January 8th, 2010 8:55 am
When people think of punk, they might stereotypically conjure up images of spiky dyed hair, spiky collars, loud electric guitars and heavy eyeliner. While all stereotypes do have basis in some truth, punk rock is about a lot more than just hardcore music and fashion. A brief look into the history of punk rock gives us a deeper appreciation of the punk movement as a radical expression of political ideology.
The beginning of the history of punk rock takes us to the United States, Australia and the UK during the 70s. Punk rock arose as a separation from 70s rock that was considered too mainstream. It was definitely colored with rebellion, being characterized by opposing conventional political and social organizations, arranging music that was free of mainstream embellishment, and an emphasis on DIY?many bands would produce their own music instead of depending on a record label, similar to what we would associate with indie bands today. Punk was very much about rejecting the norm, which accounts for the outrageous styles and fashion that people associate punk rock culture with; it wasn?t so much about dying your hair green, but about not just looking like everyone else, not being a conformist to society?s standards. What people in the punk rock movement wanted to be was ?real,? which mainstream culture was viewed as not.
However, punk rock culture today has slid back from what punk rock history embodied. Figures from the history of punk rock would look down upon modern punk rock?s ?poseur? and sell-out mentality. Today, punk really is more about green hair than nonconformity, and being punk is almost like conformity in itself. Punk is mainstream?punk rock fashion is distributed commercially at chain stores like Hot Topic, punk rock music is played on mainstream ?alternative? radio stations, Kurt Cobain is programmed into Guitar Hero as an avatar. Punk is now a fad as if being anti-establishment is cool, and when everyone tries to be ?different? they all become the same again. Sadly, it?s very likely that many people today who dabble in punk culture don?t have a clue regarding the history of punk rock or what it was about. So to those who still try to keep to the punk rock roots watch in dismay as the next chapter of punk rock history is the eradication of punk rock itself because of those punks that are ruining it.
Tags: history of punk rock