History of Punk Rock
History of Punk RockDid you know that the first commercially successful punk band
was the Sex Pistols? Then came groups like Black Flag, Husker Du,
and Bad Brains. Punk was invented in Britain in the mid Seventies.
The first American punk started in a New York club called CBGB's.
CBGB's would attract a crowd of about 500 with its Sunday-afternoon
hard-core matinees. The concerts would be over by a reasonable
time so kids could get home to eat dinner with their parents. In
this paper we will take a look at some history and aspects of punk
rock over the years.
Slam Dancing
Slam dancing has been popular through the history of punk.
You may have heard of called "mashing" or "stage diving." Mashing
is just a big game of bumper cars like you played when you were a
kid. I think Natalie Jacobson who is dating the lead singer of
"Murphy's Law" describes stage diving best when says, "It's like
diving into a human carpet. Something like the old kids' trust
game. Just my way of getting into it. Gospel people got their
thing, I got mine."1
Politics
Some punks consider themselves Nazis', or are concerned with
issues like peace, racism, and nuclear war. Most punk is against
parental, musical, and political authorities. On the other hand
some isn't. Bob Mould of Husker Du talks about politics quite
frequently in his songs.
I don't write about politics because I'm not an expert.
Some bands find it very necessary to claim they're
politically relevant when in actuality they don't know
shit about politics. Not informing people is much better
than misinforming people. We're sort of like reporters
in a way. Reporters of our own mental state. Reporters
of the state of the air. Consciousness. Of the day. We
make personal statements.2
Friends
Most punks that live in small towns have trouble making
friends. They find it hard to relate to most people. Sixteen-
year-old Becca Levine finds it hard to make friends in her small
town. She comes from a family of divorced parents that never have
understood her. Her mother thinks it's just a phase she's going
through. As Becca Quotes, "Parents around here treat me like I'm
kind of weird."3 She has met someone from New York City that
understands her. She meets with him at concerts at clubs like the
Ritz or CBGB's. She met someone else also. Someone about 20
minutes away from her hometown who wrote an ad in a national
magazine looking for someone to associate with that would
understand him. He got a lot of responses, but when he saw the
letter from Becca he called her right up. They met for the first
time at a Hard-Core show in New York City. But still no one in her
hometown understands her. Fitting in with the New York hard-core
scene is one of her goals.
Clothing
Punk has its very own unique style. Although punk sports hard
edges, bright colors, shaved heads, leather jackets, Mohawks, and
army boots. You...
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