The Dickies

The Dickies were the clown princes of L.A. punk, not to mention surprisingly long-standing veterans of the L.A. scene. In contrast to the snotty, intentionally offensive humor of many comically inclined punk bands, the Dickies were most often goofy, inspired mostly by trashy movies and other pop culture camp, especially on their 1979 debut, The Incredible Shrinking Dickies. Their covers were just as ridiculous as their originals, transforming arena rock anthems ("Nights in White Satin") and bubblegum pop chestnuts alike ("The Tra-La-La Song") into the loud, speed-blur punk-pop that was their musical stock in trade. As the group got older, their music slowed down little by little, as on 1989's Second Coming, and studio records became infrequent, but a pair of singles, 2021's A Gary Glitter Getaway and 2022's Blink 183, confirmed they still had new tricks to share.