What should go on a 30 song punk rock playlist?


So, I recently got my 9yo a guitar for his birthday. We’re belaying lessons until after his current soccer and lacrosse seasons, but I will be showing him a bit. He seems to like all kinds of rock, but I was telling him how easy it is to play most punk rock. He has heard a lot of Ramones, Misfits, etc. from me… But I got the idea of putting together a punk rock playlist for him.

Well, I tend to over-do things. I started a playlist on Amazon (yeah, already have a ton of Amazon stuff and I refuse to pay for Spotify) called Punk Rock 101. It grew quickly to over 300 songs, and that was without thinking much about it. I thought that was unwieldy, and no 9yo is going to sit still even that long.

I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to come up with a 30 song punk rock playlist… that jumps subgenres and provides a CliffsNotes version of the history of punk rock.

I made up an apparently divisive graphic of only 25 punk rock band logos. Apparently this was a bad list and not at all comprehensive… even though it was not even a playlist. Punk rockers on the internet have strong opinions. I reached out on a few social media platforms and groups, mostly to no avail, save for one private FB group and r/punk on Reddit. I was told my list was junk before I even made a list! Are these hipsters masquerading as punks?

There are not many rules.

  • 1 playlist.
  • 30 songs.
  • Punk rock.

It can be a comprehensive history of punk, it can lean into one era. What would the 30 “greatest hits” of punk rock be? Does any band get more than one slot? Which songs from which bands merit entry? I kind of started with “Blitzkrieg Bop”, “Knowledge”, & “Last Caress” because I feel like those are the most covered punk rock songs that I noticed throughout the years playing shows. Do you include crust, street, oi, hardcore, proto-punk, post-punk, emo, 3rd wave ska, japunk, skate punk, pop punk, “pop punk™”, Celtic, folk punk, rockabilly/pshychobilly, cowpunk, or bands like Devo and/or the Cure? Do the Decendents and ALL or Operation Ivy and Rancid both make the cut? You may hate Blink 182 or Green Day, but they inarguably introduced many to the genre. Do the Beastie Boys make the cut with their OLD stuff? Do Motörhead or GWAR make the cut? What about Me First and the Gimme Gimmes?

Hit me up with your list and/or arguments for or against certain songs or bands here in the comments or on social media. Just try not to slag my list that I haven’t even created yet. Type it out or link me to your list. Is the list too short? Too long? Let me know.

Honestly, check the Reddit thread too, lots of people put in some killer playlists & even linked some!

Once I whittle it down, I’ll come back & post it. I’ll try to put it up on Amazon Music, Spotify, & YouTube.

Reddit:

Twitter 𝕏:

Facebook:

Instagram:

Threads:

TikTok:

@aixelsyd13

If you had to make a #punkrock playlist to explain the sound of #punk from the beginning to now, but had to cap it at 30 songs… what would you put on it? Who am I missing here? What songs would you put on it? #Punk101 #PunkHistory #PunkTop30

♬ Blitzkrieg Bop (2016 Remaster) – Ramones

BlueSky:

🤘Bring it, punk rockers & music fans! 🎸

Thanksgiving Mazes! 🦃


I was going to share some mazes for Thanksgiving, and I realized I have a bunch of them. I did some quick dirty coloring of some old ones. I am sharing new ones that will be in my second book, some from the first book, and I have some that are loosely related to fall or Thanksgiving dinner.

Please, use them to have some fun this holiday season! They could be placemats, an activity for those that aren’t cooking while they’re waiting for dinner or for company to arrive, or used as a game to see who finishes first. You could use them to make place cards too if you wanna get creative!

If you complete the mazes by printing them out & solving, or on your phone/tablet/PC with a drawing app, share it on you preferred social media platform & tag me! I’m @AiXeLsyD13 on pretty much all of ’em. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, TikTok, Tumblr, YouTube, etc.) I’d love to see a video of a race to complete the smaller easier ones… and I love to see solutions! I like to draw mazes, not so much solving them.

Mmm, Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing is my favorite. I need to figure out how to do a stuffing maze.

You can solve these while listening to one of my Thanksgiving playlists on Amazon or Spotify, or while talking about what you’re thankful for! I love the reflection this time of year.

This year’s turkey maze:

Thanksgiving-ish themed mazes from the upcoming book:

Newly (& quickly) colorized old Thanksgiving themed mazes:

Random older related mazes:

<shameless plug> The turkey from this year and the “giblets” maze are also available on some cool merchandise from my RedBubble and TeePublic shops too. Why not get a turkey maze T-shirt or an apron with the giblets maze? You can get both designs on hoodies, pet bandanas, stickers, magnets, coffee mugs, and even a damn shower curtain if so inclined. </shameless plug>

🦃 UPDATE! 🦃

After posting this, I found an OLD turkey maze of mine on Pinterest, so I downloaded & edited it a bit. So, here’s one more:


Drawing a Maze


I like videos of people doing their art, so I tried one.

It’s on TikTok, YouTube, & Instagram.

@aixelsyd13

Like mazes? I like to watch others do their art, so I thought I’d share this. #AiXeLsyD13 #Maze #Mazes #Drawing #LineArt #PenAndInk #BlackAndWhite #labyrinth #art

♬ Hocus Pocus – Focus

Massive Maze Morass ✍


Here’s a bunch more mazes. No real common theme. Inspiration is weird. Try ’em, post ’em, tag me. Post it on your WordPress or Instagram or Twitter, or Facebook or Tumblr or TikTok or whatever. I’m @aixelsyd13 on most all platforms. I think I even signed up for Hive and Mastodon. Host it somewhere and use html to post it here in the comments. You have a world full of options.

Do it on your phone or tablet. Print it and do it like it’s 1993. Have fun. There are no rules. Anarchy abounds!

New pickups for the Annihilator!


This is a copy of the Annihilator guitar developed by Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein and his brother Jerry Only of the legendary horror punk band, the Misfits.

Annihilator copy from AliExpress - A copy of the infamous guitars of Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein.

I ordered it from AliExpress. It seems to be a copy of the Oktober version. I think Jerry & Doyle originally worked with Rand to build the guitars… then Oktober made a run but Doyle has publicly and often decried their quality. Word on the street is that Dean will be making a production model. Doyle’s have been made from wood, graphite, and metal… with bolt-on sides since he can be a bit rough on them.

I had my go-to guitar guru (the inimitable Aaron Hutzel of Empire Music) recently do a setup and drop-in some Dragonfire Crusaders humbuckers. It sounds glorious through my Orange Micro Terror & a Laney 2×12 cab.

Here is a video of me playing it:

Here’s a short version of the video with annoying filters and stickers on TikTok:

I love it. I know its not “real.” I know it’s ridiculous. It’s fun. I’m too punk rock and too old to care what anyone thinks of the look, legitimacy, or irony of it all. Ha ha.

You can read about my first impressions here: My Guitars | The Annihilator Guitar

You can get one here if you have mad patience and expectations that match the sub-$200 price point: $189.0 US | Factory custom unusual shape Bat body Electric Guitar with Rosewood Fretboard, Bat inlay, Black Hardware, offer customized

Check out Empire Music if you want to see some really nice high-end Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor, & more guitars. Check out some of Aaron’s work on his Instagram, he gets to see some beautiful axes! If you’re in or around Pittsburgh, I highly recommend him for all your guitar repair, revision, and setup needs.

Check out a bunch of my weird guitars here on the blog and here on my playlist:

I may eventually set up a website just to catalog/showcase my collection. I have it, I just need to populate it. Would anyone be interested in that, or just me?