Punk
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the punk artistic movement. Combine with other tags for subgenres.
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Wipers – “Youth of America” (1981)
The murky production on Youth of America is amazing—dark and hollow. Perhaps the perfect halfway point between punk and post-punk music. The music is still aggressive, it’s just that the textures contain it, allowing that energy to echo in its confinement and build up greater impact. Of course, it would be wrong of me to… (read more)
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Nirvana – “Nevermind” (1991)
Nevermind‘s praise is definitely deserved, as it contains some of the greatest pop/rock songwriting ever put to record. Any song here could be a single (except for the possible exception of the mellower “Polly”). Even better, the songs are backed by the authentic and relatable emotions of the depressed and alienated frontman and songwriter, Kurt… (read more)
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Fugazi – “Red Medicine”
There was a hot minute when Red Medicine was my favorite Fugazi album. I was probably (and reasonably) overexcited about hearing them take such a stronger direction towards the noise rock they always flirted with. Indeed, there are some Sonic Youth-esque jams here. When they get it on, the results are a Fugazi unlike all… (read more)
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Black Flag – “Damaged”
On Damaged, Greg Ginn is one of the best punk guitarists I’ve ever heard. His semi-droning buzzsaw riffs are sharp enough to probably grind through metal if played at a high enough volume. Sadly, their edge is dulled by Henry Rollins’ dumb meathead lisp. He’s like the Rocky Balboa of vocalists, but at least Rocky… (read more)
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Wipers – “Wipers Box Set” (2001)
Wipers Box Set compiles almost all of Wipers’s best work—certainly their best albums. Wipers produced some of the catchiest punk tunes of the ’80s. Greg Sage is a wonderful guitarist who mixes melody with aggression in a way that predicted the alternative rock movement to follow. His voice is deep and rough, making him sound… (read more)
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Mudhoney – “March to Fuzz” (2000)
Disc one of March to Fuzz contains a lot of Mudhoney’s fan-favorite songs. For the most part, it’s pretty comprehensive, though there are plenty of fantastic tracks missing, primarily from Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles, Mudhoney (self-titled album), and Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. The compilation spans their first five albums up to Tomorrow Hit… (read more)
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The Replacements – “Let It Be” (1984)
Let It Be is the weakest of The Replacements “power trilogy,” despite what its reputation may tell you. Too much of the band’s punk phase still lingers without the induction of power pop that earned them their alternative sound and much of their identity. Paul Westerberg’s vocals are rough and grating, and he carries a… (read more)
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Nirvana – “Incesticide” (1992)
Incesticide is the Nirvana album I tend to listen to the most these days, since I’m not overly familiar with it and it has the most variety out of any of their albums for obvious reasons. As a fan, I wouldn’t throw away any of the songs here, but at the same time there’s a… (read more)
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Nirvana – “With the Lights Out” (2004)
With Kurt Cobain having tragically passed away, Courtney Love continues to cherish his memory by building and spending the fortune he amassed for his work. With the Lights Out is a posthumous release compiling a bunch of rare and/or unreleased Nirvana tracks. The bulk of these are made up of live recordings and demos of… (read more)
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The Stooges – “The Stooges” (1969)
It’s surprising how big of a leap The Stooges made from their self-titled debut to I. Ron Asheton’s guitar freakouts are sparser and not as wild as they would be on the next two albums, underselling the band’s raucous energy that made them such a notable act in rock music of the time. Iggy Stooge is… (read more)