History Lesson: Punk

Punk began as a genre in the early 60’s and 70’s in the UK and US. The UK scene was more popular than the US scene, but both were equally influential.

At the (in)famous NY club, CBGB’s, bands like The Ramones and Patti Smith and The New York Dolls began to play to kids in the NY area. The rock was hard, fast, and simple, the shape of the furious rock to come. In Detroit, a man who would later be known as Iggy Pop saw the Velvet Underground, a big influence on early punk/alternative, started a band known as the Stooges. Early American punk spread quickly across the states and became almost something of a movement, though many today won’t consider it one.

In Britain, The Clash began a more political and softer brand of punk, without as much gruff vocals to get in the way of Joe Strummer’s beautiful playing. The political atmosphere of the UK scene was heavily influenced by the punk and Oi! scenes there, which catered mostly to blue collar workers and discontented teenagers. The Sex Pistols, led by Johnny Rotten, also had a political agenda, apparent through songs like “God Save The Queen,” and “Anarchy In The UK,” but people could count on Johnny to be simple, nasty, and fast about all of it.

The 70’s were a pretty influential time for punks. The Ramones took punk to the pop world, making for some incredibly catchy tunes like “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and “KKK Took My Baby Away,” which could really get you on your feet. The Honor Roll for early punk history was The Clash, The Damned, The Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, and The Ramones.

80’s punk began to shift more towards the sound reflected today. Bands like Social Distortion and the Dead Kennedys continued the gruff voiced, hard vocals that had defined punk before, and bands like Bad Religion and Black Flag continued to rock hard and carry a progressive political agenda (the term black flag is a statement against flags in and of themselves, and speaks of a sort of utopian world). 80’s punk was made great by the West Coast scene. The SoCal scene focused on a lighter punk and ska. Bands like NoFX are a good example of the SoCal sound.

There is only one thing that made 80’s punk unique. A DIY music distribution circuit took the punk scene all through the world, even African countries had thriving scenes in some places, but the American and European scenes were still the strongest.

The 80’s East Bay scene is most famous for an extremely short lived band known as Operation Ivy. The band put out an EP, one full album, a couple of compilation tracks and a few bootlegs, but was THE east bay band. Tim Armstrong, former husband of punk princess Brody Armstrong of the Distillers, and the current frontman of Rancid, was involved in the Operation Ivy project as was Rancid bandmate Matt Freeman.

Nirvana, the biggest band of the early 90’s and the saviors of rock and roll in the eyes of many, exploded into the rock scene with their simple, punk influenced, grunge rock that contrasted sharply to the classic metal popular at the time. Kurt Cobain, the frontman, eventually committed suicide, though many speculate it was actually murder, committed his girlfriend of the time, Courtney Love, who did him in.

90’s Punk was dominated by Midwestern punk such as Shellack and Pegboy. Emo and the Indie Rock scene began to get bigger, as did Ska. Notables of punk/ska include Less Than Jake, Goldfinger, and Reel Big Fish. The political punk scene again erupted during and around the Persian Gulf War in the early 90’s. Bands like Anti-Flag and Propagandhi met, and continue to meet, success in the punk scene. Many notable names of today sprung up during the 90’s such as Afi, Offspring, and Flogging Molly. The 90’s was a time of generally lighter punk( there were exceptions, such as Afi), which led into today’s pop punk.

In very recent history, Greenday has sold millions of records playing simple, catchy tunes. Not long after Greenday’s arrival on the scene, Blink 182 came out with their hit album “Enema of the State” and were soon followed by bands such as Bowling For Soup, All American Rejects, Simple Plan and Good Charlotte. Pop punk has exploded into American culture and like it or not is a multi million dollar industry. A hardcore punk scene also thrives in stark

With the surge of internet music sharing, the big DIY influence of the 80’s is back with a vengeance. When the RIAA started suing kids for file sharing, Go-Kart Records, a DIY punk label, retaliated with a full mp3 sampler called the mp300 (named as such because it has 300 songs on it). However, though file sharing is praised because most people think that the majors don’t need the money, file sharing is really hurting smaller labels that depend very heavily on how many records they sell.

Punk history has gone through several phases and has caused a huge revolution in rock. The very essence of punk is highly debated as either too-simple-trash or the best music around; this isn’t for anyone to actually decide but rather to be debated until punk dies, or becomes true in the eyes of all. I leave you with the words of Greg Gaffin of Bad Religion…

”I hate my job, I hate your god, I hate hypocrites and common slobs. Hate people who aren't what they seem, more than anything else, the American Dream.”

Please Note: There are many other really good punk bands. I did not list them all. Do not post little messages saying how i forgot your favorite band. I don’t care. Even some of my own favorites do not appear.

Keep in mind that the title says history lesson, not history book. Much more has happened with punk than is written here, this is merely a brief overview.

Luck and Love,
- Mr Lucky.

Comments

[BurNW73]

article puts up a good fight... but i still dont like punk.

[KeviePie04]

well, this is a very informative article. even though i knew it all already, its good enough for the ones who don't.

[Immortal Hippo]

Not long after Greenday?s arrival on the scene, Blink 182 came out with their hit album ?Enema of the State?

Correction- Blink have been around since the early 90's. Think their debut album 'Flyswatter' came out in 1992. Not exactly recent history. Also, Green Day debuted in 1989 with 1000 Hours EP.

[chaz man]

This is a pretty good article. Good job.

[V12]

i agree, very informative, lots of name dropping. Even though i despise punk now, its still a good source for those wondering how it all began.

[tremontifan]

i was expecting this to degenerate into a genre bash, but it didn't. good job.

[frigginjerk]

excellent stuff. and for the guys who are discussing blink and greenday's debuts, i think he means their mainstream debut, when they became famous.

[gnrfan69]

gd work.i dont really like punk but the one main band i fink of when that word comes up is sex pistols.

[OpeN WidE]

good work. i was kind of trying to avoid reading this because i thought it was going to be another "genre war." but you stuck to the point and got it across very well i might add.

[Lint]

nicce work

[masterbasser89]

nice article u seem to no ur shit

[strangled]

deffinitly a good history lesson even though im not a big fan of punk music

[ITS ONLY HERPES]

first off flyswatter wasnt blink's debut album.......it was barely a crappy demo.....i love blink dont get me wrong but flyswatter was a shitty demo made in scott's room.....not an album they debut with chesire cat...the first full length album. secondly.....kick ass article

[MrLucky77713]

well their big time debut onto the world scene was enema of the state, chechire cat, and dude ranch and maybe 1 other record, im not big on blink so i dont know for sure, came out, but got nowhere near the success, enema of the state was their big break

[Mack56]

I like it. A lot....I oughtta print this out and give it to some of the posers at my school. Educate the little buggers.

[kooldonuts]

good job on the article, very informative to the young punk listeners of today, whom of which can now know where thier roots come from

[numnuts]

glad to hear an article about punk music without the phrase "punk is dead" you know what youre talkin about

[~King_Of_Foolz~]

hmm firstly... kurt cobain was influenced by punk to a huge degree.. before he even met courtney love, he was with the singer from bikini kill, a punk band.. she influeced hin plenty.. but thats jus details..... good article... no biases... jus history...

[koreazz7]

great article. 5 stars.

[ad_lib_oz]

Immortal Hippo:
Correction- Blink have been around since the early 90's. Think their debut album 'Flyswatter' came out in 1992. Not exactly recent history. Also, Green Day debuted in 1989 with 1000 Hours EP.

he was saying that they REALLY came out onto the scene...like made it big...

nice article...although not a huge fan of punk

[exile166]

tired of hearing about ***in' punk rock...it was a well written article..but havent we heard enough about Punk Rock...your all just repeating yourselfs over and over....

[deadkenedy]

I love punk. Im so sick of hearing about it, espescially from 12 year old boys who think punk makes them cool.

[millenman]

good stuff dude...

p.s. millencolin, sorry had to be said

[Slapkid]

Punk is the best!

[punkyjuice]

Hey, love your article, Now I have a reason to like history. So glad you mentioned The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, and Green Day. Punk is the best! Can't live without it.

[Laser]

I liked thsi a lot, and it was quite informative

[hobo8917]

Good article

[Nirvanaboy07]

I like the good punk, back when the Clash and the Sex Pistols were around. Good article, and if only some soul could bring back punk, not pop-punk, not screamo, PUNK, I'd be glad It really is annoying how kids who think since they like Sum 41 or "Good Charlotte" makes them a punk and makes them cool. I don't call myself punk, but schools are so depressing with everyone wearing just black.

[emokid182]

Good Article i agree with Nirvanaboy about all the black. There are some freshmen girl that look like there gonna kill me and my mother... but the other day one was wearing a good charlotte shirt and i started laughing... oh well i guess they can listen to what they want.

[Pumpkinsmasher]

cheers to you, man. that article was great, and it really held all aspects of an artice, unlike those biased, one-sided rants that so many people come up w/ and expect others to read.

[MrCl34n]

good article

[rat_in_a_cage]

im gettin pretty tired of reading history lessons on punk, and punk v.s metal, and whose punk and whose not.....

[DanSumthing]

People shouldn't limit themselves and say they only like one genre of music. People should like individual songs that are fun to listen to, no matter what genre they are. If you ask most famous musicians what influenced them, they will tell you all kinds of styles and genres they liked. You can't make it big if you're constantly hating on bands with different styles from your own.

[MrLucky77713]

this article isn't trying to push any opinion, so don't start giving reasons why punk is/is not dumb. I realize there is a slight lack of oi and street punk, i couldn't find much information. I didn't iclude hardcore because it's separate and (especially now) more closely related to emo. Every band listed, with the exception of the ska band si listed from the SoCal scene, are punk in some way or another. I personally dislike pop-punk, it's catchy but it just isn't my thing. Punk isn't a damn social club here people, it's all about relativism and doing what you want. This article isn't comparing punk to anything but itself in it's different stages in time. Was it really that much of a mistake to even mention pop-punk in here? even if it sucks, its punk, sorry guys. I tried to get more Street and Oi! but the bands are so underground that information is really hard to find, it was mostly a European thing, bands today just kind of copy it, it was in specficially the UK and it mostly spoke out against the economic/social plagues of the time due to England's weak, basdly run economy. Happy? Oi! is almost dead today, street punk bands write oi! songs but it isn't true oi! because it isn't the right place or time.

[frigginjerk]

spam removed.

[timetraveller02]

It ain't greenday, it's Green Day. Also, the sex pistols should be before the clash, who seem very overrated.

I wrote the history of Dk article!

[MrLucky77713]

thanks fj... way to be nice to your newbie columnists haha

Pistols and Clash were same time period... sorry if i shine The Clash in a better light than the Sex Pistols, theyre a personal favorite of mine,m but both seriously rock.

Sorry about the Green Day error, it isn't too terrible of a butchery though.

Hey man thats cool that you wrote a DK article, im not sure its too relevent but ill check it out sometime

[gryftorsguitar]

very nice and non biased
btw who cares what blink 182's first album was?

[JimmyEatWorldSP]

Very good article in the aspect that it wasnt opinionated and it told a history, rather than a rant.

[MrLucky77713]

btw...thanks for all the praise

[Hellraizer31990]

i luv the article...i learned sum stuff...i like punk of today and then,and it doesnt matter how old u areit just matters what u like(i am 14 btw). i hope to see more articles like this one it was really good, and id just like to say just bcuz u like punk-pop doesnt mean u xant like metal and punk of the 70's and 80's... i think pretty much ALL rock kicks ass

[nasty_santa409]

at least it's not another "punk is dead" or similar article. nice job

[Hellraizer31990]

also i was ondering if u culd give sum more lessons..u did a good job...

[Unseen_hero]

i hope the "greg gaffin of bad religion" was a typo and that you know that his last name is graffin. I understand the irrelevence of this post but the typo irritated me

[MrLucky77713]

hellraizer..im considering a metal one, but even though i like metal, i am not at ALL familiar with its history so ive been hoping someone else would take it up. I might do one of Emo, Ska, or HC, but it depend son how much time i have.

[MrLucky77713]

unseen, my spellchecker doesn't do names and i only sped through quickly to proofread. when i first heard of the band i always spelled it like that and i only recently knew i was wrong, i must have missed it...sorry man

[)Eric(Draven]

file sharing is really hurting smaller labels that depend very heavily on how many records they sell.

...which is why you can't find good punk bands on these file sharing programs such as mr. bungle and tripping daisy

[Guitar_Grrl]

awesome article. You covered punk history to present VERY well. I was surprised to not see Max's Kansas City mentioned, but very pleasantly surprised to see that you mentioned The Velvet Underground and Patti Smith..several people tend to leave these artists out. This article has been one of the best articles I've read that was informative and entertaining.

[brody dalle]

wat the *** do nirvana have to do with punk

[johngillis]

ok first of ALL, the thing you completely missed is that, OH YA! GREEN DAY, BLINK182, GOOD CHARLOTTE, AFI AND ALL OF THOSE OTHER BANDS SHITTY ARE NOT PUNK!! you guys can try and keep punk going but admit it, the real punk music stopped a long time ago. now i love punk, and i've just started to like punk, and bands like Dead Kennedys and Sex Pistols ARE punk. and what the hell is up with everyone forgetting Minor Threat??!! also i would liek to expand on BRODY DALLE's comment of "wat the *** do nirvana have to do with punk" and i say, if you're going to put in nirvana, which is a great band but not punk, and all of those crappy "new age punk" bands, you might as well include the white stripes, which isn't punk by far but a great band (in fact my favorite) and all of the other great detroit garage rock bands? (they're a lot closer to punk than good charlotte) so bottom line: you should have stopped at the part about rancid.

[johngillis]

by the way, good artical despite the dumb ass bands included

[Distilla_Queen6]

Great article! But what about NOFX? They came out with their cd in 1984. I thought they were good at least. Oh yeah nice thing about Brody Dalle johngillis.
Sry just had to add the thing bout Brody. Look at my damn name!

[Distilla_Queen6]

whoops just noticed NOFX sorry dude i'm stupid.

[yungbassist]

Not long after Greenday’s arrival on the scene, Blink 182 came out with their hit album “Enema of the State”



dude he was sayin that blink was recognized by posers when enema of the state came out & he was also saying that green day was gettin play on mtv in the 90's even tho they had been around a while

[yungbassist]

Correction- Blink have been around since the early 90's. Think their debut album 'Flyswatter' came out in 1992. Not exactly recent history. Also, Green Day debuted in 1989 with 1000 Hours EP.






i meant to put that qoute out

[tankedandpogoed]

what about pogo???

[JoeMacFadzen]

hey good article, but a few things. you refer to "pop punk" being stuff like simple plan and good charlotte, when there music isn't punk at all. they just dress like punks so everyone thinks there music is. besides, true "pop punk" is a genre of punk that shouldn't be embarrassed by having those bands included in it. Trup "pop punk" is stuff like screeching weasel, mr. t experience, or the queers.

[MrLucky77713]

^Pop-punk is a lot more than SP and GC, but it's what most people think of then they think of pop-punk. This is the basic overview of punk's history. Kind of a "Punk Rock for Dummies" kind of thing. If I had added too much, this would have been a whole damn encyclopedia. I broke it down to three decades in the In-Depths and STILL could have gone farther.

READ THE NOTES AT THE BOTTOM BEFORE YOU COMMENT. I see a few posts where it says "you forgot..." I didn't forget, I simply didn't mention it for the sake of readability. Check the in-depths and post what I forgot there, though I left things out of those articles too. Punk history is just a huge ass topic, so it'd be impossible to have everything.

For Example: I left out harDCore and emo and hXc. I forgot straight-edge (more HC than punk but whatever). I forgot the resigning to majors that started the pop-punk explosion, I forgot Oi!, I forgot a shitload of things that had to be mentioned elsewhere.

[JoeMacFadzen]

yea i know what you mean by keeping it short, but i just thought i'd mention it so other people could know. But still, kick ass article, and the newest one is awesome too.

[MrLucky77713]

^Thanks

[neocon58]

I don't call myself punk, but schools are so depressing with everyone wearing just black

i wouln't mind a school like that, especially considering everybody around my area likes rap.

blink 182 discography is - flyswatter (demo tape)
budha
cheshire cat
dude ranch
enema of the state
take off ur pants & jacket
selftitled

[power chordz]

PUNK OUT!!!!

[somepunkkid]

has anyone said anything about how punk influenced the creation grindcore metal. Napalm Death is considered the first Grind band, and they are heavily influenced by the dead kennedys, ramones, and the sex pistols.

[piss_off]

wrong in the article. the stooges came before velvet underground. velvet underground started in 1974 where iggy and the stooges started in 1962.

[piss_off]

and black flag was not from the 80's. 1976 like the ramones and the sex pistols.

[piss_off]

piss_off:
wrong in the article. the stooges came before velvet underground. velvet underground started in 1974 where iggy and the stooges started in 1962.

my bad 1967

[Punk_Dude2005]

DanSumthing:
People shouldn't limit themselves and say they only like one genre of music. People should like individual songs that are fun to listen to, no matter what genre they are. If you ask most famous musicians what influenced them, they will tell you all kinds of styles and genres they liked. You can't make it big if you're constantly hating on bands with different styles from your own.
[POSTED: 13 March 2004 - 13:47]

You dude are so right

[soankeyman820]

its a good article, though you misplaced Green Day. Their biggest album was Dookie, in 1994, so you should of included them with other East Bay Bands such as Operation Ivy and Rancid. Americna Idiot is just crap, and isnt Green Day-just corporate emo sell out punk.

[TheUnderground]

good job, im glad u mentioned the Velvet Underground even though they were not rele a punk band

[stevve]

good article punk is my favourite genre