ThE PuNk ReVoLuTiOn
From the Underground to the Foreground
DJ White Noyes
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Entertainment
Since when did 12-year-old teenie-boppers consider themselves fans of PUNK RAWK!? Well since the late '90's actually. Nowadays it seems that punk music is one of, if not the, most popular form of rock 'n' roll. Let's go back to where it all began…shall we?
When the Ramones hit the scene in the 1970s, it can be assumed that these pioneering punkers from Long Island did not intend (nor prefer) to be accepted by mainstream music fans. In fact, they wanted to be underground, a word that true punk fans take pride in still to this day. According to the Rolling Stone, "In the mid-'70s the Ramones shaped the sound of punk rock in New York with simple, fast songs, deadpan lyrics, no solos, and an impenetrable wall of guitar chords." The leading bands slowly began to pick up a following. More and more bands, like the Sex Pistols and the Misfits, followed suit, lit up their joints, threw on their tight leather jackets, picked up a mic, and started to slam on their guitars.
Across the board, punk songs seem to have many of the same elements: fast, short tracks, whiney and sometimes screamy hooks, usually political lyrics, and an anti-social attitude. Throughout the '80s, punk continued to strive in the background of the music world with bands such as Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and the Pixies. No doubt it can be difficult for the average listener to tolerate. The style of early punk feels very raw and seems to lack professional production work. But apparently punk fans like it: no rules and no practices. Metaphorically speaking, punk rock is like prose vs. poetry… in punk music, anything goes!
So what we have here is a new form of rock and roll emerging "behind the scenes" which is picking up an enormous following from children who are not getting enough love from their parents. So what changed from the days of the Talking Heads to the days of Simple Plan? It was actually not until the early '90s that punk really changed scenery and shifted styles to the point where the average top 40 listener just may, in fact, begin to have a liking for punk.
When the Ramones hit the scene in the 1970s, it can be assumed that these pioneering punkers from Long Island did not intend (nor prefer) to be accepted by mainstream music fans. In fact, they wanted to be underground, a word that true punk fans take pride in still to this day. According to the Rolling Stone, "In the mid-'70s the Ramones shaped the sound of punk rock in New York with simple, fast songs, deadpan lyrics, no solos, and an impenetrable wall of guitar chords." The leading bands slowly began to pick up a following. More and more bands, like the Sex Pistols and the Misfits, followed suit, lit up their joints, threw on their tight leather jackets, picked up a mic, and started to slam on their guitars.
Across the board, punk songs seem to have many of the same elements: fast, short tracks, whiney and sometimes screamy hooks, usually political lyrics, and an anti-social attitude. Throughout the '80s, punk continued to strive in the background of the music world with bands such as Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and the Pixies. No doubt it can be difficult for the average listener to tolerate. The style of early punk feels very raw and seems to lack professional production work. But apparently punk fans like it: no rules and no practices. Metaphorically speaking, punk rock is like prose vs. poetry… in punk music, anything goes!
So what we have here is a new form of rock and roll emerging "behind the scenes" which is picking up an enormous following from children who are not getting enough love from their parents. So what changed from the days of the Talking Heads to the days of Simple Plan? It was actually not until the early '90s that punk really changed scenery and shifted styles to the point where the average top 40 listener just may, in fact, begin to have a liking for punk.
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