This week's pick is a CD that came free with the NME in June 2005 to coincide with Green Day's huge shows at the Milton Keynes Bowl that summer. It comprises 14 tracks apparently chosen by the band to represent the best of punk rock, past and present. This might be my favourite ever magazine freebie based on the amount of great music it introduced me to and I still play it on occasion. Lets dive in.
1. My Chemical Romance - Give 'Em Hell, Kid 🔵
What an intro - it races in like a motorcycle going at twice the speed limit. This would have been one of the first MCR songs I heard, as this came out a couple of weeks before I bought their album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. It's a really exciting song with its relentless pace, guitars which are almost heavy-metal-sounding, the effects on Gerard Way's voice... This is the shape of punk to come and it sounds amazing.
What an intro - it races in like a motorcycle going at twice the speed limit. This would have been one of the first MCR songs I heard, as this came out a couple of weeks before I bought their album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. It's a really exciting song with its relentless pace, guitars which are almost heavy-metal-sounding, the effects on Gerard Way's voice... This is the shape of punk to come and it sounds amazing.
2. The Distillers - Drain The Blood 🔵
Brody Dalle is so cool and I love the combination of her voice with the buzzsaw guitar part. Drain The Blood is dripping with attitude - if this song was a person you would cross the street when you saw it coming towards you. I love this mood for a great punk record and it has a cool false ending too.
Brody Dalle is so cool and I love the combination of her voice with the buzzsaw guitar part. Drain The Blood is dripping with attitude - if this song was a person you would cross the street when you saw it coming towards you. I love this mood for a great punk record and it has a cool false ending too.
3. Generation X - Kiss Me Deadly 🔵
Here we have Billy Idol before he went to Hollywood. The clean guitar and vocal for the first verse, then the drums and distortion midway through verse 2, means this is a bit different from some of the identikit 70s punk that I've written about in the past. The lyrics paint a scene of young love, loitering, experimenting and fighting - it's really evocative and you can see how their storytelling influenced the likes of Jesus Of Suburbia. This song keeps building until it passes the 4 minute mark, where it slowly comes to an end again. The whole thing feels a lot like sitting on the night bus watching the scenes outside and the other passengers on your way home.
Here we have Billy Idol before he went to Hollywood. The clean guitar and vocal for the first verse, then the drums and distortion midway through verse 2, means this is a bit different from some of the identikit 70s punk that I've written about in the past. The lyrics paint a scene of young love, loitering, experimenting and fighting - it's really evocative and you can see how their storytelling influenced the likes of Jesus Of Suburbia. This song keeps building until it passes the 4 minute mark, where it slowly comes to an end again. The whole thing feels a lot like sitting on the night bus watching the scenes outside and the other passengers on your way home.
4. Operation Ivy - Knowledge 🎀
A Cali punk classic that Green Day covered on their first album and have been playing live ever since. It's a fast and furious ode to the pressure of being asked to pick a career in your teens, with yelled lyrics including the iconic chorus "all I know is that I don't know nothing". I love everything about this song, it's one of my favourite punk tracks and I'm glad Green Day put it on this compilation so I could hear the original version alongside their slowed-down cover.
A Cali punk classic that Green Day covered on their first album and have been playing live ever since. It's a fast and furious ode to the pressure of being asked to pick a career in your teens, with yelled lyrics including the iconic chorus "all I know is that I don't know nothing". I love everything about this song, it's one of my favourite punk tracks and I'm glad Green Day put it on this compilation so I could hear the original version alongside their slowed-down cover.
5. AFI - The Days Of The Phoenix 🎀
I wasn't bothered about this song when I first heard it, but in the years that have followed it has become one of the first that spring to mind when I consider the contenders for my favourite song of all time. I love everything about The Days Of The Phoenix - the iconic guitar riff and bassline, Davey Havok's goth-influenced vocals, the massive singalong chorus... it's perfect. The spoken word interlude where Davey purrs about his dream of 'teenage death boys... teenage death girls...' might be my favourite bit, but honestly it's hard to choose. The lyrics are a recollection of going to punk shows at the Phoenix Theater - moshpits, punk kids - a dream of a place from Davey's youth that's now long gone. It gives me similar flashbacks to the magical underground world of the rock club I frequented in my early teens which sometimes played AFI for me on request. I love this song so much that when I saw the band play it live in 2017 I shed a single tear of joy.
I wasn't bothered about this song when I first heard it, but in the years that have followed it has become one of the first that spring to mind when I consider the contenders for my favourite song of all time. I love everything about The Days Of The Phoenix - the iconic guitar riff and bassline, Davey Havok's goth-influenced vocals, the massive singalong chorus... it's perfect. The spoken word interlude where Davey purrs about his dream of 'teenage death boys... teenage death girls...' might be my favourite bit, but honestly it's hard to choose. The lyrics are a recollection of going to punk shows at the Phoenix Theater - moshpits, punk kids - a dream of a place from Davey's youth that's now long gone. It gives me similar flashbacks to the magical underground world of the rock club I frequented in my early teens which sometimes played AFI for me on request. I love this song so much that when I saw the band play it live in 2017 I shed a single tear of joy.
6. Iggy & The Stooges - I Got A Right 🔵
The original punk. This sounds riotous despite it sounding like it was recorded in a tiny box. Iggy growls and screams the lyrics as if he's rolling around in broken glass (as he was known to do on stage from time to time). The song opens with a big messy chord and ends with The Stooges individually deciding to stop playing, as if they got bored and decided not to give the song a proper finish. The attitude of songs like St. Jimmy on American Idiot hold a mirror up to the likes of Iggy.
The original punk. This sounds riotous despite it sounding like it was recorded in a tiny box. Iggy growls and screams the lyrics as if he's rolling around in broken glass (as he was known to do on stage from time to time). The song opens with a big messy chord and ends with The Stooges individually deciding to stop playing, as if they got bored and decided not to give the song a proper finish. The attitude of songs like St. Jimmy on American Idiot hold a mirror up to the likes of Iggy.
7. MC5 - The American Ruse 🔵
Next up, another set of punk pioneers. This has a 60s groove and speaks of the hippy struggle - protest, the draft, the overall shitness of living in the USA. In other words, it's American Idiot; the American Ruse, not the American Dream. Still, it's a far out song with a hip guitar solo and it's cool to hear something in this style that has the punk attitude.
8. Alkaline Trio - Back To Hell 💜
We come bang up to date - for 2005, anyway - with a cut from the contemporary Alkaline Trio album, Crimson. I wrote about them on the Kerrang Best Of 2005 entry and these aren't the only 2 magazine CDs I have with songs from this album, so I think Alkaline Trio's label were doing a big push to shift units (it's a great album though, I will get to it at some point). The drums are the focal point on this, so fast and chaotic, and like MCR the song hits you with a punch. It has a massive chorus paired with the band's trademark dark lyrics: references to pills, hell, sin, ash, bugs... you name it. Again it comes in under 3 minutes, a non-stop, heart-racing punk jam. Maybe one of their best songs, in my opinion.
We come bang up to date - for 2005, anyway - with a cut from the contemporary Alkaline Trio album, Crimson. I wrote about them on the Kerrang Best Of 2005 entry and these aren't the only 2 magazine CDs I have with songs from this album, so I think Alkaline Trio's label were doing a big push to shift units (it's a great album though, I will get to it at some point). The drums are the focal point on this, so fast and chaotic, and like MCR the song hits you with a punch. It has a massive chorus paired with the band's trademark dark lyrics: references to pills, hell, sin, ash, bugs... you name it. Again it comes in under 3 minutes, a non-stop, heart-racing punk jam. Maybe one of their best songs, in my opinion.
9. Deftones - Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) 💜
One of the less obviously punk tracks, this is like a metal band discovering shoegaze, with oppressive droning guitars and Chino Moreno's drawn-out vocals. It sounds like driving through a really heavy storm, the wall of sound washing over you like sheets of torrential rain. Be Quiet And Drive is one of my go-to songs if I want to listen to something heavy; it ticks all of my boxes, despite being another of the songs that I didn't 'get' when I first got this CD as a 12 year old. I've seen Deftones live twice - once at a festival with MCR where my main memory is being at the edge of a muddy moshpit and trying not to fall in, and the other time I listened to them from the floor at the back of a room, recovering emotionally from the AFI set I mentioned above.
One of the less obviously punk tracks, this is like a metal band discovering shoegaze, with oppressive droning guitars and Chino Moreno's drawn-out vocals. It sounds like driving through a really heavy storm, the wall of sound washing over you like sheets of torrential rain. Be Quiet And Drive is one of my go-to songs if I want to listen to something heavy; it ticks all of my boxes, despite being another of the songs that I didn't 'get' when I first got this CD as a 12 year old. I've seen Deftones live twice - once at a festival with MCR where my main memory is being at the edge of a muddy moshpit and trying not to fall in, and the other time I listened to them from the floor at the back of a room, recovering emotionally from the AFI set I mentioned above.
10. Dead Kennedys - California Uber Alles 🔵
Time for some politics. The intro to this song has a sinister surf-rock vibe before Jello Biafra begins his tirade, comparing the Californian governor to the Nazi regime. The whole thing sounds really evil and frightening, as if that one Beach Boy who knew Charles Manson got the rest of the band into Satanism. Again, the influence on American Idiot is clear, both musically in that the riff sounds like the melody to Extraordinary Girl, and lyrically - Green Day cover similar subject matter on the b-side Governator.
Time for some politics. The intro to this song has a sinister surf-rock vibe before Jello Biafra begins his tirade, comparing the Californian governor to the Nazi regime. The whole thing sounds really evil and frightening, as if that one Beach Boy who knew Charles Manson got the rest of the band into Satanism. Again, the influence on American Idiot is clear, both musically in that the riff sounds like the melody to Extraordinary Girl, and lyrically - Green Day cover similar subject matter on the b-side Governator.
11. Filter - Captain Bligh 🔵
This is pretty good, considering Filter are, I think, one of those post-grunge US alt-rock radio bands that I usually find pretty lame. The mix of layered guitar parts, pounding drums and dark lyrics keep up that relentless pace set by MCR and Alk3, and the chorus slows things down and gets more Deftonesy. In the second half of the song we get an electronic breakdown, a funk guitar solo, acoustic guitar, drum machine and piano fade out, which is a lot of elements to throw in and some work better than others. Again there are shades of Green Day's 9-minute epics from this era but Green Day do it much better.
This is pretty good, considering Filter are, I think, one of those post-grunge US alt-rock radio bands that I usually find pretty lame. The mix of layered guitar parts, pounding drums and dark lyrics keep up that relentless pace set by MCR and Alk3, and the chorus slows things down and gets more Deftonesy. In the second half of the song we get an electronic breakdown, a funk guitar solo, acoustic guitar, drum machine and piano fade out, which is a lot of elements to throw in and some work better than others. Again there are shades of Green Day's 9-minute epics from this era but Green Day do it much better.
12. Flamin' Groovies - Golden Clouds 🟢
We get one big messy chord to introduce this - the same as the Stooges used earlier, but I think this probably came first. I don't know anything else about the Flamin' Groovies aside from this song in this context but both the band name and harmonies are big clues to it being from the 60s. It's psychedelia mixed with a bit of a country twang and I can imagine hippies getting down to it at a Happening. I don't think it sounds really 'punk' aside from that intro but it's a groovy song and I quite like it.
We get one big messy chord to introduce this - the same as the Stooges used earlier, but I think this probably came first. I don't know anything else about the Flamin' Groovies aside from this song in this context but both the band name and harmonies are big clues to it being from the 60s. It's psychedelia mixed with a bit of a country twang and I can imagine hippies getting down to it at a Happening. I don't think it sounds really 'punk' aside from that intro but it's a groovy song and I quite like it.
13. Stiff Little Fingers - Tin Soldiers 🟢
After an almost entirely American compilation (I think Generation X are the sole British contribution), we draw to a close with an Irish punk classic courtesy of Stiff Little Fingers. They're political, like Green Day and some of the others here, but they're not singing about far-off wars in Iraq or Vietnam - their trouble is on their home turf. It has an army march rhythm with a chanted chorus and lyrics about young men giving up their youth to fight in a war they don't believe in. It would be better (and I'd probably have rated it blue rather than green) if the outro wasn't so long - clocking in at 2 minutes, it's longer than some of the other songs last in their entirety. Even still, it's a great political statement of a punk record.
After an almost entirely American compilation (I think Generation X are the sole British contribution), we draw to a close with an Irish punk classic courtesy of Stiff Little Fingers. They're political, like Green Day and some of the others here, but they're not singing about far-off wars in Iraq or Vietnam - their trouble is on their home turf. It has an army march rhythm with a chanted chorus and lyrics about young men giving up their youth to fight in a war they don't believe in. It would be better (and I'd probably have rated it blue rather than green) if the outro wasn't so long - clocking in at 2 minutes, it's longer than some of the other songs last in their entirety. Even still, it's a great political statement of a punk record.
14. Green Day - Letterbomb 🔵
The Kathleen Hanna 'nobody likes you' taunt that introduces this song is a tease, conjuring thoughts of the riot grrrl song that could and should have taken pride of place in this compilation (I think Brody Dalle of the Distillers is the only woman represented in these 14 bands). We end with an album cut from American Idiot with lots of punk hallmarks - urgency, political lyrics, huge drums all getting a look in. I always saw this as being tacked on to the end, a sort of encore after all of the other songs, but after thinking about how the last 13 numbers influenced American Idiot, it is actually good to hear Green Day at the end rather than opening with them. It's really hard for me to give a review of songs like Letterbomb because American Idiot has been part of my life for so long and I know every note of it inside out - it feels like it's as much a part of me as my fingers and toes.
The Kathleen Hanna 'nobody likes you' taunt that introduces this song is a tease, conjuring thoughts of the riot grrrl song that could and should have taken pride of place in this compilation (I think Brody Dalle of the Distillers is the only woman represented in these 14 bands). We end with an album cut from American Idiot with lots of punk hallmarks - urgency, political lyrics, huge drums all getting a look in. I always saw this as being tacked on to the end, a sort of encore after all of the other songs, but after thinking about how the last 13 numbers influenced American Idiot, it is actually good to hear Green Day at the end rather than opening with them. It's really hard for me to give a review of songs like Letterbomb because American Idiot has been part of my life for so long and I know every note of it inside out - it feels like it's as much a part of me as my fingers and toes.
For a free CD, the quality of this compilation is outstanding. Almost every song contained here still features in my playlists - some were immediate favourites, some have grown on me over the years, some acted as a gateway to discovering new scenes and bands who have become some of my most cherished. Until now, it hadn't dawned on me how much it functioned as a map to understanding where American Idiot came from too - that album changed my life and there are so many clues here to some of the less obvious influences that helped to make it. I also hadn't realised how many of the acts were American - it's a punk compilation without the Clash, the Pistols, the Ramones, the Buzzcocks... I think England has this impression that they invented and perfected punk with a token few US acts - a myth perpetuated by the NME - and here we have an alternate history which argues punk didn't explode from nothing in 1976 and die a couple of years later. I have a lot to thank Green Day and the NME for.
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