Birth to Punk. Death to Disco.
Jim Croce, Nirvana, John Prine, and the birth of punk rock
“You don't find the good stuff on a guided tour”
—Dawes, House Parties
Well, Dawes, (congrats on your new album) I beg to differ. I found the good stuff on a guided Wall Street tour this summer in NYC.
Here is a longer intro than normal to tell the amazing story of how this week’s edition came to be.
Our tour guide was charismatic and a New Yorker through and through. He held my interest as we covered the history of stocks and bonds, but the “good stuff” came at the end when he made an off-hand comment about his life before Wall Street as a roadie in the early punk rock scene. After the tour, I stuck around and we discussed early punk rock, Bowie Bonds, and New York music in the 70s. For a music swapper like me, it was so much fun.
Naturally, I told him about the Music Swap and invited him to write for us. He said yes, and here we are today - after I badgered him about it for a few months) - with a Bonus Track about how New York City’s 1970s punk rock crowd raged against the status quo of disco.
Here’s a quick recap of the full story:
Dawes releases new song about finding the good stuff in NYC —>
I listen to new Dawes song before going to NYC —>
Wall Street guided tour happens —>
I find the good stuff —>
Wall Street tour guide writes Bonus Track on day of Dawes's new album release —>
Music Swap magic!!!
In keeping with the spirit of this week’s Bonus Track article, Ben, Jonathan, and I offer a song selection with a hint of rebellious spirit. We hope you enjoy!
-Kody
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce (Ben)
When I think of rebels, one name that comes to mind is Leroy Brown. He’s bad, a gambler, a razor in his shoe, he’s bad - meaner than a junkyard dog. As a kid, I can remember this song on the radio and wondering how my dad knew the lyrics because I heard the guy on the radio sing the “d-word”. Jim Croce became a go-to for me years later in college. I wish he would have had more time to write songs.
Come As You Are by Nirvana (Jonathan)
An article I read recently stated, “The grunge movement was a reaction against the excesses of the 1980s and the glossy, image-driven world of mainstream music.” This rebellious movement was the music of my teen years, not because I was rebellious, but because it had become…well…mainstream. There are so many great bands of the genre, but Nirvana is at the top with “Come As You Are” highlighting their sound.
Sam Stone by John Prine (Kody)
Prine wasn’t afraid to pen a good war protest song. Sam Stone is one of them. He wrote it when he was 24 years old which is mind-blowing - the entire self-titled album is a work of genius. His rebellious songs were the best kind - subtle, implicit, ornery, and irreverent. They cut deep, and Sam Stone is probably the best example of this vein of Prine’s songwriting. He would have turned 78 yesterday. I miss him so much.
Bonus Track - The Birth of Punk: A Personal Journey Through Chaos, Rebellion, and the Death of Disco by James Foytlin
The year was 1977. New York City was spiraling through one of its darkest chapters—a financial crisis, the infamous blackout, the terror of the Son of Sam, and crime so rampant that the Guardian Angels patrolled the streets to confront it. Yet amid all this chaos, the Yankees won the World Series for the first time in ages, and the Bronx was literally burning. Out of this tumult, a small group of us discovered something new, raw, and rebellious: punk rock.
I was an entrepreneur by day, a working stiff trying to make my way in the world. Most of my friends, however, were living comfortably off their upper-middle-class families. But it didn’t matter where we came from—punk was our outlet for teenage angst. The music was different, loud, angry, and full of energy. Bands like the Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Adverts, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Stranglers, X-Ray Spex, Angelic Upstarts, and Stiff Little Fingers filled our lives with their rebellious sounds. But at the center of it all were some rockers from Queens—the Ramones.
We were outsiders. We didn’t exist on the mainstream radar. Radio stations ignored us, while mind-numbing disco ruled the airwaves, forcing its flashy, formulaic tunes down everyone’s throats. Disco was GOD back then, and if you didn’t worship it, you were relegated to social misfit status. It was awful.
But we found salvation in songs like "Anarchy in the UK," "God Save the Queen," "Neat Neat Neat," and "Hong Kong Garden." The Sex Pistols got banned everywhere, and The Stranglers went to war with Sweden. It wasn’t just music; it was a revolution. And in New York, the underground club scene was our refuge, with spots like CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City, The Mud Club, Club 57, and Harrah’s offering us a place to gather and fight back against the mainstream.
The debate raged on—who was the first to ignite the punk flame? The Damned claimed they were the first to release an album, but many pointed to Queens and the Ramones. My group, however, leaned towards the UK bands, embracing their raw, aggressive style—more pushing, shoving, and lots of drinking.
But there was a larger issue at play: the battle to upend the disco machine. For us, destroying disco was about saving the world from its mediocrity. We refused to bow down to the glittery, soulless beast. We were few, but they were many. So, we started bands, roadied for shows, bought the clothes, supported the movement, and lived the punk ethos, all while facing physical threats and navigating neighborhoods that were either crime-ridden or hostile to anyone who didn’t conform to the disco scene.
With no radio play for punk, we got creative. One of our friends from Manchester would tape the John Peel Show on cassette and smuggle the tapes to us in the States. These tapes became our lifeline, spreading punk wherever we could. That is, until we received an official letter from the FBI outlining the legal ramifications of our underground operation. But we didn’t stop there—we got a shortwave radio and started listening to Peel in real time.
Every night brought something new—999 during the transit strike, Magazine, The Buzzcocks, and even Iggy Pop and The Cramps on Halloween. Our tastes expanded with bands like The Specials, Madness, Blondie, The B-52’s, and Talking Heads.
Then the 80s came roaring in, and everything changed. By 1982, punk had become just a memory. Disco was finally defeated, and the world felt like a better place because of it.
Looking back, those years were wild, unpredictable, and filled with a rebellious spirit that shaped who we were. Punk rock wasn’t just music—it was a way of life, a way of pushing back against a world that didn’t understand us. And for a brief moment, we felt like we had won.
—
James Foytlin is an ex-Wall Streeter. He’s a blogger, NYC tour guide, card-carrying member of the gig economy, brand ambassador, and crowdfunded. He once saw U2 open for another band before they made it big and has stories of seeing Bowie and Mick Jagger around the NYC bar scene in the 70s.
What a Swap! Thanks for reading this week!
-TheMusicSwap
Thanks, James! Loved this piece!