Define Punk

Matthewthebig

Punk:



Not Punk:



lol

John

lol

Matthewthebig

But honestly punk is music to me. The attitude is secondary

It wasn't me!

It is music, but it is attitude, and it's also a lifestyle and a culture. The funny thing is the music doesn't necessarily go with the culture, the attitude or the lifestyle. In some cases it does. I get an upper-class upbringing. I've never known a hard day in my life. Does that mean I'm not entitled to listen to and love the music? No. It means I'm not entitled to bitch and moan about how bad I have it. ( :rolleyes: ) The music can be a social commentary though and it's a powerfully honest way for a band to make a point. Write it in punk.

nobodythere

Punk is now simply a genre of music. As with all good movements it becomes tainted by assholes who take it the wrong way and abuse a philosophy.

For me, to define punk as anything but a genre of music scattered with apathetic wasters (for those who embody the tainted philosophy) would be romanticised, a cause I once believed in and that did once exist. As the bible has the changed through word of mouth through the years, so has the basic fundamental principles of punk.

It is NOT about being different! It's about being yourself. It's about being able to make a decision and use your common sense without having the media, the government or the people around you spoonfeeding you and sorting out the facts for you. It's about breaking a boundary because you don't believe that the boundary should be there. It is not about breaking boundaries simply for shock value or simply to be different or for recognition.

I think that most people are incapable of living outside of paradigms. People always have to be a part of a group. Maybe it's a sort of group evolution effect. We have formed a counter culture that is intent on doing the exact opposite of what culture is doing. In a way it becomes a culture itself with many rules. If society was 'x' and punk was 'y', a lot of punks would just be y = -x. They don't consider if what they're doing is what they think is right, they simply work against society.

Not giving a **** about anything or anyone in the world as some posters have said is NOTHING to do with punk and is a pathetic way to live.

Ro: maaan!

grasshopa wrote:

Punk is now simply a genre of music. As with all good movements it becomes tainted by assholes who take it the wrong way and abuse a philosophy.

For me, to define punk as anything but a genre of music scattered with apathetic wasters (for those who embody the tainted philosophy) would be romanticised, a cause I once believed in and that did once exist. As the bible has the changed through word of mouth through the years, so has the basic fundamental principles of punk.

It is NOT about being different! It's about being yourself. It's about being able to make a decision and use your common sense without having the media, the government or the people around you spoonfeeding you and sorting out the facts for you. It's about breaking a boundary because you don't believe that the boundary should be there. It is not about breaking boundaries simply for shock value or simply to be different or for recognition.

I think that most people are incapable of living outside of paradigms. People always have to be a part of a group. Maybe it's a sort of group evolution effect. We have formed a counter culture that is intent on doing the exact opposite of what culture is doing. In a way it becomes a culture itself with many rules. If society was 'x' and punk was 'y', a lot of punks would just be y = -x. They don't consider if what they're doing is what they think is right, they simply work against society.

Not giving a **** about anything or anyone in the world as some posters have said is NOTHING to do with punk and is a pathetic way to live.

Good show! This is the closest description here to what I consider punk to be. I saw a hoodie last summer sometime with "I never wanted to be different, I just wanted to be me" written on it. (Only time I've ever seen one, not sure if they're common or not.) I thought it summed up pretty much everything on the subject of punks/goths/metalheads whathaveyou and people's views towards them, and their view of themselves. Sadly punk seems to have turned into the exact opposite of what it originally was.

Civilian_Target

Punk == Stiff Little Fingers - a **** you to everyone - including the listeners.

Ro: maaan!

Civilian_Target wrote:

Punk == Stiff Little Fingers - a **** you to everyone - including the listeners.

What? Care to explain that?

OG

Punk to me is pure music, music that has not been turned to a certain type or sound, with less forms or restrictions as other music. its the essense of a band. In my opinion, if people got together to make music it would be punk, but if they got together to make jazz they would make jazz, quite difficult to explain but i think most of your points have brushed off it already. well, just my opinion.

Doctor J

OG wrote:

Punk to me is pure music, music that has not been turned to a certain type or sound, with less forms or restrictions as other music. its the essense of a band. In my opinion, if people got together to make music it would be punk, but if they got together to make jazz they would make jazz, quite difficult to explain but i think most of your points have brushed off it already. well, just my opinion.

Ahh now we're getting somewhere. This would've been on my line of thinking. To me, punk is not E B C# A ad nauseum, quite the opposite. What is classified as punk in this day and age is often a third rate pastiche of a Ramones, Pistols or Clash songs and that ain't punk to me. Folks purposely trying not to move on from the sounds created 30 years ago is the opposite of what punk, in theory at least, was supposed to be. Modern punk, at times, seems to have quite rigid boundaries and restrictive musical breadth which is very un-punk, wouldn't you say?

ferdi

for me, if it has 'The Energy', its punk.

dregin

The force is with you young punkist.

dregin

Doctor J wrote:

Ahh now we're getting somewhere. This would've been on my line of thinking. To me, punk is not E B C# A ad nauseum, quite the opposite. What is classified as punk in this day and age is often a third rate pastiche of a Ramones, Pistols or Clash songs and that ain't punk to me. Folks purposely trying not to move on from the sounds created 30 years ago is the opposite of what punk, in theory at least, was supposed to be. Modern punk, at times, seems to have quite rigid boundaries and restrictive musical breadth which is very un-punk, wouldn't you say?

What??????You think punk is everyone agreeing and ahveing the same opinion. I change my definition to telling everyone who defined punk for me on this thread to FÚCK RIGHT OFF.

Doctor J

dregin wrote:

What??????You think punk is everyone agreeing and ahveing the same opinion. I change my definition to telling everyone who defined punk for me on this thread to FÚCK RIGHT OFF.

No, not at all. Read what I wrote.

dregin

Doctor J wrote:

Ahh now we're getting somewhere. This would've been on my line of thinking.

Sorry, I wasn't referring to your definition, rather the first two sentences. You're getting somewhere because someone agrees with you........

Doctor J

Ah ok. I was merely expressing a bit of excitement at the first post which, to me anyway, got close to my interpretation of punk, which is probably a little more idealistic to what had previously been suggested. The current crop of carbon-copy riffmongers strikes me as being quite conformist, within the generally accepted "punk sound".

TBH, what I would consider to be more in keeping with punk ideology would be something like Einsturzende Neubaten and the like, not conforming to typical song structure or even typical punk band instrumentation. Punk evolved, it didn't just stop in 1980.

dregin

You're right Minor Threat only started in '81

NotMe

Doctor J wrote:

...got close to my interpretation of punk, which is probably a little more idealistic to what had previously been suggested.

The problem with punk ideology is that it is idealistic. If you think about it to deeply then you could argue that nothing is punk. As far as I'm concerned the Clash were punk. Even though they played reggae, pop, etc... , even though they signed to a major label, even though their music was used in a tv advert. The Ramones were punk. Even though Johnny Ramone was a republican Reagan lover, even though all they wanted to do was play the perfect pop song and get a radio hit. With the Ramones it wasn't their ideals that made them punk, it was more their DIY attitude. They were ugly and they couldn't play but that didn't stop them.

Anyhoo, you say four power chords played over and over quickly doesn't make it punk. Fair enough but it's still damn good music.

John

Doctor J wrote:

TBH, what I would consider to be more in keeping with punk ideology would be something like Einsturzende Neubaten and the like, not conforming to typical song structure or even typical punk band instrumentation. Punk evolved, it didn't just stop in 1980.

That's why I included a picture of Throbbing Gristle on the previous page. They always said they were anti-punk and hated the punk mentality but by their very essence they were punk in that they wanted to write their own rules. They used keyboards, viola and were the first people to apply sampling to music properly and none of them could play a note. At all. They just wanted to make music so they did. They set up their own label and played in places that normally you wouldn't find a band (a private boys primary school, a cinema, art galleries, etc) and just turned up the volume and let rip. Similarly for Neubauten who even now don't rest on their laurels, they continue to defy what is expected of them.

i_dont_do_names

Doctor J wrote:

Inspired by the 'Is Punk Dead?' thread, modern punk to me seems alien to what I understood punk to be in the 70's, what is punk to you?

punk is non-commercial freedom that doesnt conform with evevrything else. and yes, big record companies have killed punk

Doctor J

Record companies do nothing without willing accomplices (ie- bands). What about stuff like the Warped Tour, loaded to the tits with corporate sponsorship, is that Punk?

keepgoing..

Hey, I just wanna say.. Punk Rock to me is about the attitude that people have. Being yourself - having a view and reason for doing things, the way you choose to live your life, cos if you dont care.. why are you alive?!

The so called "punk rock bands" I believe are given this name, because through their music, they express their views on the way they want things to be, in society and personally. Most of the nation these days are controlled by the media and are all about "fitting in" where as through the sounds and lyrics of Punk Rock bands they try to break those boundries that society set, to bring about a better lifestyle that they feel it is the way it should be to them as an individual. Punk Rock is about what it actually means to you, and in music, about whats being sung, and what the sounds you hear mean to you, what it makes you think about... and why the artist chose to write such thing, or why it sounds the way it does. I love it! Its loud, outgoing, understanding, and brings out the truth in you. Something that everyone goes through life trying to find. Punk Rock is something you can relate to...

fish-head

Punk is D.I.Y, punk has no masters, punks are slaves to nothing, punk can do what the **** it likes. That's punk. Basically..

Dublin's Finest

well, spunk is when you....oh PUNK...oops...

(i'll get me coat)

It wasn't me!

:d

pheonix799

punk is drinking a glass of orange juice right after you brushed your teeth, and not caring that it tastes bad

superconor

I am not into Punk, but i tell people we are a heavy metal band with punk ethics. We charge low prices for CD's, tshirts and shows, we support local music, help other bands out, and are not afraid to say what we want.

Even though the music is metal

JC 2K3

Guns N' Roses were punk

veryslowey

Punk ain't no religious cult
Punk means thinking for yourself
You ain't hardcore cos you spike your hair
When a jock still lives inside your head

Ro: maaan!

pheonix799 wrote:

punk is drinking a glass of orange juice right after you brushed your teeth, and not caring that it tastes bad

Ha! Yeah...