My 82 Favourite Punk Rock Singles ‘77-‘79
#2 Richard Hell and the Voidoids - ‘Blank Generation’
“I belong to the blank generation, and I can take it or leave it each time / I belong to the ________ generation, but I can take it or leave it each time”
An odd choice for number two? Perhaps, but I stand by it. This is the archetypical punk song - perhaps the backing, which sounds reminiscent of a sloppier Television (Hell’s former band), doesn’t have the brutality of the bands that followed on its heels, but the attitude, the sneering, the energy, is all there. Often misinterpreted, particularly following ‘Pretty Vacant’ (a blatant rip-off if there was ever one) as a celebration of teenage nihilism, the song is actually very optimistic, celebrating the possibilities of a new generation of young people.
