POLL: Who was the best US 70's Punk Band

I voted Ramones/Television/Patti, but there are so many fantastic bands missing from the list (T. Heads and Blondie to name two)that my choices are almost meaningless in the scheme of things. Good to see Suicide on the list.

 

You have the very enviable benefit of having seen a lot of the bands you would likely add to the list!

 

I voted Ramones their self titled album is one my favorite albums ever.

 

While I’m only familiar with the NYC bands on the list which I saw numerous times. The Ramones defined punk. When you talk about Patti Smith Television, Talking Heads, Blondie, etc. They were all too skilled and lacked the aggression to be classified as punk. Suicide was an altogether different band they were pure artsy, part krautrock, part Silver Apples and beat poet.
UK punk was far more punk than the US.

 

Yes, absolutely. For example, Elvis Costello's My Aim is True dropped in 1977, as did the Talking Heads '77.

Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! came out the next year as did Parallel Lines (Blonde) to just name a few seminal New Wave albums.

In my experience, there was a pretty bright line at the time in my circles between what was considered punk and what was considered New Wave.

I liked groups in both categories--so no problem with me--but conflating the two could get one on the wrong side of some people at the time. Believe me.

Bill

 

Yeah, I know when these things were released, and I can certainly recognize them as being what is classified as New Wave. I just had no idea people were already calling it that contemporaneously in the ‘70s. Look at that, I learned something!

 

The Germs

 

Other - Pere Ubu was the only interesting punk band from the US or anywhere.

 

Patti Smith is a pretensious opportunist.

 

I voted 'other,' because Hall and Oates weren't on the list.

 

Television's first gig was March 1974, although they had formed very late 1973 after the Neon Boys broke up.

 

Misfits

 

Gotta go with the Ramones. Love Television as well though.

 

I would say the same thing about Pere Ubu who emerged out of the ashes of the garage rock outfit Rocket From The Tombs before releasing their first single, the extraordinary "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" b/w "Heart of Darkness", in 1975. They actually were influenced by the likes of Van Der Graaf Generator, Captain Beefheart and some of the German bands but they certainly put their own spin on this kind of art rock with a punk inflected sense of urgency.

 

Yes, New Wave definitely was a contemporaneous term used at the time to distinguish punk bands from the more pop oriented (if you will) acts that grew out of the same zeitgeist. 100%.

Many clubs in the day booked both punk and New Wave acts. There was a lot of cross-over (generally speaking) between fan bases, but there were also hard-core punks who kept a distance from New Wave acts.

What can you do? LOL.

Bill

 

I don't see 1975 as pre-dating the punk scene. Television, Ramones and others were already playing out in 1974 which is where I mark the beginning of it all, but I get that it seems a bit early to most.

 

The Dead Kennedys certainly drew a line in the sand between punk and new wave when they did “pull my strings” in 1980

 

LAMF

 

Well, Television was a bit earlier, but they both released their first singles in '75 and their debut albums in '77. Pere Ubu's early singles form a substantial legacy in themselves whereas Television only gave us "Little Johnny Jewel", which is promising but not as fully formed, imo.

 

i am currently reading "please kill me" which is an oral history of new york and related music that preceded punk , developed punk and was punk. i never considered johnny thunders or the heartbreakers punk nor do i consider televison or patti smith punk. on that list the only ones i consider punk are ramones-avengers-germs-richard hell and the voidoids- the dead boys were kinda punk but more just hard rock. my favorite from the list is johnny thunders and the heartbreakers the most punk would have to be the germs. if you have not and are interested in late 60's - early 80's underground /punk scene in NYC and beyond do yourself a favor and grab a copy of "please kill me" it's a real page turner. and for the record i am going to vote for the heartbreakers cause i love L.A.M.F. so much.

 

There's a lot of Roxy Music in Pere Ubu.

 

I had the opportunity to see Pere Ubu at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, summer of 1979 IMS.

They had a small--but fierce--cult following among students at UC Berkeley (where I was in school) at the time and I was stoked that they played LA when I was home on summer break.

Not sure that I personally considered Pere Ubu a punk rock band, as much as an art rock band, but I was definitely a fan.

I've got these arms and legs that flip flop

Flip flop

Bill

 

The Screamers.

 

Ramones, no question. I would also have voted for Iggy and the Stooges except they weren't on the poll.

 

Shouldn't you just answer honestly?

I mean, if it's a toss-up, then sure - pick the underdog.

But if you clearly prefer the "overdog", vote for that one!