The Beach Boys influence on punk rock-

[kookadams]

There's a lotta mixed feelings on the punk rock era and from what I've noticed it isn't too common to find a Beach Boys zealot who's also an avid punk rocker. For me I see the Beach Boys peak years and the years that preceded it as rock n' roll's "golden era" 1956-1966. And there were a lotta great bands in the late 60s and early 70s like CCR, Iggy & the Stooges, the MC5, the Velvet Underground etc. but for the most part there wasn't really a lotta rock music at that time that came even close to the rock music of the late 50s and early-mid 60s. But when punk rock came with the Ramones, Blondie, Devo, and a shitload of other bands rock n' roll came back full swing with more aggression and intensity . And it's very prevalent in many Ramones songs the influence the Beach Boys had; they even did a cover of Surfin' Safari later on as well as Surf City and Do You Wanna Dance. And I've mentioned this countless times but if you listen to the Queers, there's a huge Beach Boys influence in a huge chunk of their material as well as several outstanding covers. Does anyone wanna add to this?
-Josh

[Aegir]

It's always upset me that the Beach Boys never tried punk. They did surf rock, doo-wop, baroque pop, psychedelic, minimalism, classic rock, whatever Love You is, soft rock, disco, hip hop, et cetera, et cetera. Imagine if instead of MIU they released a punk album. Carl and Mike definitely had the voices for it. All I Want to Do is pretty much punk, anyway.

[The Heartical Don]

Hmmm... odd topic. I think that the Beach Boys shouldn't have tried punk. It's against their nature. Also, I can't really imagine 'oldsters' in 1977 (Brian being 35 then) suddenly singing 'Anarchy In The U.S.', really.
That said: I am (was) both a huge BBs and punk/new wave aficionado. That is less counterintuïtive than you might think. I love 'Marquee Moon' by Television, and a lot by Talking Heads; I was a big Ramones fan, but that enthusiasm has waned over the years. Also: XTC (the group); Blondie (notably 'Plastic Letters' and much less 'Parallel Lines'); early Costello; PiL; and so on.
With my own getting older I discarded labels like 'traditional' and 'punk' altogether, to be honest. What counts is the musical invention. That is why the historical significance of the Sex Pistols will diminish (not so their sociological importance) - they were/are a very mediocre hardrock troupe, which still does its decennial comeback (sans new material) on the festival circuit.
And to conclude: I love Pere Ubu. And Pere Ubu loves the Beach Boys. The circle is round.

(PS: try to get hold of the Geffen Ubu Box 'Datapanik In The Year Zero'; it's probably deleted by now. When it was released it was laughably cheap, around $ 35-40 for 5 CDs, remastered, rarities, the lot. I have it, snigger, snigger...)

[kookadams]

The whole purpose of punk rock in the beginning as as far as I'm concerned still is to revive the spirit of rock n' roll and bring it back to it's simplest form. That's what the Ramones did and the Ramones were big Beach Boys advocates. I think Love You is probably the closest thing to punk rock that they ever did. I also thought Roller Skating Child had a real raw energy to it. 

[Jokker]

I think that the Beach Boys shouldn't have tried punk. It's against their nature.

The Beach Boys didn't need to try punk. They were punk.  It was their nature!

They were the inspiration for the punks. They were the original garageband. They rented instruments that they at the time could hardly play.

Later on, when they performed in the early 70s (Concert LP), the guitar work on "Fun Fun Fun" sounded a lot like Mick Jones' (of the Clash) a few years later. I'm assuming that the two stand out "duetting guitars" were Blondie and Carl, or Al.

[The Heartical Don]

To Jokker and Kookadams -

I stand (partly) corrected! You guys raised a few great points. 'Love You' is, in all its raw honesty and silliness, purely in the punk spirit. It fails totally. I mean: it fails totally when it comes to pretending. Where you can make a good case for punk protesting against all posing, and rightfully so, there are the naked Beach Boys of the mid-70s. And to put the Boys in a league with James Taylor, the Eagles, Styx, Saga etc. etc. would be the error of a musical lifetime.

Also: yes, the band rented instruments for playing in their home garage, against Dad's will. And furthermore, they never succumbed to Murry's wishes by turning into the Sunrays, with a lot of, um, sshhyncopating, in other words: boring old-timey jazzy pop.

*thinks of writing a good book: 'Heroes & Villains: How The Beach Boys Invented Punk'*

[SG7]

They use to play Rollar Skating Child in the 70s is almost punkish, in playing it faster then the recorded version.

[kookadams]

LOVE YOU IS PUNK TO ME.

[Jukka]

If you keep in mind what kind of music was considered "punk" when it first came around... Suicide, Devo, Sehr Schnell... Love You most definitely is the Beach Boys' punk album.

[shelter]

I've been very much into punk rock for the last 15 years or so, I've played in several punk bands, wrote for punk fanzines, collected records, went to hundreds of punk rock gigs, etc. And although there are definately some punk rock bands that were influenced by early Beach Boys (Ramones, Queers, Travoltas, Descendents), in my mind The Beach Boys are pretty much the opposite of punk rock. Some years ago I was in three punk bands at the same time, and I had a show or a rehearsal about five nights a week. That when I started listening to The Beach Boys, it was kind of an antidote for my punk rock overdose. Punk rock was rawness, aggression and energy, The Beach Boys were beauty, sunshine and calmness. So to me personally, they're two entirely different worlds.

[GreatUrduPoet]

LOVE YOU IS PUNK TO ME.

I saw the late Alex Chilton perform "Honkin' Down The Highway" and "Solar System" at a punk rock club back in the 80s. At that point in his career his power pop was pretty much "punk" in execution.

[kookadams]

I've been very much into punk rock for the last 15 years or so, I've played in several punk bands, wrote for punk fanzines, collected records, went to hundreds of punk rock gigs, etc. And although there are definately some punk rock bands that were influenced by early Beach Boys (Ramones, Queers, Travoltas, Descendents), in my mind The Beach Boys are pretty much the opposite of punk rock. Some years ago I was in three punk bands at the same time, and I had a show or a rehearsal about five nights a week. That when I started listening to The Beach Boys, it was kind of an antidote for my punk rock overdose. Punk rock was rawness, aggression and energy, The Beach Boys were beauty, sunshine and calmness. So to me personally, they're two entirely different worlds.

That all depends on what punk bands is  definitive to you. That would be the Ramones; and the Ramones made some beautiful brilliant pop music. All the other bands you mentioned- the Queers, Travoltas etc. followed suit- the Beach Boys crossed with the Ramones. Keepin' that spirit goin!

[Music Machine]

The Ramones' song 7-Eleven gives the Beach Boys a shout-out.

[kookadams]

It's always upset me that the Beach Boys never tried punk. They did surf rock, doo-wop, baroque pop, psychedelic, minimalism, classic rock, whatever Love You is, soft rock, disco, hip hop, et cetera, et cetera. Imagine if instead of MIU they released a punk album. Carl and Mike definitely had the voices for it. All I Want to Do is pretty much punk, anyway.

Love You is totally punk, it wasnt intended to be but the Beach Boys always changed with the times and still maintained their signature sound. But Love You is punk rock to me, its raw and the moog bass gives it a very unique sound.

[Peter Reum]

Surfin' Safari (the album) is the Godfather of Punk Albums. Dennis Wilson was an all American red blooded punk. His name should be part of the dictionary's definition of the term.