The simple statement of these questions can unlock a feud that could never be solved. Even though there is no definitive answer, the question begs for one simply because anything resembling it is SO multifaceted.
So to answer the seemingly unanswerable, let's first look at some basics here.
Punk rock was started as a counter-culture movement. Whoever we deem "the founders" (i.e. Sex Pistols, Ramones, Velvet Underground) It doesn't really matter. It started as a group of artists and musicians that disagreed with the popular culture of the mid 70's and wanted to change it by doing something different. By creating a community and culture that thrived on seperating from the norm, an amazing group of people; and eventually a genre flourished into something many people could call "home". It was a thing where the freaks and the geeks were in control.
Unfortunately, like anything else the genre got flooded by people that believed they could make money, be cool (how ironic), and capitalize on something like punk rock that had become so near and dear to people's hearts. Through the incorporation of punk as a genre, people seemed to quickly become judgmental within the punk community as to what is deemed "punk rock" by calling out any band that came along that strayed from the blueprint that the genre had created for itself.
So, when you think about it, punk rock as a whole completely turned it's back on it's very own musical ideals. Eventually bands like Bad Religion, Rancid, and NOFX were thrown into the well known pop-punk pile and advertised as sell outs because they wrote catchy songs people from the "popular culture" liked. Bands that take D.I.Y. ideals, or punk rock song structures, are characterized as posers, sellouts, etc.
That brings me to my next point, music is about making it your own. There would be no culture or genre if everything followed a blueprint of what your music was supposed to sound like. Who cares if a band like Yellowcard has a violin, and embraces pop music song structures and hooks? Who cares if Blink 182 puts out a record that doesn't sound anything like their last one? I also feel like Elliot Smith fits ideally into the category of punk. He also did something different, but embraced the ideals of a community he grew up in.
To me, this is the most punk rock thing someone can do; which is go against what the status quo has made punk out to be. Music is about progression. Art is about progression. Passion is passion, and chastising someone for their art should be a crime. If you're not into it don't listen to it.
With all of that being said, the simple answer to "What is Punk Rock?" is doing something that you want to do. In the words of Mathew Lillard's character in SLC Punk! : "If you want to break it down, the best way to do it is from the inside."
If you want to change what popular music is, the most punk thing to do is become part of it by doing something that is different and that people will recognize as doing so.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As a fan of punk music, I really like this topic. I think the real argument is that what gets categorized as "punk" music no longer carries with it the "punk" ideals or mentality that helped to start the genre. The people that have changed the musical landscape have always been categorized one way or another, but in the case of punk, they accepted that moniker rather than being called Revolutionaries as people that had made big changes (Elvis, The Beatles, etc.) had been called before. In my opinion, this is because they didn't change things by making something new, they changed them by using what was already there. They simplified it. Took some of the best parts of what was Rock n' Roll and decided to make two minutes songs of only that. Then the challenge was there to play it faster and louder than anyone else, and this is where punk the attitude spawned punk the genre. I believe that both still exist today, but not usually in the same band. Punk the genre is now a formula, or type of music, the same way that country, classical, or blues are. Types or instruments, chord progressions, attitudes, and fashion define the genre and that is not always a bad or good thing. Punk the attitude still exists as well, but it is not limited to one style of music. I would say that its anyone that makes something new and unique. You could say that a Revolutionary makes something completely new, different than anyone else, whereas a Punk takes something that is already established and makes something new out of it, that no one has made before. Both are great reasons to listen to music. Great article TJ. I love the topic and I love your blog.
ReplyDelete