Rock music is one of the most popular and diverse genres of music in existence.  From classic bands with softer sounds such as the Beatles, to the fast and aggressive sounds of Metallica, or the psychedelic and trippy sound of Pink Floyd, rock music covers the widest range of different sub-genres of any other style of music.  But how can so many sub-genres exist under the same all-encompassing genre of rock music?  In this paper I will go into what separates one of the most interesting sub-genres of rock, punk rock, from the many other sub-genres.

Punk rock began as a small, underground movement in 1974 primarily in the United States, Britain, and Australia.  Composed of mostly underground garage bands, it was dubbed “punk” rock by American critics to describe the nature of the performers and their devotees. This term also harkens back to the 1600s-1800s Britain where “punk” was slang for prostitute, giving it its social stigma. Due to its loud, fast, and aggressive style, politically anarchist lyrics, appearance of band members, and violence caused by the music, it was widely ignored by the mainstream public with the exception of a few bands.  The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Ramones, managed to gain word-wide recognition and fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and set the standard for what would define of genre of punk rock.

Regardless of its dive into the mainstream, punk still retained its social stigmas.  This is due to mainly the styles of clothing associated with the genre; deliberately offensive t-shirts, leather studded clothing and jackets, and wild hair.  This along with the bands lifestyles of sex

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and substance abuse, political anarchy, and rebellious youths formed and combination that did not go down well with most people.

Despite this early stigma however, punk rock again resurged into the mainstream in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the emergence of bands like The Offspring, Blink 182, and Green Day.  These bands offered a much more tame and “radio friendly” sound to the genre.  With the help of bands like these the genre reached the peak of its popularity.  Although the themes generally stayed the same, they were delivered in a way that was relatable for common people.  Many of these newer bands focused more on the themes of being a rebellious and free youth instead of violence and anarchy. The lifestyle of band members also improved as well, allowing for many stigmas involving band members to dissolve.

Much more goes into the genre than many people realize, and is not just angry guys playing instruments loud and fast.  I will now discuss some of the essential features that go into the Punk Rock sub-genre.  Punk rock bands often attempt to emulate the musical styles of 1960s and 70s garage rock.  Typical instrumentation for a punk rock band is one or two electric guitars, a bass guitar, and a drum set.  Bands are generally made up of about three musicians and rarely exceed four, as compared to other rock genres such a progressive or indie especially.  Songs in punk rock are also shorter than songs in traditional rock, being played at a much faster pace and intensity.  Songs also often were void of choruses, but this style was broken by the newer wave of punk rock.  The vocals were often sung nasally, and included fast shifts in pitch,

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tone, and speed, which is perhaps another reason why punk rock did not gain big popularity early on.  This style as well, has faded away in the new wave.

The songs in and of themselves include the for-mentioned themes of political anger, anarchy, and youthful freedom.  These are the most essential themes of punk rock writing.  An excellent example of this is the Sex Pistols song “Anarchy in the UK.” In this song the line “I want to be anarchy” is repeated many times, along with several encrypted lines describing politics in the UK.  Also in the Ramones song “Judy is a Punk” they describe two girls who run away to join the ice Capades, showing the theme of youthful freedom and doing what you want.  They also include the line “perhaps they’ll die, oh yeah” showing that they don’t care about consequences of their actions, another important part of the punk mindset.

Along with these examples of very blatant clear lyrics, many songs have deeper meanings that are not so easy to decrypt. The Clash’s “London Calling” is a great example of this.  Its chorus is “The ice age is coming, the suns zooming in, engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin, a nuclear error, but I have no fear, cause London is drowning and I, live by the river.”  This song has an apocalyptic tone to it without ever saying anything about the end of the world specifically.  They simply describe different ways the world could end.  And also while doing this, they show their distain towards the English government by saying even if the world did end, they don’t care because London is going down anyway.  This song is a great example of deeper poetic meaning that can be found in many places throughout the genre.

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The final and perhaps most recognizable convention of punk rock is the attitudes and appearance of band members.  The sound of the music perfectly emulates the personalities of punk rock musicians, and is apparent in their appearance and stage presence.  Especially in the early days, the style was the black leather studded clothing, offensive shirts, tattoos, and piercings.  On stage, musicians often break off into long, complicated, self-indulgent solos, often ending with them breaking their instruments.  Musicians would also often get into fights or just plain harm concert goers due to performing intoxicated, on drugs, or just by being too aggressive.  But perhaps they believed that they needed to behave in this way to get the attention of people and show that they are passionate about what they believe.

In conclusion, punk rock was a revolutionary form of music for its time.  Its fast and aggressive style combined with its political anger and message of freedom forms an interesting combination that produces beautiful music with more to it than meets the eye.