Every year, my school makes the National History Day project mandatory. This year's theme was "Turning Points In History". Though my teacher was skeptical about my topic, I went with it. I used punk rock as a turning point in history, created a project, and here's the final product.
Thesis: Punk music changed the course of history. It has revolutionized every genre and changed the way we view music.
"Times Are A-Changin'" (Dylan)
Punk music started out in the early 1960s. Greenwich Village was the hub for this new genre. The New York Dolls, founders of punk rock, started it all. In 1965, Velvet Underground was started on the east coast, and sparked American hardcore. It all happened so fast.
What caused this change?
After rock n’ roll became mainstream, there was a need to break out. The punks didn’t want to be “pre-fabricated, clean and pretty” (Helen Bach). They were “fatalistic; we wanted the opposite of what we were served. Just a bunch of people who were sick and tired of the same old thing…. The anti-everything.” (Bach)
The New York Dolls shook up the music scene by dressing like women, while the Ramones changed how songs were played. Using the concept of simple chords, the Ramones revolutionized how music was made.
"When I first saw the Ramones", critic Mary Harron later remembered, "I couldn't believe people were doing this. The dumb brattiness." They played their first show at CBGB’s on August 16, 1974. "They were all wearing these black leather jackets. And they counted off this song…and it was just this wall of noise…. They looked so striking. These guys were not hippies. This was something completely new." (Legs McNeil)This was the beginning of something great.
"We Were Misfits" (Lababedi)“
Any real music before punk was being ruined by record companies. Got watered down. Then the hippies started to suck- they went from weed to heroin, so they were going nowhere. Through this, new bands formed. Velvet underground were dirty and lo-fi, really hard rock. The Mercer center was the only club to play- the New York Dolls played always there.” (Iman Lababedi)
There was a need to break out and a wish to break out of the norm. Through this, punk music was an outlet for the art kids the misfits.
"I'm So Bored With The USA" (Clash)
The first openly political punk band was The Clash. “I’m So Bored With the USA” was a perfect example of how they felt.
It was then acceptable for other bands in the scene to start expressing how they viewed the government.
The Exploited released “I Believe In Anarchy” and “Punk’s Not Dead” in ‘81. In 1989, The Offspring released a song called “Kill The President”. Songs were getting opinionated, and fast.
Next came “F*** the USA” (Exploited). This caused hatred and offense and Americans were appalled. However, this only opened more doors for American punk bands.
Furthermore, this reaction was spread out over decades. In ’96, NOFX released a new tune; “Murder the Government” was extremely controversial. Even today, this song sparks arguments over social media sites, especially YouTube.
“In reality punk people are usually the gentlest, kindest folks you'll ever know. They're like hippies, only they wear way more black.” (Kate Rockland)
Not only did this revolution make political music acceptable, but it also affected how people dressed. Punk fashion was DIY, staples “came from the Salvation Army or our dad’s closets, but we made ‘em our own. There was no ‘Hot Topic’, no store to sell us the clothes we inspired.” (Bach)
Punk clothing was chains, skulls, studs, you name it. What was once the safety-pinned oddity is now the fashionable choice. You can walk into stores and see shirts with skeletons, or studded leather jackets.
This change in fashion was not well-received by the general public. “I was going to see Black Flag at the Ritz in NYC. I was waiting for the bus, outside of a smoke shop on the sidewalk. My friend Heath was a skatepunk. We got Moon Pies to eat for the long wait. I was sitting on a skateboard eating it. A cop car drove up on to the sidewalk and yelled at me to get up, hands behind my back. I was arrested for ‘disturbing the peace.’ It was simply because of the way I looked.
I was wearing skeleton earrings, a black trenchcoat with ‘NYHC’ (New York Hardcore) on the back. Black Doc Martens, blue jeans. Huge Mohawk.” (Bach)
Rock Against Bush
Rock Against Bush Tour was a tour put together by anti-war punk musicians that wanted to dissuade people from re-electing George Bush in 2004. It was inspired by the Rock Against Reagan Tour back in ’84. All those punk bands allowed this to happen. They were sparing no time lashing out and standing up for their beliefs.
"Everything About The Music"
In 1989, Orv Madden founded the store Hot Topic. It was the first retailer to have that much band merchandise all in one place. Music posters and accessories galore, dimly lit, loud punk music blasting. The stores were appealing to kids, and appalling to adults. The idea of the stop was to specialize in pop-culture items. The stores are still open today, and still selling the classic tees, but also popular character merch and novelties.
“Punk will never be dead to me. It's my life. I can never just drop this lifestyle. It embodies me. “ (Billie Joe Armstrong)
"You've got to decide, then, whether you want to just keep repeating yourself, in the hope that you keep those first people interested, or whether you want to be true to yourself. Which in some sense is more Punk Rock than anything." (Elvis Costello)