# Good punk bands anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854 "2006-03-25T14:59:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/1 "2006-03-25T14:59:49Z")
At least I think I mean punk, I’ve been getting into **The Offspring** and **The Vandals** recently and I’m after bands that play similar music. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/2 "2006-03-25T16:02:01Z")
Some of my favorite punk bands: The Clash (the ultimate British punk band; they blended reggae, ska, and rockabilly influences with punk and took political stances with their lyrics). The Ramones (the ultimate American punk band; they played three-chord songs inspired by 1950s rock ‘n’ roll and early 1960s girl groups). The Descendents (perfect pissed-off angsty teenage pop-punk). Social Distortion (very melodic, tuneful punk with definite rockabilly and Americana/country influences). Reverend Horton Heat (they play “psychobilly”; a more obvious rockabilly/punk hybrid). The Cramps (the godfathers – and godmother – of psychobilly; they epitomize dirty, swampy, punk rock raunch). Operation Ivy (very “street”-sounding punk with lots of ska influence). Rancid (formed by two Operation Ivy members; often described as having a “1977-era” punk sound, more occasional ska rhythms). Fifteen (honestly I don’t know much about them, but their song “Petroleum Distillation” pretty much epitomizes everything punk should be about, lyrically and musically). More ska-punk bands I love (some are more ska, some are more punk): Less Than Jake The Pietasters The Toasters MU330 Mighty Mighty Bosstones Reel Big Fish Goldfinger Mustard Plug The Hippos Save Ferris Skankin’ Pickle And if you like them, here’s some “straighter” ska: The Skatalites The Slackers Hepcat New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble Skavoovie and the Epitones The Usuals Desmond Dekker ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/3 "2006-03-25T16:57:45Z")
[The Essential Music Library: Punk, Post-Punk and New Wave](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=342310) ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/4 "2006-03-26T03:33:04Z")
Not exactly straight punk, but hard to resist: **Gogol Bordello** and **Flogging Molly** , who are respectively gypsy-punk and irish-punk fusions. In more of a ska vein, **Mephiskapheles** is worth checking out–or at least their first album, _God Bless Satan_. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/5 "2006-03-26T03:37:09Z")
ska is not punk just fyi ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/6 "2006-03-26T03:37:49Z")
Dead Kennedys. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/7 "2006-03-26T04:02:43Z")
fear ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/8 "2006-03-26T04:24:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > ska is not punk > > just fyi Man, I played in a ska-punk band for years, you don’t have to tell me that. But there’s a lot of crossover between the fanbases, you can’t tell me that’s not true. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/9 "2006-03-26T07:13:33Z")
X. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/10 "2006-03-26T15:14:44Z")
I’ll second the Dead Kennedys. Everybody could use a Holiday in Cambodia. A few others I neglected to mention: Fugazi–I’ve never been able to get into these guys in any serious way, but I seem to be in a minority on this. They’re sort of an experimental hardcore punk thing, I suppose (hopefully someone else is more of a fan, and can help, heh). Minor Threat–The original band of one of the guys from Fugazi. (IIRC, one or more of the other guys went on to form Bad Religion?) Important and fun in small doses. I think I’d like them more if they kept their mouths shut–the adolescent posturing and ‘straight edge’ stuff gets a little trying. Iggy & the Stooges–more of a proto-punk, really. The Misfits ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/11 "2006-03-26T15:21:07Z")
Check out [AllMusic](http://www.allmusic.com/), it has listings of similar bands and is a generally great site. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/12 "2006-03-26T15:30:05Z")
She is absolutely punk, but absolutely different from everything mentioned so far: Patti Smith. Horses is as close to a classic as you can get, yet she remains largely unknown to a lot of people. Same for Richard Hell’s Blank Generation - absolute classic, but relatively unknown for some mysterious reason. The Germs, who were one of the first LA punks, also have some pretty good stuff. If you want things more like what you mentioned, try, say, Stiff Little Fingers, Screaching Weasel, Bad Religion, etc, etc. Finally, don’t forget all the pioneers: New York Dolls, MC5, Damned, Television, etc. All are good, really. (And, check out [www.pandora.com](http://www.pandora.com) if you haven’t yet.) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/13 "2006-03-26T16:09:01Z")
My personal favorite punk band has to be L7. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/14 "2006-03-26T16:59:16Z")
Well, I like both The Offspring and The Vandals, and I like Bad Religion, Bad Brains, Black Flag (mostly the early stuff), and Avail (though that’s more hardcore). I also have to second the following: The Clash, The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, & L7. Flogging Molly (and the Dropkick Murphys) are good, but I know that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/15 "2006-03-26T19:15:42Z")
Can I get a shoutout for my hometown, Washington D.C.? Minor Threat Fugazi Ignition Grey Matter Shudder to Think Jawbox Holy Rollers Fire Party Nation of Ulysses Fidelity Jones Beefeater Norman Meyer and many, many, way too many, more… ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-punk-bands-anyone/349854/16 "2006-03-27T01:02:32Z")
You might like the German Punk Pop Band [**Die Ärzte**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000ARRU/sofa-20/103-4184963-5871015?dev-t=14JDJ6M7RDASH4C47B82&camp=2025&link_code=sp1). A bit different, a bit watered down and campy like Offspring, it’s in German of course, but they have some really great lyrics if you translate them.