Somewhat late jumping onto this thread....whatever.
The first time I heard punk was 1977. I was at the local college radio station....my usual campus hangout. I plunked an LP onto the turntable from an unknown NYC band called The Ramones. They quite literally changed my life in 30 seconds. Several loud "holy s**ts" could be heard by anyone within 30 feet of the music library.
I was into prog rock before that. Well, as they say, out with the old and in with the new....
Hundreds of new titles were arriving at the station every week. Punk and New Wave were exploding despite getting almost zero airplay on mainstream radio. It was hard to keep up. I dove headfirst into the punk and hardcore scene. Went to shows almost every week. I lost count of how many I attended in the early 90's.
Those early years in radio were the catalyst for a lifetime of musical discovery that continues to this day. I like or at least appreciate the vast majority of music I hear. It's easier to list the artists/genres that don't resonate. I couldn't possibly list the thousands of artists I've enjoyed over the years.
Off the top of my head, some of the early punk/hardcore bands I listened to....
Ramones, Clash, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, Television, Patti Smith, Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Fear, The Jam, X, The Cramps, Bad Brains, Generation X, 999, The Saints, 7 Seconds, Minutemen, Circle Jerks, The Vandals, Minor Threat, Volcano Suns, Youth Brigade, UK Subs, Descendants, Lime Spiders, Suicidal Tendencies, The Stooges, The Gun Club, Crass, Dead Boys, The Germs, Husker Du, Bad Religion, Mission of Burma....
And some of the early bands that had a punk/hardcore ethos or formed in more recent years and became part of the post-punk/post-hardcore/grunge/shoegaze/emo scenes....
Gang of Four, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Fugazi, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Speedy Ortiz, Hole, Mudhoney, The Melvins, Cracker, Drive Like Jehu, A-Miniature, Swervedriver, Wipers, Dream Syndicate, Idles, Band of Skulls, Fontaines DC, Ministry, Screaming Trees, Rocket From the Crypt, Queens of the Stone Age, Janes Addiction, Butthole Surfers, Shame, Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk, The Donnas, Hot Snakes, Bikini Kill, The Raveonettes, The Stone Roses, The Vega Bodegas, Ty Segall, Beastie Boys, TV Priest, Celibate Rifles, Rage Against the Machine....
I could go on....
/EA
