My brain is hanging upside down

Favourite punk songs. Go.....

This isn't really a proper list, it's kinda ignoring what got me into punk and focussing on "classics". My original introduction to that kinda thing was the album "kerplunk" by Green Day, but I kinda went from there and checked out everything else that I could!!

A lot of people will probably write this off as "dumb" but I hold a massive value to punk rock and it's been so important to the way I have developed my taste in music, so I wanna write something about some of the songs that I love!!!

5. Sex Pistols - God save the queen

This is a pretty standard choice I guess... but what are you gonna do??! It's kinda gotta be in the list. It begins like a fucking whirlwind, kinda summing up what it's all about even before Rotten starts singing. The sex pistols are where it all began as far as a lot of people are concerned and I can't really leave them out!!! Its bile. It's aggression. It's punk. "no future" pretty much sums it all up.

4. The Ramones - My brain is hanging upside down (Bonzo goes to Bitburg)

This is a pretty weird choice. It's kinda late, both in terms of when it was released (1986) and when i discovered it. I think I heard it first properly on the soundtrack to the movie "School of Rock", which I guess is kind of embarrassing for a list like this!! As such though it's far from the first Ramones song I heard and should probably make way for "Blitzkrieg Bop" or something similar, something more seminal and important!! But this song just makes me feel good and fuck it but sometimes i want to feel good!! Apparently its about Ronald Reagan.....

3. Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Blank Generation

Richard Hell was in "television" (who are absolutely brilliant), but went onto lead "Richard Hell and the Voidoids" who released their album "blank generation" in 1977. The title track doesn't get the recognition it deserves, the guitar sound on the song, particularly in the solos (what the fuck??!), is stunning and the chorus blows me away. "I belong to the blank generation and I can take it or leave it each time!!". It might seem obvious but it really speaks for a generation (or not).

2. The Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have fallen in love with?

This song is the catchiest thing in the world. The singer of the buzzcocks has a fairly annoying Manchester accent whenever I've heard him speak, but in this song his delivery is amazing. The lyrics are spot on too:

"You disturb my natural emotions
You make me feel I'm dirt
And I'm hurt
And if I start a commotion
I'll only end up losing you
And that's worse"

Everyone knows this feeling. But it’s not going to stop you getting into the same situation again. At least you can listen to this song when it happens!! (insert some other life affirming statement….whatever, it’s a good song).

1. The only ones - Another girl, another planet

Until recently the only ones very rarely got a look in at all. This has changed somewhat since the use of “another girl, another planet” on a recent Vodafone advert. This has been something of a dilemma for me…..I was initially pleased that the song got used as it’s one of my favourite songs….but the amount of times I was subjected to hearing it tested even my resolve to enjoy it.
This song is by far their most famous, however they have plenty of other great stuff and are really worth checking out. They are far from your conventional punk rock band, with a certain competence in their playing ability that would appal some of their peers and a willingness to experiment with influences from other styles of music. I first heard this song in a British comedy film called “different for girls”. It’s a film very much from the Brit pop kinda era, but it has a great soundtrack. The movie is about a guy who has a sex change operation and becomes a woman (and eventually fucks his best mate from school, we’ve all been there though, right?) There is a scene in the film where two of the characters dance around in a bedroom to “another girl, another planet”. I forgot about this film pretty much completely for a long time apart from remembering there was a great song in it at one point. When I eventually got to see the film again I found out that it was this song and its been one of my favourites ever since. The use of the song in the film is perfect, it just makes you want to throw yourself around the room because you don’t give a shit and neither does anyone else.

Space travel's in my blood, there ain’t nothing I can about it.


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