20 pulverizing punk essentials from the 1970s

“I Hate the Rich” by the Dils (1977)

Just because the Ramones weren’t an angry political band, that didn’t mean American punks couldn’t snarl about how unfair the society was just like the Sex Pistols. Chip and Tony Kinman blazed out of the San Diego suburbs with “I Hate the Rich” in 1977. It started fast and got faster. It started out hating the rich but soon was hating everybody.

Like most of the bands referenced here, the Dils didn’t really last but they had an enormous influence on the up-and-comers. Their overtly political songs and righteous anger paved the way for a lot of punk music in subsequent decades. As the Dils were coming to an end at the end of the ‘70s, they played shows with a new band called the Dead Kennedys who would carry on that tradition.

“Three Girl Rhumba” by Wire (1977)

If you know Elastica’s Britpop classic “Connection,” you already know the opening riff of “Three Girl Rhumba.” The quartet’s debut album Pink Flag had the basic language of punk down pat but was far wittier than most of what was vomiting out of the London punk scene at the time. Colin Newman’s growling vocals had the power of any punk vocalist but also had a lightness that you would never hear from Johnny Rotten. The roots of art punk.

“Sonic Reducer” by Dead Boys (1977)

The other band that sprouted from the ashes of Cleveland’s Rocket From the Tombs was Dead Boys. Guitarist Cheetah Chrome and drummer Johnny Blitz chose to eschew the more melodious directions of the Ramones, Buzzcocks, and Wire and instead styled themselves as an American branch of the Sex Pistols. They found their Johnny Rotten in Stiv Bators, a vocalist with truckloads of attitude and just enough actual talent to front a punk band. Their music? The title of their 1977 debut album – with “Sonic Reducer” kicking things off – offers a clue: Young, Loud and Snotty.