Music Banter - View Single Post

Gavin B. · 06-27-2009, 09:26 PM

Question where does punk music begin? And for that matter where does post-punk begin?

A lot of knowledgeable folks will tell you it all began with the Sex Pistols. If that's the case then where do all the bands that predated the Sex Pistols, like the Ramones, the Stooges and the New York Dolls fit in? How about a band like the Plasmatics who were totally lame poseurs?

What about Pere Ubu, the Cramps, the Dead Boys and X? What the hell was Devo anyway? Blondie got a lot of mainstream airplay but they were very much a part of the early CBGB/Mudd Club matrix along with Patti Smith, Television and Suicide. Where does the downtown No-Wave scene in the late Seventies with the Voidoids, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and the Contortions fit in? For that matter where does the Velvet Underground stand in relationship to punk?

And where do all those classic garage bands from the sixties like the Seeds, the Chocolate Watch Band and the Misunderstood fit into the scheme of things?

Why are Leeds bands like the Mekons and the Gang of Four considered post-punk but the Clash a very similar band, is considered to be punk? What about a band like Essential Logic that defies classification?

New wave was never a legitmate musical genre but a marketing concept to describe safer, radio friendly pop music. Pat Benetar, the Police, and the Cars were "new wave" because they chose mainstream respectability over rebellion.

The Talking Heads had a very adventureous and experimental sound but also sold a lot of records, after the broke up. Anybody on the original CBGB's/Mud Club scene in the Seventies would tell you that the Talking Heads were very much part of the downtown scene in New York.

I guess I'm saying that post-punk is a figment of the rock critic's imagination because as Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth has said, punk rock never broke in America until 1991 when Nirvana released Nevermind. For most of the Seventies and Eighties punk music remained an underground phenomena in the United States.

My own feeling is you can't make distinctions because all of this music is primative and groundbreaking rock and roll that goes all the way back to the 50s rockabilly rebellion with Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Burnette, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent.

So tell me, commrades... what is and isn't punk?

06-27-2009, 09:26 PM	#198 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Don't Laugh...This Is A Serious Question Question where does punk music begin? And for that matter where does post-punk begin? A lot of knowledgeable folks will tell you it all began with the Sex Pistols. If that's the case then where do all the bands that predated the Sex Pistols, like the Ramones, the Stooges and the New York Dolls fit in? How about a band like the Plasmatics who were totally lame poseurs? What about Pere Ubu, the Cramps, the Dead Boys and X? What the hell was Devo anyway? Blondie got a lot of mainstream airplay but they were very much a part of the early CBGB/Mudd Club matrix along with Patti Smith, Television and Suicide. Where does the downtown No-Wave scene in the late Seventies with the Voidoids, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and the Contortions fit in? For that matter where does the Velvet Underground stand in relationship to punk? And where do all those classic garage bands from the sixties like the Seeds, the Chocolate Watch Band and the Misunderstood fit into the scheme of things? Why are Leeds bands like the Mekons and the Gang of Four considered post-punk but the Clash a very similar band, is considered to be punk? What about a band like Essential Logic that defies classification? New wave was never a legitmate musical genre but a marketing concept to describe safer, radio friendly pop music. Pat Benetar, the Police, and the Cars were "new wave" because they chose mainstream respectability over rebellion. The Talking Heads had a very adventureous and experimental sound but also sold a lot of records, after the broke up. Anybody on the original CBGB's/Mud Club scene in the Seventies would tell you that the Talking Heads were very much part of the downtown scene in New York. I guess I'm saying that post-punk is a figment of the rock critic's imagination because as Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth has said, punk rock never broke in America until 1991 when Nirvana released Nevermind. For most of the Seventies and Eighties punk music remained an underground phenomena in the United States. My own feeling is you can't make distinctions because all of this music is primative and groundbreaking rock and roll that goes all the way back to the 50s rockabilly rebellion with Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Burnette, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent. So tell me, commrades... what is and isn't punk? __________________ There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff. Townes Van Zandt