So the other day, I was listening to Rattus Norvegicus, which contains one of my favorite tracks, “(Get a ) Grip (on Yourself).” For a long time, I’ve liked this song but didn’t realize until a couple of years ago that it was the Stranglers. (I entered the Stranglers fray with Dreamtime, but worked my way back to La Folie, another of my favorite albums. Anyways, I digress.)

Because I spend too much time commuting, I get ideas about RTH posts in my head while I’m driving, but by the end of a long day with too much screen time, I don’t get around to writing down and researching a lot of my ideas. Here are a few thoughts I had while listening to this song and this album. Please feel free to pick up my slack and help me write this post.

• Is Rattus Norvegicus one of the best and overlooked punk albums? I mean, it contains quintessential punk lyrics territory: violence (pro), sex (pro), anger (pro), poverty (con), religion (sarcastic con), government (con and more con).
• Is there a place in a punk band for a keyboardist? (Especially, one duded up like depicted in this video…)
• Did Mark E. Smith crib Hugh Cornwell’s sneer and style of vocalizing?
• What kind of a wanker would use Latin for a punk album title?
• Are there other songs that lose their titular punch by too many parentheses?
• Isn’t a DIY post really punk?

Help me. Help us.