Though The Vaselines were already a band a few good years before Kurt Cobain and company exploded into the scene,  I only got to know about them through Nirvana. Kurt Cobain loved The Vaselines so much that he once said (and probably still would be saying it if he were still alive) that they were the best pop band in the world, and Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee are his “most favorite songwriters in the whole world”.

I love Cobain’s songwriting, so the song writers he looked up to were worth checking out. The first Vaselines LP I got was Dum-Dum, it was 1991. After listening to it, I bought their live album, The Vaselines- Beat Happening, and the next two albums that came after it.  Then they simply stopped making albums, and I forgot about them.

Now, here they are again, with Enter the Vaselines. But there’s nothing new because this album is simply a deluxe reissue of their 1992 compilation The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History. Okay, they put in a second disc, which contain demos and live performances and you have something that is worth adding to your collection of records.

Time changes everything. Now, 18 years after I first heard them, Enter the Vaselines comes to me as so crude. How could I have loved punk during my college days? Now, I cannot stand the amateurish guitar lines and the lyrics that could only be written by songwriters so engrossed with the grotesqueness of sex.

But I am not saying that Enter the Vaselines is not worth your time, it has a saving grace: the attitude and the charm of the crude vocals, how it serves as the perfect wrapper for the ear-grabbing melodies that this band manages to churn out despite their musical incompetence. Another thing that saves this album is the humor. ”Molly’s Lips,” “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,” and “Son of a Gun,” are familiar to you because Nirvana covered them.  But listen to the original versions, and you’ll hear something else.

All in all, Enter the Vaselines is still worth checking out. I’m giving it a score of 6 out of 10.

The Ten Greatest Punk Guitarists Of All Time

Punk music has had some great guitarists. Below are some of the best ever to strike a chord. If it weren’t for some of them, the bands you love today may never have started playing. You may not recognize all of the names listed here, but we can be grateful for their service to the punk community. Some of these artists only recorded one album. Some of them even left us way too early in life, but all of them will forever have their places as legends of punk rock.

1. Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion) Gurewitz is easily one of the most influential guitarists of our time. He also has performed on albums by NOFX, Rancid, The Chemical People, The Pietasters and Millencolin. Brett is also the founder of Epitaph Records.

2. Greg Ginn (Black Flag) Ginn was one of very few punk musicians to blend several elements, ranging widely from jazz-fusion to Black Sabbath inspired material. He was the founder of Black Flag and their only constant member.

3. Johnny Ramone (The Ramones) Johnny is easily one of the most underrated guitarists when you consider the fact that he taught himself to play and immediately began recording songs. His hectic fast style influenced many newer punk bands.

4. Michael “Mick” Jones (The Clash) He is the former singer and guitarist for The Clash and The Delinquents and was instrumental in the early punk movement. Jones later went on to form theband Big Audio.

5.Billy Zoom (X) He is the guitarist and lead singer in probably the most diverse list of genres (from punk to folk). His band X had two singles off their first album Los Angeles. The band never received much mainstream success but is credited with being an influential part of the 70’s punk movement.

6. Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) Influenced by everything from glam rock to David Bowie and even Johnny Thunder of The New York Dolls, Jones was the heart and soul of one of the greatest albums ever recorded, Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols. He also played in bands, such as Iggy Pop and The Neurotic Outsiders.

7. Robert Quine (The Voivods) Robert was influenced by many early jazz and rock guitarists. He only played on one of their albums, but he is easily one of the most eclectic guitarists ever to record a punk album.

8. Frank Navetta (The Descendants) The guitarist for their first six years, Frank also played for the punk band All in 2002 in a semi-reunion of three of the original members of the Descendants. His influences ranged from surf to metal, and his later playing style was considered similar to Greg Ginn.

9. Paul Caiafa AKA Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein (The Misfits) Paul played his first show with The Misfits at only 16. Also known as Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, he was one of the founding members of the original Misfits and also has a new band named Gorgeous Frankenstein.

10. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) Kurt began playing guitar at age 14, and most of his influences were punk based, such as the Melvins and Vaselines. As the guitarist and vocalist for Nirvana, Kurt paved the way for many of today’s punk bands. Many don’t realize that he actually was a very accomplished guitarist because he hated to show off and rarely played solos. Even after his tragic and untimely death Cobain is still one the pioneers of today’s punk music.