Punk rock style as a philosophy of rebellion

Punk rock is a genre of pop music that originated in the United States and England in the mid-1970s.

In the first punk rock, the musicians expressed their social protest, and also showed their rejection of the then form of rock. Already by 1977, punk rock was becoming one of the most popular genres of rock music in England. Over time, punk rock has spawned many other styles of rock music and has also spread to other countries.

Initially, punk music was not at all what it is now. Most of all, she gravitated towards dance music and was not so aggressive (which is typical for her now). The basis for creating punk music is pieces of musical styles that were most popular at that time in England and the USA. The features of the first punk music include a certain detachment of chords and anti-fascist lyrics.

Types of punk rock

In punk rock, as in many other styles of music, there are many different types of it. But the boundaries between them are sometimes so small that sometimes the musicians themselves cannot say that they are playing. The most popular types: punk rock, pop punk, hardcore, Oi! and Californian punk rock (California). Each of these styles has its own characteristics, differences and representatives.

Punk rock – in the musical environment, there is a fairly abundant number of hypotheses explaining the appearance of the word punk. All of them have varying degrees of credibility. The classic version is the baptism of punk thanks to the New York fanzine “Punk” that emerged in late 1975 in New York, highlighting the life of the local alternative rock scene.

The term was introduced into wide use by British journalists who wanted to prick or dirtyly curse the rising horde of unknown rock and roll monsters – Sex Pistols, Clash, Vibrators, Buzzcocks, Ramones, etc. But those with unexpected favor accepted this stigma.

In the mid-90s, some bands began to play more melodic, funky punk rock. This was the impetus for the emergence of pop-punk. Pop-punk is a soft, fun form of punk rock. Pop-punk is often very fast and not at all pop, but nevertheless it is designed specifically for an audience that loves to listen to good rock and roll or just have fun. A kind of founders of this style are Blink-182 and Green Day. Also pop-punk is played by Sum 41, New Found Glory, MxPx, etc.

Hardcore  – hardened American punk rock

Spawned primarily through the efforts of the Black Flag group. The main signs: short songs, deliberate two-chord, unlimited speed, complete disregard for major recording companies. In the mid-80s, hardcore bands began to often climb into the metal camp and vice versa – many metalheads began to go deeper into the hardcore jungle.

From here came the popular, but still erroneous opinion that hardcore is metalized punk. Please note that hardcore is also the name of the most radical direction in electronic dance music, which does not bring this music closer to punk one iota.

Ouch! (oi!) is a term coined in 1981 by famed British journalist Gary Bushel of Sounds magazine. He promoted and promoted young punk bands in every possible way (however, there were no old ones then), including some of the most radical ones.

After Gary got acquainted with the second Cockney Rejects album, on the tracks of which the composition “Oi! Oi! Oi!” was located, he coined a term for a whole galaxy of British bands playing fast, uncompromising punk with choruses inspired by the chants of football fans.

Sham 69 and Skrewdriver are generally recognized as the prototypes of the genre. Since the mid-80s Oh! has become not so much a designation of a musical style as a term generalizing a huge mass of skinhead (both right and left) bands with punk rock roots, but often with completely different music – from ska to heavy metal.

Punk was the reaction of the “generation without a future”

Despite the fact that much in British punk is really perceived with difficulty, it seems wild, unbridled, sometimes some kind of animal impulse, it is seen as a natural phenomenon both in the life of modern society and in the rock music subculture.

Punk was the reaction of the “generation without a future” to the difficult conditions of life and the impossibility of the full realization of spiritual forces. Very quickly it turned into a protest – a form suitable for any clashes on any ground: ideological, social, musical.

At first, those in power, frightened, declared the punks to be hooligans. But when hundreds of thousands are hooligans, it is called in a different way – a riot. Moreover, this rebellion arose from the transformed conflict of “fathers and sons.”

It is amazing: the children were not satisfied with those fathers who once, 20 years ago, quarreled with their own parents. Remember the rise of rock and roll. And now the newly-minted punk rebels of Generation X sang: “I’m trying to get every memory of your generation out of my head. I’ll use every opportunity to do this. Your generation means nothing to me.”