(The back cover with the “Submission” sticker)

It’s hard to overstate the impact and significance of Never Mind the Bollocks: controversial to the extreme even before its release, one of the best-selling punk records of all-time topping the UK album chart in ‘77 and it also appears on many many best-of album lists. From Allmusic: “Already anthemic songs are rendered positively transcendent by Johnny Rotten’s rabid, foaming delivery. His bitterly sarcastic attacks on pretentious affectation and the very foundations of British society were all carried out in the most confrontational, impolite manner possible. Most imitators of the Pistols’ angry nihilism missed the point: underneath the shock tactics and theatrical negativity were social critiques carefully designed for maximum impact. Never Mind the Bollocks perfectly articulated the frustration, rage, and dissatisfaction of the British working class with the establishment, a spirit quick to translate itself to strictly rock & roll terms. The Pistols paved the way for countless other bands to make similarly rebellious statements, but arguably none were as daring or effective. It’s easy to see how the band’s roaring energy, overwhelmingly snotty attitude, and Rotten’s furious ranting sparked a musical revolution, and those qualities haven’t diminished one bit over time. Never Mind the Bollocks is simply one of the greatest, most inspiring rock records of all time. “

The Sex Pistols had released four singles from the LP prior to its release: “Anarchy in the UK” in late ‘76, “God Save the Queen,” “Pretty Vacant” and “Holidays in the Sun.” While Sid Vicious appears prominently on the inner sleeve, he only played bass on one track, “Bodies” – his skills were so poor that producer Chris Thomas asked guitarist Steve Jones to record the bass tracks for the remaining songs (original bassist Glen Matlock was asked to do it first but because Malcolm McLaren didn’t pay him up front, Matlock refused to show).

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Damned Damned Damned is the band’s debut full-length release and it reached #36 on the UK charts. (It’s also credited as the first British punk album release in the 70′s.) It’s a true classic punk album: messy, funny, fast and loud (the LP label states “made to be played loud at a low volume” – probably due to relatively low production value). So many great tracks like “Neat Neat Neat,” “Fan Club,” “Stab Yor Back,” “New Rose,” the Stooges’ “I Feel Alright” and the foray into the dark-n-creepy goth sound on “Feel The Pain.”

I wrote about seeing The Damned play live in a previous blog post, but the story is amusing enough to repeat here. We went to The Damned show at The Rave in Milwaukee in either ‘98 or ‘99. Captain Sensible was walking around the venue pre-performance so we decided to talk to him, but Joe didn’t want to have a typical fan-musician encounter so instead opted to ask how tall he was (both men are on the tall side). A bit taken aback, Captain Sensible said “Blimey!” and having no idea who was taller, they stood back-to-back. It was Captain Sensible, by a bit.

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I personally didn’t find that quiet spot until around 1991 or so when my college roommate and I had our first apartment. Her boyfriend was spending a year abroad studying in London and we were tasked with keeping his vinyl collection safe for the year – he was a Dead Head and prog/classic rock fiend and this record was part of the stack of vinyl that resided at 204 N. Pinckney in Madison. We threw some epic parties during our time in that apartment and during one in particular I remember my friend Eric, having smoked a copious amount of weed, dancing and singing along to  “Velvet Green” and “The Whistler,” pipe in hand. (Those two songs are my favorites.) Eric is not a big guy and in that moment – he may have even been wearing green – I could have sworn we’d transported a particularly groovy dope-smoking woodland elf onto the fourth floor of a shitty student apartment building. It was amazing.

I’ll buy you six bay mares to put in your stable
Six golden apples bought with my pay.
I am the first piper who calls the sweet tune,
But I must be gone by the seventh day.

So come on, I’m the whistler.
I have a fife and a drum to play.
Get ready for the whistler.
I whistle along on the seventh day
Whistle along on the seventh day.

All kinds of sadness I’ve left behind me.
Many’s the day when I have done wrong.
But I’ll be yours for ever and ever.
Climb in the saddle and whistle along.

So come on, I’m the whistler.
I have a fife and a drum to play.
Get ready for the whistler.
I whistle along on the seventh day
Whistle along on the seventh day.

Deep red are the sun-sets in mystical places.
Black are the nights on summer-day sands.
We’ll find the speck of truth in each riddle.
Hold the first grain of love in our hands.

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Marquee Moon, Television’s debut LP, has been hailed as one of the greatest records of its time and is credited with helping build the foundation of post punk and alternative music. Allmusic says about the album, “Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group’s long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine’s words. That alone made Marquee Moon a trailblazing album – it’s impossible to imagine post-punk soundscapes without it.”

“Friction” is one track that I genuinely like and can appreciate the blues-influenced hard driving guitar licks mixed though an art-rock lens. “Elevation” feels proto-goth in spots, so that’s kinda cool. It will be viewed by most post-punk fans as heretical but I find the title track “Marquee Moon” to be tiresome. Yes, the guitar work is cutting-edge and intricate, but it just goes on and on and I’m kinda reminded of some Grateful Dead jams when I would take a break from trance dance, sit down and nod off for awhile.

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