The Best Punk Rock Bands of the Modern Era
Here we go, a list of the best punk rock bands from the modern era (taken from 1990s and early 2000s). Will your favourites be on the list? Will they top the list? Scroll down and enjoy some of the best bands to grace our planet over the past 20 years.
15/ AFI
AFI (A Fire Inside) are an American punk rock band from California who formed in 1991, but have consisted of the same lineup since 1998. Over AFI’s 20 years together, they have released eight studio albums and received mass acclaim through their music. Their mainstream success came in 2003 with album Sing the Sorrow.
14/ NOFX
Formed back in 1983, NOFX are known for their skate punk style with a ska twist. They are in a league of their own when it comes to their style, just listen to Kill All The White Man to see what we mean.
They’ve released 11 studio albums and sold over 6 million records worldwide, making NOFX one of the most successful independent bands of all time.
13/ Bad Religion
One of the oldest bands on this list forming back in 1979, however after years of albums with Epitaph their mainstream success came in 1993 via Atlantic Records with Recipe for Hate, reaching number 14 on the US album charts. After which they released Stranger Than Fiction, which is one of Bad Religion’s best known albums. It includes songs such as 21st Century (Digital Boy) and Infected.
12/ Less Than Jake
Formed in 1992 they have recorded 8 full length albums, including perhaps their best known being Losing Streak and Hello Rockview (which included All My Friends Are Metalheads). They are well known for their ska punk sound which includes trombones and saxophones mixed with crunchy fast guitar riffs, insanely speedy drums, and unique vocals.
11/ Anti-Flag
Anti Flag were formed in 1988 and are well known for their left wing view on politics, focusing on anti-war, human rights and the class divide. It is believed they helped influence Green Day’s political stance that they took up with American Idiot.
Anti-Flag’s first album wasn’t released until 1997 under the name of Die For the Government, followed by Their System Doesn’t Work For You (1998) and A New Kind of Army (1999). A New Kind Of Army dealt with a lot of issues including abortion, racism, fascism and really set Anti-Flag up as a strong left wing political band.
10/ Sublime
California based Sublime formed in 1988 with a unique blend of ska, reggae, punk, surf rock, and hip hop influences. Sublime only released 3 studio albums but had a huge following in California and still sold over 17 million albums worldwide.
Sublime hit fame with their self titled album in 1996 which included perhaps their most recognised songs in What I Got (reaching number 1) and Santeria. However they could have sold many more, it was just when they were reaching mainstream success as the lead singer Brad died of a heroin overdose.
9/ Jimmy Eat World
The year 2001 is synonymous with the song ‘The Middle’ by Jimmy Eat World; nearly everyone knows “Just do your best, do everything you can, and don’t worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say”. The band was well known throughout the 2000′s but failed to stay at the top for long enough to be considered higher on the list. Jimmy Eat World could be seen as a bit of a one hit wonder in terms of the popularity of The Middle, but they do have some other great tracks to back it up.
8/ MXPX
MXPX hail from Washington, have 8 studio albums and released 20 singles. What perhaps sets MXPX apart is their religion, and whilst not technically a Christian band, all members are of the Christian faith. They started in 1992, inspired by Black Flag and NOFX – originally called Magnified Plaid.
Their well known songs include: everything sucks, responsibility, and a well known cover of “summer of 69″.
7/ Goldfinger
Massive hits from Goldfinger include Superman: probably remembered by many of the youths as being on Tony Hawks Skateboarding (and making the game f’king legendary), 99 Red Balloons (featured everywhere), and Open Your Eyes which was one of their biggest hits of the 2000s along with Spokesman.
6/ Reel Big Fish
Unsure as to whether they definitively fall under punk rock, but definitely in need of a mention on this list, the ska-punk band Reel Big Fish are unbelievable. Another California based band, they hit the big time with their album “turn the radio off”, which contained arguably their most famous song Sell Out. They are also very well known for the song Beer and their version of Take On Me, which was featured on BASEketball.
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5/ Rancid
Yet another band from California, perhaps its the sunshine and the sea that helps the happy-go-lucky punk sounds, maybe there’s a surfing to music link… Anyhow Rancid have been going since 1991 founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman. One of the things that separates Rancid to its punk rock counterparts is that they remained signed on an Indie label, yet kept their large fan base. A massive thumbs up to rancid.
4/ Sum 41
Sum 41 had it all in the early 2000s when they hit it big with two massive albums by the name of All Killer No Filler and Does This Look Infected? The song Fat Lip was released in 2001 and the band never looked back. Probably still their biggest hit to date Fat Lip reached number 8 on the UK singles chart. Their other well known tracks include In Too Deep, Still Waiting and No Reason.
They won the Group of the year award in 2002 and Rock album of the year in 2005 (The Juno awards).
3/ Green Day
Green Day established themselves in the early 1994 with the album Dookie, one of their most famous albums to date with songs including When I Come Around and Basket Case. Following which they released Insomniac in 1995 and then Nimrod in 1997 which included Good Riddance – one of the most played guitar tracks in recent years I’m sure. After a brief period away from album making they released Warning in 2000, which included Minority and Warning.
After which Green Day moved in to a more poppy area, perhaps developing their sound with age for the mainstream masses to enjoy. American Idiot was released in 2003 and the band hasn’t looked back. Sell out tour after sell out tour, the band became more than just punk rock music, they became a political statement.
Green Day are still going strong today, one of the only bands on this list to still be as popular now (if not more so) than they were during the 90s.
2/ Blink 182
Just pipping Green Day to the number 2 spot are Blink 182, one of the most recognised bands of the 1990s and 2000s from any genre. They have sold over 28 million copies world wide since forming in 1992. 1999 is when Blink really hit the big time – their album Enema of the State was a mass success and included songs such as What’s My Age Again and the sensational track All The Small Things.
The use of humour in songs and videos really set them apart from others in a similar genre at the same time and when Blink released Take Off Your Pants And Jacket in 2001 with it reaching number 1 in the USA.
Blink split up in 2005 with due to spats about control. During time off they formed two bands separately +44 and Angels and Airwaves (as well as Box Car Racer for one album). Angels did the better out of the two entities, but due to the drummer Travis’ plane crash the band re-united and are currently gigging as we speak.
1/ The Offspring
Widely credited along with Blink 182, Green Day and Rancid for popularising punk rock in the 90s, The Offspring have sold over 34 million albums worldwide. Formed in 1984 they released their first self titled album in 1989, and Ignition in 1992.
The breakthrough came in 1994 when they released Smash, still probably one of the most heralded punk rock album of the 1990s, featuring Come Out And Play and Self Esteem. Smash set the all-time record for most units sold by an indie label band at 16 million records.
Ixnay came next in 1997, which included All I Want and Gone Away, and whilst it wasn’t as sucessful as Smash, it still did fairly well. However the album could be seen as a lull as it was released in-between Smash and Americana. Americana is when The Offspring really connected with a large mainstream audience with songs such as Pretty Fly (for A White Guy) and Why Don’t You Get A Job, but still maintaining the punk rock sound with The Kids Aren’t Alright.
Conspiracy of One reared its head in 2000 continuing the success with Original Prankster and Want You Bad. Following which the band took a slight hiatus from recording, re-entering the scene with Splinter in 2003. The album didn’t do as well as previous albums and was followed by their Greatest Hits in 2005.
The Offspring are still going now after nearly 30 years together, their most recent album is called Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace in 2007 and they’re currently working on a new album as we speak, hopefully it will revert back to the Smash/Americana era that so many Offspring fans adore.
We leave you with one of the best punk rock song/video combinations of all time: The Offspring – The Kids Aren’t Alright:
The 11 Best Christmas Songs of All Time
With Christmas fast approaching The Music Mag thought it time to compile the definitive list of the best Christmas songs ever made! Are you excited to find out what song sits atop the Christmas tree?
11/ Frank Sinatra – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
We start with a song created back in 1943. Any song created nearly 70 years ago and still widely listened to deserves major applause. The version we’ve chosen here is the Frank Sinatra one, although created and made famous by the legendary Bing Crosby, speaking of which…
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10/ Bing Crosby – White Christmas
With an estimated 50 million copies recorded worldwide White Christmas is easily one of the most successful Christmas songs of all time!
It was reported that during World War II the troops used to listen to the song due to the emotional lyrics and melancholy sound.
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9/ Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmas Time
Despite not even reaching the top 100 in the US it topped the UK charts at number 6. However the longevity of the song is something to be admired.
With paul McCartney making approximmately $400,000 off the song each and every year, which leads to a sum of around $15 million, ‘ding dong’ indeed…
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8/ Greg Lake – I believe in Father Christmas
Believe it or not the song was written in protest to the commercialisation of Christmas and reached number 2 in the UK charts.
It was released in 1974 and was his only hit as a singles artist.
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7/ Mud (not Elvis Presley) – Lonely this Christmas
It will be lonely this Christmas without this song on this list…. It will be oh so cold, without the record to hold. You get the idea… A beautiful song made in tribute to one of the pop icons of our lifetime. Definitely deserving a place pretty high up on the list.
It was performed by Mud and many (including ourselves) think Elvis performs the track. In fact it is just a great impersonation.
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6/ Dean Martin – Walking in a winter wonderland
One fact shows the popularity of this song: This record has been recorded by over 150 artists, wow, most artists don’t even release 150 songs in their whole career, never mind this criss cross of fortune.
The inspiration for the song came from seeing Honesdale’s Central Park covered in snow one fateful day. Decades later whilst not all of us may be able to see Central Park covered in snow, at least we have this song.
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5/ Wham – Last Christmas
Something which sets this song apart from others is that it enters the German chart every single year since its release, even coming in the top 5 in 2007 – making it the most successful Christmas song in Germany of all time… Meanwhile in the UK it reached a respectable number 26 in the chart in 2011.
It has sold millions and millions of copies worldwide and is one of the most successful Christmas songs of all time.
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4/ Mariah Carey – All I want for Christmas is You
Not quite breaking the top 3 is the beautiful Mariah Carey.
One of the more recent Christmas songs it was released in 1994, inspired by her feelings for then partner Tommy Mottola.
Something that stands this track apart from the crowd is that it is the best selling digital Christmas record ever! Good bragging rights for Mariah.
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And now for the top 3 essential Christmas songs…
3/ John Lennon – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Written by the, er, couple of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, it reached number 4 on the UK charts.
By a more popular, but possibly not as well-opinioned poll (VH1), it was voted as the 9th best christmas song ever made… we feel it deserves a slightly higher place: either because of the thoughtful lyrics, or because my mother overplayed the hell out of it when I was growing up and now I will forever associate it with antyhing Christmas related.
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2/ The Pogues – Fairytale of New York
When people think of The Pogues they think of two things – Dentists and ‘fairy tale of new york’. The bands lead singer, who suffers from very bad teeth – or lack of – is actually inspiring, because his look didn’t hold him back from making one of the most celebrated Christmas songs of all time.
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1/ Slade – Merry Christmas Everyone
You can’t beat the Christmas spirit of an English rock band from Wolverhampton (of all places), it just cannot be done! This song incorporates everything that’s right about christmas.
According to Wikipedia, sales for this legendary song stand at a massive 6 and a half million. I’m sure by the time some of you read this that number would have increased even more.
We at The Music Mag hope you enjoyed our list, please feel free to share it with your friends and family.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
The Best Guitarists in the World Ever
This is to raise discussion over who you think is the best guitarist.
Full credit for the article goes to Reuters at Yahoo News
Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was named the greatest guitar player in history on Wednesday by Rolling Stone magazine in a list compiled by a panel of music experts and top guitar players.
“Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage,” said Grammy-winning guitarist Tom Morello in the magazine, citing Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” as key tracks.
Hendrix is joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend among the top 10, in a list laden with rock ‘n’ roll icons spanning decades.
The panel of experts recruited to vote for their favorite guitar players included musicians such as Lenny Kravitz, Eddie Van Halen (who was voted No. 8), Brian May and Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, along with a selection of Rolling Stone’s senior writers and editors.
The experts also weighed in on their favorites, with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready calling Eddie Van Halen “a master of riffs” and Joe Perry praising Jimmy Page’s “vision of how to transcend the stereotypes of what the guitar can do.”
The full list will be featured in a special issue with four special covers of Van Halen, Clapton, Hendrix and Page, and will be on newsstands and online at www.rollingstone.com on Friday. Rolling Stone’s top 10 greatest guitarists follow:
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Eric Clapton
3. Jimmy Page
4. Keith Richards
5. Jeff Beck
6. B.B. King
7. Chuck Berry
8. Eddie Van Halen
9. Duane Allman
10. Pete Townshend
The original article can be found here:
http://news.yahoo.com/rolling-stone-names-hendrix-best-guitarist-ever-054130594.html
The Best Wrestling Theme Music Ever
Welcome to the top 30 wrestling themes of the past 30 years!
30/ Chris Benoit (WWF)
29/ Road Dogg/New Age Outlaws (WWF)
28/ Sting (WCW)
The 20 Hottest Women in Music (part 2)
Part 1: 20-11
10. Taylor Swift
The country pop singer came on to the scene not so along ago and took the charts by storm. Her cute youthfullness, mixed with raw emotion is definitely a fantastic appeal of hers. Gorgeous with a cracking country voice. Not bad at number 10.
9. Katharine Mcphee
A big player in 2008! Musician, actress, model, go girl! Since finishing as runner up in American Idol, she’s had a single go gold and become a big mover and shaker over in the US. She should start moving and shaking her self over this way too!
8. Avril Lavigne
Now the pop rocker hasn’t been up to much recnetly, but her new album is set to come out in November, the alternative turned retro beauty is set to storm the charts and once again have us drooling over the TV screens.
7. Alicia keys
The Urbantor as we like to call her at the music mag. She is the naturally gob stopping and fantastically breathtaking urban queen over here. Her voice is something to behold too. She sits at number 8 on the chart!
6. Lady Gaga
A mixed year I think it’s fair to say. She’s recently been hailed as the most downloaded artist this year. She’s also been hailed as a hermaphrodite. So yeah, a bit of a mixed year. Here at the music mag, we care not for these rumours – she is smoking! And if she has a teeny weeny, then so be it!
5. Carrie Underwood
She gets so much publicity Your typical blond bombshell. I personally think she’s attractive, but not as hot as she’s made out to be by hollywood. So she goes in the middle of the top 10 at number 5.
4.Katy Perry
Katy, along with the likes of lady gaga, have just trashed the competition in terms of record sales and popularity through songs. She has a wickedcool voice, is slightly trashy without being too over the top and seems like somebody I’d definitely like to party with!
3. Little Boots
So qwerky, fun and sexy! Little Boots storms straight in at number three. I…I can’t write any more, I have to get to number 1!! keep scrolling for amazing pictures!
2. Hayley Williams
Hayley Williams is probably my favourite on this list. The little rocker has took the alternative kids by their heart with her spunky look and beautiful voice.
Be sure to listen to the video which is an acoustic version of ‘here we go again’. Her natural beauty shines through.
AND FINALLY
1. Cheryl Cole
Who else but good old Cheryl could be number one? The fact that she comes from up north only adds to her charm. Constantly on our TV screens with x factor and probably the best girl group around at the moment – girls aloud – she’s buzzing forward at the top of our list.
The 20 Hottest Women in Music (part 1)
I scowled the internet for the hottest women in music and found no absolute list. This is the list! Rock, Pop, RnB, Metal, Dance, everyone is taken in to consideration. Numbers 20-11 are below for your viewing pleasures.
20. Jenny Lewis
She started her music career with the band Rilo Keley in 1998, which featured a country and indie mix, moving towards indie rock towards 2004 where she became popular amongst the mainstream. Bright Eyes invited Lewis to record a solo record for their label, which was called Rabbit Fur Coat. She received praise from many sources; Rolling Stone commenting that “her girlishly seductive vocals are more versatile than ever”.
Let’s face it, she’s pretty hot. Like a girl next door that you’d see and appreciate through the small space between your curtains.
Listen to Jenny Lewis on her Myspace
19. Leona Lewis
One of the most amazing performers ever to appear on American Idol or X-Factor. The Brit has been compared to Whitney Houston, amongst others and has a truely fantastic voice. She was always favourite to win the competition and performed some fantastic songs, if you haven’t heard them yet, look on youtube. Her debut album sold like wildifre and she’s been going from strength to strength.
She’s cute in an innocent sorta way don’t you think? A nice mix up from the fake tans being splashed out everywhere.
18. Cat Power / Chan Marshal
Cat Power is the stage name of American singer/songwriter Chan Marshall (born Charlyn Marie Marshall on 21 January 1972). She is known for her minimalist style, sparse guitar and piano playing, and breathy vocals – took from Wikipedia as I know nothing about her unfortunately!
But she gorgeous. If I could find some more seductive pictures, she’d be higher believe me!
17. Aubrey Oday
That’s right, it’s boiling down to the less you wear the better stage! Aubrey Oday looks horrible in some pictures – fake tan overdose – but she looks breathtaking in some pictures like this one.
She made her way to fame through MTV’s show Making The Band, which helped her become a part of Danity Fair (Vanity fair). They weren’t my exact cup of tea, but her looks and willingness to take off her clothes got her in to the spot light and on to this list.
16. Christina Aguilera
Okay, Christina is super hot. Well, she used to be. She’s from the old Britney Spears generation where they come in, are amazingly hot, do really well and then fade off a bit. Then to try and get back in the limelight they turn trashy, get a fair bit of negative press, have a kid, and then trash themselves up again.
She’s still gorgeous, but in 2009 this is where she is on this list.
15. Beyonce
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, actress, dancer, fashion designer, dog groomer, perfume smeller, pepsi taster, billboard advertiser, lingerie model, the list is endless. Knowles rose to fame as the creative force and lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, the world’s best-selling female group of all time.
I still remember her for the foxy performance in Austin Powers. She’s lost a bit of her mojo in recent times though and has been placed thoughtfully at number 15.
14. Rhianna
Bless her. She’s been through a lot with the reported domestic violence with her then boyfriend, Chris Brown. But she’s now on a comeback baby!
Her new album is said to be released in November (whilst recording she’s posed in vogue nearly completely naked). She’s sure to be back on top of the world – and have men flocking after her – in no time! I haven’t got the Vogue pictures on hand, but this is a FHM picture of her:
13. Nicole Scherzinger
A member of the Pussycat Dolls, but a failed solo run, for shame! However, some of her solo songs were released on the newest dolls album. Still she’s extremely hot and can bend ways that set my imagination in to overdrive!
12. Lzzy Hale
Is there anybody that knows who this chick is? If so, could I get her phone number?
She’s the lead singer of a band called Halestorm and despite being ridiculously hot, has not reached the fame that has given her scantily clad photo shoots in FHM and the like. Check out the band and take note of the name. A gorgeous lady.
11. Cristina Scabbia
The lead singer of Lacuna Coil and the center of many fantasies! She’s up high as she’s a little bit different and held in goddess like status with the rockers.
For all the rock and metal fans out there is this your dream woman? She’s definitely up there in my list and concludes the first half of our top 20!
PART 2 (10-1) HERE
The 10 Best Post Rock Bands
10/ This Will Destroy You
An American Instrumental band formed in 2005. This Will Destroy You has released an EP, Young Mountain, which was originally supposed to be the band’s demo. The EP has received favorable reviews and they then went on to release their self titled album.
9/ World’s End Girlfriend
His work blends elements of electronica and post-rock to create a unique style. The Collaboration they did with Mono called ‘Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain’ – quoted as possibly the great post rock album ever made – means they deserve to be on this list.
8/ Tortoise
Tortoise is an instrumental post-rock group hailing from Chicago. The group is comprised of six members, and the band started off their career in 1994 – possibly at, or near, the front of post rock. Their style of music, being dark, moody, and atmospheric, Tortoise combine various genres into their music such as funk, jazz, dub, electronica, and krautrock. In result you get something extremely jazzy and accessible, yet the music remains soft and mellow, somewhat ambient.
7/ Kayo Dot
‘Choirs of the Eye’ is easily one of the most evocative and genuinely experimental albums to come out in quite some time, and the small amount of buzz the band has generated recently is beyond inadequate. Soaringly melodic and undeniably evil in the way parents and religious groups could never understand, Choirs of the Eye is as moving as it is hideous and hedonistic.
6/65daysofstatic
Ahhh, an English post-rock band! From Sheffield, so even better! Formed in 2001, they have released three full-length albums, the latest of which was 2007′s ‘The Destruction of Small Ideas’. They recently toured with The Cure!
5/ Yndi Halda
Their name means “enjoy eternal bliss” in Icelandic, are a group of English folks who have been playing together for around four years, but have only recently released their first EP. Drawing heavily upon Post Rock giants that came before them, such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, et cetera, yndi halda create a unique hybrid that is their own sound, as well as incredibly impacting and emotional.
4/ Mogwai
Everything about them is based on their ability to build up a song from nothing but 2 or 3 notes, and by the end, make it feel like an orchestra and their families had joined in. Each song sets a story for the listener to piece together from what images the flowing riffs and beats conjure up. They don’t spoil it with a vocalist portraying their own ideas over the top, and that’s what gives them a definite edge.
3/ Explosions in the Sky
With the ability to entrance their listeners with simple melodies and instrumentation, Explosions in the Sky have become one of the most well known post rock bands to emerge from the genre. From subtle build-ups to epic crescendos, the band have carved their niche through albums such as “How Strange, Innocence” and “The Rescue”.
2/ Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Often praised as one of the greatest Post-Rock bands, Godspeed You Black Emperor formed in Montreal in 1994. The band began with three members, but usually has 8 or 9, and has contained as many as 15. The group’s unique and volatile sound is a mix of classical, avant-garde, and progressive, with most of their songs broken up into symphonic movements.
1/ Mono
A Japanese post-rock band. Their instrumentals focus on textures of layered guitar melodies along with various string arrangements and pianos.Their music has a very elegant vibe at times, to huge crashes and breakdowns. Their album with World’s End Girlfriend, as mentioned earlier, is possibly the best post-rock album of all time (it’s also very hard to get a copy of!). Their albums such as ‘Are You There’ are must listens.
Have your say on who should be number 1 on our poll:
10 Best Chillout Bands
This is a list completely done on my personal opinion. If you’d like to leave your feedback it would be fantastic to hear your views (most likely berating my opinions!).
Anyway, chillout music has always been a highly played category of music and there are countless albums such as ibiza chillout, ultimate chillout, the list goes on. The following is the list of the bands (that I have heard of), that I rank highest on my personal list.
10/ Röyksopp
- If you’re in to slightly trance/dancey sounding chillout then make sure to check these guys out. Sounds brilliant.
9/ LemonJelly
- Only recently discovered this band. All i know is that every song I’ve heard I’ve loved. Some nice beats in there but not too fast or hard to move it away from some great relaxing music.
