[Western Music] Hardcore Punk Masterpieces and Popular Songs – Beginner’s Guide

California über allesDead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys – California Über Alles

Alongside bands like Black Flag, Dead Kennedys were pioneers of California punk.

With vocalist Jello Biafra—known for his highly distinctive vocal style and ironic lyrics—and guitarist East Bay Ray—who combines technical prowess with great taste—the band formed in 1978 and released four original albums before disbanding in 1986.

They later reunited in 2001 with vocalists other than Biafra, but they haven’t been producing new recordings, so if you’re interested in the band, you should listen to all four albums.

The song featured here, California über alles, was their debut single released in 1979 and was re-recorded for inclusion on their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, released the following year in 1980—one of their signature tracks.

It’s a classic that opens with a simple bass line and tight drums; Biafra’s vocals, brimming with a unique tension and humor, agitate the listener, and Ray’s loud guitar—rooted in rockabilly, among other styles—explodes.

Especially considering the dramatic shift in mood in the latter half, you can understand that hardcore punk is by no means a genre that pursues speed alone.

Start TodayGorilla Biscuits

Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today

Seeing the title of this track, some of you might be thinking, “This looks kind of familiar…” Right? For those in the know, it’s super famous: the company name “Yugen Gaisha Start Today,” founded while Yusaku Maezawa—the legendary entrepreneur who once played drums in the hardcore band Switch Style—was active, is directly taken from this absolutely classic song “Start Today” by Gorilla Biscuits.

In the late ’80s straight-edge to New York hardcore scene, Gorilla Biscuits were a charismatic presence, and its members are also known for later forming big-name bands across the youth crew to post-hardcore spectrum, like CIV, Youth of Today, Quicksand, and Rival Schools.

Though Gorilla Biscuits themselves broke up after about five years, they later reunited, thrilled fans with energetic activity, and even toured Japan.

The title track of their 1989 masterpiece—and only full-length—Start Today features razor-edged hardcore-born sonics with brilliantly dynamic shifts, and that melancholic harmonica that comes in mid-song is just too cool.

Its powerful message—“Start today”—continues to inspire both today’s kids and the adults who once were kids, no matter the era.

We are only gonna dieBad Religion

Bad religion – We are only gonna die

When you think of a godlike presence in the melodic hardcore—melocore, as it’s loved in Japan—genre, it has to be Bad Religion.

Formed in 1980, they’ve stayed active as a punk band for decades, anchoring their sound in hardcore punk while featuring wistful melodies and extraordinarily complex lyrics.

They remain a thriving, fully active California punk legend even in the 2020s.

As mentioned, they’re known for pioneering a sound that paved the way for melocore, but their very earliest work was straight-ahead hardcore punk.

“We’re Only Gonna Die,” a classic from their early period that’s still a live favorite today, opens their landmark 1982 debut album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse? With its relentlessly raw guitars, breakneck drums and bass, and vocals that trace the chord progression, it absolutely embodies that classic feel—but the band ensemble’s sudden vibe shift through tempo changes is striking as well.

It’s also amazing that even at that point, the vocalist Greg Graffin—who holds a PhD in biology—had already established the kind of dense, intricate lyricism he’s known for.

Walk Together Rock Together7 Seconds

Walk Together Rock Together

Many fans were saddened when 7 Seconds, the American hardcore punk stalwarts, announced their breakup in 2018—a memory still fresh in our minds.

Armed with a fast sound and irresistibly sing-along melodies, they were not only a hugely popular hardcore punk band but also had a massive influence on the melodic hardcore acts that followed.

Their knack for crafting standout melodies is exceptional, and they’ve created numerous anthems that fire up punks with a positive vibe.

The track highlighted here, “Walk Together, Rock Together,” is the title song from their 12-inch EP released in 1985—one of their most popular works alongside their highly acclaimed 1984 debut album The Crew.

It was later reissued as a compilation with added tracks and live recordings.

With its breakneck drums, loud guitars, and catchy choruses working in perfect harmony, it feels like a blueprint for melodic hardcore: simple, yet an undeniably cool killer tune.

The tempo change in the latter half that shifts the mood completely is a particularly nice touch.

This Ain’t No PicnicMinutemen

Minutemen – This Ain’t No Picnic

Formed in 1980 and forced to disband in 1985 after the death of their central figure, guitarist and vocalist D.

Boon, Minutemen carved out a short but striking run with a uniquely twisted, off-kilter hardcore sound.

They exerted a huge influence not only on major bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but also on later post-hardcore and emocore acts, standing out as true eccentrics of the 1980s US hardcore scene.

Bassist Mike Watt, one third of the trio, has remained an indispensable presence in the US indie scene, continuing to be active in numerous bands—including as a solo artist—after the group’s breakup.

This Ain’t No Picnic, where Watt’s surging, space-filling bass lines, solid guitar chording with a distinctive harmonic sense, and supple drumming create a trio-specific ensemble, appears on their monumental third album, Double Nickels on the Dime, released in 1984 and improbably packing 43 tracks.

It came out on SST Records, run by guitarist Greg Ginn, founder of Black Flag, and it’s well worth knowing that bands like Minutemen existed within the hardcore context.

Vicious CircleZero Boys

Vicious Circle

The title track from the album Vicious Circle, released in 1982, explores the complexities of love and relationships.

It portrays the anguish and breakdown of a relationship trapped in an endless loop, vividly depicting how the partners hurt each other.

Zero Boys are a hardcore punk band formed in Indianapolis in 1980.

This work was released in February 1981 and had a significant impact on the punk scene at the time.

While incorporating elements of blues rock, Zero Boys established their own hardcore punk style, making this a perfect song for those who resonate with the complexities and struggles of human relationships.

Don’t Want to Know If you are LonelyHüsker Dü

Husker Du – Don’t Want to Know If you are Lonely

Among the U.

S.

hardcore scene of the 1980s, many distinctive bands emerged that didn’t fit neatly within hardcore punk—like the Minutemen—and Hüsker Dü, the focus of this article, was very much one of them.

Releasing their first three albums on Black Flag’s Greg Ginn’s storied SST label firmly roots them in hardcore, yet they became renowned for evolving into a sound that would deeply influence alternative rock and post-hardcore from the ’90s onward.

If you want to hear them as a hardcore punk band, you should listen to their early work; however, this time I’m introducing Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely from their major-label debut album Candy Apple Grey, a record that marked their move away from hardcore toward a broader musical palette.

With its delicately introspective title, wistful melody, and guitar sound that bridges hardcore punk and alternative rock, listeners unfamiliar with the band may be surprised to discover that long before groups like Nirvana, there was already a band making music that sounded like this.

As an aside, Green Day has covered this song as well.