the slits

Why punk was never supposed to be sexy

Punk, in all mediums, is armor for change. Women dressed in chains, leather and fishnets, as well as shaved heads, transformed into people who demanded to be heard.

15 artists influenced by the Sex Pistols, from Joy Division to Oasis

“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 […]

These are the 20 best English punk songs

To the outside world, punk rock was initially believed to be an English invention. Blame this on the Sex Pistols’ precocious ability to garner national and international headlines mere months after forming. The truth was, punk began in the early ‘70s with the off-center, jagged rock ‘n’ roll efforts of bands such as the New […]

A history of riot grrrl, from “Rebel Girl” to “Racist, Sexist Boy”

In 1991, Anita Hill testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee about being the target of sexual harassment from African-American judge Clarence Thomas at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. The hearings were televised, and Hill’s lurid testimony sent bolts of shock and disgust across an America yet to become completely tabloidized. When this all-white, all-male committee […]

10 best '70s London punk bands, from Siouxsie And The Banshees to Sex Pistols

As long as there’s been a punk scene, its denizens have argued as to which city invented it — New York or London? Truth be told, it was neither because history’s first proper punk band was the Stooges from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Which would make Detroit punk’s proper birthplace. But if much of the sound […]

Gang Of Four on what they learned from James Brown, COVID-19 and more

Welcome to the second installment of our exclusive two-part conversation with Leeds, U.K. post-punk icons Gang Of Four, represented by singer Jon King and drummer Hugo Burnham. We learned last time what the Marxist funkateers picked up from organizing political demonstrations and seeing early punk bands in the student refectory as Leeds University students. We […]

How punk and reggae united and went "outernational" to rule the world

This past March 5, the French punk label Guerilla Asso quietly slipped a genius album into the marketplace: Rocket To Kingston, credited to Bobby Ramone. The melding of the isolated vocal tracks from nine of Bob Marley’s most deathless classics to edited Ramones backing tracks, it sounds like a joke on paper. The cover even […]

20 books written by or about women musicians to add to your reading list

When searching a bookstore for music memoirs, it’s likely that the shelves are packed with men such as Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash and Keith Richards. While it may seem that there are fewer books written by or about women musicians, they are growing in numbers. Women in the music industry refuse to be silenced, and, […]

41 women empowerment anthems that should be played as loud as possible

With Women’s History Month coming to a close today, it’s vital to carry these messages of intersectional feminism and empowerment throughout every day to come. These musicians aren’t only wonderful leaders in the music industry spanning over decades—they’re using their platform to spread messages of self-love and growth as well as sharing stories of hardship […]

15 punk albums from 1993 that embraced contrarianism over prefab rebellion

Alternative rock still dominated popular music in 1993. This obviously begged the question of just how “alternative” something was if it was now on a major label and on the radio. Not necessarily a bad thing. After all, we’d never have to hear Whitesnake again. Bottom end and distortion returned to rock record-making in a […]

15 punk guitarists of the ’90s who paved the way for the genre’s future

Welcome to Alternative Press’ pick of the 15 best punk guitarists of the ’90s. One notable difference between this list and the other two we’ve compiled is the inclusion of several women. Punk did much to democratize rock ’n’ roll in the ’70s, with many pioneering all-female (the Runaways, the Slits) or mixed-gender lineups (X-Ray […]

15 punk-rock albums of 1979 that still rule four decades later

By 1979, punk was firmly established. Seemingly, a million new bands formed weekly, releasing great singles seconds later. But some of the old guard were starting to feel constrained by angry teenage ramalama. Where else punk could go? These are the best punk-rock albums of 1979. As bands such as the Clash and the Damned […]