Comments on: The Damned “Machine Gun Etiquette”

By: Mr. Beer N. Hockey

Mr. Beer N. Hockey — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:48:28 +0000

Did not have the opportunity to see The Damned back when they were often mentioned in the same sentence with the Sex Pistols (who made the best rock ‘n’ roll album ever) and the Clash before the dope rot started to set in. Machine Gun Etiquette got a lot of play on my record player, it was little easier on the ears for some people than Cock Sparrer, Their second record has to be one of the worst produced punk rock records ever. They ought to have used Johnny Moped’s producer.
When I finally did see The Damned it was just after America’s Black September. They were surprisingly good for a bunch of old dudes like me. They still had the whiff of bewildered innocence that sets the best punk apart from the rest. And they got super stoned Dope City rocking that night, never an easy task

By: jason

jason — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:48:24 +0000

ah, you punk fans are an awefully loyal crowd. I made my bed, so I may as well lie in it too. The Damned are one of my favorite punk bands without doubt and as mentioned before I like Strawberries and the Black Album but feel that the later goth albums haven’t aged as well – ie Phantasmagoria or Anything. Machine Gun Etiquette was the first album I ever bought by them so maybe theres an emotional attachment but from the first few minutes of that album onwards, I was knocked out cold – like a baseball bat to the head.

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:37:37 +0000

Another longtime Damned fan checking in to defend Strawberries. I admit I am not a scenester of any stripe so I am not tuned in to what degrades an artist’s cred, all I can say is that this child of the 80s adored the Black Album and Strawberries right alongside M. G. E. Thanks for celebrating this underrated band who has always been in my top ten.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:25:53 +0000

Yes, Wire’s 154 is a very different record, post punk art-rock to be sure. But I think it’s a good point of comparison because the group were being influenced by psychedelia at this point – just as the Damned were on Machine Gun Etiquette. I feel that 154 is as close to rock n roll as a group like Wire ever approached.

The Black Album and Strawberries have their moments, lots of great songs – you make a compelling arguement. Maybe the Black Album could have used some pruning but it’s pretty good.

As far as the Pistols go, never been a fan. I always felt that Mr. Rotten acted a bit childish, there was nothing punk about him, he was a clown. True, they had their fair share of slashing punk classics but I feel that there were plenty of interesting, more talented groups on the English front. But I don’t think they were really doing anything new, I mean look at the Pretty Things, Crushed Butler, MC5, Modern Lovers, the Monks and so forth.

There are some cool neglected punk bands worth checking out:

STIPHNOYDS – Affraid Of The Russians (their only record, an ep but a good one)
The Dogs – Different (tough punk band from France)

By: dk

dk — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:54:45 +0000

The Damned weren’t “one of the first British punk bands to release singles and albums” they were THE first. “New Rose” was the first British punk LP, and the title track was the first single. I’ve never been wild about their music, but they deserve their props for being the first to scale those peaks.

I have to disagree with your assessment of the Sex Pistols. “Overrated” is in the eye of the beholder, so I’m not going to quibble with that too much, but it’s simply not true that the group didn’t play their instruments well. The pre-Sid Vicious version of the group, with Glen Matlock on bass, was a four-headed live monster that influenced nearly every punk group that came in their wake. Vicious was an incompetent joke on bass, but they were a serious band before he joined up. For audio proof, check out the ‘Screen On The Green’ show from 1976 that’s included in the Sex Pistols box set. Powerful stuff…

By: Ramone666

Ramone666 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:21:41 +0000

I always thought people kinda liked this one just because it was much better than the disastrous 2nd album… It´s doesn´t come close to the debut i.m.o. Plus I don´t really get your comparison to Wire´s great 154. That one´s arty postpunk, and a real departure from their previous albums, where Machine Gun Etiquette is still firmly based in the punk rock tradition, or as you say ´rock and roll pure and simple´.

By: A.J.

A.J. — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:40:30 +0000

gotta agree with you, this is one of the best albums of all time and the damned are much underrated, although got to take issues with strawberries and the black album being dismissed as goth, although you do have a point with phantasmagoria and especially with anything. For me the black album was always their pinnacle, mixing more experimental styles with full tilt punk rocl, check out the 25th anniversary reissue and you’ll see what i mean. have you heard their new stuff, it’s not too bad, yet to hear their 2008 album so who’s paranoid yet but i’m hoping for good things