I am not way into Punk myself, though I respect the music. I do enjoy The Clash quite a bit and I actually mention that in the post. I happen to play guitar and most punk is so simple it is hard for me to get into it. It's kind of like going to the store and buying coloring books already colored in by kindergarteners. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS. Most of this is not that the music is bad. It is good. It is simply that I could play this stuff in my sleep for the most part. The Clash is one of those exceptions. They are skilled at their instruments and do some really interesting things. I also love the way the vocalist intentionally sings out of tune and all over the place in Rock the Casbah. It actually makes me smile and chuckle every time I hear it. It has ended up on mixed tapes, CDs, and in MP3 lists for family trips. :P

Ramones I respect for what they do, but I never really got into it.

That said. Some of my closest friends in Junior High, High School and even later were WAY into this scene so I heard it frequently. I was often one of the sole metal heads and flanked by punk rockers who had done the full spiked mohawk thing in a back woods rural part of Colorado. :)