Public Enemies 1996

Chicago's Screeching Weasel generally have a polarizing effect on most punk fans – either you love their amateurish, tuneful Ramones imitation and singer/guitarist Ben Weasel's smartass suburbanite, often pop culture-oriented lyrics, or you hate them. Over the course of the band's career, which lasted for more than a decade and saw several breakups and numerous personnel changes, Weasel (in spite of occasional nitpicking from critics) remained true to his staunch D.I.Y. indie ethics, as befits a former columnist for the defiantly punk 'zine Maximumrocknroll.

"This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous. My husband is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for him to marry." —Letter written by Princess Diana, late 1996