social distortion

Social Distortion’s 1983 debut is a punk classic, and now it’s been newly mastered.

“Let’s have a war ⁠— blame it on the Middle Class!” The guitar emerges in a blur. The outburst only lasts a second or two before the rest of the band kicks in as abruptly. Someone calls “Out of vogue” repeatedly, as lead singer Jeff Atta responds, “We don’t need no magazines/We don’t need no […]

There’s the classic adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. However, a quality band T-shirt is worth a million. Our music tastes are synonymous with our personalities and how we express ourselves, so what better way to embody this than to dive into a collection of classic T-shirts?  Alternative Press is pleased to […]

“Rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be fun,” Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten told British rock journalist Charles Shaar Murray in 1977. “You’re supposed to enjoy it. It’s not about taking a million fucking years to learn a million fucking chords on the guitar.”  That clarion call — sounded as their anti-royalist diatribe “God Save […]

In 2004, the world was in turmoil. And America was at the root of it. The administration of President George W. Bush had misdirected the nation into a war with Iraq, waving erroneous reports of “weapons of mass destruction” as “evidence” that Saddam Hussein spearheaded the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on The Pentagon and the […]

As the 1980s began, most of the world was under the impression that punk rock failed when the Sex Pistols imploded at the end of their 1978 U.S. tour. Bassist Sid Vicious then drove the final nails into its mainstream coffin via self-administering his own fatal dose after allegedly murdering girlfriend Nancy Spungen in New […]

The seven-inch 45 RPM single was the perfect punk–rock medium, insofar as anything about a musical genre and culture as fly-by-the-seat-of-your-bondage-pants as punk can be designed. This is because it was originally rock ‘n’ roll’s perfect medium, and punk’s initial goal was reducing rock to its fundamentals. And if you restrict your presentation’s time to […]

After the Stooges, New York Dolls were the most important of all protopunk bands. The standard belief is that in their original lifetime — 1971 to 1976 — they invented the sound and attitude of ‘70s punk rock and the look of ‘80s hair metal. Blame the latter on their desire to, as their definitive […]

The Rolling Stones invented the very notion of the modern rock ‘n’ roll band. Which means, in turn, their impact on punk rock and alternative music was total. This is the point where there’ll be a loud and noisy exit from our tale. “Aw, c’mon maaaan! No way! The Stones have had it!” True. They […]

Welcome to Alternative Press’ 10 best punk vocalists of the ‘00s. When we counted down that decade’s finest punk guitarists, we noted that the beginning of the new century was a turning point. The ‘90s began with Nirvana breaking down the door for punk-influenced alternative acts to become the mainstream music of the decade, peaked […]

1996: President Bill Clinton was squaring off against Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in a successful bid for a second term in the White House. On April 3, former math professor Ted Kaczynski was arrested in his remote Montana cabin, suspected (correctly, it turns out) to be American domestic terrorist the Unabomber. Conservative public policy bulwark […]

Some promo copywriter at the Clash’s American label, Epic Records, came up with the questionable slogan “19 songs by the only band that matters” for the sticker that appeared on the face of 1980’s U.S. release of London Calling. While singer/guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon didn’t […]

“Joan Jett doesn’t play rock ’n’ roll,” I wrote two years back, reviewing her SXSW showcase for The Austin Chronicle. “She is rock ’n’ roll.” It’s true. The individual born Joan Marie Larkin in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, embodies the music and spirit better than anyone this side of Keith Richards. As Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong […]

The mood of 1992: “We won!” Nirvana’s Nevermind sold by the truckload hourly. All anyone could talk about was alternative rock and grunge. Record biz execs walked around that spring’s SXSW convention in Austin in floppy, artfully unwashed hair, just-purchased flannel shirts and ripped jeans. You’d pass a line of them in the parking lot […]

Punk was, by design, meant to be small and regional. True, bands might break out and become national or even international. But the overarching idea was keeping things small and accessible. You wanted to be able to reach out and touch your favorite band in a small sweaty club, maybe have a beer with the […]

Welcome to Alternative Press’ list of the best punk albums from 1988. Which, at the time, would have had most folks scratching their heads. After all, in 1988, the entire world thought punk rock was dead. Look at the charts: Guns N’ Roses and the more lightweight Sunset Strip glam-metal acts were defining “rock ’n’ […]