The concept of punk rock as being a fad is a laughable one, honestly. This is as absurd as considering jazz or classical music to be fads, IMHO.
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Was there any good punk rock?
- Thread starter ElectroVibe
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Drive that Toyota Camry into the ground, that's what I did, a red brick Volvo, too.
Bill Hader is one of the greats. I barely watch TV anymore but this season of Barry is next level; Lebowski level.
The idea of punk as being "poisonous to the music" is an elitist crap that misses the point horribly.
Punk means that you can do your thing yourself right now.
It's a very positive thing.
Of course, as in any musical genre, there are good and bad stuff.
Punk means that you can do your thing yourself right now.
It's a very positive thing.
Of course, as in any musical genre, there are good and bad stuff.
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While I never really liked punk music, I was a big metalhead and arguably metal derived from punk which derived from rock so I got respect. I like the attitude and some things they say.
To me it seemed that in the 1976-80 period there were three forms of punk in the UK. One was 'DIY ethic' but quite limited in terms of melodic or lyrical content and seemed to die out quite quickly. The other two flavours seemed to mature quickly and be much more political or full of social comment. The third similarly so, but quickly seemed to merge with reggae influence, and the bands seemed to reform as ska revival bands, but ska revival with a much harder, punk edge than 1960s ska. Listen to the 1979 Peel session of The (English) Beat, and it's still quite punky at times.
Others may not agree, of course.
Others may not agree, of course.
I'd argue metal started before punk with bands like Black Sabbath, but there's been lots of interplay from the 1980s onwards.
I judge individual pieces of music on their own merits rather than saying I like or dislike the entire genre.
Here's why some people think punk was just a passing fad: By the time punk started to get noticed by the mainstream media, it was already on it's way out. It had actually been around for a decade or more. (Stooges, New York Dolls, Patti Smith). What most people think of as punk was really the post-punk era. This is the period where the threads of punk was still prevalent but the music got a little more sophisticated. That includes bands like the Clash, Joy Division, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
How do you account for Californian punk's mainstream popularity in the 90s and 00s then?
Punk's not dead. This thread is testament enough.
I love that the soundtrack of this thread and all the music people have shared have showed that punk is deeper, broader, and more expansive than some of our superficial and narrow viewpoints would indicate. The Dead Milkmen and Agnostic Front are both punk bands yet are both very different.
And even looking at other broad genres of music, punk is present. Take 1990s alt-rock/grunge for example. Nirvana's sound and ethos was clearly influenced by punk, whereas Pearl Jam represented the more classic rock influenced side of grunge. Two very different sounding bands in the same "grunge" genre.
Or take a look at death metal, which the average person thinks is just monotonous noise. Looking at the Florida bands where the genre sprouted from... Morbid Angel's music had that black magic/occult feel, Deicide was furious blasphemy, Death veered proggy, Atheist were jazz-technical, Obituary were the punky death metal band. It's hard not to hear the punk influences in Obituary's music.
There is this silly "us vs them" level of tribalism among punk and metal crowds, and I think a song like "Threatening Skies" by Obituary could bring both together. Obituary may be a metal band, but this song could get wild pits going if played at a punk show too:
Moral of the story, there are several iconic forms of music held in high regard that I simply cannot discuss without talking about punk.
I've played in both metal and punk bands, and I always bring both influences to the table. My old punk band used to cover "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest (a metal song) and every crowd we played for LOVED it!
Music has no boundaries.
And even looking at other broad genres of music, punk is present. Take 1990s alt-rock/grunge for example. Nirvana's sound and ethos was clearly influenced by punk, whereas Pearl Jam represented the more classic rock influenced side of grunge. Two very different sounding bands in the same "grunge" genre.
Or take a look at death metal, which the average person thinks is just monotonous noise. Looking at the Florida bands where the genre sprouted from... Morbid Angel's music had that black magic/occult feel, Deicide was furious blasphemy, Death veered proggy, Atheist were jazz-technical, Obituary were the punky death metal band. It's hard not to hear the punk influences in Obituary's music.
There is this silly "us vs them" level of tribalism among punk and metal crowds, and I think a song like "Threatening Skies" by Obituary could bring both together. Obituary may be a metal band, but this song could get wild pits going if played at a punk show too:
Moral of the story, there are several iconic forms of music held in high regard that I simply cannot discuss without talking about punk.
I've played in both metal and punk bands, and I always bring both influences to the table. My old punk band used to cover "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest (a metal song) and every crowd we played for LOVED it!
Music has no boundaries.
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Fully agree. Punk is not dead. It't just taken on a variety of forms over the years, getting re-invented every time. My son and I were just listening to the Butthole Surfers.
Changing the face of Rock & Roll & pioneering an entire new sub-genre had loads of value.
I think it's really weird to start a thread bashing an entire style of Rock & Roll that many of us adore.
You might as well have posted that you don't understand why people like bass guitar.
Nor I - not all of them, anyway. But I do understand why some kids rebelled against their parents. Like any other group dynamics, some of the young rebels had no cause - but many did.
Can arguably go back to include MC5 as well. It's interesting as to where the dividing line is with the more sophisticated bands like The Stranglers, The Attractions, etc. I saw Midnight Oil's very first US show (awesome - March, 1984) and they absolutely played with 'punk' commitment - questionable as to how to classify them though I'd tend to just call them "rock".
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