Punk Rock

Characteristics Cover of the Ramones's critically acclaimed third album, 1977's Rocket to Russia. Cover of the Ramones's critically acclaimed third album, 1977's Rocket to Russia.

Punk rock formed as a reaction to such 1970s popular music forms as disco music, and progressive rock, while also rejecting the remnants of the 1960s hippie counterculture. Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren recalls feeling "punk rock had to come along because the rock scene had become so tame that bands like Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel were being called rock and roll, when to me and other fans, rock and roll meant this wild and rebellious music." According to Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone: "[i]n its initial form, a lot of stuff (like Hendrix) was innovative and exciting. Unfortunately, what happens is that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll."

Punk bands often emulate the bare musical structures and arrangements of 1960s garage rock bands. This emphasis on accessibility exemplified punk's DIY aesthetic, and contrasted with the ostentatious musicianship of many of the mainstream rock bands popular in the years before the advent of punk. In 1976, the English punk fanzine Sideburns included drawings of three chords, captioned: "This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band". Typical punk instrumentation includes a drum kit, one or two electric guitars, an electric bass and vocals. Drums typically sound heavy and dry, and often have a minimal set-up — with a snare drum, one mounted or standing tom, one floor tom, one bass drum, hi-hats, one or two crash cymbals and a ride cymbal.

In the early days of punk rock, musical virtuosity was often looked on with suspicion. According to Punk magazine founder John Holmstrom, punk was "rock and roll by people who didn't have very much skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music". Complicated guitar solos were considered self-indulgent and unnecessary, although basic guitar breaks were still common.[8] Bass guitar lines are often basic and used to carry the song's melody, although some punk bass players such as Mike Watt put greater emphasis on more technical bass lines. Guitar parts tend to include highly-distorted power chords, although some bands take a surf rock approach with a lighter, twangier guitar tone. Production is minimalistic, with tracks sometimes laid down on home tape recorders. Punk vocals sometimes sound nasal, and are often shouted instead of sung in a conventional sense. UK Punks, circa 1986 UK Punks, circa 1986

Punk songs are normally around two to two and a half minutes long, though many last for less than a minute. Most early punk songs retained a traditional rock & roll verse-chorus form and 4/4 time signature, however second wave punk bands, including bands from both the post-punk and hardcore sub-genres, often sought to break from that format. "The Sex Pistols were still rock'n'roll", remembers US author Steven Blush, "they were like the craziest version of Chuck Berry. Hardcore was a radical departure from that. It wasn't verse-chorus rock. It dispelled any notion of what songwriting is supposed to be. It's its own form". In hardcore punk the drumming is considerably faster, with lyrics often half shouted over aggressive guitars.

By the mid-1970s, punk lyrics began to involve confrontational frankness and commentaries on social and political issues. Songs such as The Clash's "Career Opportunities", "London's Burning" and Chelsea's "Right to Work", dealt with unemployment, boredom, and other grim realities of urban life. The Sex Pistols songs "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy in the U.K." were openly disparaging of the British political system. Others were violent or anti-romantic in depictions of sex and love, such as The Voidoids' "Love Comes in Spurts". The Stooges were an important formative influence on punk. The Stooges were an important formative influence on punk.

Punk rock was influenced by the attitude, aggression, and political confrontation of artists such as The Who, the Rolling Stones, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, The Velvet Underground, Alice Cooper, The Stooges, the MC5, and the New York Dolls. Other influences include the English pub rock scene, and British glam rock and art rock acts of the early 1970s, including David Bowie, Gary Glitter and Roxy Music. Early punk rock often displays influences from other musical genres, including ska, funk, and rockabilly.

The British punk movement may have drawn upon the do-it-yourself attitude of the Skiffle music craze that emerged amid the post-World War II austerity in Britain. Punk rock in Britain coincided with the end of post-war consensus politics which preceded the rise of Thatcherism, leading to many British punk bands expressing an angry attitude based on social alienation.

The cultural critiques and strategies for revolutionary action of the European Situationist movement of the 1950s and 1960s influenced the vanguard of the British punk movement, particularly members of the Sex Pistols clique. McLaren consciously embraced Situationist ideas, which are also reflected in the clothing – designed for the band by Vivienne Westwood – and in the band's promotional artwork, much of it designed by the Situationist-affiliated Jamie Reid.

Copyright © 2006 Punkiest.com                                 Powered by Engineer Partner