Punk... The Genre that Doesn't get Enough Credit (Part 4: Folksy Punk)

Finally We have reached the end of this playlist that has been in the works since summer. I gotta say, I'm looking forward to doing something different and I'm likely not going to be doing any more 4 parters in the future. So without further ad-due, here is the final disc of your Punk Playlist.

This is essentially the bands that tend to draw upon the more acoustic/folk side of music to flavor their punk. Since both early punk and early folk were heavily influenced by protest and revolution, it seems to be quite the fitting union to create. However that being said, there are just a few bands in here that I felt needed mention because they didn't quite fit into the last list of bordering on the edge. So this list is a complex mix of folk influenced punk and bands that are bordering on becoming something else. As with most of the stuff in this playlist it's hard to explain so I'd recommend you download the songs from the link at the end of this post and give them a listen to.

Something Corporate - These guys were marketed wrong, pure and simple. They have a nice and polished sound with quite the talented pianist as the front-man (or at least talented by punk standards... If you don't believe me check out this live video of their song Konstantine, which is noteworthy enough to have been referenced in several punk songs that I know of (generally about the konfusion line)). Lyrically they deal with a lot of the same subject matter as other pop punk bands, however they just have this way of saying things that sets them apart from the rest, it's hard to explain. Essentially, if these guys had ever gotten out of the underground/Warped Tour side stage level of fame they'd have had it set. They have the makings of a great band, unfortunately not enough people have realized it. Even the front-man's stage-presence is surprisingly dynamic considering he's hidden behind an upright piano the whole time (also, he plays an upright piano, that gets him points right there).

Weakerthans - John K. Samson used to play bass for Propoghandi... Now he fronts one of the more successful indie bands in music today. I'd almost go as far as to say that he has far surpassed them in fame where things are today and if you're at all familiar with the two bands and you listen to the album "Less Talk, More Rock" by Propoghandi it is painfully obvious who writes which songs, and both members benefitted greatly by the split. By that I mean they could reach their full potential only once they were no longer trying to both have their way. But that in not way tells you what the Weakerthans sound like, so I'll try to sum it up in a nice little sentence. (Country + Folk + Punk) x The Indie Mindset (which, admittedly, could be the name of an indie band) = The Weakerthans. Their lyrics are by far the most interesting and are quite heavily influenced by Martin Luther and Liturgy. Not so much in subject matter but rather in the idea that you can fit as many words as you want into a stanza regardless what logic would depict, and they really don't have to rhyme if you do it right. Look at the lyrics of any off his songs, it looks like he just took a paragraph of text that was never meant to rhyme or anything and just chopped it up in a way that would allow it to fit into the song at hand. Also, they have some pretty sick music videos... Definitely on my list of bands who have yet to disappoint me with a video.

Against Me - Remember the good old days when folk was pumping out all these great protest songs? Well, Against Me has taken that formulae and applied it to punk to make a very accessible and singable set of songs. Almost anyone can pick up a guitar and pump out these songs, singing along to them in their basement with friends. I think I can safely say that anyone who goes out and buys the CD will likely be singing along by track 4.

Dropkick Murphy's - They sound like a bunch of Boston dockhands from Ireland. Celtic Punk at it's finest (almost)

Flogging Molly - One could make the argument that these guys aren't punk, but just really fast folk... To that I'd say "Go see em' live" Whatever doubts you have of their punk cred will be washed away at any live performance. Even though only about half of their songs (at the most) really sound like punk songs to begin with when you go to see them live even the slow songs take on this air of punk. Basically these guys are like Dropkick if they had never taken that boat over to Boston and just stayed in Ireland making their music.

Gogol Bordello - I don't exactly know how to describe this band, so I'll give them the label they have given themselves of Gypsy Punk. Basically they take the punk attitude and a bit of the genre and applied it to more eastern styles of music. Very interesting stuff.

The World-Inferno Friendship Society - Cirque du Solie on Acid with electric guitars! I know it's a weird visual to think of, but it's probably the best way I can describe this band. Punk+Drugs+The Circus = TWIFS.

Ill Scarlett - Remember all that ska turned punk I'd been praising way back when? Well these guys walk a very thin line in these regards as they have always been ska influenced punk as opposed to ska that became punk. This generally gives their punk a very reggae dub feel that is more prevalent in two-tone ska (i.e. The Specials) than third-wave ska (i.e. The Mgithy Mighty Boss-tones). Especially given that they don't have a horn-section and instead allow the guitar to take what might normally be the horn part. That being said, however, they are in no way two-tone as two-tone had not yet really integrated much punk into their music.

Yellowcard - Pop-Punk with a violin. Everything before they got rid of the violin, and their more recent stuff where the violin has taken a backseat are useless. But those couple of CD's where the violin was a central piece to their music is just spectacular instrumentally (say what you will about their lyrics, but the instrumentation was pretty great in those days... at least for a pop-punk band).

Zebrahead - Punk Rap. Or rather punk with a rapper that raps over all the punk. You really have to listen to them to understand what I'm talking about. Aside from that they really have a traditional pop-punk kind of sound. The addition of a rapper just makes them something else that's genuinely unique.

This is me Smiling - I think they've broken up, so good luck getting a hold of anything new by them, but when they were making music they were all very talented individuals playing a weird mix of indie and punk.

Death from Above 1979 - Call it what you will: Punk, Metal, Rock... It's really hard to label them, so I'm just going to throw them in punk because that's what I hear when I hear them. Essentially they are a bassist who occasionally plays keys with a percussionist. So this band is made up of two guys and yet they sound about as full as any other band out there today. Again, one of those bands you just kind of have to hear for yourself.

Download The Songs Here ---> Mediafire