10 Punk Rock Bands That Never Sold Out
DO IT YOURSELF!
The idea of selling out is something that we kind of just have to accept in the world of music. You can't expect to see your favorite artists living off of goodwill for the rest of their lives, so it makes sense why some of them decide to take the gamble and go pop. In the case of punk rock though, it's a bit of a different story.
From day one, punk rock has always been about lashing out against the corporate side of the world, and the idea of selling out is practically a cardinal sin. If you ever decided to accept a major label deal and make more pop friendly music as an original punk, you may as well have just spit in the faces of all the people who supported you back in the day. There's no room for the big leagues, and yet these few managed to actually stay the course.
Throughout their long history, every one of these acts managed to do whatever the hell they wanted to do, whether with or without the help of the majors. Even if their muse got them kicked off of the big guns, it never seemed to bother them all that much, choosing more to focus on themselves than what the big guns wanted. After all, punk has always had the motto of do it yourself, and each of these acts seem to have taken that idea to heart.
10. Dropkick Murphys
There's a bit of a catch 22 that comes with never selling out. Even though you might stand by your laurels and make the music you want to make, there's also those fans that will call you a one trick pony, never changing your sound up and making the same bland music that you've done since day one. Saying that to a Dropkick Murphys fan though would more than likely end with you getting your ass kicked.
Throughout their history, the lads who brought us I'm Shipping Up To Boston have never showed any signs of slowing down, having the same kind of Celtic fury they had when they started. Being descendants of the old school style of punk, this almost feels like your traditional folk music if it were given a punk garnish, always sounding like the ramblings of that one Irish badass that you see lounging at the far end of the pub.
And that's really the only place where the Murphys' music really fits. From the minute that you listen to any song by them, you can immediately picture the beer in your hand and everyone bouncing up and down as they get ready to unleash Hell on each other in the pit. Since that sounds like one of the best parties in the world, why the hell would you even think about changing your sound?