Album of the day (#1237): Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's Th - Music

albummaster
Janitor

Gender: Male
Location: Spain
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Today's album of the day

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by Sex Pistols (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1977.
Country:

Overall rank: 61
Average rating: 80/100 (from 790 votes).

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Tracks:
1. Holidays In The Sun
2. Bodies
3. No Feelings
4. Liar
5. God Save The Queen
6. Problems
7. Seventeen
8. Anarchy In The U.K.
9. Submission
10. Pretty Vacant
11. New York
12. EMI

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

drakonium
coucou

Location: More than one

Great record, a lot of fun, etc. Nothing original to say about it.

Guest

I can take or leave this album. I understand its place in history, but Lydon just went on to do so much more. I think time has probably diminished its thrill, and its sped-up Chuck Berry riffs don't sound anywhere near as exciting now as I imagine they did in '77. That said, the three song run of 'Anarchy in the UK', 'Submission' and 'Pretty Vacant' is untouchable. But there isn't one song here that I like as much as 'New Rose', or 'Ambition', or 'White Man (In Hammersmith Palais)', or 'Boredom', or 'One Chord Wonders', or [insert classic British punk single here]. It's cool, but it isn't for me. Always strikes me as one of those "you had to be there" records.

HoldenM
To Pedantically Split Infinitives

Gender: Male
Age: 29

As far as Lydon projects go, Public Image Ltd. is a lot stronger than this. To me, this is an important album, but not one that I find particularly transcendent. Good, not great.

Track picks
1. Holidays In The Sun
5. God Save The Queen
8. Anarchy In The U.K.
11. New York
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brun027

Gender: Male
Age: 28

Top T-shirt seller. The album is ok, I think the concept of the Sex Pistols is better than the music itself. A few great songs nonetheless.

Mercury
Turn your back on the pay-you-back last call

Gender: Male
Location: St. Louis

I straight love this album. Plain and simple. In my top 15. Number 14 to be exact.

This is the sound of punk. This is just a beautiful and succinct view of what it is in all it's rabid, ragged, stupid, pissed off glory. When I think of what punk was all about and what it sounded like as a musical style I think of this album. This record gets me amped every time.

Not to sound like a close minded fool, but something about most of these angry bands today and over the last 30 years or so just generally doesnt work. Maybe its just that as the music continues to get louder and louder and more and more disrespectful and angry, the original novelty and shocking freedom wears off. For me I can still hear how revolutionary this album was in '77. This still sounds fresh, out of control, completely unhinged. The apex of music for angry young people.

"Blind acceptance is a sign
of stupid fools who stand in line!"

Yeah, this is dope, don't let it be misunderstood.
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-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

Guest

Mercury wrote:

This is the sound of punk. This is just a beautiful and succinct view of what it is in all it's rabid, ragged, stupid, pissed off glory. When I think of what punk was all about and what it sounded like as a musical style I think of this album. This record gets me amped every time.

Interesting. I think one of the things that turns me off this album is the machismo of it all. It's a chunky record, as opposed to a spindly record. To me, this full-sounding power chord anger reeks of school bullies. I don't know why that is, perhaps it's just me. You say it's "rabid, ragged", but it all feels a little too calculated for that to ring true, like the douchebag who has drunk three pints but pretends to be drunker than he actually is in order to start a fight. Anyway, interesting to see somebody my age say that they find this record exhilarating, kind of proves wrong my previous "you had to be there" theory.

I can see it on a couple of your charts, but was just wondering what your thoughts on Metal Box are? I mean, for me it's far ahead of Bollocks in pretty much every way imaginable, but I'd be interested to know how that record feels to somebody who loves the Pistols so much.

Mercury
Turn your back on the pay-you-back last call

Gender: Male
Location: St. Louis

lethalnezzle wrote:

Interesting. I think one of the things that turns me off this album is the machismo of it all. It's a chunky record, as opposed to a spindly record. To me, this full-sounding power chord anger reeks of school bullies. I don't know why that is, perhaps it's just me. You say it's "rabid, ragged", but it all feels a little too calculated for that to ring true, like the douchebag who has drunk three pints but pretends to be drunker than he actually is in order to start a fight. Anyway, interesting to see somebody my age say that they find this record exhilarating, kind of proves wrong my previous "you had to be there" theory.

I can see it on a couple of your charts, but was just wondering what your thoughts on Metal Box are? I mean, for me it's far ahead of Bollocks in pretty much every way imaginable, but I'd be interested to know how that record feels to somebody who loves the Pistols so much.

I understand that perspective of this record. It's clear to me that Johnny Rotten and the boys were ACTIVELY and with malice trying their damnedest to just piss people off. That feels like the main concern of the record most of the way through. Maybe it's reflective of my latent aggression and antagonism towards things around me that whenever I hear John snarling and spitting with such obvious staged venom that I get so excited about it. When he says "FUUUUCK THIS!!!! AND FUUUUUCK THAT!!!!" I just can't help but smile a big grin and just fall in love all over again. Same when he's talking about dead babies, berlin walls, moron queens, anarchists and antichrists, etc. I mean, it's not like the pistols gave off a feeling of not giving a shit. Because they did give a shit, they had everything leaning toward making people very very uncomfortable and upset and hateful. They basked in it, rolled around in it like happy pigs in slop. It was so great! There haven't been many artists I can think of that had that direct of a bad intention and were so affective relative to their generation at doing what they intended. Maybe Eminem, or NWA, or Marilyn Manson, but none of them were as obviously going out of their way to upset people.

You used the word "bully" and I can see that. They were bullying everyone. They were like the total ass hole who just takes it upon himself to just drag the whole school into chaos and make the teacher cry and quit. Again, I love it in a weird way. I think of Johnny Rotten in this period of time as a musical equal to The joker. Devoted to upsetting... Everyone

The guitar sound and really the big, anthemic sound of the record is very clean and very nicely produced really. Especially in comparison to albums of the same year from The Damned and The Clash. It's crunchy and LOUD and catchy. And you're right, ragged may not be the right word.

Okay, and as for PIL, I find myself sometimes loving it and sometimes not really feeling it. Metal Box musically is way way ahead of Nevermind the Bollocks... but I don't enjoy it as much as I respect it. "Albatross" is pretty fucking fantastic. And honestly, I think I slightly prefer Flowers Of Romance. Just love the weird minimalistic rhythms and weird yelping vocals on that album. I think it was even on my chart once.

I may just be shallow, cuz I have never really been attached to any of the great post punk groups like I have been many many punk groups. It's a genre that is ripe for the picking when I finally feel so inclined.
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

bigeyedfish

The best representative of what punk is, and the only punk album I made a point to get in my record collection. I'm not a punk fan, but something about this one sticks out to me even if there are better punk musicians out there. Great for when I'm angry or just feeling loud.

Holidays in the Sun is my favorite here for sure, for some reason I find it disproportionately better than the other tracks.

Mdemauri

Gender: Male
Age: 58
Location: Michigan

Being 12 in 1977 when this album came out, I was afraid of the Sex Pistols. They were supposed to scare you, be pissed off and angry at the world. As far as punk albums go, it was a landmark. But for my money, The Clash were where it was at.

Listening to the album today, I find it a great deal more musical than I first remember 35 years ago. It deserves its place in the history of rock.