News & Updates — punk

Joe Strummer / Aug 21, 1952 - Dec 22, 2002

Joe Strummer / Aug 21, 1952 - Dec 22, 2002

Happy birthday to rock hero John Graham Mellor aka Joe Strummer!! Thanks for the great music with one of the greatest rock bands ever, The Clash, as well as your other projects.

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Sky Saxon / Aug 20, 1937 - June 25, 2009

Sky Saxon / Aug 20, 1937 - June 25, 2009

One of the great figures in early psychedelic rock, Sky Saxon and his band The Seeds were very influential on the West Coast garage rock scene. From Salt Lake City (govt name: Richard Marsh), he moved to Los Angeles and started recording doo-wop under the name of Little Richie Marsh in the early '60s before forming a band called The Soul Rockers. The Seeds started in '65 and "Pushin' Too Hard" was a big hit in '67. In the '70s he started hangin' with Father Yod and Source Family, producing music for the cult. Shortly before his death he collaborated with...

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Born today: July 15 mega-post

Born today: July 15 mega-post

There are so many interesting artists born on July 15 that it is impossible in my schedule to write pieces about them. So here are some shorties, along with a video or two for each. --Francis Bebey / July 15, 1929 - May 28, 2001 This unique Cameroonian composer and his interesting DIY synth-pop crossed with traditional music has been justly making new fans in recent years. --James Jacson / July 15, 1932 - Aug 10, 1997 Happy cosmic birthday to James Jacson, one of my favorite characters from Sun Ra's Arkestra. Jacson is the one who was instructed to...

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Poly Styrene / July 3, 1957 - April 25, 2011

Poly Styrene / July 3, 1957 - April 25, 2011

An early riot grrl influence and a punk rock icon, Poly Styrene was the front woman for the awesome first-wave British punk band X-Ray Spex. Her powerful voice paired well with the sax of Lora Logic on classics like "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!". Born to a Somali father and Scottish-Irish mother, Marian Joan Elliott-Said was trained in opera but seeing the Sex Pistols on her 19th birthday inspired her to take the punk name "Poly Styrene" and start her band X-Ray Spex. She was also a ska fan from the time. X-Ray Spex may have been short-lived and underdocumented but...

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Alan Vega / June 23, 1938 - July 16, 2016

Alan Vega / June 23, 1938 - July 16, 2016

Born today was Boruch Alan Bermowitz, multi-media artist, photographer, gallery owner, vocalist, electronic music pioneer and punk icon better known as Alan Vega. His electronic/punk duo Suicide (with Martin Rev) was a thing of ugly, simplistic beauty, and one of the first bands to describe themselves as "punk" in the early '70s. They were pioneering, exciting and controversial. He grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and was into rock & roll in its early days and studied art in college. An artist of electronic light sculptures and found objects, he was also involved with the radical Art Workers' Coalition. After seeing...

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