In Other Words: Classic Punk Songs Quiz

Answer: Holiday in Cambodia

"Holiday in Cambodia" was released in May of 1980 by the Dead Kennedys, a U.S. punk band fronted by Jello Biafra. It can also be found on the band's first album, "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables." The album was ranked 46th in "Spin" magazine's "50 Most Essential Punk Records" list, with "Holiday in Cambodia," "Kill the Poor," "Viva Las Vegas," "California Uber Alles," and "Chemical Warfare" being frequently pointed to as influential tracks. "Holiday in Cambodia" is also somewhat famous because songwriter Jello Biafra was sued by former members because he did not allow the song to be used in a Dockers slacks commercial!

Answer: Search and Destroy

"Search and Destroy" is from the 1973 album by the Stooges, "Raw Power." Its title refers to the Vietnam War. Iggy Pop and James Williamson are the writers. The song is ranked 468th on "Rolling Stone" magazine's 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time," and the network VH1 named it "the 49th best hard rock song of all time." It's been covered by numerous bands, including the Sex Pistols and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Answer: Welcome to Paradise

Green Day is an American punk band formed in 1987 in California. "Welcome to Paradise" was written by Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool, and it appears on their album "Dookie" (as well as other compilations and as a single). Armstrong has said that the song is "about West Oakland, living in a warehouse with a lot of people, a bunch of artists and musicians, punks and whatever just lived all up and down, bums and junkies and thugs and gang members and stuff that just lived in that area.

It's no place you want to walk around at night, but it's a neat warehouse where you can play basketball and stuff." Evidently several of the band members had just moved out of their parents' homes and so to them the new location was "paradise."

Answer: Suspect Device

Stiff Little Fingers is a punk band formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1977. Although often described as the "Northern Ireland version of The Clash," Stiff Little Fingers was arguably much truer to the goals of politically-oriented punk music. The band was formed during the tense and violent years of the "Troubles," a time of political, ethnic, and religious unrest in Northern Ireland. "Suspect Device" was the band's first single, and it gained a degree of notoriety because of its packaging - designed to look like a parcel bomb.

It also was included on their 1979 debut album, "Inflammable Material."

Answer: Straight Edge

Minor Threat was a hardcore punk band formed in Washington, DC, in 1980, with Ian MacKaye as frontman. The song "Straight Edge" is from their first EP, titled "Minor Threat" (1981). Minor Threat as a band and cultural influence was instrumental in the emergence of the "straight edge" movement, and the song was essentially an anthem for that movement. "Straight edge" culture was a reaction to the self-pleasure-drenched and drug-filled punk rock culture of the time (late 1970s and 1980s) and its goal was to move away from drugs, alcohol, smoking, and casual sexuality. Straight edge never became a large movement, but did take hold with a dedicated group of youths and bands, and even today straight edge continues as a philosophical subculture with something of a following. One last point, despite its association with abstinence in various forms, straight edge and the music of Minor Threat were very definitely still hardcore punk, loud, fast, emphasizing rhythm rather than melody, and disassociated from the art and fashion aspects of traditional punk.

Answer: Psycho Killer

Were the Talking Heads punk? Some argue yes; others argue that they're more of a New Wave act. Whichever you believe, the band certainly was on the funky side of Alternative music. And "Psycho Killer" is often talked about as one of the classic punk songs.

It's from the band's 1977 album, "Talking Heads: 77." It was written by David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz. The song, as you might imagine, seems to be about a serial killer, perhaps even being first-person thoughts of the killer. The album was ranked number 290 of the "500 greatest albums of all time" by "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Answer: Blitzkrieg Bop

"Hey! Ho! Let's go!" The song "Blitzkrieg Bop" is 92nd on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" (not just punk songs) and that same magazine made the song 18th on its "Top 100 Best Guitar Songs of All Time." And if you Google "best punk songs" or equivalent, you'll find a number of sites list it as THE greatest punk song of all time. It was written by Dee Dee and Tommy Ramone and was the Ramones' initial single release, in 1976. It also appeared on their debut album, "Ramones," that same year.

Answer: Banned in D.C.

This question refers to the 1982 song, "Banned in D.C.," not the identically-named compilation in 2003 of Bad Brains songs. "Banned in D.C." is from the band's debut album from 1982 called "Bad Brains." The song's title comes from the fact that in 1979 the band was (informally) banned at some of the Washington, D.C. music venues.

The band was formed in D.C. and is widely regarded as one of the pioneer groups in the hardcore punk movement. Their music has been influential on such groups and artists as Minor Threat, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Kurt Cobain, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Sublime.

The band was the impetus in Henry Rollins' becoming a punk artist, well before he joined Black Flag.

They are on the VH1 list of the 100 greatest rock acts of all time. I'm proud to say that I saw them live in D.C. and have their set playlist, which I stole from the stage as the set was ending!

Answer: One Chord Wonders

You may be more familiar with the Adverts from another of their singles, "Gary Gilmore's Eyes." The Adverts were formed in England in 1976 and developed a loyal following, becoming one of the original bands in the 1970s British punk landscape. One of their founders, Gaye Advert, has been called the first female punk star.

Their first album, "Crossing the Red Sea with The Adverts," was released in 1978 and included the song "One Chord Wonders." That album has been ranked as one of the top punk albums of all time, and both "One Chord Wonders" and "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" were included in the 2003 collection, "No Thanks!: The 70s Punk Rebellion." That collection also includes other songs from this quiz: "Psycho Killer," "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Personality Crisis," "Search and Destroy," and "Suspect Device."

Answer: Personality Crisis

The New York Dolls were a punk band (or "protopunk band" according to some critics) formed in New York City in 1971. After a bit of round-robin in membership initially, they emerged as an influential and star-studded group with Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain, and David Johansen among their members.

They had a unique sound for the time. As one critic put it: "It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge." Their influence reached to such groups as Blondie, the Ramones, Talking Heads, KISS, The Clash, and even the Sex Pistols.

The song "Personality Crisis" was on their first album, "New York Dolls," issued in 1973. "Rolling Stone" magazine placed the album at number 213 on its "500 greatest albums of all time" list. "Personality Crisis" was number 267 on that magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." If you're not familiar with the Dolls and want to hear them, you should certainly check out "Personality Crisis" but also listen to their song "Trash." The former echoes back to The Rolling Stones a bit whereas "Trash" gives you a sense of their influence on groups to follow.