Boredom (3:05)

Recorded in December 1976, Boredom announces punk’s rebellion against the status quo while templating a strident musical minimalism (the guitar solo consisting of two notes repeated 66 times, ending with a single modulated seventh.) At the same time the lyrics already show boredom with punk itself (“You know the scene is very humdrum” and “I’m already a has-been!”) - indeed Howard Devoto left the band on the eve of the record’s release, saying “I get bored very easily and that boredom can act as a catalyst for me to suddenly conceive and execute a new vocation.” He added that punk rock had already become restrictive and stereotyped.

Richard Boon, the band’s manager, asserts that “Boredom” was a satirical song.

The song was placed at Number 11 in Mojo magazine’s list of “100 Punk Scorchers” in 2001.

Orange Juice mentioned “Boredom”, used a line from it and adapted the guitar solo on their 1982 single “Rip It Up.”