Sex Pistols

Along with the Clash, the Sex Pistols gave birth to the U.K. punk movement that forever changed music the world over. Inspired by New Yorkers like the Ramones and the New York Dolls, the Pistols crafted a hard-hitting, primal sound whose blazing guitars, nihilistic lyrics, and emphasis on passion/anger over technique gave rise to a musical and cultural revolution in the late 1970s. Though punk wouldn't hit the mainstream in the U.S. until the '90s, the effects of punk and its musical children--post-punk and new wave--were felt worldwide, as the Pistols ran a stake through the heart of the prog-rock and soft-rock sounds that reigned in the mid-'70s.

• rock
• pop
• spoken word
• punk
• pop rock
• audiobook
• speech
• 1970s
• 1990s
• 2000s
• hard rock/metal