Spot The Buzzcocks lie:
1. The Buzzcocks invented pop-punk.
2. The Buzzcocks were punk's first deliberately D.I.Y. band.
3. The Buzzcocks influenced almost every band from Manchester since 1976.
4. The Buzzcocks re-defined the love song forever.
5. The Buzzcocks were the greatest singles band ever.
They're all lies
Or at least they're the sort of contentious statements music journos (and lowly bloggers) proffer to try and dress up our ragged subjectivity in the straight-cut objectivity of rankings and chart placing and peer-reviewed twaddle.We all know that no band or man (even Bill Monroe) invents a genre single-handedly, that Doing It Yourself is long-established rock n' roll tradition (like Elvis making that record for his mom), that Manchester's musical traditions is greater than any one band, that the love song is both static and ever-changing and that what makes a 'singles band' is fairly nebulous.
They're also all a bit true.
It's hard to just deny that The Buzzcocks brought an immaculate pop sense to a British punk scene that eyed melodies suspiciously or that by putting out Spiral Scratch'on their own New Hormones label that they indelibly linked punk to the D.I.Y. philosophy, that lots of Manchester bands from The Smiths to the Stone Roses to some NME Indie Landfill band du jour learned their trade partly from The Buzzcocks, that songs like"Ever Fallen In Love" brought a certain cynical sharpness to the love song tradition and that Singles Going Steady is, totally sub-fucking-jectively the greatest collection of singles (A's and B's together) ever!
This collection of Peel Sessions that The Buzzcocks did between 1977-1979 are out-of-print and if you want to hear them re-mastered and added to demos and singles (i.e. the way a re-issue should be done!) then go get the new double-album re-issues of the band's first three albums.
The Peel Sessions link is in the comments - REALLY!.
Speaking of comments, What is the truth about the Buzzcocks?
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Hows this- I have seen them many a time over the years, including with my very pregnant wife at an in-store performance; at a show in which I lost my wedding band, and at a show in which I introduced my pal to the wonders of the boos-cawks. And plenty others... including one coming up in a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteGreatest punk singles band.... I can live with that.
Punk pop perfection ...I'm happy nowadays.
ReplyDeleteIt's BUZZCOCKS, not "the" BUZZCOCKS for chrissake !
ReplyDeleteEVERYBODY's happy nowadays!
ReplyDeleteOf all the English bands Buzzcocks are my second favorite behind the Damned. Good choice for a Monday.
ReplyDeleteI saw them at the Palace in Los Angeles back in the 80's -- i was in punk rock heaven that night.
ReplyDeleteTheir songs are timeless - they age very well. We'll all be enjoying their music when we're old and gray !
Nazz
ReplyDeleteDamn but your comments are sometimes better than my posts - thanks again!
Marky
"Pure Pop Perfection" - fuck yeah!
Philliipe
These sort of definite article problems occur with Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Talking Heads etc. the 'The' just shows up sometimes (even my 'Singles Going Steady" cd has 'The Buzzcocks on the spine.
unisphere
Thanks!
oldrockers
Amen!
convertido
Out here it was a rainy Monday, which just made the need for Buzzcocks greater.
Anon
Yeah they age extremely well, maybe that's why some people consider them 'the Beatles of punk'.
I remember buying Spiral Scratch on the day it came out and was in stock at the local specialist punk record dealer's shop. I had no idea how lucky I was to be able to get to that shop with all the latest releases. Spiral Scratch was a shocker - in the best possible sense - same sort of impact as the Ramones LP, and streets ahead of anything the Pistols ever released, for shock value, thrills, and inspiration. Brilliant stuff.
ReplyDeleteYeah that record shook up music !
DeleteBuzzcocks... Glasgow Apollo... I'm fifteen support are Joy Division....I get it...effortless...timeless...beauty.
ReplyDeleteWish I'd have been there!
ReplyDelete