It would be easy to say that Punk Rock is the red headed step child in the genre of Rock music. It is loud, defiant, drives the older folk up the walls, and is a prime candidate for Ritalin, or a good smack in the head. Yet at the same time, it has grown up to replace traditional rock as one of the most successful genre’s out there, and one of the few that can contend with all the pop nonsense that infests the airwaves of America. For a style that formed as an outright rejection of the mainstream, this is quite an accomplishment, and has caused quite the debate within fans of punk of whether or not this is a good thing. The cries of “Sell out!” have rung across the land ever since The Clash signed onto CBS records back in 1977.
Like all musical styles that were not signed, sealed, and delivered by a board of directors of record companies and television executives, the origins of punk rock are murky and somewhat hard to pin down. To do so would require hours and hours of research into bands of the late 1960’s, analyzing their sound, style, and theme and then seeing what, if any, influence they had on bands that can be firmly described as punk. To be honest, I don’t have the attention span to do all that so you’re all on your own.
What is well known, however, is that punk rock formed in the mid 1970’s in the United States and United Kingdom as a reaction and rejection of the over the top music that permeated the musical scene of the day. Tommy Ramone said “You had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll” If there was a better description of what punk rock is, I haven’t heard it. The Ramones, along with The Clash and the Sex Pistols were the vanguard of early punk and their influences on all that followed is monumental. These bands, along with many others were anti-establishment, anti-authority, and held a value of minimalist self expression, and a rejection of the idealism of the hippies. They were largely political, leaning towards the left and anarchic beliefs, although this was not across the board. Bands like the Runaways, Poly Styrene, and Siouxsie Sioux added an angry feminine aspect to the genre during this period as well. It was in the UK that punk achieved its greatest success during the seventies, fermenting a large subculture, eventually earning the ire of the British Government itself. Many bands had their records censored and banned from the top musical lists. This however, did relatively nothing to dent the popularity of punk rock.
By the late 1970’s Southern California became the home of Hardcore Punk, and propelled the music into the next decade. Faster, harder, and keeping to the same anti-establishment themes that had made punk popular in the first place, it would have a major influence on the future of the music. Oi! and anarcho-punk started to emerge in England with a similar feel and style to the Hardcore being played on the other side of the Atlantic. It was also this same period that saw the beginnings of slam dancing and pits become a standard for punk shows. While still gaining in popularity, much of the music remained underground. One of the biggest events in the history of the scene occurred during the late 1970’s, that of the infamous murder of Nancy Spungen by Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. Sid would later serve a brief jail spell, and overdose almost immediately upon release. The event would later be immortalized through the movie Sid and Nancy in 1986.
As with most genres’ splintering is impossible to avoid as new bands take up the mantle and take the music in a different direction. Post-punk, New Wave, Emo Music, and Alternative Rock all had some origins in the punk rock of the 1970’s but would take it in completely new and different directions with varying degrees of success. Eventually, some of these would be completely different enough to be considered genres of their own. But that is a story for a different day.
Considering the popularity of punk and emo and alternative music these days, most people choose to load up on records, CDs, MP3s, and even
ringtones. It's amazing how much music is out there for fans to get and turn into their own -- and to share with the world.
