11-08-2010, 23:59
Yeah, historically it is known that there were 2 distinct punk rock movements one longer than the other. In the US we saw the first punk rockers - Lou Reed's The Velvet Underground as well as Hell's Televison emerge and influence the entire nation and ultimately produce one of Rock and Roll's most iconic acts, The Ramones around '75. Then, around the same time, we saw the some of the greatest and most famous punk bands emerge in the UK, most notably The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Buzzcocks, which was around '76-'77.
Anything other than those two time periods should not really be considered punk or punk rock. A Gaslight Anthem is not punk, punk-inspired but they are really broadly under the Alternative Rock genre but also have some Rock and Roll elements particularly since they did emerge from New Jersey and thus were influenced by "The Boss". Now, if we were to analyse Green Day, they are not punk (and I've already had several rants with people about this) but really they are pop musicians and at best you could classify them as pop-punkers to this day and age.
Now onto your definition of punk, in particular the lyrics and meaning that are often associated with punk music, yes it is usually rebellious music and "stick it to the man" lyrics but punk rock was simply about making a point, with anger, protest and simplicity. We all know what those bands were trying to tell us, and their simple 3 chord songs made it even easier. But, you cannot classify The Boss as punk, he is a stadium rocker and a heartland rocker in his earlier days in Jersey. Just like we never associate Dylan with punk. Yeah, he protested but he wrote folk songs.
Anything other than those two time periods should not really be considered punk or punk rock. A Gaslight Anthem is not punk, punk-inspired but they are really broadly under the Alternative Rock genre but also have some Rock and Roll elements particularly since they did emerge from New Jersey and thus were influenced by "The Boss". Now, if we were to analyse Green Day, they are not punk (and I've already had several rants with people about this) but really they are pop musicians and at best you could classify them as pop-punkers to this day and age.
Now onto your definition of punk, in particular the lyrics and meaning that are often associated with punk music, yes it is usually rebellious music and "stick it to the man" lyrics but punk rock was simply about making a point, with anger, protest and simplicity. We all know what those bands were trying to tell us, and their simple 3 chord songs made it even easier. But, you cannot classify The Boss as punk, he is a stadium rocker and a heartland rocker in his earlier days in Jersey. Just like we never associate Dylan with punk. Yeah, he protested but he wrote folk songs.
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