Whether you’re a fan of punk rock, or someone who wants to know more about it, Spotify user Scott Harding may have the perfect (as well as extremely long) playlist for you. Open Culture points out that Harding has compiled 200 songs (all by different bands) into a playlist titled, ““The Evolution Of Punk (In Chronological Order).” It’s a fun, varied listen that spans five decades of music, kicking off all the way back in 1965 with “Goo Goo Muck,” a song by Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads that was eventually covered by The Cramps. It then travels through bands like Velvet Underground, The Sonics, and MC5 before hitting punk’s golden age, listing The Stooges, The Clash, Ramones, and Sex Pistols, naturally, but also lesser-known outfits like Cock Sparrer and Radio Birdman. Moving toward the present day, we see more American punk bands like Black Flag and Dead Milkmen emerge, on the way to re-visiting Fugazi, Operation Ivy, and Green Day. Harding winds up with current-day punk efforts like Tartar Control and Skaal.
It’s a pretty comprehensive list, although Harding admits in his Reddit commentary that
Not EVERY punk band will be listed here because that would be impossible for me to do, but I think I did a good job. It is in chronological order by year the band formed starting with bands that may not be punk but had influence on the first punk bands. Also, the songs of each artist are songs they were singing within the first year they were a band (to the best of my ability using what Spotify offers), so they may not be considered punk now, but they were considered punk when they started as a band. I plan on keeping it going till present time.
Some band fans looking for their own favorites may be disappointed by what Harding leaves out, but he stands by his reasoning, calling out one outfit in particular: “No, I will not add bands like Blink 182 on this list as I am constructing this list by my own personal beliefs of what makes a band punk.” By doing so, Harding adheres to the tenets of punk exactly: It’s emotional more than anything else. Start your 11-hour odyssey with it below.