For my presentation I decided to take a route I had touched
within my essay, I felt it opened up more questions and points I could expand
on.
My essay is based around how images construct identities I
used various images from the punk era and comparing it to those we consider
pink in today’s era, I used mainly sex pistols and Avril Lavinge comparing both
attitude, clothing and lyrics, this led me to my presentation looking at how punk
has developed over the past 30 years and asking the much asked question is punk
dead?
I will be using a selection of bands that consider
themselves punk or punk rock. Sex Pistols are what we mainly associate with
punk, tae god saves the queen for example the lyrics to this song were led to
believe to be an assault towards queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy this was
suggested by the lyrics “ A fascist regime” and “No future in England’s
dreaming” at the time BBC refused to play this song due to the manner of the
lyrics, this song is about rebelling in what society leads us to believe, after
researching it is led to believe punk was used to explain the whole story of
society and politics and was used as a leadership for the youth, hence the
dress sense and attitude this was a result in not conforming with society’s
image of perfection, in a 2012 interview with Johnny Rotten he quoted “It
wasn’t a specific moment in time in history – I wrote a record subject matter
that mattered to me in a personal way, and then all this situation enveloped
and unfolded” this shows that Johnny Rotten sang about what mattered to him and
not what their manager told them to sing about in order to sell records,
although it did cause and uprising his boldness was still valued for saying how
it is, this results in another question does uprising effect what we sing about
in music to to date as singers often write about love and not what really
effects them, and could this be a result of the chaos caused by certain songs?
This brings me to a band that has turned up on many
occasions as 21st century punk which is Rise Against they originated
from Chicago in 1998 long after the sex pistols in the 1970’s they recognize
their music as punk rock, I chose to use the song prayer for a refuge. After
researching the song I found out the songs meaning is a refuge in America
talking about the good life him and his people once had and how times have
changed refuges are quietly trying to change the world in the background. In
the final verse he tells his son to step out and change the world for the
better. The song is against many practises used as a result of capitalism in
the United States,
Although the song doesn’t reflect what we commonly known as
punk but the lyrics both contain problems within our countries and that have
been brought to attention through music.
I feel Rise against more structure down to when its made and
the development of music.
Although the music doesn't sound punk or dress punk, could
this be down to the development of the punk genre.
I researched into quotes about punk by other artists, but
the main one that influenced me what by Billie Joel ( Green Day ) “A guy walks
up to me and asks ‘What’s Punk?’ So I kick over a garbage can and say ‘That’s
punk!’ So he kicks over a garbage can and says ‘That’s punk?’ and I say ‘No,
that’s trendy!’”
— Billie Joe Armstrong
I feel this makes sense by irrupting it as punk was one of a
kind and was the first of it all and explaining the whole story and standing
up, but this quote also shows that anything that is made to sound punk nowadays
is just a trend and will never be what it once was, which makes sense as back
in the 70’s the music was used to express emotion towards what was happening,
and now it’s already been done.
Giving the audience different opinions rather than those of
society.
This also brings me onto Avril Lavinge which began with my
essay, the media perceives her as punk yet none of her lyrics contain anything
that matters, often about love or boys. The evolution of punk has led to teen
agers dressing this way because they often feel its cool, without any knowledge
of the heritage or history making it yet again a trend rather than standing for
something and that’s originally what punk stood for.
Many arguments for punk being alive include “It is
impossible for a music genre to simple die there will always be someone playing
punk rock, punk rock is a symbol of rebellion and people will always rebel
against something”
Another quote is
“First of all, anybody can go out, gather up a band, and
make punk rock music, so it’s not dead”
Although these could be considered arguable points there is
a way of expanding it, does people listening to punk keep it alive, yes it may
do but doesn’t mean it’s still being produced, punk was meant to stand for
something it was based on opinion, by gathering up a band and singing punk
doesn’t make it punk, singing about random lyrics doesn’t make you anything.
Punk was originally freedom as defined by Kurt Kobain, now
it’s a loosely based genre. It’s lost its soul.
Although there are many arguable factors whether punk is
dead or not, it can be interrupted into an opinion.
After conducting this research it has led me to believe
yes punk is dead, I belive it was made
for that time and wasn’t meant to be copied as it lost what it stood for. Even
though some lyrics today contain anarchy and an uprising to society, is it
really punk? In a short answer no, it’s just a trend and all in all a different
genre to what it was originally.
Although I do admit on this topic it is up to how you decide
and a matter of your own opinion, but I amongst others believe punk is dead and
takes a new form of genre.
