I thought they would have had a better career...

I'm going to disagree about Wilco. They never have had much commercial, radio play success, but they don't rely on it. The sell out their concerts around the globe, and they produce the music Tweedy (and the band) wants. They have a -- not rabid, but passionate -- fan base. Hell, I've seen them in four states, at least, and one of my ex's and her girlfriends went from Louisiana to San Francisco to see them.

That's pretty much the definition of success any way you look at it.

 

The Vandals
T.S.O.L.
7 Seconds

Wore this one out ...

 

Dead Milkmen, punk or no? I'll wait for your reply in my bitchin' Camaro.

 

What is the difference between the Ramones melodically playing "I Want to Be Your Boyfriend" and Green Day melodically playing "2,000 Light Years Away"?

 

Arguments about what's punk and what's not punk. I feel like I've been transported back to my middle school cafeteria.

 

I'm a touch older than you (I think), so for me and my fellow nerds, it was:

"Rush is heavy metal!"

"No they're not, they use keyboards!"

 

Repped for real talk.

 

Now I'm flashing back to a 45-minute group screaming match over whether The Who was punk, proto-punk or not punk at all. I had very strong opinions about these things at 14 years old.

 

Taylor has a no. 1 single, and a no. 1 album and sold twice as many records as Crow. I'm really not bashing on Crow, I think she's just as good if not better in terms of songwriting - which is why I thought she would have had a bigger career.

 

You were wrong then too.

Up The Clash!!!

 

I tend to agree with this list, though it sets up a music vs. ethos debate for several of them. X and the Buzzcocks are tricky. X was far and away the greatest band of the LA punk scene, but yeah, you could argue whether they were punk at all.

I would say early Social D is punk.

Green Day always had a "I'm punk; I got this outfit at Hot Topic when my mom was in another part of the mall" quality that prevents me from ever considering them punk.

The Clash is punk; Rancid, essentially a Clash cosplay/tribute band, is definitely not punk.

Husker Dü and the Minutemen were often described as "hardcore" bands, but not punk bands. That sort of makes sense to me.

 

You're not explaining why these bands are or are not "punk." I feel like I'm reading the Supreme Court justice trying to define obscenity.