A Brief History Of Punk Music - The People, The Places And The Music

Often times whenever the word punk is mentioned images of mohawks, studs, patchwork clothing, and anarchist slogans spring to mind. Unfortunately this is what punk has been relegated to in modern society, a product to be sold to millions of screaming pre-teens and adolescents. It is an easy sell, the style being pre packaged in Hot Topics across the country and the supposed sound and attitude infused into pop bands such as Good Charlotte and Blink 182. Punk is something more than this though, punk is not a fashion, punk is not any one particular sound. Punk has, and always will be, a state of mind, an attitude. An idea of both self sufficiency and community with other people who think the same way, the music is just an added bonus.

However if one really wants to understand punk in terms of music and community, they have to know its history. Arguably, the idea punk has been around long before the summer of 1976; rock and roll artists such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry were bucking modern trends in the 1950’s. For many the idea of white teenagers dancing to and singing along with the music written by an African-American was simply horrifying, and a sign that the country’s moral fabric was coming undone. Johnny Cash, although considered to be a major influence on artists of all genres today, was still seen as something to be misunderstood and possibly feared when he first began singing country songs with such dark content. The stage had clearly been set for something newer, rawer, long before Joe Strummer or Henry Rollins took the stage.

The Beginnings

New York City in the mid 1970’s is widely credited with starting the punk movement of 1976, with flashy rock bands such as the New York Dolls building a framework for other bands to follow. If anything they were simply different from anything that was out at the time, thus allowing other groups to think slightly more out of the box than major, mainstream artists. At this point in music the charts were dominated by larger than life rock bands, filling stadiums as they filled their wallets. Their music seemed nearly inaccessible to most of the audiences, massive stage shows, and ever lengthening guitar solos all contributed to this form of “musical masturbation”. Other than rock there was disco, an ever present force in New York City that appealed to the decadence and free loving desires that were supposed to emerge from the failed hippie movement.

Enter the Ramones, a completely stripped down form of music. The four members, each with their own individual duties and nothing else, with songs rarely reaching over two and half minutes in length. Johnny Ramone set the standard for punk guitarists, using simple three and four chord progressions and playing them using only down strokes as he strummed. This gave the music somewhat of a “chugging” sound, essentially taking any kind of softer rhythm out of the equation. Playing punk rock on a guitar is a lot similar to pounding one’s fist, and Johnny Ramone is the man to thank for that. The Ramones generally sang about boredom, having fun, school/relationships, as well as more random topics such as shock treatment and lobotomies. These all became calling cards to American punk in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, and would be a sharp contrast to the English punk that was soon to follow.

It is impossible to discuss the New York punk scene without mentioning the infamous club that became the headquarters for countless bands including the Ramones, the Talking Heads, Blondie, and Richard Hell and the Voidoids: CBGB’s. Located in lower Manhattan, and founded in 1973 by Hilly Kristal it quickly became known for being the place for unknown alternative acts to play. Often times the place was not packed, in fact if the Ramones were on stage Blondie would be watching them play and vice versa when Blondie went to do their set. This gave the early punk scene of sense of community they had never had before. Now they have a place to play at regularly in front of people they knew would listen and enjoy the music, even if they were members from other bands. These groups were not after any kind of commercial success in the way aging rock acts such as the Rolling Stones were, they abhorred everything those bands had become. None of them had any idea of not only how successful they would become, but also how influential they would become for a burgeoning scene in London; specifically the Ramones.

If American punk was about boredom and trying to have fun, English punk was its complete opposite. Alienation, disaffected youth, and a ever lessening faith in elected officials were the corner stones of the punk movement in England. By 1976 the economy was more than faltering, with rows upon rows of houses in the West End being boarded up and left to rot. The hippie movement of the 1960’s had failed, some were disillusioned by the fact that love did not work; while others simply rejected all things associated with the movement. Love failed, it was time to let fury have the hour.

There were no jobs, no ways to get money, and in general no hope for the future; this gave birth to the West London squatting scene. Squatting refers to the act of kicking in the door of a vacant or abandoned house to make it one’s own. Another advantage from the squats was not just a place to live, but also a place to set up a band and practice.

By time the Roxy opened in 1976, several bands had already been established and began playing in and around London. The Roxy was opened to be the premiere place for punk bands to have shows, and it hosted such bands as the Buzzcocks, the Damned, the Vibrators, the Clash, and even the Police. However, much like some of the bands that took the stage at the Roxy, it did not last very long. After barely a year of operation, the club closed in April of 1978.

The two major bands to come out of the early English punk movement are undeniably the Sex Pistols and the Clash, and although they began around the same time they had two very different sounds; and ideologies. The Sex Pistols were formed by Malcomb McCloud, owner of the London clothing store ‘Sex’. Essentially looking for a way to advertise his clothing lines he brought the group together, it did not take them long to start turning heads. The debut album Never Mind the Bullocks: Here Are the Sex Pistols had songs such as Anarchy in the U.K. and God Save the Queen, making the politics of the Pistols clearly evident: Tear down all forms of government, the system has failed. The volatile group was only made worse by bass player Sid Vicious’ self destructive relationship with Nancy Spungen; and heroine. Many argue that Malcomb is mostly to blame for Sid’s downward spiral, for him the worse Vicious got; the better because everyone loves to watch a train wreck. That train wreck quickly spread from Sid to the rest of the band, as after a brief tour of the United States in 1977 the band called it quits. Sid went on to have a brief and unsuccessful solo career before he overdosed on heroine in 1978.

At about the time the Sex Pistols were coming to an end the Clash were making major headway, their self titled debut album opened punk up to new avenues and was just a preview of the innovation that the Clash would bring into the genre. The album featured a cover tracks of Junior Mervin’s Police and Thieves, a classic raggae number. The Clash sang about having no work, drug addiction and its consequences, as well as saluting the African American community’s willingness to stand up and do something in the song White Riot. Throughout their seven year career the Clash pushed the boundaries of what punk was thought to be, infusing it with raggae, as well as early rap. They were more politically charged than the Sex Pistols in that while they did disagree with the way the government was running their country, they saw the flaws in an anarchist system; and wanted people to use their own minds to create a better reality. Essentially, the Clash made people not only self aware, but they also prompted them to think. Sadly, as is far too often the case with landmark bands, the Clash disbanded far too early. Upon signing what they believed to be a five album deal in 1976, they had in reality signed a ten record deal. The result was five albums in seven years, relentless touring, and the group not being able to stand each other.

Punk Goes Back Underground- The 1980's

By the early 80’s had rolled around punk was on its way out of the spotlight. Heavy metal was making its comeback with groups such as Motörhead and Iron Maiden spearheading its assault. As is often said though, punk was not dead. It merely was headed back to its roots, back to the underground.

The 1980’s brought about a new sound in punk, and this was partially a baptism by fire, a fire that was lit by those who loved the original movement so much. Those who call themselves ‘punk’ have a very bad habit of being quite narrowminded, and when bands starting having longer songs or going outside of the accepted format; it was immediately deemed “not punk”. Out of this environment came the hardcore movement, birthing such bands as the Exploited, Bad Brains, Charged G.B.H, as well as the Bad Religion.

Again there were two major scenes, one in the United States and the other in England. The U.S. scene was based primarily in the Los Angeles area, while in England it was no longer as concentrated in London. The hardcore sound is faster and more aggressive than early punk, using extremely simple chord progressions played at a very high tempo. Some bands even took cues from the thrash metal movement that was happening in San Francisco and incorporated it into their sound (the Exploited were known for this). Although hardcore and punk in general were very much below the radar throughout the 80’s, a loyal following was still there. All that was needed was a band to meld all the sounds of previous punk together to bring it back out of the basement. The catalyst was the landmark ska-punk band, Operation Ivy.

The Early 90's Punk Revival and Beyond

With two of its members eventually going on to form Rancid, Operation Ivy had a heavy ska influence. Playing ska riffs and chords and a frantic punk pace, they created an entirely new sound. What the Clash had done in England with raggae, Operation Ivy had done in America with ska. After the break up of Op Ivy, Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman went on to form Rancid, who for their first album abandoned the ska punk sound all together in favor of a more hardcore, street punk style. They may not have known it but Rancid was at the forefront of the 1990’s punk revival, along with another notable band of the time Green Day.

Green Day’s music was very much at the roots of old school American punk, simple progressions, and songs about boredom, relationships, and frustration. While Rancid’s songs were more political, dealing with Tim’s experiences growing up in the inner city; as well as his turbulent childhood. In a sense, punk rock had finally come full circle. Exploding out of seemingly nowhere in the late 70’s, retreating to the underground for most of the 80’s, only to emerge once again in the 90’s.

Punk itself is impossibe to define, and often times mainstream media outlets such as MTV have it completely wrong. It is not a product to be sold, nor is it an oddity. Punk is a battle cry for change, something natural that has to happen after the old guard has become too old. Most importantly, it showcases the idea and belief that if one really does want to change the state of affairs, it starts with them. No input, no output, and no excuses.