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Tag: punk

The Ramones and CBGB: Forever Linked

The Ramones and CBGB were so integral to the development of the punk rock music genre in the mid-1970s that you can’t think of one without the other. The two first came together on August 16, 1974 the Ramones played their first gig at CBGB, arguably launching the punk era. While this wasn’t the Ramones’ […]

    The Humble “Nerve Center” of the City: Gem Spa

    The East Village is a rich palimpsest of fascinating histories. If many of them seem to share as their geographic nucleus the corner of 2nd and St Mark’s Place, that’s because, for a hundred years, there stood a 24-hour general store, the mythic stature of which increased with each successive countercultural wave that crashed on […]

      Exploring East Village Music Meccas with Building Blocks

      This is part of a series of curated tours to help the public explore the buildings and history shared on our recently-launched East Village Building Blocks site — see it here. From 19th-century concert halls to punk palaces of the 1970s, many influential music scenes got their start or found a home among the East Village’s legendary music venues. […]

      “London Calling:” The Clash and the Village

      If you were to ask me to name a truly perfect album, it would take a very quick punk-rock-beat to say “London Calling!” Released on December 14, 1979, this iconic album has been called the first post-punk album; “merry and tough, passionate and large-spirited” by one reviewer; and one of the five greatest albums by […]

      This is Radio Clash

      On November 20, 1981, The Clash’s genre-defying record ‘This Is Radio Clash’ was released. The band’s last stand-alone single, it presaged not only the direction the band would go in years to come, but also the direction of much of popular music in the decades which followed.

        The Ramones’ First Performance

        On March 30, 1974, the Ramones played their very first public performance. The Ramones are of course considered the inventors of punk rock, as well as the ultimate downtown band and the embodiment of the CBGB’s scene. The Ramones’ lightning-fast performances rarely lasted more than a few minutes.

        Jean-Michel Basquiat and the East Village art scene of the 1980’s

        Jean-Michel Basquiat’s life and work are synonymous with the East Village/NoHo art scene of the 1980’s.  From his early years as a burgeoning young artist while studying at City-as-School, a progressive high school Village Preservation proposed for historic district designation which operates on the principles of John Dewey’s theory that students learn by doing, Basquiat was […]

        The Ramones’ First Public Performances

        The Ramones sprung onto the scene in mid-1974, revolutionizing rock music and performance by reinjecting energy, simplicity, and humor into a genre which had become increasingly serious, self-important, and bloated.  In the midst of presidential scandals and resignations, urban decay, and disintegrating social fabric, the Ramones called for a new order based upon three chords, […]

          Happy Birthday Electric Lady Studios…

          …what a long, strange trip it’s been. On August 26th, 1970, an electric lady was introduced to the rock and roll scene on 8th Street in Greenwich Village.  Ushered in by none other than Jimi Hendrix, Electric Lady Studios at 52 West 8th Street was built to provide Hendrix with affordable studio space that would […]

          Manic Panic – 35 Years of Making Our Lives More Colorful

          You can’t watch a music video, open a fashion magazine or even walk down the street without seeing the latest fashion craze,  Technicolor hair. Like so many fashion trends (mohawks on toddlers, anyone?) wearing brightly colored hair started as a rejection of mainstream culture, primarily among the youth of the punk scene.  The brand that has […]

          A Genius of Music and Art

          On September 6, 1981, the infectious and other-worldly sound of Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” was unleashed upon the world.  The song became a club hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the decades since its synthetic riffs have become among the most recognizable, and the most sampled, in pop music history. […]