10 Near Perfect Punk Rock Albums
Punk was never meant to be perfect anyway...
If rock is the music of rebellion, then punk rock is the anarchic feet on the ground, making that rebellion manifest. With groups like MC5 and the Stooges spearheading the movement back in the late '60s, the genre became actualised in the 1970s. In New York, Patti Smith was delivering a mixture of spoken word poetry and impassioned lyrics over minimalist garage rock. The Ramones where playing harder and faster, delivering punchy songs that barely breached the two minute mark.
In the UK the Sex Pistols were attempting to overthrow the monarchy, and the Clash were regaling audiences with the plight of the working class. The themes of disenfranchisement, poverty, racial tension and alienation were prevalent from the get go. If there was a pr**k to kick against then punk rock was the music to do it.
You know the timeless classics, God Save The Queen, Ramones, London Calling; all are perfect examples of punk rock at its most unapologetically brilliant.
Although these albums don't quite reach the same height, they are nevertheless some of the best in the game. From '70s essentials, to contemporary torch bearers, these albums proudly wave the flag of rebellion (almost) flawlessly.
10. Milo Goes To College - Descendents (1982)
If this album came out during the 90's, this group would have become the reining kings of pop punk. The first record from the Descendents was a mixture of hardcore, bubblegum pop and garage rock. They blended any and all styles that appealed to them, into songs so short, that if you blink you're likely to miss them. These guys took what the Ramones had started and ran with it.
The album's title refers to vocalist, Milo Aukerman, decision to head off to college. The songs make the young age of the band even more apparent. They're filled with all the juvenile posturing that goes hand in hand with youth.
Instead of railing against the government, or hounding on about some kind of social injustice, these guys wrote snappy songs about their daily lives. The carefree joy of being young was their source material. Romance, popularity, getting drunk and trying to form a personality were all topics they covered. It's the sound of both youthful innocents and youthful ignorance, masterfully compounded into twenty minutes of teenage bravado.