Punk - A Brief History and Future

punkbass2000

Des An artiste
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
7,230
Location
A(sia) Minor
New Noise

The medium no longer contains the message. The message was buried years ago with only a fleeting memory. Fortunately, in anticipation of a global information network, one band of intrepid activists created the assault known as "The Shape of Punk to Come" and then quickly disbanded. They left this record of their infiltration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3AoiVMQqX4

A Cast of Characters

Initially we see a troupe of rodents, clumsily tripping over one another in evident darkness. Clearly exhilarated by their mission, they arrive at the control room, full of energy and fraught with innovation. They quickly become accustomed to their surroundings a begin an uncharted experiment.

Soon after their initial entry, however, they are already hunted by ghouls with unknown intent. They move slowly but surely, with little enthusiasm, sights set on their prize.

And finally, a faceless group plots in secret.

Representation without Taxation

Whenever new ground is broke in any art, there are three primary players in the modern landscape:

Those actually Creating something (the animals / the band)

The mindless followers (the zombies)

The corporations (the faceless orchestrators)

Unfortunately enough, few recognize how the second two groups ultimately destroy the unadulterated exuberance of true creativity. It is not just the attachment of the dollar sign (though, of course, it too hinders) which causes this devaluation; it is the hipster who decides that that is cool; it is the pseudo-artist who chooses to imitate. Imitation is never Creation. While it is certainly impossible to do anything completely original, and impossible to discern the imitator from the Creator from the outside, the artist (or pseudo-artist) knows for themself which they are. Whether they create scenes or destroy, package and commodify them.

Punk was Dead Almost as soon as it was Alive

Even in the early 1980's, punk's anti-conformist ideals were quashed; not by sell-outs and corporate attention, but by those in the scene itself. Brad Warner (author of 'Hardcore Zen' and 'Sit Down and Shut Up', as well as hardcore akron punk Zero Defex bassist) notes in his writings the "uniform" of the punk even at those early times and the exclusion of those failing to assume the "proper" look and demeanor, presumably as set by The Sex Pistols and The Ramones, amongst others. Already divisions amongst different "kinds" of punk rockers could be seen, with often violent results.

In my personal experience, not only is Originality not rewarded by social constructs, it is in fact humiliated and spit-upon. Whether through overt derision or subtle avoidance, being different is obliquely discouraged.

The Saga Continues

As the faceless corporations study and deconstruct, and the ghouls pursue, the magic happens. Free expression, unfettered by navel-gazing critics and their cronies, bursts all over the newly founded artspace. Wisely recognizing the speed of today's appropriaters, they soon leave everything behind before the masses can poison them. Quickly buying out the technology in sight, the corporations care not which dupes appear on stage to represent them; they too will exit stage right when all the zombie-money has been spent, leaving disillusioned youth with nothing more than embarrassment and an axe to grind.

A Call to Arms

"CAN I SCREAMMMM?!!!
YEAHHHH
We lack the motion to move to the new beat
WHOO!
We lack the motion to move to the new beat

It's here for us to admire if we can afford the beauty of it
If we can afford the luxury of turning our heads
(If we can if we can if we can)
Adjust the thousand dollar smile and behold the creation of man
Great words won't cover ugly actions
Good frames won't save bad paintings

WOOO

We lack the motion to move to the new beat
YEAAAH!
We lack motion

When the day is over (Hey) the doors are locked on us
'Cause money buys the access
And we can't pay the cost
How can we expect anyone to listen
If we're using the same old voice?
We need new noise
New art for the real people

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves
We dance to all the wrong songs
We're not leading

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves
We dance to all the wrong songs
We're not, we're not, we're not
We're not, we're not, we're not..
Leading

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves
We dance to all the wrong songs

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves
We dance to all the wrong songs

Here we go!

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves
We dance to all the wrong songs
We're not leading

YEAH!

YEAH!

YEAH!

The new beat!! (x 10000)

Thank you."

From the first lyric, a rhetorical and above-all facetious question, we sense Lyxzén's distaste and frustration with all of this. What do all of these so-called movements lack? Motion. Raised to do as little as possible and holding comfort as the highest good, there is so much in-fighting and questioning of motives and petty disagreements (see the above fashion-punk exclusion, for starters) that nothing is done. Rather than make our music and art and joy, we buy it in tiny, unsatisfying snippets, working endlessly to get just a little more (to take another Refused lyric: "Marginalise away the joy and sell us boredom"). We are not leading.

This is the way out, presented in this short clip. Everything discussed in this piece and every impulsive thought you've ever had. Every time you've ignored the culture guards of your school, town or scene and let loose.

Don't sell out. Keep your scene intact and uncensored. Embrace diversity. Consumer culture is empty.

Thank you.
 
I was really hoping this would be some sort of History Article level analysis of the development and evolution of Punk and its origins. Clearly my mistake lay in forgetting that this is A&E, not WH :(.
 
This thread title is misleading. While I may not know where the jump from garage rock to punk happened(Michigan or New York maybe?), I feel safe in my belief that early punk was more about mindless partying than ranting on record labels or selling out.

I was really hoping this would be some sort of History Article level analysis of the development and evolution of Punk and its origins. Clearly my mistake lay in forgetting that this is A&E, not WH :(.

That'd be a good idea for this forum.
 
Ugh.

Im not entirely sure what this is supposed to be, but its fitting for a Refused fan page. You should listen to more punk music.
 
Just what a refused fan would say! :mad: :p

Though, makes sense if what you wrote about the 1980s are indeed your convictions (and if you actually think The Shape... is that good a record).
 
No...most threads have something to discuss. Your OP is just a bunch of vaguely punk-related ramblings.
 
I understand the OP perfectly: if you're a "punk," then you're what the whippersnappers call "non-conformists," which means you refuse to conform to the vulgar things like "reason", "relevance" and "comprehensibility."

Thus, if you find the original post utterly incoherent, it's because you're part of the machine, man.
 
Thirded.

I was hoping from the title that this thread would at the very least be a brief history of punk and its future.

Fourthed!

I've read it twice and I still don't understand any of it... and I had hoped to learn a bit about punk, given that it's a fairly unfamiliar genre of music to me, outside of bands like the Ramones and Pistols, which apparently weren't "real" punk anyway...?

:dunno:
 
Though perhaps I should do the write-up people were expecting at some point... I'm not an expert on the subject, and it definitely won't be all-encompassing, but I know a fair bit.

Thank you for your criticisms and suggestions.
 
Top Bottom