Punk
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the punk artistic movement. Combine with other tags for subgenres.
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Sonic Youth – “Goo”
Perhaps the apex of Sonic Youth’s output, "Goo" has the band reach equilibrium with listless noise, pop hooks, and their iconic, idiosyncratic style. (read more)
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Minutemen – “The Punch Line” (1981)
I was already prepared to say “too much hardcore, not enough post-hardcore” after listening to What Makes a Man Start Fires?, which is significant because I’m a big fan of one and care little for the other. No points for guessing which. I don’t hate The Punch Line. I just don’t care about (almost) any… (read more)
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The Damned – “The Black Album”
What a fucking cool album cover. It’s like an emblem you’d see emblazoned on the front gate of Dracula’s castle. The Black Album is a certain curiosity in The Damned’s discography, as the group are almost entirely known for their earlier simple “brat punk” albums, but they broke out of that stereotype more and more… (read more)
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Sleater-Kinney – “No Cities to Love” (2015)
The induction of post-punk rhythms into Sleater-Kinney’s sound makes ‘No Cities to Love’ a very hoppin’ affair, and something being more dance-y is always better. (read more)
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Nirvana Retrospective
It’s not easy making people who aren’t Nirvana fans understand. In fact, I’m inclined to say it’s downright impossible. You have to hear them at just the right time, at just the right moment in life to feel what they’re trying to say in their music. For a comparison, it’s like The Catcher in the… (read more)
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The Clash – “Cut the Crap”
Okay, everyone makes fun of the obvious irony in Cut the Crap‘s title, but really, the self-awareness here is killin’ me. Let’s take a look at the lyrics for “North and South”: “We ain’t got lifeDon’t want a cardboard cut-outDon’t want a plastic knife Now I know time can marchWith its charging feetNow I know… (read more)
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Fever to Tell” (2003)
Rebellious girl rock is such a great concept with me, so why do I have the damndest time finding any I truly can’t resist? On Fever to Tell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound like X-Ray Spex with less balls. Fortunately, they use that extra space to get their groove on with some repetitive dance rhythms; but there’s never… (read more)
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Refused – “The Shape of Punk to Come”
"The Shape of Punk to Come" has the band Refused delivering a manifesto to the punk movement, daring them to be ambitious and unpredictable. (read more)
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Wipers – “Is This Real?” (1980)
It’s really cool listening to Is This Real? and realizing how much Nirvana took from it. Of course, Kurt Cobain cited Wipers as an influence constantly. That influence is never more obvious than on songs like “D-7” and “Potential Suicide,” which Cobain borrows the vocal stylings of on earlier Nirvana tracks, like the kind on Bleach or… (read more)
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John Zorn – “Naked City” (1990)
A general issue I have with genre-blending experiments is that they usually don’t deliver on their premise. John Zorn’s Naked City rarely does either, usually alternating between its jazz and grindcore instead of truly melding them into a uniform sound. Without that, this is just two separate genres on one album; a novel collaboration, but… (read more)