Dead Boys

• Genre: Punk
• Hometown: New York City

About

Probably one of the most nihilistic, disgusting and brutish bands to emerge from the 1970s CBGB scene -- and among its best -- the Dead Boys were the real life delinquents the Sex Pistols so desperately wanted to be. The Boys didn't just play rock 'n' roll; rather, they slashed it to sharp-as-glass-edged shards with their guitars, chewed it up into even tinier bits, and spit it out at anyone who would listen. If that wasn't enough, Stiv Bators' sandpaper-textured growl made their music even more aggressive and threatening. Their deliberate obnoxiousness and offensive nature helped shape Punk's wonderfully ugly attitude.

- Kali Holloway