The Origination Of Punk Rock

The Origination of Punk Rock

The time was in the mid-seventies, there was a void in the music industry that needed to be filled. This need for a new sound was aptly filled by punk rock, a new type of sound that had evolved from mostly rock and a little pop music. The focus of this paper is on punk rock and it’s ample beginnings, early pioneers of the new sound, punk rock listener’s cultural background and their ideas as a whole, bands influenced by the punk rock movement, and the state of punk rock today.

The year is 1974, this year marks the birth of punk rock (1974). There is controversy as to where punk started out at, some say it began in London while others say it started out in New York City. It can be safe to say that two very distinct sounds classified as punk originated at about the same in both London and New York City (Punk). Punk rock began in the bars and nightclubs until the bands garnered enough support to receive a record contract.

When the punk rock explosion occurred in the mid-seventies, a number of new, excitingly innovative bands burst upon the scene. Bands like the Ramones, The Clash, The Velvet Underground, The Virgin Fugs, Patti Smith, The New York Dolls, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and the punk band with the most success, The Sex Pistols. The thing that made punk rock so unlike anything the music industry had heard before was the notable lack of talent displayed on the musician’s part. Not to say that all punk bands were devoid of any talent, just that anyone with second-rate instruments and the ability to play at least three chords on the guitar could form a punk band. This is part of what punk’s appeal was, it was a new sound that appealed to many of the youths of that era. As Johnny Ramone, the guitarist for the Ramones, stated, “We were new at writing songs and new at playing our instruments, so we couldn’t write anything too complicated, really” (1974). Punk rock bands often had a flair for the flamboyant, not just with their appearance but with their humor, sarcasm, and often carelessness about society and social norms. For example, The Virgin Fugs, their outlook on life is often displayed in the titles of their songs. Songs like “I Saw The Best Minds of My Generation Rot”, “Kill For Peace”, and “New Amphetamine Shriek” captured the F...

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..., Bad Brains were all heavily influenced by the punk revolution (History). Also, bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam seem to have the mind frames of punk rockers and were undoubtedly influenced by them, the sound doesn’t carry over into their own music.

Punk, as it was really intended, will never become commercialized and incorporated as a large part of the music scene. But then again, punk was based on rebellion against mainstream culture and to be publicized and critically acclaimed would be contradictory to the basis of everything punk stands for. True, one can see bands on MTV that claim to be punk, but the true hardcore punk fans will tell you that they are posers. The industrialized, commercialized, mainstream music seen on MTV is really more like punk/pop, it’s good music that may have been influenced by punk, but not true punk rock.

Works Cited

“A History of Punk”

http://www.fastnbulbous.com/punk.htm

“Punk”

http://www.music.warnerbros.com/rocknroll/cmp/episode9.html

“The Birth of Punk”

http://www.pqdweb?TS=953580845&Did=000000042640912&Mtd=1&Fmt=3&Sid=1&Idx=21&Deli=1&3/20/00