i was a punk before you were a punk

music:
Skatenigs, "Stupid People Shouldn't Breed"
Television, "Marquee Moon"

I'm so proud of my son. He's 15 and plays lead guitar in a speed/thrash/punk metal band. When he was 9 years old, he had his first Mohawk haircut. I was jealous, by that time I was working in Engineering and couldn't really pull that kind of thing off anymore.

My daughter has her own style, kind of a surfer-Goth thing. She takes no shit from anybody, which has caused her some problems, but bodes well for her future.

I turned them on to Primus when they were little kids, and they both still dig it. My daughter even liked Primus when she was a C&W kid, and through her brief Spice period (ewww!!). Now she's 16 and into the ICP thang. I remember when ICP was just a club band, playing the bars. Never did see them, though they sounded interesting.

Got a plan, now. I'm going to make a mix CD for the kidlings called "I was a punk before you were a punk," and lay some classic tracks down for them. They'll love it.

How's this for a start:
"Blank Generation" - Richard Hell and the Voidoids
"Anarchy in the U.K." - the Sex Pistols
"God Save The Queen" - the Sex Pistols
"Friction" - Television
"London Calling" - the Clash
"Kiss Off" - Violent Femmes
"Blister In The Sun" - Violent Femmes
"White Punks On Dope" (live version) - the Tubes
"Mondo Bondage" (live version) - the Tubes
"Zero" - Smashing Pumpkins
"Chemical Imbalance" - Skatenigs
"Poundsauce" - Skatenigs
"Psycho Killer" - Talking Heads

Some people may argue that a few of these tunes, or groups, aren't punk per se. You don't believe me? Just step outside and see me! I was a punk before you were a punk! If you don't like it, you can bite my shiny metal ass.

And yes, grunge can be punk. Grunge is the cleaned-up son of punk.