6/4/02
okay, here's the problem with today's definition of "punk rock". i'm so fucking smart that i figured it out! here it is:
if you think about it, the original punk bands (or "pre-punk" bands, if you will) were influenced by *key term* ROCK 'N
ROLL bands. they took the form of rock and roll (rythm and blues, jump blues, rockabilly, bubblegum, surf, etc.) and made
it faster, louder, and more out-of-control. in contrast to everything else that was popular at the time, the songs were EXTREMELY
short and sometimes CRUDE.
then next you had the actual "punk rock" bands (the dictators, the ramones, the dead boys, etc.) who were influenced by
not only those bands, but also the influences of those bands.
eventually the original influences were forgotten and one generation influenced the next. and instead of calling themselves
anything else, they were so in love with the whole "punk" pigeonhole, that they kept it. when bands started copying others'
styles to a T, the whole idea of punk diversity was lost in the process. those who wouldnt reject these new bands started
clumping similar bands together and creating sub-genre names like "hardcore" punk, "streetpunk", "2tone", etc.
not to tear up anyone's fave band or anything, but bad religion, in my opinion, unwittingly destroyed everything. they
took hardcore and pop-punk and fused it, which was great at the time, very innovative...
but too many bands started associating this, along with skateboarding and watered-down hardcore, with the word PUNK. nofx
was basically second-generation bad religion, and all the bands who were so in love with nofx that they decided to perfect
sounding EXACTLY LIKE THEM killed the spirit of punk rock in most parts of the world.
basically what im saying is that all the influence has been gradually weened out of the music like some sick game of telephone
that what most people consider punk nowadays is such a far cry from what it originally stood for that most kids have no clue
what i'm talking about when i say "rock 'n roll". when you take the rock and the roll out of punk it sounds like shit.
another big problem is that today there are about 50 times more people trying to define the "punk code of honor" or whatever
the fuck they think "being a punk" is. being a punk, ha! being a punk, to my knowledge, is just listening to punk rock and
looking for fun. not trying to be anything but who you are. too many people analyze (root word here being ANAL) why they like
what they like instead of rejecting anything that doesnt grab em by the nuts the first time they hear it, see it, or WHATEVER!
"hmmmm, is THIS punk? what will the SCENE think??" fuck that. i listen to whatever doesnt bore me to tears, and i wear the
clothes that i think look good on me (or whatever i can afford). if i dont like something i'll tell whoever wants to listen
that i dont like it, and if they get offended then TOUGH FUCKIN SHIT, buddy.
i used to tolerate bands like led zepplin and pink floyd because i didnt wanna be labelled "closed-minded". well, guess
what, pink floyd puts me to sleep and robert plant's voice annoys the fuck outta me. and if that makes me closed-mided, then
oh well.
i tried listening to classical music before and i didnt even hear anything. im part of a generation raised on looney tunes
and when i hear beethoven's 5th all i think about is bugs bunny. its not music to me. its background for a cartoon. when i
started realizing that it didnt matter what other people thought about my taste in music and i didnt have tapes laying around
for months that i didnt listen to more than once, i starting ENJOYING MUSIC more. i dont think im closed-minded at all. just
picky.
not enough of these so-called punks are being themselves, theyre being "punks". they try too hard. that to me is the definition
of a poseur. stop defining yourself by what other people are doing. do what makes sense to you and listen to the music that
really gets your blood going, and then, ONLY THEN, will you truly feel like a PUNK.
i hate when people dont embrace the roots of their music. when i started listening to the stooges and the dead boys i really
saw what BULLSHIT 95% of the so-called punk scene is. you cant even call most of this crap rock 'n roll! how can so many people
miss the fucking point?? and the bands just keep coming and coming like some sort of plague!!! it's fucking rediculous...
we need to get back to the roots, and i see it gradually coming back around, but if we dont push the old shit all will
be lost and punk will TRULY be DEAD.
luckily, there are still some of us out there who like a little bop in our punk rock and we arent giving up. well keep
pushing our music til we're blue in the face, and if we come across like old farts, forgive us. i'm only 21 and i would rather
listen to stuff from the 70's then most of this crap of today. fuck new school.
sam sinister
