WHAT IS PUNK MUSIC?
Mohawks and Mosh pits do not define Punk. So what is punk? In his article about punk, Jon Savage states, “Punk, also called punk rock” is an “aggressive form of rock music that coalesced into an international movement in 1975–80.” In the mid 1970s to the early 1980s punk rock emerged in England, Australia, and the United States. When most people think punk they think of a rowdy band with a lead singer who is yelling subpar lyrics at the crowd, which is pushing everyone around creating a mosh pit where bruises are the only souvenirs. But that's not it! Punk music, the cause of the punk revolution, created an emotional and political movement. Savage also said “Often politicized and full of vital energy beneath a sarcastic, hostile facade, punk spread as an ideology and an aesthetic approach, becoming an archetype of teen rebellion and alienation”. Punk is loud. Punk is aggressive. Punk is obnoxious.
There are two types of Punk: American and English. What are the differences? Why are they different? Punk in the U.S. gave middle class Americans a place. It was not so political on this side of the world, but it provided a sort of community to the people who rejected the social norm. Whereas punk in the U.K was intended to be a means of reinventing rock and roll. By mixing together the vivacity of the music with lyrics that had a political message, we got something that was a little different. Although, yes, there were some differences between the music based on location, their motives were the same and the outcomes were similar. In simple terms, it was a revolution based on a genre of music that left middle class Americans with the mindset of rebellion which was expressed in two ways: the music itself with its somewhat politically influenced lyrics and the peoples’ style: what they wore and how they did their hair. (Brauer)
Punk is anti-mainstream, consisting of underground bands for underground listeners. The music itself is DIY. With its simplicity and originality, punk’s listeners were as unique as the music. That being said, with four chords, anger, and a message, anyone could be in a punk band. Although it dips our toes in the underground realm, punk also consisted of some of the most popular bands in history, examples being the Ramones from the US and both the Sex Pistols and The Clash from the U.K. When I say popular, I am not talking about their music falling in the genre of pop, I am talking about them becoming popular because of the messages they were putting forth and style boundaries they pushed. If these bands were the batter to the cake, the middle class, fed up with economic inequality and having an overall feeling of frustration was the icing (McLaren). “Punk is not only the music of garbage collectors, factory workers, and those who work at McDonalds or Burger King, but is also the music of choice of middle-class skateboarders” said Peter and Jonathan McLaren, in their article on the Punk Revolution. The people listening were those who wanted reform, who wanted to make a political statement, or who were unhappy with the government and the ways of society, which just so happened to be the grungy teenagers, the broke twenty-year-olds and the 50-year-old lowlifes.
As I mentioned, Political influence played a role in the music. Generally, the idea behind the song and they lyrics itself had some reference to something political. The way the bands expressed the emotions of the people through the words they sang is key to understanding the importance of punk. Looking and recognizing the emotions the people had at these shows and their reactions to the lyrics being sung is key to understanding the importance of punk. These bands wrote about their concerns and disagreements with the political world in their music which led to more listeners and higher success (Alterman). “The angrier their songs about imperialism, inequality and institutionalized violence, the higher they soared musically” stated Eric Alterman in his article, “Death and Glory”.
Punk is usually seen with a negative connotation. Punk was said to cause anger, and hatred. The lyrics could sometimes be considered offensive. Some of the actions of the bands during their stage performance could be considered offensive. This made people more frustrated with society and life, because it almost seemed as if violence was encouraged as a way of causing reformation. (McLaren) Though considered negative, punk was expressive; though aggressive, punk was comforting.
However, the main goal was not to cause riots or to be considered sinful music, but it was to express the emotions of the people, to reject the pop culture, and to fight for their rights. It was DIY music to break social norms. Minus the sweat, spit, and piss the audience was covered in after a show from the Sex Pistols, the ideology of punk was the center of the show. Punk was emotional and political. Punk was creative. Punk reinvented rock and roll. Punk gave the middle class a place to be. Punk embraced equality. Punk was freedom.
Annotated Bibliography
Alterman, Eric. "Death and glory." The Nation, 20 Oct. 2003, p. 10. Gale In Context: Opposing
Viewpoints,www.//link.gale.com/apps/doc/A108993828/OVIC?u=va_p_wakef_s&sid=OVIC&xid=73ac6f30.
Many people influenced the punk revolution. This source talks about some specific people like Warren Zevon, Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer who played a large role in this revolution. It talks about how they reinvented rock and roll by creating this genera of punk. The music was not just nice to listen to but played a political role in society. This source will be helpful to me because it mentions Government involvement in regards to how The Clash was getting paid and their cut and how essentially they lost in the battle against the law.
Brauer, Juliane. "Clashes of Emotions: Punk Music, Youth Subculture, and Authority in the GDR (1978-1983)." Social Justice, vol. 38, no. 4, 2012, pp. 53-70. ProQuest, www.//search.pr
oquest.com/docview/1312331616?accountid=338.
The description of Punk is more than just noise and mohawks. This source goes more into depth about the sounds of Punk and what it really means. As well as, the cultural influence of the genera. It mentions noise and mohawks, but as an attempt to talk about its music influence and its style influences. It essentially talks about what kind of music Punk really is. This is helpful to me when trying to describe and define the genera as a whole.
McLaren, Peter, and Jonathan McLaren. “Afterword: Remaking the Revolution.” Counterpoints,
vol. 223, 2004, pp. 123–127. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42978335.
Target audience is an important part of analyzing the genera, because who is listening to the music says something about the music. The source mentions the skateboard community and their music choices. Which connects to a group of people who run outside of the main stream of things. The source comments on specific concepts, and the cultural and political influences. But something unique that could be helpful to me is that it talks about the negative side of Punk, which could be useful when teaching people about Punk. There are always two sides to things so looking at the negatives is important in understanding something as a whole.
Savage, Jon. "Punk." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 14 Nov. 2018. www.school.e
b.com/levels/high/article/punk/99010. Accessed 30 Sep. 2019.
Punk music caused a worldwide revolution. One that held strong beliefs and worked to get their message across. By talking about the specific beliefs of Punk and looking at is as a worldwide revolution, this source will be helpful to me in answering the question of “What is Punk?” The source also looks and the definition and the meaning of the genera.