Musical Press: Punk 1970s to Present Day Essay

Punk rock music has been used for decades to express dissatisfaction with society, government, or any idea common in mainstream media. Yet punk rock is not simply a tangent of the mainstream, it is a dynamic and fluid genre with many distinct songs. Don Letts, a mainstay in the London punk scene during the 70’s and 80’s, went as far to say that hip-hop was essentially “black” punk. While punk and hip-hop music are stylistically different, the fundamental tone of the two genres is the same. Even throughout the decades, hip-hop has sang the same issues as punk, including the plight of the lower class, police brutality, and gang violence.

In the 1950s, when rock was developed, one of the first groups to drift to it was teenagers, being attracted to its themes of rebellion and non conformity. Certain groups of individuals have sprung up around certain musical styles. For instance, punk, techno, and ethnic music all include some type of subculture that embrace an entire lifestyle.

In order to understand why punk came about the preceding periods will be considered. The baby boom after the war had resulted in a large amount of people being born at the same time. A knock on effect later down the line resulted in mass unemployment for young people. The punk era showed angry,

Punk rock ideologies were expressed though music and lyrics, punk literature, fashion and visual art. In the beginning punk fashion evolved everyday objects like safety pins and

In the late 1970s, the demand of relaxing music and multiracial made disco popular, and the embody of rebellion and aggression led punk rise. Disco rooted in the late 1960s, and peaked in the late 1970s when the demand of entertainment kept increasing. On the other hand, after age of hippy, many young musicians in the late 1970s tried to reject the older generation and accept anti-establishment mentality, which was closely connected to punk.

Music, in the past, has often spelled bad news to society at large. It can challenge norms and invoke a sense of hype in places that modern culture may be uncomfortable with, such as sex, sexuality, and drugs. Personally, when I think of punk music, I see a genre that stands to be individualistic, aggressive, and rebellious. Phrases such as ‘anti-establishment’ also come up. This notion comes from many aspects of punk subculture, including dress, music, performance, and my interpretations.

The mid to late 1970s brought about a slow but steady change in punk rock. With the advent of heavy metal and punk rock bands an explosion of new rock genres emerged. The change was started by three bands from New York. The New York Dolls, the Dictators and the Ramones started a new trend that quickly spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world. It slowly caught on in the US and when it finally did the hardcore form of punk rock became a national expression for millions of teens and young adults for the next two decades.

With many of these songs being played over and over on radio stations and MTV, there was an interest in punk music again from major record

Though many will jokingly argue that “punk is dead” Punk is still very much alive in today’s society. From Mohawks to mosh pits punk has had an impact on today’s culture. Ironically enough punk once known as being a counterculture to the mainstream has now become a large part of it. It can be seen in fashion and dance and especially music. Overtime punk has changed and evolved. It has branched out into numerous sub genres such as pop punk, glam punk, skate punk, and many more. Bands like Fall Out Boy, Greenday, Paramore, The Wonder Years, and All Time Low are modern examples of punk. These bands continue to draw in the younger audiences, because they still exemplify the free and rebellious nature of punk. Punk will continue to live as long

For example, Hip hop focuses on the poorer populations and areas where there was struggle for the American dream. The music was inspired by the struggle of American Americans and is the root of Hip hop. Punk is different in that it attracted audiences that were of the middle to upper class. These were people who had jobs and were able to go to college. Eventually both genres gained fans of all financial backgrounds but this was a major difference in the culture of Hip hop and Punk.

New acts and artists jumped onto the bandwagon to revise rock “ In the 1970s, musicians like KISS, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper (1948–) took hard rock in different directions.” Much of the youth at the time loved this new music that riled up their parents and was much more modern than what was originally on the radio. Not only was rock music becoming more diverse as a genre it inspired popular sub genres like punk and new wave. Punk music went against the conformity that was promoted at the time along with the idea that America as a society should be simple minded.

The punk music was at that time about the community and politics. Some punk bands like Rites of Spring in 1984 began to sing about more emotions like ro-mance, nostalgia and depression. The new subgenre of music got the name emotional hardcore, emocore, later shortened to emo. A lot of other bands followed in their footsteps. Bands like the Swing Kids from southern California developed their own more aggressive and chaotic version emocore, known as screamo.

One very known artist was Pink Floyd that was popular for following one theme throughout an album. Punk Rock started in the 60’s and continued into the 70’s (Pearson). Punk Rock was more upbeat than any music type in the 70’s (Pearson).The band that was considered as the first punk rock band was the Ramones (Pearson). The Ramones started in 1974 and ended in 1996. Funk came from R&B, Jazz, and soul music (Pearson).

Most of the original rebellion was directed towards the British class structure. They wanted to express their disapproval of the structure that governed their country. In The Jam’s “Eton Rifles”, the band sarcastically attacks the upper class, calling them arrogant and preaching to them that rugby is the only thing making them strong (Punk 68). The Sex Pistols’ album “God Save The Queen” portrays the Queen of England with a safety pin through her nose on their cover. The reaction to this outburst of shocking rebellion from the mainstream society was a strong, displeased one. American writer Greil Marcus defined punk as, “…refusing the future society has planned for you.” Thousands of social misfits attempted just that. Through the many causes for this rebellious political expression: communism, anarchy, feminism, etc., the punks of England had a focus and a reason. It was this that made the “punk” a valid, yet undesired member of society, and the British public got to see this sociological change first hand (Chamberlain par.8). Although this movement was short lived, its impact was a phenomenon, and its effects were long- lasting, which distinguished this group from previous generations.

Punks have always been known for pushing the envelope, but the Sex Pistols pushed it farther than anyone to date in the genre of punk music. The Sex Pistols boisterous lyrics and edgy appearance led for them to be heavily censored by the radio and print media and even banned in many places, Britain and abroad.