The difference between the first two Eddie and the Hot Rods albums provides a textbook illustration of the motive for and the dilemma faced by punk rock. On their first album, Teenage Depression, the Hot Rods brought back that most important rock & roll ingredient, conviction, with a vengeance. They traveled on electric-guitar power chords and looked to such sources as the Who for inspiration. On...

The reason history can't repeat itself is because we know too much, and the reason that most of the punk bands currently plaguing Britain aren't convincing is that their basic stance—"We ain't heard nothin' yet"—is a lie. The same old rock & roll riffs are the same old rock & roll riffs, however badly they're played. But these old riffs are also the crispest way to celebrate some joys...