‘Rancid Reviews’ Top Ten Favourite Punk Rock Songs

This week we’ll be going through a top ten list of my favourite bands that fall into the Punk Rock area. But just to mix things up a little bit, I think instead of just focusing on a band or an album, i’ll talk about favourite individual songs by these groups too. I’m hoping we’ll get an interesting mix here. Some bands you’ll have heard of, others, maybe not. Some bands will be new to the scene, others may be a fair bit older. Some may be more straightforward Punk Rock, and others might be more Pop-Punk or Horror Punk. But the one thing that all of these songs will have in common is that they’re all amazing and a lot of fun to shout, mosh or head-bang to. So let’s get this list underway! 

10:- Misfits - Dig Up Her Bones

I’ve never really been a big fan of The Misfits. I know that they’re an iconic band and everything, but they’ve never struck me as anything all that great… Of course, there is always ‘Dig Up Her Bones’. I think my initial reason for liking this song was for the sake of nostalgia. There was a period in my teeny-tiny years where my brother would play this and I'd always remember it, even if I didn’t know the name of the band who played it. Since discovering who The Misfits were at sixteen, it’s always been quite easy for me to come back to this song and think about those days. Back when my brother would put on one of his mix CDs and I’d get showered with all sorts of unusual and cool music. Nowadays, ‘Dig Up Her Bones’ is usually an anthem I save for Halloween. It’s a good track for reliving some of that 80’s spooky horror style, the energy is strong and the music is well complemented by the lead vocals. I wouldn’t exactly mark it as the best Horror Punk I’ve ever heard, but maybe someday I’ll give Misfits another try. And who knows, maybe it’ll surprise me. But for the time being I think I'll stick with the one gem I was able to dig up. 

09:- Eekum Seekum - Pink Dollar$

Eekum Seekum is a LoFi Punk band that writes songs about LGBT+ rights. Now, Queer Punk has never really appealed to me all that much, despite being an openly gay man. But there is something about Eekum Seekum’s style that really gets me going. ‘Pink Dollar$’ was the very first song I came across by this group, and it just really stuck with me. It’s progression starts off with a nice, steady intro before cutting into a main structure that’s frantic and all over the place, all the time being laced with very rough vocals. This chaos and outrage is something that occurs in all their songs, but I don’t know, ‘Pink Dollar$’ kind of feels like a unique standout. If you manage to read the lyrics you get a very blatant message of the hypocrisy of money-making from hosting Gay Pride parades, and only acknowledging the family-friendly sides of the LGBT+ community. I do really like the rough edge to their music, especially with this one song. If you are interested, you can find a whole EP by Eekum Seekum on YouTube. But I will warn you. The recording quality isn’t exactly amazing, and if that’s something that will annoy you then I’d be prepared.

08:- Jerk Circus - Sorry

So fun fact! Jerk Circus was actually an early project started by some of the original members of Silverstein, including lead singer Shane Told, who provided vocals. Jerk Circus is basically early Silverstein, but without the screams and Post-hardcore. Songs by this band will usually be a lot faster and a lot shorter, embracing more of that high-energy, squeaky Pop-Punk sweetness of the late 90’s. Like many other songs by the Pre-Silverstein group, ‘Sorry’ is a loud and very angsty banger. Despite its Major keys and catchy tune, we have something here that's incredibly angry. The main focus of ‘Sorry’ is basically the singer bitching out someone who has really pissed him off in the past, yet during the chorus he also makes an apology. I think in younger years there were times when I heard this song and I found it to be quite good for venting about someone who had annoyed me. Listening back on it now, there’s something about it that I don’t really identify with anymore. I think it’s a good thing the members moved onto Silverstein when they did. Nevertheless, even if you don’t click with the lyrics nowadays, there’s still a lot of fun to be had with the teen-like music.

 07:- TLE (The Legitimate Excuse) - A Pretty Nice Little Dadurday

Much like Jerk Circus, The Legitimate Excuse began as a colourful Pop-Punk outfit, formed from members of a currently more successful and prominent band. In this case, we have a group founded by future members of Alesana, with singer and guitarist Shawn Milke as front man. In its early days, The Legitimate Excuse were a band who wrote songs about relationships and anguish. But now, more recently being labelled as TLE, the band re-branded themselves, writing songs for Punk and Pop-Punk fans who are now parents. My favourite more recent song by TLE would be ‘A Pretty Nice Little Dadurday’. This is a fun and mildly insane little song that, despite being played in Minor keys, demonstrates the lovely yet sometimes messy aspects of being a parent to young children. Shaun Milke’s high pitched singing complements this style of music perfectly, yet what really makes this song so humorous is it’s music video. A mad rush, live bedroom concert with little children as the audience, jumping on the bed and throwing things around. A good music video and song indeed. Also, bonus points for having a cookie monster as your drummer, guys!

06:- Rise Against - Give It All

I don’t always appreciate Rise Against as much as I used to. There was a time when I was really into them, but eventually, I began to listen to them less frequently, often choosing heavier, more Screamo like bands instead. But Rise Against is a very strong group nonetheless! There are lots of songs like ‘Injection’, ‘Under The Knife’ and ‘Savior’ that will bring me a bit of heartfelt clarity. Of course, none of them have quite stuck with me in the way that ‘Give It All’ does. Whenever I think about Rise Against, my mind will usually head straight for this song. ‘Give It All’ tends to feel like a beginning when played outside of the context of an album, albeit a reluctant beginning, but one that demonstrates a reality. The music and vocals reflect the start of something that’s hard, murky, and oftentimes difficult to see through. Like an early morning, or the beginning of a dream passion faced with adversity. Despite this, the words and the rising zoom of the bass in the chorus shows the potential hope. It shows us that even though you’ll have to put in a lot of effort and hard work to bring about a change in your life, there’s always a reason to keep going and give it your all!

05:- I Am The Avalanche - Dead And Gone

‘Dead And Gone’ is my first and favourite early song by this band, but surprisingly enough, I’d only been able to hear it from a fan favourite live video. The song was very well performed and I would seriously recommend checking the video out! But the fully recorded studio version is a little better. ‘Dead And Gone’ joins us from the Emo-Punk 2000s with its grizzly murder themed subject matter and bouncy guitar riffs and bass lines. The fully recorded version of this song is a tad slower than the original live version, but this ties in very well with the mad murder mystery theme, the harsh Punk singing, and high pitched screams. The additional sound effects of people cheering and screaming along with jazz-inspired keyboard are also pleasant. But the slow, burning, scraping bridge and final verse at the end of the song is probably the most wonderful thing about it, and the vocals really give it it’s own unique sound. It’s such a shame that more people haven’t heard this for the wonderful Emo Anthem I think it is.

04:- Schoolyard Heroes - Dawn Of The Dead

Yeah that’s right. ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ is still one of my favourites! I’m sorry, you just can’t change my mind on this. I’ll admit, it might not be the most creative, adventurous, or even the most mature song Schoolyard Heroes has ever written. But I don’t care! It doesn’t have to be all of those things because it’s already got everything it needs to be a damn good Horror Punk classic! Yes, it’s simple and it’s straightforward. But it’s also got so much character and so much energy! It’s got one of the creepiest but catchiest bass lines you will ever hear, and it’s packed full of the kind of punch and force you would usually only expect from a live show. Best of all, it’s a song about zombies rising from their graves and creeping off to go and eat people! Okay, I mean yeah… Maybe that’s not such a great thing. Maybe I'm being a little too enthusiastic… But I truly do love this song. I know it’s not exactly a masterpiece or anything incredibly amazing. But it is a lot of spooky fun, and I think we all need some of that at times. So there you go!

03:- Bayside - Montauk

As you may know, Bayside is one of my favourite bands, and there are actually a lot of songs by this group that have a big correlation with my past. Bayside’s early music was very Punk orientated with a little bit of Emo splashed in, so naturally, you could assume that a lot of their songs would be very emotional, introspective, and angsty. For me personally, that’s definitely something that's carried very true for the song ‘Montauk’. Even though I don’t live there, this song is very close to my heart. ‘Montauk’, as far as I understand it, is a song about two people struggling to be together despite harbouring romantic feelings for each other, and there was a time when I used to associate this song with one of my past boyfriends. This guy was someone who I really loved, but things ended rather abruptly. Still, it was probably for the best. He’s still one of my best friends, and I’m now in a far more happy and healthy relationship. ‘Montauk’ is still one of my favourite songs by Bayside. It’s a song that’s meaningful, personal, and incredibly melodic. But despite my love for it, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to listen to it in the same way. Still pretty awesome though!

02:- The Muffs - Weird Boy Next Door

I’d never even heard of The Muffs until I listened to ‘Weird Boy Next Door’, but ever since, I just haven’t been able to stop playing it! ‘Weird Boy Next Door' is a highly simplistic Punk Rock song with licks of Rock’n’Roll and Grunge within its streams, but it’s melodies and vocals are very interesting. They tend to punctuate the typical, sometimes static instrumentation, giving the song structure a bit of a unique direction that’s actually quite entertaining. I’d be inclined to compare The Muffs to groups and artists like Splendora and Joan Jett. But when I hear ‘Weird Boy Next Door’s rhythm and latch onto it’s more mature and responsible lyrics, I come to realise that other groups would never be able to pull off a song in the small ways The Muffs do. But besides that, this song is also a delightful little earworm that you’ll never be able to get rid of. Admittedly I’ve not been in a huge hurry to listen to more songs by The Muffs, and chances are I may not get round to giving them a go any time soon. But I mean, you never know. Sometimes you’re just given one song by a band, and that's all you really need. So, enjoy!

01:- Billy Talent - Standing In The Rain

And we end our list on a bit of a down note. But it’s okay, because it’s Billy Talent! There are so many songs by these guys that could be considered immediate classics. Now to be honest, I find their more recent work a bit bland, but their early stuff is impeccable! At this point in time, I currently hold their song ‘Standing In The Rain’ as my favourite. This is a very moody and woeful song, telling a story from the perspective of a prostitute who hates her life. It’s no doubt one of the saddest songs Billy Talent has ever written, and yet, every time I hear it, I can’t help singing along to it. It’s just such a good song! ‘Standing In The Rain’ is probably one of the most prominent examples of Billy Talent’s umm… Talent, for writing provocative, real, personal lyrics and pairing them up with fantastic Punk music full of a pounding drive and demonic sensibility. I don’t know where Billy Talent is now or what they're up to, and frankly, I’m not sure if I really care. But they deserve massive respect for their early success. Good Job Billy Talent! Thank you for writing so many good songs, including ‘Standing In The Rain’.

I hope this has been an enjoyable top ten for you, I know it has for me. It makes me look forward to listening to more Punk songs as the summer months come into full swing, and maybe the same will go for anyone reading these reviews. Have fun guys, I’ll see you next week.