The Punk Education Thread
 

The Punk Education Thread
Written by Crowquill(Ethan Smith) and Hookers With Machineguns (Leroy Lee)

History:
The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. It’s counterpart? The commercially dwarfed Velvet Underground and Nico, one of the first albums that presented a raw and experimental alternative to the over-produced and commercialized pop-rock top sellers of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Punk rock's musical roots lie in the 1960s with American snarling garage and proto-punk acts such as The Seeds, Count 5, and The Sonics, and later the intense performances of The Stooges and the short and fast guitar riffs of Motor City Five. Across the Atlantic, you had The Who’s snotty teen angst anthems; their single “My Generation” is sometimes referred to as the “first punk song”.

Punk rock sprouted in quite a few different regions of the world approximately around the same time, almost a global defiance to the commercialization of mainstream music. The two most commonly identified areas are the New York scene (which included The Ramones, Television, Johnny Thunders & The New York Dolls, and Richard Hell & The Voidoids) and the London scene (which included The Stranglers, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and punk’s poster children Sex Pistols). By the late 1970s, the punk rock movement was in full swing; bands like The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, and X-Ray Spex became acknowledged as being among the first punk rock bands.

Most punk rock from the original mid-1970s movement was still melodic and poppy, but became more aggressive starting in the late 1970s with bands like Black Flag, Crass, X, Circle Jerks, The Germs, The Dead Kennedys and The Misfits. Punk rock usually contains aggressive anti-establishment lyrics. Most of the lyrics are individualistic or political, including left-wing, anarchist, and/or sometimes extremist ideologies. This developed into an onslaught of different attitudes and thus subgenres, spreading from different regions of the world. By the 1990s, the world was well exposed to most parts of the punk attitude and fashion. Nonconformity and rebellion became buzzwords for major record labels to ironically pre-package punk rock as a marketable mainstream trend (if you will). This exposure has led some punk fundamentalists to regard the current state of punk as being “dead.”

Street Punk
Fast-paced and aggressive style that later homogenized with hardcore punk and adapted to Oi! Punk. Street punk (or “gutter punk”) is often associated with the studded leather jacket and Mohawk fashion. Lyrics are typically of the anti-social and anti-authority nature, with the occasional triumphant booze chant.
Examples: The Exploited, The Varukers, A Global Threat, GBH, Oxymoron, Cheap Sex, The Pist, The Virus, The Filaments, The Devotchkas, Lower Class Brats

Oi! Punk
A derivative of street punk that aimed to appeal to the working class, punks, and skinheads. Oi! Punk has occasionally been mislabeled as racist (although in some instances true); however most of the original bands were not.
Examples: The Cockney Rejects, Cock Sparrer, Sham 69, Peter and The Test Tube Babies, The Business, Skrewdriver, 4 Skins

Hardcore punk
Characterized by aggressive and intense vocals, with rapid chord progression. Thus songs are typically short and fast-paced. The original movement was strong particularly in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, California. Hardcore punk later evolved into emo and more metal-influenced hardcore.
Examples: Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, The Necros, Poison Idea, 7 Seconds, Reagan Youth, Urban Waste, Millions of Dead Cops, D.R.I., Wasted Youth, Cro-Mags, The Germs

Emo
In the early 1990s there was arguably a wave of bands being called "emotive" or "emotional" hardcore. It was led by bands like D.C. natives Rites of Spring, Moss Icon, and Gray Matter. Elitist hardcore kids actually used the term "emo" as an insult for kids who listen to Indian Summer and other bands in this sub genre. Screamo emerged from hardcore emo, characterized by slower and more melodic breakdowns, with bands like You & I, City of Caterpillar, Saetia, etc.
Examples: Circle Takes The Square, pg. 99, She Died Really Pretty, IWouldSetMyselfOnFireForYou, Hot Cross, Heroin, Usurp Synapse, Mohinder, Angel Hair, Funeral Dinner, I Hate Myself, After School Knife Fight, Orchid, Saetia.


Anarcho Punk
Usually of the hardcore/street punk style, specifically with anarchist ideologies.
Examples: Aus Rotten, Behind Enemy Lines, Subhumans, Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Rudimentary Peni, Contravene, Anti-Product, Discharge, Oi Polloi, Conflict

Crust Punk
Usually has elements of grind, hardcore, thrash, and is closely related to anarcho punk, with darker political lyrics.
Examples: Amebix, Misery, Nausea, Antischism, Witch Hunt, Dystopia, Cluster Bomb Unit, Extinction of Mankind, Brother Inferior, Toxic Narcotic, Deviated Instinct, Caustic Christ, Code 13, Tragedy, Totalitar, Icons of Filth

Psychobilly
A fusion between punk rock and rockabilly, first emerging in London during the early 1980s. Much of the distinctive melody comes from the upright bass. Lyrics typically make reference to violence, sexuality, and horror flicks.
Examples: The Meteors, Demented Are Go!, King Kurt, Mad Sin, Nekromantix, Batmobile, The Cramps, The Deadlines, The Quakes, Barnyard Ballers, Astro Zombie, Tiger Army, The Sharks, Reverend Horton Heat


Horror Punk
Horror punk is (usually) pop punk and psychobilly (hardcore in a few cases) with topics focused horror flicks and tales through songs. Although horror punk is considered to have been started by bands like the damned and 13th floor elevator, a lot of people consider the first real horror punk band to be the misfits, they were later followed by acts like samhain (started by danzig).
Examples:The Misfits, Samhain, Dead End Drive In, Balzac, Undead, Cancer Slug, Rabies, Everdead, Mockingbird lane

Pop Punk
A more melodic and catchy punk style seen first in the mid-1970s with bands like The Ramones and The Buzzcocks, later adapted by many bands of the 1990s trying to deviate from the 1980s hardcore punk movement.
Examples: The Descendents, The Buzzcocks, Bad Religion, The Queers, Screeching Weasel, The Offspring, Millencolin, Guttermouth, Bouncing Souls, Tsunami Bomb

Ska Punk
A common form of Third Wave ska, which has deviated substantially from the more soulful traditional ska/reggae sound. Most ska punk is uptempo and catchy, behind a horn section and offbeat.
Examples: Operation Ivy, Choking Victim, Leftover Crack, Against All Authority, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Pietasters, Big D And The Kids Table, Catch 22, Skankin Pickle

Additional Links:

Crust, Hardcore, & Anarcho:
Profane Existence
Havoc Records and Distribution
Revelation Records
New Red Archives

Psychobilly & Horrorpunk:
The Wrecking Pit
Psychobilly Online
Psychobilly.net

General:
PunkNews.org
Interpunk
Epitaph records
Hellcat Records (not working currently)
Alternative Tentacles
Morphius Records
Dischord Records
Hopeless Records
Blackout Records

Oi! & Streetpunk:
Walzwerk Records
Punkcore Records

DISTROS

Active Distribution( UK )
Activist Store
AK Press
Anger Distribution ( Quebec )
Armageddon Records (also a label)
Book Counter
Brickwall Distribution
Deadpan Distro
Contempl8 (political T-shirts)
Diskaus ( Finland )
Ebullition
Existence Distribution ( Austria )
Hardcore Holocaust
Hitchhiker
Inflammable Material ( UK )
Midhaven Mailorder (also the site for Revolver USA wholesale)
Profane Existence Distribution
Revolution Now Press and Distro ( Canada )
Sound Idea
Sunrise Screenprint Workshop ( UK )
Tiamat Publications (radical ecology books and music)
Wasted Sounds (Sweden)

No mention of MC5 :(. What about Grind?

we're putting grind with the Metal Education Thread. And I'm writing it. Relativly slowly.

They were mentioned. We wouldn't forget ;)

I missed that one, good job :). Make sure you mention that Napalm Death is not the only band that helped in pioneering grind.

I don't think they played that large a role at all. so don't worry!

That was a pretty diverse explanation.

I didn't read all of it, but I know many more will to fill my place.

Good work.

Shouldn`t there be something about post punk...

Y`know , The Fall , Wire , Blue Orchids , The Prisoners , The Milkshakes , P.I.L. , Gang Of Four , Cabaret Voltare , Throbbing Gristle , The Birthday Party , Magazine , Bauhaus , The Raincoats , XTC , Mission Of Burma , The Gun Club, Etc Etc.........

Not to mention Ere Pubu!

Pere Ubu, I agree.

Mc5 should be on here.

mc5=motor city 5..theyre on there

For sh1ts and g1gs I had put a postpunk section in the indie education thread I'm working on. I can't wait to post it either, so I can be beheaded by MB's indie faithfuls ;)

I`m sure i`d take your word for it over a bunch of irritating scene kids ;)

I never knew that there were so many sub genres of Punk! Wow that is amazing at how many there are, I am going to attempt to read them all

Needs more links to Ska punkhttp://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/ybox/bang.gif

I have found a few, that one at Wikipedia has lots of band links to Ska Punk bands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska_punk

And this one has a few little tid bits of information

http://www.skapunkandotherjunk.com/

I definetely wouldn't call the New York Dolls, the Ramones, Television, and Richard Hell "new wavers" but other than that most of it seems pretty accurate.

Nicehttp://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/ybox/bang.gif

Art/Political Punk?

I have a few lists for you here PrettyDemented

Here is a list of Political Bands which you might want to skin over and see if you like any

http://www.punklist.com/Bands_and_Gr...nk/index.shtml

Basically a stub of an article describing art punk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_punk

Thanks!

What's the difference between art-punk and post-punk?

Well at punk was really like a little brother of post punk. They could be classified as the same if you will. If you wish to do some more research there is a book written about post punk

http://www.fastnbulbous.com/reynolds_rip.htm

Any time I've heard "art-punk" mentioned, it's been interchangeable with post-punk, usually in regards to bands like Wire. So, I was just curious if there were any definitive characteristics that set the two apart.

I can't really say there is. I have a list of bands (from each sub-genre) which you could download and have a listen to, and report back to us whether you heard any differences.

Art Punk

The c o c k (<--without spaces)ney Rejects
Sham 69
The Blood

Post Punk

Gang of Four
Joy Division/New Order
Crass
The Fall

Fusion of both

Wire

I think you misread the wikipedia article, which stated that bands such as the C0ckney Rejects, Sham 69, and the Blood (all oi bands, I believe) went in the opposite musical direction from art-punk, believing that punk should be easy and simple to play and be made up of one minute three chord songs, whereas art-punk bands were... artsy... and used complex song structures and all that.

ha, so I did. Sorry about that.

i have a question for hookers or anyone who might know something about this.

ive heard of "the talking heads" referred to as a punk band. i dont know if that makes sense or not. woul they fit into post-punk with joy division and the fall? i think im a little confused by all these sub genres.

The Talking Heads is a band that is pretty hard to categorize, partially because of the stylistic shifts they've seen over their career. They started in '74, so they're not really a "post-punk" band, since they were recording as punk was just starting to get a foothold. I've heard them called "new wave," although I don't altogether agree with that either, since new wave always implies to me glossed over production with shiny, danceable synth rhythms and strong pop sensiblities, which you don't really get on tracks like "Psycho Killer," which do have more of a Gang of Four punk-influenced feel to them. So, I'd say The Talking Heads were an art-punk/art-rock band that ultimately moved towards a more conventional pop-rock/new wave sound.

Yeah I corrected that. Thanks for the feedback adolescent one.

I think I'm gonna have to use that History for a project I'm doing, if you don't mind I mean. I like how it was put together.
Thanks.

first time i read something that long. i found it very interesting

Agreed.

I really think The Minutemen should have been mentioned. :(

Throbbing Gristle is Industrial...

^is right.

Urban and booboo, if you want there to be something on post-punk then write something.

Industrial is just an outgrowth of post-punk.