Remember when you first discovered punk? We sure do. You were between the ages of thirteen and sixteen and full of fire and ambition. You wanted to eat the rich, kill whitey, and burn our societal institutions to the ground. You thought you would spend your entire life dedicated to fighting worthy causes, fueled by punk motherfucking rock. Anyway, teenagers are dumb. You have a job and a kid now so the most you can do is listen to some old records and remember the days of your youth when you actually stood for something.
Fortunately, we’re here to give you the same revealing existential crisis! Here are 5 quintessential punk rock albums to remind you how you used to stand for something before you sold your life for a paycheck:
Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
“Let’s Lynch the Landlord” used to get you pumped up and ready to throw a brick through a slumlord’s window. But now that you own a few properties of your own, you don’t see why your tenents need all of their leaks fixed. But you can still crank this classic album until one of your rich neighbors calls the cops.
Against Me! – Reinventing Axl Rose
You used to listen to this album over and over back when you stood for something. Back then, you would laugh at danger and break all the rules. Nowadays, you’d call a cop “cool” because he let you off with a warning. For shame.
The Descendents – Cool to Be You
When you first heard this, you thought it was for “pop-punk posers.” Well, now that you’ve caught yourself slipping your daughter’s Disney songs into your “jogging” playlist, we’d say you’re the poser now. No offense. Us too.
Green Day – Kerplunk
This is the one that got you into the whole punk sha-bang. Just kidding, we all know it was “Dookie.” But that’s not important! This one may not be as politically charged as the other albums on this list, but it’s essentially the punk equivalent of your first hit of weed, which was the gateway drug that eventually led you to crack.
Leftover Crack – Mediocre Generica
No Gods, no managers! Fuck world trade! Baby Jesus sliced up in a manger! All of these are album titles from everyone’s favorite C-Squat boys (and Stza) but also they’re things you yelled while getting arrested at the mall in your teens. You may not be as ride or die for the good, the bad, and the Leftover Crack as you used to be, but you can still rock the 40 oz. and give this one a nostalgic spin.