Punk Rock Music

Punk rock got its name from the slang word punk meaning rotten and worthless. It was originally used to describe simple guitar based rock of bands like The Seeds, and later on Detroit bands like The Stooges and MC5. The anti-establishment ethic of punk hit a fevered pitch in 1976 through 1980, started partially as a backlash to the hippie movement of the late 60's. Many of these bands also intended to shock mainstream society, rejecting the "peace and love" image of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks thought, into mellow disco culture. The fashion of the time included mohawks, body piercing with safety pins and conversion of unusual items into clothing and was very shocking to outsiders at the time. Punk rock embodied the ideals that anyone could start a punk rock band. Punk was stripped-down, three-chord music that could be played fairly easily. The lyrics introduced a new honesty of expression in matters both political and sexual freeing the artist to write in a more personal and honest way. Using cover songs as a ironic form of social commentary was a common theme among many artists. The emphasis in punk rock was placed on emotion and energy and not strictly musicianship. It's best known bands are the punk rock holy trinity of the Sex Pistols, The Damned, and The Clash who many feel are the defining bands of the genre. The roots of punk rock were dark psychedelic and garage rock, glam rock, new wave music and the unusual and sporadic style of the immortal Velvet Underground, long thought to be the originators of punk rock. Later bands incorporated punk and ska elements which were largely unknown in the rock genre.

In Britain the Sex Pistols were the first artist to receive wide acceptance. They chose antagonistic stage names like Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious to complete their transformation in to the living embodiment of punk ethic. They flatly rejected anything that symbolized hippie counterculture such as mellow music, loose-fitting clothing, or long hair. Their debut single "Anarchy in the UK" was a confrontational slap in the face to liberal politics choosing anarchy and destruction over the peace and love driven music of the 70's. Their second release "God Save the Queen" attacked British traditions so vehemently that it was banned from British airways. Despite that fact the record rose to the top of the charts in the UK and suddenly everyone was talking about the new movement going on in the England underground.

On the other side of the Atlantic The Ramones released their first album around the same time. If the Sex Pistols exemplified the British punk genre the Ramones were the American version of the same phenomenon. American punk was just as aggressive but less political and maybe a bit more alienated. The Ramones gained notoriety on the New York punk scene playing clubs like CBGB and others. Punk was largely an East coast movement until the late 70s when LA bands like Black Flag and X came along and suddenly punk became divided into the east coast and west coast genres.

The Clash formed in late 1976 inspired by The Sex Pistols. They quickly became accepted in the punk scene and there were rumblings that they might replace the Sex Pistols and leaders of the genre. Their first gig at a rehearsal studios in Camden for journalists and friends received rave reviews. Soon they were supporting The Sex Pistols on their Anarchy tour and the stage was set for them to become a large influence on the punk scene. Every show was a mixture of blood, abandon, of pure energy. By early 77 they signed to CBS and their first album The Clash was a huge success. They continued to make great music until their dissolution in the early eighties due to drug use and conflicts within the band.

Punk rock groups influenced a new generation of college bands like the Talking Heads and Devo. Slowly they began to garner the title New Wave to differentiate them from more overtly punk bands. Punk rock did not sell many records preferring to remain loyal to small labels like Stiff Records but they were a huge influence on generations to come in movements like gothic rock, industrial, hardcore punk, grunge, nu metal, thrash metal, gothic metal, and new wave among others.