"Ever Fallen in Love...(with Someone You Shouldn't've)"

Buzzcocks - "Ever Fallen in Love...(with Someone You Shouldn't've)" (1978)

What is it about early twenty somethings and disastrous romantic relationships making good music?



Pete Shelly, the writer, guitarist, and singer of the Buzzcocks was twenty two when he and his mates in the band were vaguely watching the Sinatra/Brando film version of Guys & Dolls. A lyric about falling in love with a person you should not came on and inspiration struck. The song in very melodic punk, in fact if it wasn't the Buzzcocks, an iconic British punk band, you would just say it was rock. There are two guitars, the bass is doing it's own thing instead of thrashing out the same thing as the guitar, and the drummer is playing way more complex patterns in his fills than a usual punk song. The speed, and recycled lyrics are distinctly punk, and the lyrics being about love are very British punk, it's just so melodic a song I almost want to call it something else. It's also been covered by every second wave punk band you've ever heard of and a bunch more that you haven't. It's a much beloved song, clearly every punk kid has had a rough start with a relationship.

"Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely"

Hüsker Dü - "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" (1986)

Bassist Greg Norton had a great mustache.



The band that started as punks and then evolved into a genre that was hard to describe. They broke up in 1988 as one of the most well respected performers of 'college rock' a genre that is cited as a jumping off point for the 'alternative' scene that dominated music in the 90s and 00s. Hüsker Dü was named after a board game, but with umlauts. Actually the story goes that they couldn't remember the lyrics to "Psycho Killer" and so just started saying random phrases in foreign languages and one of them said Hūsker Dū, which was a kids game mildly popular in the 60s and 70s. They fired their keyboardist during their first show and remained a trio from that moment on. Guitarist Mould and Drummer Hart shared production duties and each individually wrote and sang songs for every album. This song is Hart's.

The lead single for their major label debut, the song had a lot of pressure on it at the time, but over 25 years later, we can just listen and hear the music. It's definitely rooted in punk, the fast tempo, the screeching guitar, and the rolling drum breaks. But the guitar also has some great layered moments in the solo. There's more than a few overdubs going on, and the final squeal sounds like something a metal band would end a solo with instead of a punk outfit. Lyrically the song is classic tortured male. He's broken up with someone and doesn't want to know if she's lonely, but wants to know if she's alright. He doesn't want to hear from her friends, but wants them to leave a message. For my money the best line comes right at the end of the opening verse "/It reassures me just to know that you're okay/But I don't want you to go on needing me this way" (Hart). He needs reassuring that she's OK, but she's the one that needs him? It's a classic way of dealing with the pain of a breakup, and I think we've all been there. That 's what makes the song a good one, we can relate.

"Anarchy in the U.K."

Sex Pistols - "Anarchy in the U.K." (1976)

Who else would rhyme Anarchist with Antichrist?



So if you've been following the blog, you know that The Damned released their first single a month before the Sex Pistols, and that The Saints released their single a month before that. So why is this song pointed to time and time again as the grandfather, the first shot, the original moment that punk made it? Well there is a story of a TV appearance, but there is also the fact that the lyrics if the song are calculated to burn instead of salve. The Damned and The Saints both recorded blistering songs full of angry guitars and rough vocals, but they were lyrically about young men who were in love, and either rejected or not, but one way or another they were singing about love. Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols were telling Britain's youth to rise up and violently throw off every possible rule and law they could get a hold of. That'll get you some attention and a every expanding fan base that includes young people of today, over thirty five years after the song was recorded.

The song is longer than I would have imagined, over three and a half minutes long. It also has a surprising amount of guitar going on. There's the standard simple chords through a bunch of feedback, but there's actually a solo as well. The bass is recorded by Glen Matlock who left the band after this single and before they could record the second. For all the snarled lyrics of Johnny Rotten, he actually sings melodically and he and guitarist Steve Jones manage a great little harmony there for a few seconds.

"New Rose"

The Damned - "New Rose" (1976)

The first British punk band to release a single.



Released a month after Australia's own The Saints started selling records, The Damned were Britain's earliest recorded punk act, and then morphed into becoming the forerunners of the goth-rock subculture. Lead singer Dave Vanian has, since the inception of the band, worn his hair slicked back, dark makeup around his eyes and white makeup on the rest of his face. That's not the only thing that sets The Damned apart from other punk bands.

While the music is straight ahead punk, the lyrics are upbeat and actually about a boy who has a great girl, so great in fact that he thinks he may not deserve her. The opening line "/Is she really going out with him/" (James) ties the song back to "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, but this song is almost sung from the point of view of the rebel who is dating the cheerleader. Musically the song is basic chords and the bass doubling the guitar for the most part making it really simple and really punk. The drum opening is also perfectly punk, it's loud, aggressive, and simplistic. This song is 'important' because it's the first single from a British punk band, the proverbial first shot, but it's worth remembering because it's different. Punk doesn't have to be all disaffected youth and dead end streets; sometimes punk gets a girlfriend, and that's not a bad thing.

"(I'm) Stranded"

The Saints - (I'm) Stranded (1976)

"...single of this and every week..." Sounds (a U.K. music paper)



Before The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, or The Sex Pistols ever released an album, Australia's own The Saints released this shot across the bow for punk. The song has an interesting set up. It's verse, chorus, verse, chorus, super chorus, verse, chorus super chorus, verse, chorus, super chorus, super chorus. By super chorus I mean it's an expanded version of the chorus, with the instruments playing the same parts as the chorus; but for twice as long while the singer sings a similar, but different part than the main chorus. You could call the super chorus the chorus and the "chorus" a half chorus, but super chorus sounds cool.

Punk is fairly simple in these early days, driving fast rhythms, "buzz-saw" guitars and lyrics about being disaffected youth. This song hits it all. For all those choruses, the song is under three and a half minutes long. There's no overdubbing, and the singer does not play guitar. It's just one guitar, one bass, and a drummer making all that sound. The lead singer was an Irish kid born in Kenya who moved to Australia, and the guitarist was a West German kid who moved to Australia. That just the kind of pulled around outcast kind of feel you need to write a great anthem about being stranded, feeling separated from everything that everyone around you feels connected to.

"Ambition"

Subway Sect - Ambition (1978)

An early recording by an all but forgotten British punk band.



By the time this single was released, the band had ceased to exist. They reformed later, around front man Vic Godard. The band itself was very British punk: short punchy songs, with an almost whiny untrained vocal running high above the rest of the band, singing a nihilistic tune. But this song adds a ever present synthesizer track that itself is very high in the register; like the high part of a roller skating rink or baseball stadium's organ. Also an odd "plinking" sound that is not in time with the song at all. So much so that I find it distracting. The book says that it is the sound of ping-pong balls that were recorded from an arcade game. I'm imagining something like Pong.

Ignoring the plinking, the song sounds very pop. It's short, it's fast, the drums keep it moving, the synth and guitar are almost always fast and in a major key; when they do go minor, it's only for a measure or two, then right back to the major key. The bass part is fast, and keeps up with the keyboard and guitar which isn't always common in rock, but is common in American soul music, which is what many of the members of Subway Sect were fans of.

"Kerosene"

Big Black - Kerosene (1986)

Industrial Punk?



The linchpin track off the first full length LP by the least corporate Punk band of the 80s in the US. Big Black never signed a contract, booked their own shows, paid for their studio time up front and controlled as much of their music as they could. Punk and post punk bands through the years have cited them and specifically this track as seminal. But this track is also over six minutes long; and uses both a drum machine and effects laded guitar parts. The lyrics are repetitive and destructive, so that could go either way. I don't really like the spoken word style, but the overbearing boredrum leading to obsession with sex and fire is something I think speaks to not just me, but anybody who grew up in the 80s. Plus, as I've mentioned before; I'm a sucker for songs with a false ending. In this song it comes at around 4:45. I like the guitar solo afterwords, it's angry and visceral. The ending is almost abrupt, I really didn't expect it and had to listen to a few videos to be sure that was really when the song ended. This song isn't melodic, but it is good music.

"Another Girl, Another Planet"

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (1978)

Another one hit wonder by a British band. At least this one is a great song.

Really good Punk/New Wave song. 3 Minutes long, perfect length. Rhythm guitar starts us off with a simple progression, hidden in the back of the mix. When the bass guitar starts in playing a few notes to bottom out the chords, the rhythm guitar adds a little bit of complexity in the strumming. The drums sneak up on you, kind of a rolling sound, with heavy bass drum and tom. By the time all the instruments are in we are almost 30 seconds into this short track and we've got a serious dance-able pop sound. The way the guitars interact around :40 makes it clear that this is not a polished band with the backing of millions of dollars, this is a couple of lads with a song and some guitars, and it may not be perfect, but you love it.

The vocals come in just before the first minute. He's not a professional either. His voice is nasal and his "flow" is off. the lyrics seem to just sort show up on the track when he feels like, rather than rhythmically along with the melody. He's behind the beat, then he's stumbling through a line with too many syllables trying to stay ahead of the beat; it's odd, but considering the lyrics are about drug use, it's a style that fits.

The guitar solo that starts at 1:45 and dominates the track is a real highlight. It's 30 seconds in a 3 minute long song. It's kind of got a surf rock thing (so do the drums later) going on. Actually, with the British vocals, space rock/surf rock sound, really short length, and vague drug references, this song could have easily been a hit a decade before it was written.

"Peaches"

The Stranglers - Peaches (1977)

Walking on the beaches, looking at the peaches.

The bass line is one of the most written about parts of this song. It rings out, each note blending into the next. It is also really really repetitive. Honestly I don't think it's really that great. The whole song feels really dated. It's the kind of song that gained notoriety by being rude and crude with the lyrics; and by today's standards it's not that rude or crude. The drums are as repetitive as the bass, and the guitar just adds very occasional accent. It's the same accent all song long. The organ doubles the bass for the majority of the song. Organ is not a typical punk instrument, but it even gets a solo @ 2:35 (a good one!) that lasts almost a full minute of this four minute song.

It is actually that solo, and the part immediately preceding it that makes the song still interesting. Starting at 2:20 the vocalist forces the young disaffected youth who are his most likely listening group to face the fact that their bored disinterested complaints about a dull English seaside vacation are out of place with what is happening all around. And he does it in 15 seconds. The bass actually plays something different than the rest of the song, and then we get the crazy-almost-throwback-psychedelic-era organ solo.

"Rock Lobster"

The B-52's - Rock Lobster (1978)

There goes a Narwhal!

Swingin' 60's surf music right? Wrong. What starts as as almost goofy and playful sounding becomes threatening by the middle and flat out crazy person by the end. That opening lick is so iconic. The guitar is baritone tuned, and the bass line is played on an organ. The instrumentation has very few high tones, which adds to the ominous feel of the whole thing. The organ does play some highs, but only near the beginning. The two women providing backup also make it seem like a normal 60's beach song at first. They are also responsible for all of the various sound effects associated with the listing of marine animals.

At about 1:30 we get a falling vocals matched with surf guitar sound. Then the original riff shows up again for a moment, but we are hardly going back to the opening sound. When Fred Schneider roars out "let's rock" at 2:20 he might as well be fronting The Jam. The lyrics are still life-guards and tanning butter but the song is punk. For the rest of the song, the lyrics get stranger. The guitar and organ sounds are driving you into a hellish underwater landscape by the end.