I could never single out one punk song as my favorite, and while there are tons of songs I could listen to over and over again, these are some that stand out, songs I’ve heard countless times and they still give me a charge. All of these songs are on my running playlist, because nothing gets the blood pumping and the legs turning than a raucous punk song perforating your eardrums! I can’t single out any of these songs as my ultimate favorites, so this isn’t a favorites list, but these are just some of the self-imposed earworms I can never get tired of.

Ten punk songs I could listen to over and over again, in no particular order…

World War III – DOA

I first heard this song on their album Bloodied but Unbowed years ago. That album that made me a DOA fan. This song in particular is a hard charging, aggressive, and just a non-stop explosion of a song!

 

Out of Control – Naked Aggression

Full disclosure: I know the singer. I met her through my friend Mirian Anderson of the Insaints. This song has been a repeated earworm for me, but the kind of earworm you don’t mind since it’s such a good song! Also the song that sucked me into being a Naked Aggression fan!

 

Blackheart – Distillers

I was into the Distillers long ago, then they faded into the background for me when I was awash in so many other bands and music. Eventually I got a Distillers recharge when this song popped up again on one of my long lost playlists, now a standard for my running playlist!

 

So This is Freedom – The Unseen

Okay, I will confess that when people mention The Unseen I tend to say “I liked their older stuff better.” (Go ahead and shoot me, I’m on old punk!) This is the one Unseen song that always sticks with me.

 

Let Down – Tyrades

I didn’t know a thing about this band when my friend Oliver Sheppard posted this very song on Facebook. It knocked my socks off and I’ve been a fan ever since. Yes, also on my running playlist!

 

Carnival – Bikini Kill

I discovered Bikini Kill a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago on my own when I stumbled across their album in a San Francisco record shop. I bought their black-and-white cover EP and have been a fan ever since. I even had a short-lived correspondence with their drummer Tobi Vail.

 

Nie Wieder Pegida – Abstürzende Brieftauben

I’ve heard a lot of German punk, being as I’m not only in the scene, but am also a fairly fluent German speaker. Definitely in the pop punk category, this is a the German equivalent of the song Nazi Punks Fuck Off!

Pegida is an extremist political party whose major bent is anti-Islamic and anti-immigration. You know, German versions of MAGA!

I’ve seen them perform this song live. The crowd was shouting the chorus “Nie wieder, Pegida!” (“Nie wieder” = Never again!)

 

Junkies Running Dry – Operation Ivy

Picking out a favorite operation Ivy song is like picking out my favorite punk song. (Or my favorite Killing Joke song. Not possible!) Even so, of all of their killer songs, this is the one that keeps coming to mind. Full disclosure again: I’m friends with everyone that was in this band. As well as the next band…

 

Another Day – Crimpshrine

I know the guys from this band, and this song more than any other takes me back to my very early days in the Berkeley punk scene, when a bunch of crazy punks adopted a lone overcoat introvert who was always hiding in the corners and trying to avoid everybody. (That overcoat was my armor!) This song has a strong nostalgia quotient for me, but even so I think it’s just a good, raw kick ass song!

 

At the Edge – Stiff little Fingers

I said I could never single out one punk song as my favorite, but if I was forced to at gunpoint I might very well say this one. I’ve always recommended the album All the Best by Stiff Little Fingers, their compilation album, and wear out the first LP. (Or CD. Though you’re probably buying the MP3!) Stupendous lyrics, killer song, and a blast that encompasses a punk attitude!