Anyone Like Punk?

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Actually I disagree here, Punk is very much of an attitude, partly fueled by a strong DIY ethic. All of the above bands are punk bands with the exception of these post punk bands:

Joy Division
The Fall
Psychadelic Furs
Public Image Ltd.

....and this protopunk band:

Velvet Underground.

Blink 182 is a radio freindly pop band that shouldn't even be held in comparison with any of the above mentioned bands. All of the above metnioned bands were also very influential and have had a sonic effect on many other bands dince their demise. Blink 182 on the other hand was very much influenced by the late 80's early 90's output of a few Southern California bands/record labels.

Also for the record, I met Will Shatter of Flipper in 1986 when he had a newspaper stand on 14th street in the Mission district of SF. His stand was the only stand that I knew of at the time that carried Punk Zines in addition to regular newspapers. I would say that judging from the bands' output, he was the most intelligent member of the band. --Too bad the heroin and speed usage took priority in his life, and eventually led to his death.

The output of the early punk scene was much more diverse than it is today. Back in the early scene, it was quite possible to see bands like Flipper, Dead Kennedies, The Minutemen and Black flag at one show, perhaps alongside bands considered 'post punk' due to the fact that new acts who didn't fit the normal rock club billing were fairly few. Whereas in the current age bands that sound like they're contenders for the Vans Warped Tour are considered 'punk'. --Everything new and differant has been codified as being 'not punk'.

Punk was a whole culture that had to do with ideas, music, art, literature and even clothing. It was deconstruction at its finest. There were two subsets of punk that grew separately, then later came together. One was formed in England and the other in the States (Iggy Pop, New York Dolls), then MacLaren met Richard Hell and the whole subculture took off. MacLaren basically marketed the punk culture.

I don't see anything now resembling that because it was a culture. Occasionally, I will hear a raw sound that reminds me of that era, but nothing like it was. Blink 182 I definitely would not consider punk. The closest thing now would be very early Green Day (which might be deemed post-punk as they certainly acted similar at concerts) and perhaps the White Stripes. They both have that stripped down, discordant, in your face sound that was early punk. The problem with all bands now is that the minute you commercialize the sound, it steps away from Punk. Punk was very anticulture. That's why it's Anarchy in the UK. It isn't mainstream in the UK. That's very anti-punk. Punk was meant to shake everything up, tear it apart, and show it for what it really was at the core. It showed all the ugliness and inconsistency of conformity. That is what it was meant to do.

I'm not sure either about creating a tangibile division between post punk and punk. When Joy Division started they were a punk band and moved gradually towards their trademark sound. Compared to a band like the Cure, who, as far as I know, have never been actual punk rock. (And have always sucked)

They weren't Punk, the darker stuff was Goth, not the greatest but it was good.

That reminds me, Suicide, and the Screamers, very good.