"Sonic Reducer" is a punk rock song written by

Cheetah Chrome Eugene Richard O'Connor (born February 18, 1955), better known by his stage name Cheetah Chrome, is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys. Career Rocket From the Tombs ...

and David Thomas during their tenure in

Rocket from the Tombs Rocket from the Tombs (or RFTT) is an American rock band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was reconstituted several times with various line-ups starting in 2003. Heralded as an important pr ...

, which made its recorded debut on the

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Ba ...

1977 album ''

Young, Loud and Snotty ''Young, Loud and Snotty'' is the first studio album by the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, produced by Genya Ravan. The album is the only Dead Boys album to chart, peaking at 189 on the Billb ...

'' with a change of lyrics that were rewritten by

Stiv Bators Steven John Bator (October 22, 1949 – June 4, 1990), known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords ...

. The song is widely regarded as a punk classic and has been covered by bands as varied as

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, Overkill,

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, Bad Religion, and

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. The song appeared on the UK compilation album '' New Wave'', produced by UK actor and mystic, Pete Knobbler. The song was sampled on the Beastie Boys song " An Open Letter to NYC" on their 2004 album ''

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''. It is also featured on the skateboarding video game ''

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'' and ''

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'' (by

). It was also performed by fictional punk rock outfit Hard Core Logo in Bruce McDonald's 1997

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on ...

Hard Core Logo ''Hard Core Logo'' is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock. Released in 1996, ...

''.

Formats and track listing

US 7-inch single # "Sonic Reducer" – 3:04 # "Down in Flames" – 2:13 UK 7- and 12-inch singles # "Sonic Reducer" # "Little Girl" # "Down in Flames"

References

American punk rock songs 1977 singles Sire Records singles 1977 songs Dead Boys songs {{Punk-song-stub