Punk Rock: The Philosophy of the Riot – Part 2
By the 1980s, the era of punk rock was ending. She left the stage Patty Smith, almost fall apart Blondie. In 1978, the Sex Pistols ceased to exist. Punk is starting to get to the level of business. The society, so to speak, has released into the light of everyone who until recently was a threat to them. This was one of the most destructive punk rock moments – they became legal: labels sign contracts with many popular bands. And if before the punks were against the ” snotty groups”, now they themselves have become so.
The Third Wave
Since the 80s, punk rock has begun to deform. He was dismembered into directions that went farther from the sources. Changed not only the sound, but also the purpose of punk.
The punk rock race took post-punk. In their music appeared more professionalism, but there was no longer a riot and aggression of the 70s. Post-punk bands were striving for complication and variety in music: they tried new techniques, turned to such genres as reggae, glam and art-rock. The core of the songs is a sense of anxiety, melancholy, and sometimes mysticism. The most diverse groups enjoyed popularity, ranging from the “origins” of post-punk (Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division) to performers who only experimented in this field (The Cure, Devo).
In the 80s the American and European scene was captured by hardcore punk. The Misfits, Suicidial Tendencies, Black Flag had a huge impact on heavy music. They were distinguished not only by aggression and anger at politics, but also by high professionalism of performance, which was not in punk rock.
In the 90s, unexpected commercial success comes to pop punk. Probably, this is the most famous and widespread form of punk. To him, sometimes ranked and Ramones, although they cannot be called the first pop-punk band. To mix the motives of hardcore with the ease of sounding it turned out at Buzzcocks – their main difference was the rejection of aggression and the change of mood in music. Now the inner feelings came out that were most often associated with unrequited love (singles “Jerk”, “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Should Not Have”, “Autonomy”).
In the first half of the 90th glory comes to bands that are popular and collect stadiums so far: Green Day, The Offspring, and Rancid. Especially in this row were allocated Green Day – each album they brought something fundamentally new. This allowed to cause a different reaction of the audience, because everyone found what he liked and did not like. This is best shown by dozens of nominations and awards of musicians. It was Green Day that influenced other bands of the 90’s like Blink-182.
Inspired by their predecessors and young pop-punk musicians who discovered this genre for the XXI century: A Day to Remember, All Time Low, Fall Out Boy.
Why is punk rock still popular? Why are there new people ready to listen to this genre and play it? Look at the year 2017: new albums of Rancid and CJ Ramone left, they finished recording the fresh disc The Damned. Prepare a compilation with their hits Green Day, which only a year ago pleased the fans with a new full-length album.
Maybe punk rock is not just music. It is a way of life, an inner state of a person. Till now in it the form of the protest which always was familiar to young generation is expressed: opposition to the government, to the parents, the values strengthened in a society. And most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to make music yourself. You do not have to be Mick Jagger at the same time and play at the highest level. You just do what you want to do.