[chadbang]

i was a big fan of both. huge fan. thirty years later i'm bored by the clash, but still highly fond of the sex pistols.

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax /img/forum/go_quote.gif well really, there should be no debate that the first punk band was The Ramones.

Hear, hear…no qualms whatsoever. Oh, and for the record I love the Pistols, too. Isn't that, like, one of the greatest band names ever?

 

[nickyboyo]

Ah the Ramones, MC5, New York Dolls, etc etc- i just love proto-punk, punk and post punk. Cheers punk freaks

 

[clam]

Love PiL and The Clash...but I did happen to mind the bollocks.

 

[NacMacFeegle]

Saw both bands in my (misspent?) youth, and loved them both. However the Pistols sound tired to me these days and Sandinista is rarely far from my ears...gotta go with the Clash!

 

[kimura]

The Clash+1

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax /img/forum/go_quote.gif well really, there should be no debate that the first punk band was The Ramones. The Stooges, Dolls and even the MC-5 were badass proto-punk bands, but it was The Ramones that took their raw power (so to speak) and squeezed all the unnecessary stuff out until all that was left was punk, nothing else.

I can't believe the Ramones get their first mention this deep into the thread. They were first, and their initial appearances in England are credited with insipring the British punk explosion. From Wikipedia:

It wasn't until they made a brief tour of England that they began to see the fruits of their labor: a performance at The Roundhouse in London on July 4, 1976 (second-billed to the Flamin' Groovies), organized by Linda Stein, was a resounding success. Their Roundhouse appearance and a club date the following night helped galvanize the burgeoning UK punk rock scene, inspiring future punk stars, including members of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Damned. The Flamin' Groovies/Ramones double bill was successfully reprised at The Roxy in Los Angeles the following month, fueling the punk scene there as well.

And no mention of the Dead Boys? In terms of punk attitude and raw aggression, they went toe-to-toe with the Ramones, and appeared at CBGBs during that same mid-70s era. When I saw them in '79, they were still downright scary. The only thing scarier was their audience, which confirmed every parent's worst nightmare about the punk movement.

I voted for the Pistols. As great as the Clash were, they had really gone beyond punk by the time they released Give 'Em Enough Rope.

 

[YiddishHamburgla]

the clash all the way. for me it isn't even close. i don't even think the sex pistols are even in the same league. london calling is one of the greatest albums ever released in my opinion.

 

[Barock]

The Pistols defined modern Britain. The Clash merely reported on it.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YiddishHamburgla /img/forum/go_quote.gif london calling is one of the greatest albums ever released in my opinion.

No argument. But is it punk? The first Clash album, The Clash, is one of the landmarks of the punk movement, without a doubt. They were there at the beginning, and they were as sincerely punk as any of the other bands. But the members of the Clash were significantly older than the rest of the original punks; they really came out of the pub rock scene (also great) which preceded the punk explosion. And they had moved on by the time that second album appeared.

The Sex Pistols were purely a product of the moment (middle-aged reunions notwithstanding), and no band personified or represented the Summer of '77 the way they did.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can't believe the Ramones get their first mention this deep into the thread. They were first, and their initial appearances in England are credited with insipring the British punk explosion. From Wikipedia:

well, it's not really about American punk... note the title of the poll, "Titans of British Punk."

Quote:

I voted for the Pistols. As great as the Clash were, they had really gone beyond punk by the time they released Give 'Em Enough Rope.

of course, who knows what the Pistols may have done had they released more than one bona fide album. and i think The Clash's eponymous debut stands up quite well to Bollocks... especially the US release. "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" is a veritable punk epic, to name but one.

i'd say that the biggest difference is that The Clash were the punk of politics, The Sex Pistols were the punk of nihilism. a good argument could be made that the Pistols' brand of punk was more genuine, and certainly a more radical departure from its rock and roll roots.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax /img/forum/go_quote.gif [...]the Pistols' brand of punk was more genuine, and certainly a more radical departure from its rock and roll roots.

I see the Pistols as a return to rock n roll roots, not a departure. After years of migraine-inducing guitar noodling and witless drum solos, they stripped the music back to its essentials. They didn't sound like the original rockers, but they used the original sound of rock n roll as raw material.

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

Longterm it has to be The Clash, but I voted for the Pistols. They showed that no talent kids could conquer the world. What more do you need?

And thanks for the Dead Boys mention DrBenway. But go one step further back for US proto-punk. Check out Rocket From The Tombs and Peter Laughner. They never recorded an official album, but when they split they became the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu and drove the Ohio - New York punk nexus that grew a lot of bands. Laughner even played in Television for a bit if I'm not mistaken.

A_Sr.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Clash, that was an easy one, Sex pistols couldn't last!

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Absorbine_Sr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Longterm it has to be The Clash, but I voted for the Pistols. They showed that no talent kids could conquer the world. What more do you need? And thanks for the Dead Boys mention DrBenway. But go one step further back for US proto-punk. Check out Rocket From The Tombs and Peter Laughner. They never recorded an official album, but when they split they became the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu and drove the Ohio - New York punk nexus that grew a lot of bands. Laughner even played in Television for a bit if I'm not mistaken. A_Sr.

Not too long ago, I stumbled across two "albums" by Rocket From the Toombs on eMusic: Rocket Redux and The Day The Earth Met Rocket From the Tombs. It was a total head trip for me to hear this group, which I had vaguely heard of, after all these years of listening to the Dead Boys. SQ is pretty horrific on the archival stuff, but it's great anyway. And how bad can Rocket Redux be, with both Richard Lloyd and Cheetah Chrome involved? Not the original band, I realize, but it makes my heart swell to hear this stuff...it reminds me so much of the early days of American punk.

Until a couple of years ago, Cheetah Chrome used to play NYC fairly often, usually at The Continental, which sadly has followed the Bottom Line, Trammps, The Lone Star, and CB's into extinction. It's actually still there, but they don't regularly present live music anymore; it's just another Manhattan scene these days, which is, as I said, sad.

I didn't know that Laughner was in Television, even briefly! But it doesn't surprise me, given how interconnected all the bands on that scene were.

You obviously know your rock n roll!