4 Garage Rock Songs That Paved the Way for Punk

Punk rock’s first wave didn’t last very long. It burned out nearly as quickly as the short songs of its most famous bands. But the scene wasn’t limited to what happened over a few years in the mid-70s. Punk had been stirring in various forms since the 1960s garage bands. Here’s a quick look at four garage rock songs that paved the way for punk.

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“I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges

The Stooges debuted in 1969 with an abrasive garage rock tune, introducing Iggy Pop to the music world. Produced by John Cale, who also pounded a relentless piano and sleigh bells riff on the track, “I Wanna Be Your Dog” offered a clear blueprint for the punk zeitgeist stirring in the 1970s.

Ron Asheton’s simple and repetitive guitar is itself an anti-muso statement. There will be no blooze guitar heroes here. When the punks began booking gigs at CBGB, they were schooled in the volume and power of The Stooges and the next band.

“Kick Out The Jams” by MC5

“Kick out the jams, muthaf*ckahs!” That’s how Rob Tyner begins MC5’s classic. The noisy live debut, recorded over two nights at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom, shares its unhinged spirit with The Who. But this chaotic garage rock feels like a shove into the future.

Fueled by left-wing politics and anti-establishment rage, MC5’s groundbreaking song is a three-minute call to action, and the action might be political or just a summons to rock. The counterculture listened and soon began kicking out their own ferocious jams.

“Roadrunner” by The Modern Lovers

Cale was once again involved in a significant proto-punk recording. He produced “Roadrunner”, which influenced future punk musicians, including the Sex Pistols, whose cover version appears on The Great Rock ’N’ Roll Swindle. Singer and songwriter Jonathan Richman mimicked the garage rock of Cale’s former band, The Velvet Underground.

However, while The Modern Lovers attempted to record its first album, Richman disagreed with Cale’s direction. The singer wanted to move past noisy garage rock and instead aim for a quieter sound. This lineup of The Modern Lovers broke up before finishing the album, though a remixed compilation of recordings arrived as Richman debuted a new group using the same name.

“Sister Ray” by The Velvet Underground

On the song that formed The Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner”, The Velvet Underground play a simple groove for 17 minutes and 29 seconds, while Lou Reed sings about rotting decadence over distorted guitars, organ, and drums. But Richman’s “Roadrunner” describes a joy ride through the city, and his optimism stands in contrast to Reed’s bleak lyrics. Perhaps foreshadowing the pop side of punk.

The Velvets’ music was too experimental and Reed’s lyrics too coarse for mainstream audiences. But they probably rival The Beatles for the number of kids who started bands because of their group.

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