex, wire, pistols, clash, atv, buzzcocks, boys and hundeds more. if it weren't for london 77, there is no dc 81.

[yourenotevil]

i like the early london punk, but to me it didn't really get good until stuff like the cockney rejects started and the blitz. then you had rudimentary peni and the uk 82 shit and all of the great stuff like napalm death. i am sure i am in the minority in this though, at least around here. sex pistols and the damned were great but they all fizzled out pretty fast(yes, i do not like post 1980 damned). it is crazy to think about how much good music came out of england though between the sixties and the end of the eighties, and there is a lot of stuff in there i hate like shoegaze and the smiths. in the end, i try not to compare scenes, at least two countries in different time periods.that is easier to do with LA and dc hardcore, etc.

[john stabb]

by danny » Sat Nov 02, 2013 7:24 pm

for me it's london 77, without hesitation.

damned, xray spex, wire, pistols, clash, atv, buzzcocks, boys and hundeds more. if it weren't for london 77, there is no dc 81.

---

danny's right. And I'd also add there would be no ca 81, too. The UK Punk influenced all of us geezers. They got the ball rolling & the rest of us took it from there.

[version sound]

...and no London '77 without Detroit '70 or NYC '66-'75..the trail of influence goes back to at least Chuck Berry, but likely further. Just because something is the foundation doesn't necessarily make it better. Arguably, there's no Sonic Youth without Branca, but I'd still rather listen to SY.

[gregpolard]

Pfft....what would stabb and danny know about DC in 1981?

[gregpolard]

I like Dag Nasty. I bought all their records from the beginning. Hell, I still have my original copies of CIS and WOAD, and that's saying something. That being said, I never had quite the hard on for them that some of you have.

You know this is technically a Dag Nasty message board, right?

[version sound]

Pfft....what would stabb and danny know about DC in 1981?

Maybe they're too close to it. Besides, plenty of artists are terrible judges of their own work (not that that's necessarily the case here). Other than the Damned, Sex Pistols, and Generation X, I'd take GI and Youth Brigade over anything London '77.

[version sound]

I like Dag Nasty. I bought all their records from the beginning. Hell, I still have my original copies of CIS and WOAD, and that's saying something. That being said, I never had quite the hard on for them that some of you have.

You know this is technically a Dag Nasty message board, right?

Technically being the operative word. I was drawn here by the scent of skanky Vans and Bengay.

[gregpolard]

I like Dag Nasty. I bought all their records from the beginning. Hell, I still have my original copies of CIS and WOAD, and that's saying something. That being said, I never had quite the hard on for them that some of you have.

You know this is technically a Dag Nasty message board, right?

Technically being the operative word. I was drawn here by the scent of skanky Vans and Bengay.

Don't forget Ugg boots. Speaking of, where the heck is Midge?

[yourenotevil]

. Arguably, there's no Sonic Youth without Branca, but I'd still rather listen to SY.

in a perfect world, neither would have ever assaulted my ear drums.

[version sound]

. Arguably, there's no Sonic Youth without Branca, but I'd still rather listen to SY.

in a perfect world, neither would have ever assaulted my ear drums.

I LedOL.

[JGJR]

. Arguably, there's no Sonic Youth without Branca, but I'd still rather listen to SY.

in a perfect world, neither would have ever assaulted my ear drums.

I LedOL.

As much as I love both SY and Branca, nothing short of Whitehouse or Merzbow and stuff of that sort is as all-out ear-assaulting as Metal Machine Music.

[JGJR]

Pfft....what would stabb and danny know about DC in 1981?

Maybe they're too close to it. Besides, plenty of artists are terrible judges of their own work (not that that's necessarily the case here). Other than the Damned, Sex Pistols, and Generation X, I'd take GI and Youth Brigade over anything London '77.

Clash? Buzzcocks? Adverts? Wire?

[yourenotevil]

. Arguably, there's no Sonic Youth without Branca, but I'd still rather listen to SY.

in a perfect world, neither would have ever assaulted my ear drums.

I LedOL.

As much as I love both SY and Branca, nothing short of Whitehouse or Merzbow and stuff of that sort is as all-out ear-assaulting as Metal Machine Music.

luckily, all of those bands and records share the same symptom of not being any good.

[version sound]

Pfft....what would stabb and danny know about DC in 1981?

Maybe they're too close to it. Besides, plenty of artists are terrible judges of their own work (not that that's necessarily the case here). Other than the Damned, Sex Pistols, and Generation X, I'd take GI and Youth Brigade over anything London '77.

Clash? Buzzcocks? Adverts? Wire?

It may be heresy, but I like early Clash, I don't love it. I prefer their more musically adventurous stuff. Buzzcocks and Wire never blew my mind either. I'm honestly not sure I've ever really heard the Adverts, except maybe on Burning Ambitions.

[yourenotevil]

Pfft....what would stabb and danny know about DC in 1981?

Maybe they're too close to it. Besides, plenty of artists are terrible judges of their own work (not that that's necessarily the case here). Other than the Damned, Sex Pistols, and Generation X, I'd take GI and Youth Brigade over anything London '77.

Clash? Buzzcocks? Adverts? Wire?

It may be heresy, but I like early Clash, I don't love it. I prefer their more musically adventurous stuff. Buzzcocks and Wire never blew my mind either. I'm honestly not sure I've ever really heard the Adverts, except maybe on Burning Ambitions.

i am kind of in the same boat here, but i prefer the early clash over the later stuff. never got all the love for the buzzcocks. they were good, but not great. for every good song wire had in the early days, they had at least one boring one to match it as well.

[version sound]

All I need by the Buzzcocks is Singles Going Steady. After decades of trying to convince myself I should like Wire more, I've come to the conclusion that I'll never have much more than a mild affection for them. I loved Subway Sect for a while before I got bored with them. I'd mostly rather listen to bands who influenced or were influenced by '77 punk than the the bands themselves.

[JGJR]

Pfft....what would stabb and danny know about DC in 1981?

Maybe they're too close to it. Besides, plenty of artists are terrible judges of their own work (not that that's necessarily the case here). Other than the Damned, Sex Pistols, and Generation X, I'd take GI and Youth Brigade over anything London '77.

Clash? Buzzcocks? Adverts? Wire?

It may be heresy, but I like early Clash, I don't love it. I prefer their more musically adventurous stuff. Buzzcocks and Wire never blew my mind either. I'm honestly not sure I've ever really heard the Adverts, except maybe on Burning Ambitions.

I definitely listen to London Calling and especially Sandinista! way more than the first two albums (though I like everything they did up to and including Combat Rock), so I sort of know what you mean here.

You need to get Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts at the very least. It's an essential '77 UK punk album that incidentally was quite influential on the DC scene (as was the 2nd one, Cast of Thousands; that one even more from my understanding so but danny and stabb can comment further since they were there and part of it).

I love Buzzcocks, but to be honest they were not a great album band until their 3rd (and last with the original lineup until 1992) album A Different Kind of Tension. I'd argue that it's their only completely essential recording (if you're a casual fan; there are lots of great songs buried on the 1st few records and some of the later ones, too) other than Singles Going Steady, of course. Still, A Different Kind of Tension is so great that it basically paints the idea of them as just a singles band as being a myth.

[danny]

you are insane! the first two buzzcocks albums are absolute most-own items.

and as far as the clash go - i prefer their first two records to just about anything else they ever did. rope is a really underrated effort.

here are a handful of must-own records from that era:
xray spex - germ free adolescence
wire - pink flag
damned - damned,damned, damned and music for pleasure
generation x - s/t
undertones - s/t
buzzcocks - another music and love bites
the boys - the boys and alternative chartbuster
the jam - in the city and modern world
stranglers - rattus norvegicus and no more heroes
adverts - crossing the red sea
stiff little fingers - inflammable material
saints - i'm standed
motorhead - motorhead
sham 69 - tell us the truth
rezillos - can't stand the rezillos

and the second wave of bands from 78 and 79 were no slouches either (ruts, uk subs, slits, siouxsie, magazine, killing joke, etc.)

[JGJR]

you are insane! the first two buzzcocks albums are absolute most-own items.

and as far as the clash go - i prefer their first two records to just about anything else they ever did. rope is a really underrated effort.

here are a handful of must-own records from that era:
xray spex - germ free adolescence
wire - pink flag
damned - damned,damned, damned and music for pleasure
generation x - s/t
undertones - s/t
buzzcocks - another music and love bites
the boys - the boys and alternative chartbuster
the jam - in the city and modern world
stranglers - rattus norvegicus and no more heroes
adverts - crossing the red sea
stiff little fingers - inflammable material
saints - i'm standed
motorhead - motorhead
sham 69 - tell us the truth
rezillos - can't stand the rezillos

and the second wave of bands from 78 and 79 were no slouches either (ruts, uk subs, slits, siouxsie, magazine, killing joke, etc.)

Is that directed towards me or VS? I do own those albums, the deluxe edition ones that came out a few years ago as a matter of fact (and we saw them perform those albums a few years ago, too), but I meant that for more casual fans/those who only have Singles Going Steady, A Different Kind of Tension is where I'd start.

That list is great, of course, but I always associate the Underontes and SLF with the 2nd wave of UK punk as both of their debut Lps came out in '79.

[version sound]

I'm way more of a fan of The Slits, Pop Group, early PiL, Magazine, Joy Division, etc... than the lesser first wave bands.

Also, the Buzzcocks weren't London '77, not that it really affects my choice...

[yourenotevil]

i would take the 4 skins over most of the band mentioned here(for the Uk side), just sayin.

[jason powell]

I'd definitely take London 77' over DC 81'. Wire, the Damned, the Clash, Sex Pistols, etc. That's all that's ever needed really. Everything else is footnotes.*



*Albeit really, really, fantastic footnotes, amazing footnotes.