By Jon Pebs
What makes a great song? Lyrics? Melody? Rhythm? Chords? Fuck, I don’t know. What I do know is I’m always talking about songs I wish I wrote. Songs that are so good that loving them isn’t enough. I want to be a part of them. I want to be there for their birth and childhood and teenage years! I want to see them develop in the studio and come out as a complete and gold piece of sound.
Like a lot of musicians, I love all kinds of music and wish I wrote songs in just about every genre. My favorite, of course, being Classic Punk and 2-Tone era ska. I also love metal, country, reggae and jazz. I love Tom Waits as a genre, not just an artist. I wish I wrote most of his songs.
I feel good about my three, very different, bands I play in. Buck-O-Nine is a ska’punk band, Labeled Victims is a crossover Punk/Thrash band and Pebs & The Midnight Welders is a folk/country band. I love it all. I wish I had more time to write and record. No matter where life takes me, I will always have that.
I compiled a list of my favorite classic punk songs (I wish I wrote):
1. “Sing Along Forever” Bouncing Souls
2. “Bob” NOFX
3. “Ruby Soho” Rancid
4. “Bikage” Descendents
5. “Where Eagles Dare” Misfits
6. “21st Century” Bad Religion
7. “Another State of Mind” Social Distortion
8. “Kids of the Black Hole” Adolescents
9. “O.C. Life” D.I.
10. “Stukas Over Disneyland” The Dickies
11. “Generals” G.B.H.
12. “Blood Stains” Agent Orange
13. “Alcohol” Gang Green
14. “I Don’t Care About You” FEAR
15. “Living” Circle Jerks
16. “Intense Energy” Agression
17. “Jealous Again” Black Flag
18. “Tiny Town” Dead Milkmen
19. “Cashing In” Minor Threat
20. “Suspect Device” Stiff Little Fingers