h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

To help a guide I'm doing (very slowly!), it would help if you could tell me:

1) What you think is the most influential punk album: ...... 1st Velvet Underground?..... "Funhouse" by the Stooges? .... "Never Mind The B******s"? etc.

2) What is your favourite album: I realise this could be anything!!

Reasons for choices would be nice,
Cheers.

OK, are you counting Ian dury as punk?

I realise that the term "punk" can be quite broad, so whatever you hold or think to be punk, go for it!

Well, I'd say for best Punk album New Boots and Panties by Ian Dury and the blockheads or rum, sodomy and the lash by the pogues, but both of those bands are debatable as to wher=ther they are actually punk.

And for best album full stop, I change my mind on an almost daily basis, but right now it's a toss-up between Bat out of hell by meatloaf or pieces of you by jewel.

SORRY!!! line 2 should read... 2) Favourite Punk album.

So to recap (what a good start!)

1) Most influential punk album
2) Favourite punk album

Ooooh so many - I'll go along with the Stooges and VU; and the New York Dolls of course.

It also depends on whether you stick to the narrow "late 70s UK" stuff (thus ignoring the Ramones et al) or go to the other extreme and include some of the recent stuff that likes to think it's punk but sounds awfully familiar to those of us that were there in 1977 (brushes off bezipped, be-safety-pinned t-shirt) like the White Stripes.

Anyway, for what it's worth:
London Calling - The Clash (one of the few double albums ever to have warranted the extra vinyl)
The Ruts - Grin & Bear It
The Adverts - Crossing the Red Sea
and...
I'm going to go away and work on it...

And if we can have anything that's generally anti-establishment, then anything by the truly fantastic brilliant Alabama 3.

And while I'm at it I'll work on actually answering the question, too...

Narapoia, I would never ignore the Ramones!!

Hey ho, Let's go!!

I'm going to have to go and get out the vinyl...
*dodders off to spare room with support of walking stick*

Influence on the late 70's;

Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground
Stooges - Raw Power
New York Dolls
MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
Marc ('I know three Chords') Bolan

Influence on British punk after 1980;

Sex pistols - Never Mind the B******s
Clash - London Calling
The Damned Machine Gun Etiquette

Influence on American Skate-Punk (or whatever you want to call it);

Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material/Nobody's Heroes

Personal Fave;

The Damned - The Black Album

I think B******s probably influenced me most. Being about 12 or 13 at the time and discovering that *music* meant more than just the stuff Terry Wogan played while you got ready for school (thanks for that Mum), and that it could involve things like anger, protest and social or political comment rather than just love. That and the fact that it was something *anyone* with a guitar could do.
Not that any of that really mattered at the time, the shock value was possibly more important and the social comment side of it came along a little later (for me anyway) with things like Crass - The Feeding of the 5000 and Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit etc.

TSF

I think a lot of people are voting for their favourite rather than the most influential. I can see no competition. It was The Clash's first album, called The Clash. I can still remember first hearing the intro to Janie Jones. Quite simply matchless.

Unless you were able to secure as big a supply of amphetamine as fuelled the band while they were recording the album, that first album by the Clash is mostly nonsens, to be honest.

London Calling was far more influential on the bands that came afterwards because it was the first to show that 'punk' was a broader church than just banging out three chords in 4/4 rhythm.

Ah, i thought from your phrasing of the question that you menat 1)favourite punk album and 2)favourite other album

Hmm, iu'm not sure about most influential...

Are we going to get into a 'that wasn't Punk that was New Wave' type row are we?

Hmm, most influential punk album/band? Apart from the bands already mentioned, I'd say that Minor Threat were pretty influential in creating the whole sXe sub-division of punk. In the US, Black Flag were pretty big too. MDC (Millions of Dead Cops) and Agnostic Front are also pretty established bands on the whole US hardcore side of things

Bad Religion, Descendents, Green Day and Operation Ivy/early Rancid were probably among the biggest influences on that awful skate punk, 99% of which is complete crap

I'd probably say that geography is pretty important too, especially nowadays when the mainstream part of the 'scene' is dominated by american bands

What about the UK Subs, the Exploited etc?

English or American, it's the music I want to hear about. Some of the UK Subs stuff was alright but when I heard Husker Du and Black Flag, they were consigned to my "might play one day " pile!

Fugazi, Butthole Surfers, The Mob, D.O.A., Blitz, Discharge etc all have a different place in people's music collection. I dare say someone has an album recorded in the last 3 years that they think is the best ever!

Let me know.

Besides the (ace) Ramones the only US Punk Band to have commercial success in the UK were, I think, The Dead Kennedys. Unless you count stuff like Joan Jett.

I don't know about most influential, but I don't think anyone's mentioned X-Ray Spex yet and I thought it's time I did, as there aren't enough lead singers with dental braces.

I detest myself for being so unoriginal but I can't fight the fact that my favourite album is either 'Pet Sounds' or 'Revolver.'

Wot no Anti-Nowhere League?

"Hello Mrs Shaw could I borrow your lawn mower?...
...or parts of your body?"