Let's pretend it is Christmas morning and you do not want to do the normal thing of sitting at the piano with your siblings and calmly singing Christmas carols until everyone in the house wakes up so you can open presents. Or have breakfast and then open presents. I do not know your routine because that would be weird.
This year, though, you won't sing Christmas carols. You are going to surprise everyone and eschew the holiday tunes and instead scream out some good old-fashioned punk tracks that Santa would love. This will be a Christmas to remember for sure!
But which songs do you choose? And how many? Let's say you are going to do 50 songs (we are talking punk here so they are normally short tracks). Here are three suggestions.
Dropkick Murphys – "Shipping Up To Boston"
I'm going with the low-hanging fruit to begin here. I am not writing that because the song is bad because it is quite the opposite. But your family and friends should already know this tune.
There aren't even that many words:
"I'm a sailor Peg and I lost my leg/Climbing up the top sailsI/lost my leg"
Followed by:
"I'm shipping up to Boston/I'm shipping up to Boston/I'm shipping up to Boston/I'm shipping off/To find my wooden leg"
But you cannot help but scream this Dropkick Murphys song. And everyone else will be screaming along with you.
The Interrupters – "She’s Kerosene"
If you start with this song, the other people in the house will be peeved at you, so fair warning. They will be jolted awake. So much so that they might miss the fun that this track is.
And if they can get over their initial anger, you can bet the words, "Time...time...time...whoa oh...I've been burned for that last time" will be stuck in their heads for the rest of their lives. But this Interrupters song slays so it's worth it.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – "The Impression That I Get"
The song begins simply enough with some guitar picking, but you know...ska-like. Then the horn blare and everyone is now wide awake. But the chorus? Oh yes!
There are few choruses ever written that beg you to sing along with them more than "The Impression That I Get." And if you think this song is not punk, you might be missing the ethos of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Heck, there's even a scream that begins the chorus.