Coachella Preview - The Buzzcocks

Punks in the 60's and 70's. To me, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane... Bread, Cream, Beatles, Zeppelin, Stones, The Who, CCR... That's how I associate that period in music. Counterculture of that era, in my mind, meant long hair, draft dodging, and marijuana picnics. It's hard for me to resolve Velvet Underground, Sex Pistols, and Buzzcocks as part of that time as well.

The Buzzcocks formed in the mid-70's as fans of Velvet Underground and Sex Pistols. By 1976 they were performing at a punk festival in London with Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Clash. 1976?! So hard to believe. Siouxsie might be credited with starting the post-punk movement that seems to try to re-invent itself and pat itself on the back even today.

Without The Buzzcocks, I don't think we'd have a lot of the bands we now credit for *other* bands forming. Maybe The Smiths. Maybe Radiohead. But lest you still haven't heard of the Buzzcocks, take note. They've been showing the younger bands how to do it for a few stints on the Warped Tour and will also be appearing at Coachella this year. And like the Sex Pistols, they're still completely at it.

I still feel as enthusiastic as ever. I still can't believe I wake up and still enjoy writing music and playing music. I still feel I'm 17 when I do it, and I still take drugs and drink and do a load of things I shouldn't be doing. I think maybe 10 or 15 years ago I might have felt old for a moment, but you go through phases. The last few years I've been on a positive roll. --Steve Diggle, Pitchfork interview

Click to play The Buzzcocks - Sixteen Again