Wednesday!

Jaybird 36 Comments

Punk Rock didn’t make sense to me in the 80’s. The bands that the skaters listened to sounded like just a bunch of angry people. Black Flag, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies… it just sounded to me like a bunch of people yelling.

What can I say? I liked hippie music.

Anyway, one night in 1992, I was told “seriously, just listen to this one” and I said “okay, fine” and they played me a punk rock cover of a Byrds song. Yes, you know the one. Hüsker Dü.

Something broke in my brain. I didn’t merely hear the people yelling this time. Through the medium of the cover with which I was familiar, I heard them mean it.

So… what are you listening to?

Jaybird

Jaybird is Birdmojo on Xbox Live and Jaybirdmojo on Playstation's network. He's been playing consoles since the Atari 2600 and it was Zork that taught him how to touch-type. If you've got a song for Wednesday, a commercial for Saturday, a recommendation for Tuesday, an essay for Monday, or, heck, just a handful a questions, fire off an email to AskJaybird-at-gmail.com

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36 Comments

  2. Those bands were more hardcore than punk fwiw. Husker Du was indeed killer. They and X and the Ramones are better actual punk bands.

    • I never thought of Husker Du as punk, they and Soul Asylum were basically the start of the alternative rock scene, no?

    • greg, it’s all punk, no? Hardcore’s a subgenre rather than a separate one.

      Other names to drop, The Germs, Dayglo Abortions, Buzzcocks,

        • Hey, I thought the “they” in greg’s post referred back up to the OP’s mention of Black Flag, etc. Of course Husker Du wasn’t punk, and I wasn’t referencing them.

          I challenge you both to a battle in the mosh pit.

      • James – Sorry Honey, I’ll have to side with Plinko – Husker Du was never considered a punk band definitely part of the alternative scene though.

        • Wikipedia says they’re punk!

          And, just now, I added a paragraph about how Bob Mould is currently managing a bait shop in the Upper Peninsula.

          • bob mould is opening a bait shop in the UP????? That would be one rocking bait store.

          • Maybe I should dust of one of my Husker Du albums for him to sign when I finally make the trek to the part of the state I have yet to visit? It would be a deliciously dorky thing to do.

      • Well Alternative was a catch all term to refer to all the styles of music that were shut out of AOR radio in the 80’s. Punk was alt, hardcore was alt, new wave was alt, synth bands were alt, ska was alt.

        I tend to think for terms to be useful they have to have some specificity. I know people who will find a way to say everything is punk which seems useless to. I wouldn’t call hardcore a subgenre of punk, but i’m not sure there is any more of geeky topic to talk about.

        I’d call Husker Du a punk band. When punk waned every punk band that still moved was redefined as post-punk. In any case most of the best punk bands played a lot of styles, ie The Minutemen…another great band

        • You’re right. Alternative was a catch-all, Husker Du, Minutemen, and the Meat Puppets were different in that they were college radio darlings, considered a higher class than other 80s “punk” bands. I guess to me they are somewhere between Hard-Core and Punk regardless of what Wiki says – they seemed more high brow and attracted different crowds. They also incorporated a variety of different types of musicality into what they did which separate them from other punk bands of the day. People I knew that were more into those bands, while also into maybe bands like X were not generally into bands like the Cramps or the Germs, if that makes any sense.

  4. I was listening to “Cowgirl in the Sand” before I switched to the embedded song. I listened to about half of it before I stopped it and went back to Neil. If you really like hippy music try Rabbit Mckay’s “Tendency to be Free” and John Forgerty’s “Rambunctious Boy” or “Hotrod Heart”.

      • Yeah, It really hurts to be wasted and can’t find your way home. Traffic rules if you are feeling alright and don’t need a change of scene.

  5. I have been listening to more than enough NPR lately, so on my commute this morning I found myself listening (and subsequently rockin out) to Smash Mouth’s “All Star” and Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”. I am not proud of myself for knowing every single word to both of those songs.

  7. “winter is coming” — a track off what Yoko Kanno termed “Beautiful Noise,” shortly before deciding it should be destroyed. … which is why it’s now part of a soundtrack for a videogame.

  8. I was introduced to Foreigner at work today when a client made me sit down and watch a DVD of them in concert. Not bad.

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