In the mid to late 70’s, as the cold war progressed at a seemingly unstoppable pace, certain disenfranchised youths began to come together through their disgust of government and society. The way they saw it, society was damned and all they, the heirs to the Earth, could do was sit back and laugh. Many intelligent and talented people came to this new rambunctious rebellion by adding their own artistic abilities to the bubbling cauldron. Now it’s arguable over who first played punk rock. Some say it was New York City’s The Ramones, who captivated audiences in a small bar and music hall called CBGB’s. Still others swear that John Lydon and the Sex Pistols from England brought punk into the charts. Whatever the case may be The Ramones brought punk rock into the main stream consciousness as being faster, harder, and more rebellious then any other group of the time.
By the mid 80’s The Ramones and other bands such as the Circle Jerks and the Subhumans had spread the scene on an international scale. The downtrodden youths of Reaganomics had seen a sight that seemed too good to be true, bands that played to their own beliefs and were becoming successful through civil disobedience. Now was the time for the grandfathers of punk to pass the torch to a younger, angrier generation. NOFX, Operation Ivy, and Rancid began a worldwide dash to play any venue any where at any time. If The Ramones and the Sex Pistols are the grandfathers of punk, then NOFX and Rancid are those cool uncles who have no intention of growing up. By playing show after show and releasing album after album, punk seemed to be heading on an unending roller coaster ride. But in a world of non-stop touring and rampant drug use something had to give, and something did.
Punk died. By the early 90’s hardly a person could be found sporting two foot long spikes in their hair with circle A’s on their cheap army jackets. A new wave of alternative music, called grunge, went mainstream starting with a Seattle based band called Nirvana. The cool uncles of punk rock went underground, still touring and producing records, but not playing to such a large audience. But grunge was short lived due to the untimely death of Nirvana front man, Curt Kobain. An ugly, ugly void was filled for the next five years by gangster rap, bubblegum pop, and soulless R+B. Today, however, we can see the seeds planted by the grandfathers two decades ago in bands like Good Charlotte, Blink-182, and Sum 41. Notice how all these bands are well liked by a variety of people. Thanks to radio play, videos on MTV, and the Internet everyone from 14-year-old freshmen in Hillfiger jeans to 40-year-old roadies in leather can listen to punk rock. But once again the question must be asked. What is punk rock? Are skateboarders decked out in baggy jeans and Hurly sweatshirts punk? What about frat boys who like “that one punk song” because it’s fun to drink to? Or has it always been those types in the back of class with too much hair color and leather jackets who are always complaining about the economy and the military? This is how punk rock is viewed today, lots of people with many different opinions.
In closing all I can say about punk is that anyone can be a punk, to a certain degree. The girls in Abercrombie and Fitch listening to Blink-182 are not punk; the nerdy kid in the front row can be punk; the football player who doesn’t hang out with his fellow jocks could be punk; and do not forget that girl with the dark hair who hates cheer leaders and can swear the paint off the walls, she is punk. The cool band that played at the Warped Tour and was arrested for defacing public property, but switched record labels and put out a video, and now their song is the new summer hit. The band that never talked about selling out and were always throwing out anarchist slogans, they’re still making punk rock, but they are not punks. If I had to say what I believe punk is, I would say it is an emotion, you have to feel punk. To not give a damn… but to be intelligent at the same time. To be willing to change your self and accept others, and perhaps write some lyrics about it, that’s punk rock.