what is your least favorite classic punk song?

i like most punk songs that are well-known and "classic" and that have been comped and anthologized to death and on every best punk single list. i'm not picky. but if i had to pick i'd have to say "The Murder of Liddle Towers" by the Angelic Upstarts. is that famous enough? it's on a thousand compilations. it helped make their name with the punk and oi! crowd. but it's too long and too slow and kind of a slog. for me. although i am a fan of the band for sure.

also "makes no sense at all" by husker du if that counts. now that i think of it. i wanted to love it when it came out because i was all about them and all of a sudden they were on MTV but i really had to try hard at the time to like it. and if i hear it now i really don't need to hear it.

ever fallen in love is really annoying. white riot is really stupid.

I'm not sure I'm totally sold on "England Belongs to Me," but maybe I just don't 'get' classic oi?

Really really fed up of hearing Teenage Kicks (I never liked it much to begin with).

almost all the early clash and sex pistols singles mainly down to their use in uk music / cultural / historical tv programmes relating to the 1970s / punk being way beyond saturation point now.

personal least favourite is probably either "dead cities" by the exploited or "streets of london" by the anti-nowhere league (although not sure those deserve classic status). "dead cities" as i once got punched in the face at a school disco while it was playing and some years later had to be carried out of a beastie boys concert after big john from the exploited had belly flopped on top of me. "streets of london" because it is excruciatingly awful.

probably "In The City" if we're going old skool

ever fallen in love and teenage kicks definitely victims of their pop punk shorthand ubiquity. i can't really blame the songs for that though. but yeah don't need to hear them often...

(although there are plenty of punk nuggets i never get tired of. and i always have a buzzcocks and undertones binge once a year. does a body good.)

Shake Some Action or Blitzkrieg Bop

wtf I didn't see "least"sorry

Really really fed up of hearing Teenage Kicks

^ aw, i hear you gavin :(

wtf I didn't see "least"sorry

i did wonder how anyone could dislike blitzkrieg bop.

holiday in cambodia, jello biafra's voice is pure theater kid

there are a bunch songs that i don't really dig because um

rock'n'roll n-word
belsen was a gas
mongoloid

"Don't Dictate" by Penetration does absolutely nothing for me.

The Adverts - Gary Gilmore's Eyes

It steals the melody on the verses from The Monster Mash. That's either the most or least punk rock move of all time. Either way I don't care for the song.

I have

holiday in cambodia, jello biafra's voice is pure theater kid

Yeah, this ^^

Oops how did "I have" sneak in there?

"Tommy Gun" and "English Civil War" are both garbage.

But they aren't "classic" punk songs, at least I'm hoping they aren't.

I'm not sure I'm totally sold on "England Belongs to Me," but maybe I just don't 'get' classic oi?

― Tom Violence, Friday, November 13, 2015 2:20 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is the best song of all time

"punks not dead" maybe?

I pretty much like every song listed above. I dunno, "Rise Above" by Black Flag? Too shouty for me.

"London Calling," if that fits your definition of classic punk--it may not.

Too drunk to fuck. There are worse songs out there but it's a good example of that macho American kind of bro punk, even though it's probably meant to be funny.

I wouldn't mind never hearing "TV Party" again.

yeah 'tv party' is awful smug

Disagree with most of the thread so far haha. Consider myself lucky to have left the UK before the explosion of talking-head docs and the general overuse of such music in shitty TV shows (hate that tactic).

Anyway...Pretty Vacant. Worst track on the album and glorifies the Sid Vicious/dog-on-a-string punk character which I hate.

does "Should I Stay or Should I Go" count? because let me tell you, I go.

has "bodies" by the sex pistols been listed yet?
i know it isn't classic among us, but it is among teenagers (and was when i was a teenager with my teenager friends) because of all the f-s.

put me down for 'No More Heroes' by the Stranglers.

either Blitzkrieg Bop or If the Kids Are United (Sham 69)

I don't hate either song, they're just kinda dumb and I don't really like them

Something broken inside of you if Blitzkrieg Bop doesn't immediately light you up IMO.

In 1991, this song piqued the interest of Budweiser which used it in a commercial for their beer (without the "Shoot 'em in the back" line). There was no debate in the Ramones camp over whether to authorize it: they were all happy to get the money and exposure. In 2003, the song found its way into another commercial, this time for AT&T Wireless.

*GASP*

After the Beatles, Ramones are also the only rock band I've come across who don't allow their music to be used in YouTube videos (which is within their rights of course, more power to them, but I wouldn't have voted them "most likely").

*3rd party videos (I make the "Funny Baseball Bloopers" series, ad revenue goes to MLB & the labels, always check the rights before choosing the soundtrack).

maybe the only rock band's executors?

i love every song in this thread no matter what, btw. <3

i do still LOVE the sex pistols, all of it

"Orgasm Addict" because its silly, but also maybe as I didn't hear it until long afterwards.

"has "bodies" by the sex pistols been listed yet?
i know it isn't classic among us"

Oh, you do NOT know that. Has been discussed here, Rotten argues very convincingly that it is not an anti-choice song, it is for me a real sign post towards PIL and the best Pistols song. You are welcome not to like it, but it has grown-up non-misogynist fans.

Oh Bondage, Up Yours, that bluesy sax playing, ugh

As an American, there's no overexposure to anything listed here - except "Should I Stay Or Should I Go". So I still love it all except The Clash's US hits.

The conclusion would seem to be that most classic punk songs seem are pretty good after all, but I think Scott knew that when he posted the thread. I had to rack my brains but knew I could always rely on the Clash to provide some stinkers.

Not even 'stinkers' just overplayed ones.

999 used to get routinely bad reviews, so I didn't get to hear much but the few singles I did hear/buy were pretty good.

So, not them then.

Predictably, I love almost all the songs mentioned so far.

But I do not love England Belongs To Me or English Civil War. I don't hate them but neither of them do much for me. I can agree with Scott's criticism of Liddle Towers as well. The B-side's much better.

xp 999 were great, a lot of the criticism they got was way off-base - I saw a lot of stuff saying they just ripped off the Clash but to me they sound nothing like them, idgt at all.

Too drunk to fuck. There are worse songs out there but it's a good example of that macho American kind of bro punk, even though it's probably meant to be funny.

That is not a good example of macho American bro punk.

Has the Dead Kennedys' stature declined since the 80s? Is it Jello, or rather his voice?

holiday in cambodia, jello biafra's voice is pure theater kid

I think this is why I like Dead Kennedys, in my head I associate them more with things like Devo or Oingo Boingo than most of the stuff mentioned in this thread.

my least favourite classic punk song is probably something by Minor Threat, idg Minor Threat at all, maybe I just have bad taste in punk

Surprised 'Peaches' by the Stranglers hasn't been put forward.

(xp) Why not? It's one of their best songs.

(xp) Why not, at least he'd be sure to remember it.

It's such an obvious choice. Like going to a huge ice cream parlour, eyeing up the selection and plumping for vanilla with no Flake.

Like, 'Hey super-fan, pick any song from the Clash catalogue for me to sing'. 'Ooooh let me see, how about 'London Calling''.

It's a drag of a song too. Just really strait and lumbering.
It's like, it feels like whenever I see anyone do a Bowie song it's almost always 'Ziggy Stardust'.

I’m a huge Clash fan but I’ve never been enamored with “London’s Calling.”

I'm not a huge Clash fan and consider it one of their best songs, c'est la vie. (xp) Funny you should mention Bowie as "London Calling" seems more than somewhat inspired by Bowie in places, "Lady Grinning Soul" I think.

Their best big song is White Man At Hammersmith Palais, but I guess that would be boring on an acoustic guitar. I bet all their songs would suck on acoustic guitar. All songs suck on acoustic guitar.

... or is it "Cracked Actor"? (xp)

I dunno, i would have liked to pick "Groovy Times" but they never played it live as it was "too difficult"

i love every song in this thread no matter what, btw. <3

― Operating Thetan III (monster mash), Friday, November 13, 2015 10:17 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol I really do! I can understand that some of them are overplayed but that doesn't bother me. This, however, is just wrong:

ever fallen in love is really annoying. white riot is really stupid.

― kurt schwitterz, Friday, November 13, 2015 2:20 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i've never really listened to their albums much, but i do like the clash hits a lot. london calling might be my least fave of the famous ones though. i've definitely listened to the first B.A.D. album more than any clash album.

I think if you skip track one, the "London Calling" album is pretty great.

All songs suck on acoustic guitar.

ok what

the only clash CD i would need would be called Now That's What I Call The Clash! and would just be: white riot, police & thieves, train in vain, rock the casbah, should i stay or should i go, clash city rockers, bankrobber, police on my back, the call up, the magnificent seven, this is radio clash.

I don't know about "least favorite" but in terms of "don't need to hear anymore," I have heard "I Wanna Be Sedated" exactly the number of times I need to for the rest of my life.

fucking hate London Calling; always have

Ha, there seems to be a pattern. I'm not a Clash fan but I love "London Calling". Also "Guns of Brixton".

"London Calling" is the ploddingest of the plodding

yup saw the thread title and immediately thought "London Calling."

Total wasted opportunity with Joe Strummer. The only correct request would have been Mensforth Hill.

I would've asked him to play "We Are The Clash."

tbf i wdn't consider "London Calling" a "punk song" tho

London Calling def falls into "overplayed" but never got why it's so bad and hated on ILM

The first one to come to mind that annoys me is Buzzcocks' "Everybody's Happy Nowadays." Almost all punk that incorporates '50s rock n' roll or rockabilly is pretty annoying to me.

I never understood what was so great about "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" that sets it above the other Clash songs. I don't dislike it, but seems really overrated to me. "Train in Vain" and "Guns of Brixton" are their best. "London Calling" is ok.

New York Dolls kinda suck overall. Whatever their "classic" song is.

"Personality Crisis" or "Looking For A Kiss" both awesome imo

I'd never skip London Calling. Lover's Rock on the other hand...

"Don't Dictate" by Penetration does absolutely nothing for me.

I don't think I'll ever get sick of this song. Usually listen to it two or three times in a row when I play it.

Probably something by The Clash.
Definitely nothing by The Stranglers.

Too drunk to fuck. There are worse songs out there but it's a good example of that macho American kind of bro punk, even though it's probably meant to be funny.

That is not a good example of macho American bro punk.

― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Saturday, November 14, 2015 8:36 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, i'm definitely with the colonel on this one. this is the type of irony that even 15-year-old punk rockers understand. even as a young'n, i always took it as an anti-drinking/anti-macho song.
(even though me and my 15-year-old comrades would blast it when we scored booze as kids).
if you wanna talk about macho American bro punk, just look at late 80s hardcore and what it morphed into (not post-hardcore/discord/dc/etc.)

as an aside: blink-182 isn't macho bro punk, either. they're just bros. ask markers, ffs.

Whatever I still don't like it. I don't pretend to be a connaisseur of American punk tho.

Also bros love that song, and irony I guess

So far, no UK punk has really fallen in the 'hate' pile, and most of the early US punk is all good also.

joining the "london calling" hate crowd, always just sounded so plodding and self-serious. i also hate the guitar tone. kept me away from that album for ages, and when i got it i was surprised to find i liked almost every other song.

some of these other ones are fine enough but not built to bear three decades of "classic" status. tv party for example delighted me on listen #1, but you can't imagine rollins was expecting anybody to still have that in regular rotation in 2015. sadly, if anything of the ramones' classic period has crossed this line for me, it's blitzkrieg bop. that's purely from overplay though --- i still find almost everything else on their first five LPs super lively and full of delight. it also doesn't have as much in the way of characteristically ramones-y lyrical weirdness or specificity, in that way that the "ramones willingness to do certain things" thread always makes me smile.

The Ramones' willingness to do certain things poll

xp I had the exact same reaction with London Calling; as a 16 or 17 year old I liked the first record more because it was more in line with other punk stuff that I knew and I didn't understand how this was THE classic record.

i'm not a big fan of strummer's voice. i like mick jones a bunch though.

and i always thought that rollins was a great punk frontman with a terrible voice. i mean even within hardcore i thought he had a terrible voice. much preferred their earlier singers. live henry was nuts and always gave 119% of course. or maybe even 123%. nobody can take that away from him.

"Lust for Life"

― Hammer Smashed Bagels, Monday, November 16, 2015 2:10 AM (16 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ah man, i thought everybody had to feel this one! too goofy for you (hypnotizing chickens, etc)?

strummer's voice didn't go with the music, imo. and it wasn't an interesting type of "didn't go with the music" either. he didn't have that bite that dudes like lemmy or frankie stubbs have. i can't hold that against him, though, he wrote a bunch of great tunes.

New York Dolls kinda suck overall. Whatever their "classic" song is.

― billstevejim, Monday, November 16, 2015 11:38 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is just sad!

i get it, though.

somehow.

oh just stab him already

There was that one 'generic' punk track that used to get used in Crossroads or whatever, it went "Oi.. Loike... PUNK ROCK!!!"

Did that ever get identified?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLyMjIccjL4

strummer's voice didn't go with the music, imo. and it wasn't an interesting type of "didn't go with the music" either. he didn't have that bite that dudes like lemmy or frankie stubbs have. i can't hold that against him, though, he wrote a bunch of great tunes.

I generally assume Mick Jones wrote most of the tunes, I'm no Clash expert though (and glad of it).

Mick jones was more of a "tunes" guy, but no.

I generally like most stuff mentioned in this thread, or at least don't hate it or am not sick of it (though a couple of Buzzcocks songs come close). But last night I remembered how much I hate "Love Comes In Spurts".

Biographer Chris Salewicz noted that the "fundamental flaw" in firing Mick Jones from the Clash was that he wrote virtually all the music.

That's what I always thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydsz1XLtAOE