3. Punk Background
• The beginnings furiously debated.
• Developed between 1974 and 1976 in the U.S, U.K &
Australia.
• Garage Rock precursor to Punk.
• Punk rock bands eschewed excesses of 1970’s rock.
• Punk bands created fast, hard-edged music.
• Typically, short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and
often political, anti-establishment lyrics.
• Many bands self-produced recordings and distributed them
through informal channels.
4. Punk Ethos
• Accessibility and DIY.
• Contrast to the ostentatious musical effects and technological
demands of mainstream rock bands.
• Musical virtuosity looked on with suspicion.
• 1976 English fanzine Sideburns publish illustration of three
chords, captioned "This is a chord, this is another, this is a
third. Now form a band.”
5. Punk Background
• The mid to late '60s saw the Stooges and the MC5 in Detroit.
• Because they didn't know the rules of music, they were able
to break the rules.
• The Velvet Underground, managed by Andy Warhol, were
producing music that often bordered on noise.
• They were expanding the definitions of music.
• The final primary influence is found in the foundations of
Glam Rock.
• David Bowie and the New York Dolls were dressing
outrageously, living extravagantly and producing loud trashy
rock and roll.
6. Punk New York
• Mid 70’s in New York The Ramones, Johnny Thunders and the
Heartbreakers, Blondie ,Talking Heads, Television & Patti
Smith were playing regularly at CBGB’s Club.
• Bands had camaraderie, and shared musical influences.
• All go on to develop their own styles and many would shift
away from punk rock.
7. Punk London
• Political and economic roots.
• Unemployment rates, all-time high.
• Youth were angry, rebellious and out of work.
• Scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian
flower-power hippie myth.
• Strong opinions and a lot of free time.
8. Punk Fashion & Malcolm Mclaren
• Malcolm McClaren returned to London from the U.S. where
he had tried to reinvent the New York Dolls to sell his
clothing.
• Kings Road clothing co-owned with Vivienne Westwood
named SEX, was building a reputation with outrageous "anti-
fashion”
• Found youths who worked and hung out in his shop to be his
next project.
• The Sex Pistols, developed a large following very quickly.
9. The Sex Pistols
•Sex habitué, Johnny Rotten, auditioned for and won the job.
•First gig November 6, 1975 St. Martin's School of Art.
•Attracted a small but ardent following.
•Guitarist Steve Jones declared that the Sex Pistols were not so
much into music as they were "chaos”
•Often provoked its crowds into near-riots.
• Rotten announced "Bet you don't hate us as much as we hate
you!”
10. Bromley Contingent
• Fans of the Sex Pistols - young punks known as The Bromley
Contingent.
• They were at the first Sex Pistols gigs, quickly realized they
could do it themselves.
• The Bromleys formed a large portion of the London Punk
scene, including The Clash, The Slits, Siouxsie & the Banshees,
Generation X (fronted by a young Billy Idol) and X-Ray Spex.
11. Punk Instrumentation
• One or two electric guitars, electric bass, drum kit, with
vocals.
• Songs shorter than those of other popular genres.
• Vocals sound nasal, and lyrics are often shouted instead of
sung.
• Production often minimalistic, sometimes laid down on home
tape recorders or portastudios.
• Objective is to have the recording sound "real,” capturing
"authenticity" of a live performance.
12. Punk Lyrics
• Frank and confrontational.
• Comment on social and political issues.
• Deal with unemployment and urban life.
• Goal to outrage and shock the mainstream.
• Sex Pistols disparage the British political system.
• Anti-sentimental depictions of relationships and sex.
• "Punk was a total cultural revolt”
