Boredom

"Boredom" is a song about the perils of complacency, serving as a kind of mission statement for the Buzzcocks, who were anything but dull. Released in 1977 on their debut EP, Spiral Scratch, it broke new ground in the UK punk rock scene by incorporating melodic pop sounds and thoughtful lyrics that you can actually understand. Spiral Scratch holds a place in history as one of the first successful self-released records. The band borrowed money to make it and somehow convinced record stores in Manchester, England to stock it. It formed a template for DIY punk, showing how bands could bypass record labels if they were willing to handle their own manufacture, distribution and promotion.

Buzzcocks trivia: The band came together when Howard Trafford, then a student at the University of Bolton, placed an advertisement looking for musicians sharing a liking for The Velvet Underground's song "Sister Ray." If you listen to "Sister Ray," it's "a rambling, nodded-out account of sex and murder among junkies and transvestites," in the words of the book The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side.

Check the guitar solo for punk authenticity. It's just two notes repeating 66 times, then ending with a single modulated seventh.