WaspStar

It's pretty much subjective re: no bite; some people think the New York Dolls have no punch; others think that they rock harder than most of the punk bands they inspired. Same with the Clash; for me, there's no real dynamics in the Clash's music. The Pistols (with Matlock) surprised you; they didn't take everything as fast as they could, and though Johnny screamed a lot, at least he had some unique phrasing and genuine anger/passion in his voice. Strummer's just growling.

Why are they phonies? Well, I guess you could level that charge against any band, but Complete Control (arguably the best Clash song) is as hypocritical as it gets. It's a song that bitches about the band's record company...and was released by that same company! Apart from that, again, it's really subjective; I don't think they really give a toss about their music or what they're saying. They only cared about politics to the end that it got them audiences. They were bandwagon jumpers. Say what you want about the Pistols; at least they brought a new edge to punk and, afterwards, PIL was genuinely daring (if not wholly original).