Punk Rebellion: Aesthetics A Go-Go

Punk music is inherently outrageous, it makes middle to upper class well-to-doers cringe at the very notion of it. But what does it mean to be a “punk?” 

As a wholly ideological subculture, punk music came about to combat the mainstream ideals of popular music, specifically rock and roll. It was, to some degree, the antithesis of hippie culture, in that peace and love were looked down upon, while still maintaining a sense of identity and comradary among its patrons.  The two cultures did share a bond, however, in the form of their mutual ideals of anti-establishment.

 

Lavish excess was the name of the game in the 70’s during the disco movement; leisure suits, gold chains, and cocaine were in and the punk rock scene grew out of disgust over these ideals. Just as the leather jacket connoted a sense of rejection of norms in the 1950’s; the ripped jeans, dirty sneakers, and long greasy hair of punk rock artists served the same purpose.  Punks could identify each other based upon their style of dress and mannerisms. 

 

This sense of truthfulness in identity carried over to the performance of the punk “act.” As Patti Smith states on page 160 of Please Kill Me, “Physical presentation in performing is more important than what you’re saying. Quality comes through of course, but if your quality of intellect is high, and your love of the audience is evident, and you have a strong physical presence, you can get away with anything.” 

 

This calls into question the notion of authenticity in Punk culture. Since aesthetics are such a deciding factor in punk culture, can you really get away with anything if you believe it enough? Punk, being decidedly underground, thrives on frustration and the very fact that it is an underground culture. So what happens when this culture becomes popular, when it crosses the threshold into the mainstream? Members of the community have to constantly reinvent themselves. 

 

The Sex Pistols, in their song Anarchy In The UK describe a call to arms for the disenfranchised and seemingly confused youth of the UK to effectively do whatever they please, be it violent or flat out silly.

I am an anti-Christ 
I am an anarchist, 
Don’t know what I want 
But I know how to get it. 
I wanna destroy the passer by 
‘Cos I wanna be anarchy,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc89WTEh-jE

Naturally, the lyric (I am an anti-Christ/I am an anarchist) is meant to be sensational in nature, deliberately pissing off any parents of children listening to the music. While (don’t know what I want/but I know how to get it) is an allusion to the overall confusion of the generational youth.

The roots of punk music (and aggressive rock and roll) can be seen in Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” As a quintessential pop-punk song for a generation, it caused crowds to explode in raucous dancing, at a time where R&B was standard.  Chuck Berry pushed the envelope in 1958, just as the punk movement would do 20 years later. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ofD9t_sULM

 

 

 

As an aside, I’d love to discuss the progression of Green Day’s musical career in class. They serve as a perfect cross-section of punk music’s rise and fall and the ideals the community idolizes and despises at the same time.