Punk Rock

Punk took rock 'n' roll, ripped away its pretensions, and spat the raw power back at us with defiant force. This primordial beast of rebellion didn't just change music: it changed us, forever. The Sex Pistols waded in with the mighty nihilism of "Anarchy in the U.K.", the Clash mixed ska and social commentary to stunning effect on "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais", Stiff Little Fingers brought Northern Ireland into the politico-punk equation with "Alternative Ulster", Aussie outfit the Saints made a stunning statement with "I'm Stranded", and the Ramones predated them all, their "Blitzkrieg Bop" lighting the fuse that set off the punk explosion. The Buzzcocks prove that sex sells, and shocks, in Next Steps.

Go a little deeper underground with these phlegm-ish fire-starters, ripped from the heart of the ultimate three-minute, three-chord rebellion. The hugely influential Buzzcocks, who added intelligence and angst to the blindly chaotic energy of the prevailing punk ethos, smashed taboos with "Orgasm Addict" (released in 1977 and banned by the BBC), while Gang of Four filtered their northern English roots through New York punk mecca CBGB to produce the brilliant, roiling feedback-tempest of "Anthrax". Further west, the Dead Kennedys announced themselves with lunatic stomper "California Uber Alles", a satirical overhaul of the old German national anthem aimed at California governor Jerry Brown. The Slits inject the butt-cheeks of punk with comic mischief, in Deep Cuts.

Never have so few changed so much in so short a time. One minute, music was under the control of prog-rock dinosaurs. The next, the world was under assault from snot-nosed, safety-pinned punks, firing off three-chord volleys with amphetamine-paced fervour. The Slits had accompanied the Clash on their 1977 White Riot tour before they released debut album Cut in 1979 — the sub-two-minute "Shoplifting" showcases the band at its who-gives-a-toss finest. Over in the States, meanwhile, Patti Smith took the Who's monumental punk precursor "My Generation" and stuffed it headlong through the New York art-punk grinder, and Devo marked the transition to post-punk with a freaky, jerky re-jig of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".

In the mid-'70s, when some claimed rock had become a bloated dinosaur high on its own pretensions, a new breed of band picked up where the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls, and the Stooges (featuring Iggy Pop) had left off, paring the music down to its barest essentials: three minutes, three chords, and one hell of a bad attitude. Punk sliced through Blighty like a chainsaw, wiping out the establishment almost overnight — in its place rose hundreds of naive young contenders, each fired with a passion to create at least one timeless single. So gob and pogo with reckless abandon to these razor-sharp tracks, hurled at us by the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, and their comrades in rock revolution.