What is Punk Rock...??
I. Intro
Many journalists, critics, musicians, and punks have tried to explain, in their words, what punk rock is. This brief post will not provide a single and clear definition of what true ?Punk Rock? is, but the hope is that it will provide a clearer perspective of what people are talking about when they talk about punk rock or punk music. The term ?Punk Rock? has been around for over thirty years, and it is still widely used to describe various cultural phenomena that are still alive today. Over the years, punk rock has become such a broad term with so many meanings, that it has become almost meaningless to use it to describe something. The three major elements to the broad term punk rock are the music, the political and social ideals, and the ever-evolving social group/fashion fad.
II. Punk Rock: the origins.
The history of punk rock has been well documented, so I?m not going to spend a lot of time here explaining it. A simple google search will provide you with more information than you probably care to read about the origins of punk rock.
Punk rock was first used in the early 70?s to describe 60?s garage rock, which would become a major influence on punk rock. In the US The Stooges and MC5 as well as The Velvet Underground laid a foundation for punk rock. By the mid 70?s, the Ramones from New York, The Sex Pistols from London, and The Saints from Australia would become major forces in early punk rock. Then in the late 70?s and early 80?s the Dead Kennedy?s took the political abrasiveness of punk music to an unprecedented level, criticizing punk music itself in an effort fuel the more politically active factions of punk rock. Eventually, second wave of punk bands would come along in the mid 80?s including Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and H?sker D?. Finally in the early 90?s, kick started by grunge, the third wave of punk rock would find mainstream commercial success, and this is where things began to get complicated. But wait, hold that thought.
III. Punk Rock: the adjective and the fad.
Does punk rock necessarily have anything to do with music at all?to some, apparently not? Punk rock has become a common adjective for just about anything counter-culture or anti establishment. Punk music?s commercial success or political impact has been a drop in the bucket compared to its social impact. The greater social impact of punk music has less to do with punk ideals and more to do with fashion and attitude. The downfall of punk music is that for quite some time it has been inherently cool to dress differently and to take some extreme, leftist political stance, regardless of the issue. In other words, it?s a fad, and the primary driving force behind this fad is that you have to be young and na?ve. It?s the idea that even if you don?t fully understand why you are on a certain side of an issue or what the issue is, you still passionately defend your position?in the latest punk chic of course. Many recent punk bands err to the punk fad side of things, and are often chastised by those who align themselves with less mainstream punk rock.
IV. Punk Rock: the great myth.
Punk rock would not be what it is without the political and social idealism that it has come to be associated with. Since day one, punk bands have been very outspoken against the political and social establishment. The so-called punk ideals have been hyped and overblown to the point that many consider them the central importance of true punk rock. The sad irony of punk rock is that it has become its own political propaganda machine. There are certainly punk bands out there that are pushing new and creative ideas, but fans and the vast majority of bands are more prone to latch onto the bandwagon than to keep an open mind themselves. For this reason I see punk rock as largely hypocritical and mostly na?ve.
The great punk myth of course is the idea that anarchy would actually be a positive change for the world. With no power there is peace, goes the argument. Many punk rockers cling religiously to this idea, which unfortunately doesn?t seem to work in this universe. Anarchy at best is just an interim between systems of order, and in the social and political sense, the type of order that generally follows anarchy isn?t a particularly progressive one. If punk rock was so deep and meaningful, it would probably be wise enough to think within the context of basic human behavior.
I can sympathize with the punk rock fan who needs a deeper meaning from the music that they listen to, but to say that a band is not punk rock if it isn?t one of the few bands that actually has artistic and social/political credibility, would be a bit limiting. From another standpoint, I feel that to say that a band is punk rock solely based on their political agenda and not their sound, is incorrect as well. Political ideals can be ripped off just as easily as a sound. So to say that some random underground punk who has fallen for the latest self induced punk propaganda and supposed has all this credibility is ?more punk? than the latest commercial success with a ripped off sound, makes no sense to me. Punk rock is about music folks.
V. Punk Rock: the music.
Political agendas and fashion trends aside, it all comes back to one thing: loud, dumbed down lo-fi rock music. If you listen to the music, it is plain to see that there is a formula that punk rock bands follow to one extent or another?so much for anarchy. The foundation of the punk rock band is the staple classic rock line-up of guitars, bass, and drums. The guitar sounds rely on heavily distorted harsh sounded chords played in rapid fashion. Unlike classic rock, punk rock is not prone to lengthy guitar solos. If there is any soloing, it is usually just based on a simple two or four bar riff. The song structure and dynamics are quite simple as well, using a few chords throughout the song, but not changing anything too dramatically, such as volume or timing for instance. Add some irreverent lyrics aimed at the establishment or pop culture or simply glorifying sex and/or drug use, and you pretty much have the formula for punk rock. It?s like classic rock for the urban vagrant instead of white trash.
The musical definition of punk rock holds true for the broad genre over the past thirty years or so regardless of album sales or true ideology. Certainly there are many styles of punk rock with their own nuances, but who is to say what of these is true punk rock?
VI. Outro
A year or two ago I would have argued that to be grunge a band has to think or act a certain way, and a punk band has to think or act a certain way. However, I?ve come to believe that it is counter productive to group music in terms of a political agenda, ideology, or the ability to translate a message. After all, there are some intelligent people that play some stupid music, and that is their prerogative. Musicians with creative ideas and open minds tend not to stick to a particular musical genre, and there is no genre set aside solely for creative thinking artists.
There are no ten commandments of punk rock, and punk rock is not a religion (although it seems some people would take it as one). There is no clause that says, ?Thou shalt not sell out!? The Stooges and MC5 signed with Elektra in 1968 or something like that. Maybe they just weren?t punk rock. Furthermore, there is no commandment demanding that a punk band be a point of light in the fight against the evil establishment. How hypocritical and un-?punk rock? is that.
My answer to my own question above is a. A, D, F, G. You may disagree.
Blog Category: Music
Playing (Music): The Rudeboyz...
Current mood: happy
Added on: 19/05/2006 03:28:20
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