Music Monday: Met Gala 2013 Edition

Every May, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and the Metropolitan Museum hold their annual Costume Institute Gala, otherwise known as the Met Gala. The ball celebrates the grand opening of the Met’s latest fashion exhibit, from The World of Balenciaga in 1974 and Rock Style in 1999, to AngloMania in 2006 and this year’s model, Punk: Chaos to Couture.

Highlights from the red carpet include Miley Cyrus in all of her spiked-haired-and-fishnet-dress glory, Louisville, Ky. native Jennifer Lawrence doing the most “punk” thing that night, Kim Kardashian confusing her couch fabric sample dress by Givenchy for “romantic punk,” and the original punk fashion designer Vivienne Westwood being snubbed by Billy Norwich by cutting her off mid-interview to throw it back to Hilary Rhoda.

What was missing — aside from the point — at this year’s gala? The music, of course. Though it would be easy to throw up some Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones, it would also be a bit lazy. So, I’m not going to do that. Instead, I have for you five selections of everything punk has to offer. Make your way inside for the real “chaos” behind the couture.

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“Spellbound” – Siouxsie and the Banshees: Let us begin with Siouxsie Sioux and her Banshees. The group formed around The Sex Pistols during the mid-Seventies, with Sioux and bassist Steven Severin being members of the so-called “Bromley Contingent” that were known for helping to bring punk (and punk fashion, especially through Sioux’s use of bondage clothing and heavy eye makeup) into the forefront by ending the career of presenter Bill Grundy (though the latter ultimately brought it onto himself).

“Burn It Down” – The Suicide Commandos: Before David Bryne burned down a house himself, Minneapolis’s Suicide Commandos performed their 1977 single in front of their old practice space being razed in a controlled manner. The trio released one full-length and one live album between 1975 and 1979 before breaking up, though their impact would lay the foundation for fellow Twin Cities bands such as Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and Soul Asylum.

“Ghost Rider” – Suicide: What happens when you take a broken Farfisa organ, add effects gear, and pair them with a crazed frontman known for whipping the stage with a motorcycle chain? You get Alan Vega and Martin Rev, the New York duo behind the influential proto-everything project. Synthpop, techno, industrial, hip-hop, if you’ve heard it, you can probably trace it back to Suicide.

“Moya” – Southern Death Cult: Before “She Sells Sanctuary,” “Fire Woman” and “Rise,” The Cult were Southern Death Cult. Named for what is now known as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, the Ian Astbury-fronted group fused Native American culture into their brand of post punk for a brief time in the early 1980s, giving way to Death Cult/The Cult by the time guitarist Billy Duffy joined Astbury in early 1983.

“Arise” – Amebix: Finally, the soundtrack to beating up Billy Norwich for cutting off Vivenne Westwood, courtesy of this English trio. Amebix fused anarcho-punk with heavy metal, drawing from influences such as Motörhead, Bauhaus and Killing Joke, with bands such as Sepultura and Neurosis claiming the group as influences of their own. The trio reunited in 2008 for their first full-length in 24 years entitled “Sonic Mass,” only to break apart again in late 2012.

Photos: DListed.

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