100 best punk songs: 55-64
by Michele Christopher

Moving right along. You want your three songs on the list, gotta email us with the songs and a little something about each. Not like "this song rocks" something. More like "this song rocks because I got laid to it" something.

First up, we got three from Scott of the fabulous Strange Reaction

56. The Bags - "We Will Bury You"
Though they were best known by me and most of my friends through the first Decline of Western Civilation movie, I also knew this song from a cassette my brother had that was played repeatedly in my house during 1981 or so. Personally, I didn't care for The Bags circa the Decline period, but this song is still one of those that made me love punk music. Sadly underappreciated by too many. download

57. Dicks - "Dicks Hate the Police"
From the beginning lines of "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" this song just kicks all sorts of ass. This is one of the best singles of all time, never mind the genre. download

58. Buzzcocks - "Fast Cars"
If you're doing a music list and adding the Buzzcocks, chances are Orgasm Addict will be the pick. If I was doing and English punk compilation and was limited to one song, I'd pick Fast Cars. The Buzzcocks are one of my favorite bands of any time and Fast Cars in particular has ended up on more mixed tapes/CD's I've made than almost any other song. download

And now, three more from us.


59. Rancid - "Sidekick"
This one appeals to the comic book lover in me. Because I first heard this song and thought hell, yea. Vigilante’s sidekick. That’s kinda cool. Runnin’ around town in our superhero suits, one of us with a V and one with an S (for sidekick, of course) and we’d be gunning down bad guys like some punk rock Milk and Cheese and..hey....I think he’s talking about soup kitchens and feeding the poor, or maybe the big bad wolf huffing and puffing and going 187 on a motherfucking cop..oh hell, I don’t know, I just know that someday I’m gonna write a comic book and it will start out by saying “My name is Tim and I’m a lesser known character.” -M download

60. Operation Ivy - "Sound System"
Dude, this song makes me happy. I mean, almost all the songs I’ve written about so far are drenched in alcohol and drug memories and lots of young adult angst and overwrought emotions. But this song. This makes me fucking happy. It’s about creating something, turning words into song, making those words come to life, taking a thought you have in your head, making something of it, and it’s not yours anymore because you’ve put it out there and gave it to everyone. And it’s about being fucking happy, not giving in to the shit around you and just living in the moment. Well, that’s what I get out of it anyhow. box in my hand music by my side. skanking to the rhythm of the music by my side. Yea, dude. [disclaimer: I do not skank, have never skanked, will never, ever skank. Though I have been called a skank] - M download

61. Dead Milkmen - "Bitchin’ Camaro"
Hey, you can’t have a great punk song list without this. The first time I heard it this I was thinking, hey this whole fake banter thing is kinda clever, and then hey, they are bagging on the Doors and...dude! I fucking saw Crystal Ship at least a dozen times, man. They’re totally making fun of me! And I was all set to hate them and then the song really kicks in and by the time I got to “Tony Orlando and Dawn” I was hooked on the song and on the Milkmen. I’m drunk on unleaded!

And yea, I really saw Crystal Ship. A lot. Fuck you. I was young. -M download

62. Turbonegro - "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker"
I have no clue what this song is about. I woke up and heard this while passed out on a sofa. The words were like "Toliet bowls and puppies and motherfuckers?" I must have missed that. It had been a long night and I'm fucking half deaf. Put that thing on again and get me a beer cause we need to get what he is saying. Second play. "Toliet bowls and rubbing a dogs face in the dirt?" What the fuck is he saying? Third play. "Kick the sand in our face?" What the fuck? This is a song that grabs you and tells you it will fucking beat you if you don't like it. Love it to Deathpunk. -T download

63. New Bomb Turks - "I Want My Baby...Dead?"
Let's pick up the pace here. A song that you DON'T want to play at a sorority house. Even if you think it's the coolest thing you ever heard, explaining this to a bunch of girls in sweats is fucking hard. "He doesn't really mean he wants his girl dead, he is just sick of her. I don't want to explain this again." Hey dude, I'm not bagging on sorority chicks, but ...well yes I am. Dude, the song fucking rocks and lets you in on a little bit of inside information. Sometimes girlfriends don't rock and sometimes you feel you are better of alone. Meh. It happens. -T download

64. Subhumans Time Cover.jpgSubhumans - "Susan"
This might not be your favorite Subhumans song. You might not even call it punk rock. But to this day I still know the lyrics. This song always came up in my head when I saw someone who just wanted out. Trust me. A lot of people in my life wanted out and were just forced to keep going. But, they just wanted out. This tells you off a story of one girl who wanted out years before but couldn't go. A weird, dark song about her just wanting to die but staying alive just for others to smile, but in the end giving up. A really sad song about a girl who was forgotten in the end. -T download

update: the link to the turbo song has been fixed.

Comments

thanks, sister. sound system is right on time.

skank and skanker here.

(i'll have to keep hating rancid though.)

--------------


p.s. your link to mf is really get it on - is on the otherpost too -- seery.

--------------


I'm not a huge Rancid fan at all, I just really like that one song.

Fixed the motherfucker link.

--------------


Good pick with "Fast Cars." It's a bonus because you get a bit of "Boredom" with the intro.

AC

--------------


Scott is the man for that Fast Cars pick. Actually, if I was to pick a Buzzcocks tune it would be the 7" version of Boredom.

--------------


I'm probably not doing myself any favors by admitting that I love "Bitchin' Camaro," but what the hell: I love "Bitchin' Camaro," and always have.

--------------


Boredom's a great one as well. Their Product boxset is a constant in my house.

--------------






eXTReMe Tracker