Icons of Punk News/Updates

This month's IOP PROFILE comes from guest writer Derek Dillion. Derek gives us a history breakdown of the vastly underrated band FAILURE! Fronted by Ken Andrews (who later went on to form the bands ON and YEAR OF THE RABBIT before going solo), FAILURE was one of the most influential bands of the 90's. They frequently toured with TOOL and formed the side band THE REPLICANTS with their former touring mates. A PERFECT CIRCLE even covered their song "The Nurse Who Loved Me" for their second album. Now, learn a bit about the band themselves in our IOP PROFILE of FAILURE!

Click the image below to read it! (Complete with mp3 & video samples!)

Posted by robg at 08:48 PM | Permalink

Not quite a PROFILE piece, not quite an article, but IOP writer Dan Alleva decided to shine a spotlight on one of the most famous "punk" bands of ever... THE RAMONES.

Click the image below to read his IOP SPOTLIGHT on THE RAMONES and their importance to modern music! (Complete with live video samples!)

Posted by robg at 08:39 PM | Permalink

It's November and time for another IOP PROFILE! Robg. here and I'm taking this opportunity to profess my love for 90's Sub Pop band SIX FINGER SATELLITE! Below you'll find my introduction to the profile piece. Click the image to read the rest and check out numerous pictures, MP3's and video samples of SIX FINGER SATELLITE!


"It's really difficult for me to put into words exactly why I love SIX FINGER SATELLITE as much as I do. How can I explain to you readers how dramatically unique and inspiring their music was? Ok, let me put it this way… You know the Cantina scene in the first STAR WARS movie? SIX FINGER SATELLITE is the band you would see playing at the Cantina Bar from STAR WARS on "punk rock" night. The few times I was lucky enough to see them play live, I was convinced they were just not of this world. To truly understand this, let’s go back to the very beginning..." (Click HERE to read more!)

Posted by robg at 03:51 PM | Permalink

We're proud to launch our new monthly showcase column, the IOP PROFILE. Here you'll find an analysis of a classic band that's contributed unique music with a "punk" aesthetic to it. All of these pieces will feature album analysis, photos and MP3 & video clip samples. It's the perfect introduction to each of the showcased bands.

Raz kicks off his IOP PROFILE with Iggy Pop & THE STOOGES. Click the image below to read it. Here's the introduction:


"Do you live in a small town? If the answer is yes, what are you doing reading this?? Go start a freakin’ band! The best thing to happen to music EVER is boredom; and not just any boredom – inescapable boredom. Boredom is the great instigator of creativity, and in small towns, where there’s nothing to do but drink underage behind the 7-11, get jumped by the football team, and not be able to find a job, Rock & Roll has long been the best out. The Stooges, Detroit street urchins who took their drop-out frustrations out on unsuspecting audiences for 5 years or so, were the perfect example of turning to Rock & Roll for escape, and against all odds, that shit fucking worked. They started as a noisy art-mess, playing vacuum cleaners and oil drums on stage, and what little musicianship there was in the beginning devolved into a wall of feedback. But again, it doesn’t matter if you can’t play guitar or drums, cuz you have to try first. By the end of their run though, The Stooges were perhaps the most vicious band on the planet, tight as a cat’s asshole, with lead stooge Iggy Pop among the most infamous frontmen in Rock history, an icon of great and unpredictable live presence. Oh, and they had basically claimed the right to be referred to forever as the first Punk band....." (Click HERE to read more!)

Posted by robg at 03:39 PM | Permalink

We're proud to launch our new monthly showcase column, the IOP PROFILE. Here you'll find an analysis of a classic band that's contributed unique music with a "punk" aesthetic to it. All of these pieces will feature album analysis, photos and MP3 & video clip samples. It's the perfect introduction to each of the showcased bands.

Dan Alleva kicks off his IOP PROFILE with FUGAZI. Click the image below to read it. Here's the introduction:


"What puts Fugazi in the same category as other iconic bands, like Metallica or U2, is the way that they left an everlasting impact across the entire panorama of music. Their influence can be heard in artists as distinct The Futureheads, where the ambiguity of lyricism, and the sharp edge of an electric guitar rule supreme. Or someone like John Frusciante, whose dedication to avant-garde melodies and rhythms has not only elevated his own playing, but the approach to songwriting in general within the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But at their root, what lurked below the Mason-Dixon Line in the late Eighties - born out of the ashes of the Golden Age of American Hardcore - was a pride of lions that transcended all that was, and all that will ever be, with the deft quickness of a ninja...." (Click HERE to read more!)

Posted by robg at 03:35 PM | Permalink

We're proud to launch our new monthly showcase column, the IOP PROFILE. Here you'll find an analysis of a classic band that's contributed unique music with a "punk" aesthetic to it. All of these pieces will feature album analysis, photos and MP3 & video clip samples. It's the perfect introduction to each of the showcased bands.

Robg. kicks off his IOP PROFILE with SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE. Click the image below to read it. Here's the introduction:


"Back in the early 90’s, in the pre-internet days, one of my frequent rituals was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the latest SUB POP catalog in the mail and intently scanning the issue for the latest 7 inch releases. At the time, all of my favorite bands had put out most of their early pre-major label records via SUB POP. (NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN, MUDHONEY, SCREAMING TREES) – And since often times I couldn’t always afford to invest in a full length record, I’d order a 7 inch of a random band I’d never heard of. I figured if I liked 2 songs from a band then I’d want to extend my intimate relationship with them..." (Click HERE to read more!)

Posted by robg at 03:30 PM | Permalink