2024 BONUS FREAK: Jesse Sample’s Freak of the Week “A Punk Rocker”

JESSE SAMPLE’s Freak of the Week USUALLY Airs EVERY WEDNESDAY at 6pm EASTERN. But… because of the holiday, this week’s freak will air at 8pm TONIGHT!

This is Jesse Sample. What makes a band a punk bank? Or a song a punk song? Most people might consider the punk genre to be a little less than 50 years old and yes I know there are people chomping at the bit to correct me on that assumption, and they may have a point. It’s a label but we must admit that it encompasses a huge body of material.

You got you American East Coast classics like the Ramones, which can be simple and blunt and hit you like a tank division. You have groups from the UK like the Clash, which were colorful and dynamic, and verge on intellectual. There has been a punk scene in southern California for decades now and there are more punk bands in SoCal than there are oranges. There are alternative bands that must be considered punk rock, like Gas Light Anthem and Airborne Toxic Event. But I’m not even starting to chip away at the paint on this culture.

What makes something punk? Where I stand now, I’d say it’s a raw energy. Someone like Celine Dion could probably sing Iggy Pop’s lines if she set her mind to it, but she doesn’t. As punk rockers, we take our tools, whether they be simple or complex, and use them boldly to express something fully…Well, I guess Molly Hatchet does that too. What do I know?

Thanks to all of you listening to RadioRadioX. I wish you all a spectacular 2025. This is the Freak of the Week, “A Punk Rocker”