John Ross Bowie Quotes

When punk came along, I found my generation's music. I grew up listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, 'cause that was what got played in the house. But when I first saw the Stranglers, I thought, 'This is it.'

The bands that were big in '77, like the Clash and the Sex Pistols and Talking Heads, I got into them in the early '80s. And it changed my life. It got into my DNA.

The Sex Pistols came through Atlanta, and I got to go see them. That was historic. It blew me away; it was so much fun. I bought 45s of bands you don't hear about anymore.

The Sex Pistols had it all - they had the snarl, they had the I-don't-give-a-crap attitude - plus, they could play.

Were it not for the Clash, punk would have been just a sneer, a safety pin and a pair of bondage trousers.

I created Punk for this day and age. Do you see Britney walking around wearing ties and singing punk? Hell no. That's what I do. I'm like a Sid Vicious for a new generation.

I think people are too hard on the Pistols. The Pistols started the whole punk thing and never saw much money.

There are several books out on punk history, but I haven't read any of them. I was there.

The first Decline I did was out of sheer love and appreciation for the music. In 1977, it was more about bands, because punk was a new form of music. It was groundbreaking and political.

I had a big time punk-rock phase and psychobilly phase. I used to go mad for the Guana Batz.

I don't think any punk bands really ever got their due.

It's funny I'm talking to 'Rolling Stone' right now, because back then, it was like, 'Punk rock? Put it back. It's just a flash in the pan.'

I love punks!

The Ramones are an original rock and roll group of 1975, and their songs are brief, to the point, and every one a potential hit single.

When punk began to be a genre, people were going to go out and try to mine it. Some of the better groups, like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, were very artificial.

There's a punk-rock attitude, clearly, to 'Hated.' There's even a punk-rock attitude to 'The Hangover,' I think. We start the movie with a Glenn Danzig song.

I discovered the Clash, the Pistols, obviously the Ramones, Blondie.

I love punk rock, The Clash, The Ramones, The Cramps. I love where it all came from, and music for my ears now, it has to have that same electricity, adrenaline and danger.

I used to hang out with a bunch of old punk rockers when I was a little kid.

I never met Johnny Rotten, and I didn't want to meet Johnny Rotten.

To me, Sid Vicious is cool. Super chill.

When the 'godfather of punk' thing started floatin' around, it was, I was really, really embarrassed. I thought I should have a great, big rig and a cape and everything, and it was very embarrassing. And then after a while, you learn that if people call you anything, this is a great gift.

We were watching bands like the Ramones and Blondie and other bands beginning to ignite.

It was awesome because we were doing Ramones songs.

People called me the godmother of punk, but I never name myself anything.