Punk rock is surprisingly tenacious thing. Coming out of the garage rock of the 60s, he has safely survived to this day. Well, maybe not entirely well, but the fact that the genre still exists is amazing. About garage rock, I will definitely make a separate selection, but today we will take a look at the forerunner of punks. Let's start with one of my favorite bands. MS 5. Started playing in the mid 60s. Naturally, I will write a little more about them somehow. They are in the title photo.
And the guys below are "The Velvet underground". They also started playing in the mid-60s, but to be honest, for me it was always big mystery for what reason they are attributed to the prototype of punk rock. If I agree with MS 5, then I don’t agree with these guys. Strange? Yes! Interesting? Definitely. But punk rock in my mind is something else.
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Look how cute the young man is in the picture. This is Iggy Pop from 1969. Just in time for the recording of one of the main songs of punk rock. It is in that year that the album will be released, where it will be "I wanna be your dog". I already read more about Iggy. However, somehow I'll throw out some beautiful photos with him. Luckily, there are plenty of them online. In general, of course, photography in the West was put on a serious stream even half a century ago. It doesn’t matter if the group has taken off or not, but it’s very easy to search for pictures on the net.
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« New York Dolls" another one american group considered one of the founders of the genre. Although I also have my doubts in this regard. It's more like glam rock. They started playing in 1971, and the whole wave just followed. By the way, about them, there are thoughts of making a post from the “import outsiders” series.
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Also in the early 70s in the United States there were another outsiders who did not fit anywhere. "Destroy all Monstersstarted playing in 1973. Of course, whether this is a controversial moment is punk rock, but the fact that for its time it was an unexpected group is definitely an indisputable fact. By the way, did you notice that I am talking exclusively about the United States?
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Well, here we finally got to those who definitely will not cause controversy. "Ramones". We started playing in 1974. In general, by that time, its own scene had formed in the USA, where ordinary hooligans and amateurs occupied the stage.
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At the same time, the stage was occupied mainly in the club "CBGB". From its walls came such a group as "Television».
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In a team "Television”Undoubtedly, the figure of Richard Hell deserves attention. Having dumped from the group even before the release of the first album, he joined the team "The heartbreakers". Where, in addition to him, was also Johnny Sanders from the collapsed by 1975 "New York Dolls". Here they are getting ready to go on stage.
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Well A Later He foundedRichard Hell and the Voidoids.With whom he recorded a kind of anthem of that generation "Blank generation».
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By the way, it is interesting to look at the photographs of that time. It is clearly seen that initially the image of punk was without pins and Iroquois. On the picture "The heartbreakers».
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After the collapseThe heartbreakers» Johnny Sanders played with Sid Vicious for a while. But it did not bring much fruit. Sid left this world too soon.
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Well, Sanders himself, having acquired a heroin addiction back in the 70s, did not live very long. He died in 1991. In general, it is also a figure suitable for the “outsiders” rubric.
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« Dead boys» another group of that first wave of American punks. Year of formation - 1976. Disbanded in 1979.
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Things are quite different with Dame Patti Smith. We are already talking about her somehow. Unlike most of the bands that broke out at that time, she still records albums.
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« blondie"oddly enough, they also left the club"CBGB". It's debatable whether they played punk rock early on in their careers, but posting a photo of the beautiful Debbie is a sweet thing.
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If we are already talking about women, it will not be out of place to recall the group “The Cramps". They started playing in 1973.
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Well, let's move across the ocean to old England. It is London that many associate with the punk movement, but as we see chronologically, New York should evoke such associations. The key to understanding is called Malcolm McLaren. He was the manager atNew York Dolls", visited the club"CBGB”And, having seen enough of the new fashion, he decided to cut the dough on this business in his native London. What he, in general, and succeeded. It was his protégésex Pistolsand eventually became the flagship of the punk movement.
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At the same time, one must understand that in addition to the legends of punk rock at that time in England there was a whole stream of bands. So in the same 1975, in parallel with "sex Pistols"gathered and"The Damned". Snapshot from the concert in "CBGB» 1977. It was an interesting era. A young group easily drives on tour across the ocean. By the way, albums are still being made to this day.
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« Buzzcocks» another English guys gathered to play in 1976. By the way, they are considered the founders of culture "DIYin the music industry. They still play too.
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About "Siouxsie and the Banshees»We are with you, too, once.
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Just like they talked about "The Adverts". Painfully there is a beautiful girl. Actually, according to the link above, there are several more groups where ladies were involved.
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Here I will mark such guys as "The Vibrators". Also since 1976 in his grandfather.
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And, of course,The clash". Another great guys.
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Worthy of attention andUK Subs". They really are considered to be the second wave of English punk rock.
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Also included in the second wave are “Sham69". However, these guys are more related to "Oi» scene. Punk rock by the end of the 70s began to mutate once again.
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From the same times, it is worth remembering about "Crass».
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And of course, aboutThe toy Dolls". These are definitely the second wave of punk rock. Formed in 1979.
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Meanwhile, across the ocean, the guys also did not doze off. So in 1977 there were formed "The Misfits».
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And at the same time, the group began to work "Plasmatics».
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In 1979, the guys from one of the most significant groups second wave of punk rock. "The Exploited". In general, by the beginning of the 80s they formed the canonical appearance of punks. It was they who invented the Iroquois to wear. But it's not just the Iroquois. The punk rock sound got faster and heavier.
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Around the same time, the guys from "G. B. H.". Another canonical guys in terms of appearance.
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Actually here the history of punk rock took a turn towards hard core. Interestingly, in the US, the hardcore scene didn't look the same as in England. Iroquois were not worn here. For example, here is the groupBlack Flagwho stood at the origins of the American hardcore movement.
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And here is "Dead Kennedys».
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Interestingly, now such music was not filled with heroin and alcohol. Came into fashion healthy lifestyle life. Concerts «Minor Threatwere generally held where the sale of alcohol was prohibited.
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« SSD» another band from the hardcore wave of the 80s.
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Relate to hard core and "Bad brains". The guys, by the way, started playing back in the late 70s, unlike previous groups that arose in the 80s.
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I will also mentionBad religion". It's also a pretty big group.
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Worthy of interest andAgnostic Front».
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Actually hardcore was distributed not only in the USA. Except "The Exploited" And "G. B. H." traded in EnglandDischarge».
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Were among the British andChaos UK". Here, by the way, it is also clear that the appearance was more in line with punk than that of colleagues from the USA.
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Well, for balance, I’ll also note “Disorderfrom the English.
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It's funny that "Beasty boys"Started at one time with punk rock. Here they are in the photo with Billy Idol.
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But it's much more interesting that in the mid-80s, in parallel with hardcore, pop punk was born. "NOFXare one of the oldest representatives of this genre. They have been playing since 1983.
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At the same time, in the mid-80s, the group "The offspring».
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Well "Green dayhave been playing since the 80s too.
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I also note "Rancid”, True, these guys began their careers only in 1991. But obviously they and the above guys were the main locomotive of punk rock in the 90s.
Later, in general, unmeasured representatives of this direction of the type "Blink182".
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However, in the USA they played not only commercially successful music. In 1990 there appeared "The casualties". Here by appearance It's clear what the guys were up to.
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Well, I’ll end the review with the group “slaves". This couple has only been playing since 2012, but they are great.
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It is clear that dozens of other groups were left behind. Moreover, I considered only the American and English scene. But there were groups in Germany, and in Japan, and in many other places. But, nevertheless, the most significant, in my opinion, I still singled out. That's all. Thank you for your attention and I hope for sensible additions. I'm sure I haven't heard a number of bands.
Punk rock(eng. Punk rock) - a genre of rock music that emerged in the mid-1970s in the United States and, a little later, in the UK. Punk rock combined social protest and musical rejection of the then forms of rock: the deliberately primitive playing and perkyness of early rock and roll were cultivated.
The meaning that early punk rock bands put into their genre was the desire to play, which dominates the ability to play; this definition formed the heterogeneous early American punk scene, ranging from the primitive and lightweight Ramones to the sophisticated and experimental Television. This approach allowed punk rock to become the mainstay of a number of subcultures - punk, DIY, fanzine culture, later - straight edge. In 1976-1977, punk rock begins to emerge in the UK, in a more scandalous and politicized form; thanks to this, by 1977 the genre becomes one of the most notable phenomena in rock music in the UK.
Over time, punk rock spawned
Many varieties. The biggest of these are more melodic and lightweight pop punk, aggressive hardcore and Oi! major genre post-punk.
Name
The word punk in English language ambiguous, but before the advent of punk rock, in most cases it was used as a curse word. Among the meanings, depending on the context, could be "prostitute", "homosexual" or simply "bastard", in all cases this is an emotional obscene expression.
The first mention of the word "punk" in connection with rock music dates back to 1970, when the Chicago Tribune reviewed an album by the avant-garde garage band The Fugs, describing their music as "punk rock, hillbilly sentiment." Lester Bangs, one of the alleged inventors of the term "heavy metal", used the word in articles about Iggy Pop. But for the first time, as a term, and not an epithet, the combination "punk rock" began to be used by critics Dave Marsh and Lenny Kaye in the 1970s.
In 1976, the Punk fanzine was created by Legs McNeil. The magazine was dedicated to American punk rock and new wave, already clearly uniting them in a direction. It was this magazine that gave the genre its final name.
Characteristic
Punk rock compositions in general are characterized by a fast pace, sometimes a short duration, simple accompaniment, a cheeky and often aggressive manner of singing. The lyrics of punk rock bands tend to be nihilistic, sometimes emphasizing social problems. Often, punk rock bands have a shocking image: for example, the New York Dolls dressed on stage in bright women's clothing, The Adicts imitated the film's protagonists " Clockwork orange»; later, such details of the punk image as torn clothes (Richard Hull), pins (Sex Pistols), mohawk hairstyles (The Exploited) appear.
Story
1970s
The musical roots of punk rock are traced by critics as far back as the late 1950s; mostly at that time primitive and hard music was played by garage rock bands. The key representatives of early proto-punk music are The Sonics, Monks, The Seeds, The Who(album "My Generation"), The Kinks (song "You Really Got Me"). A number of recordings of the late 1960s and early 1970s were already in one way or another close to what would later be called punk rock; these records are now conventionally referred to as proto-punk. These include the first albums Velvet Underground, The Stooges (and Iggy Pop), MC5, New York Dolls, Patti Smith (Horses album), The Dictators (Go Girl Crazy! album), David Bowie.
The early punk scene formed primarily in New York around several clubs; the scene had its origins in the late 1960s, Andy Warhol's Factory, and the Detroit garage scene, centered on the CBGB club. The first real punk band is considered to be the New York Ramones; their extremely simplified music, accelerated so much that 30 songs fit into half-hour concerts, as well as a “street” image and predetermined everything fundamental principles genre. In the UK, the Damned and the Sex Pistols followed in the footsteps of the American punk scene. These groups were followed by a large number of young teams. While in the US punk was an underground sensation, in the UK it became a full-blown social phenomenon, where it was seen as a real threat to the well-being of the establishment. A bunch of British bands blindly copied the Sex Pistols, but many found their own, original sound(Buzzcocks, The Clash, artistic experiments by Wire and Joy Division).
1980-1990s
By the early 1980s, there was some decline in the development of punk. The wave of popularity of the first groups came to naught. However, experiments began around this time to make the punk sound more brutal; groups like Black Flag and Circle Jerks spawned a major hardcore subgenre, Sham 69 and Cockney Rejects - oi!, Crass - anarcho-punk. Experiments began to combine punk with metal (The Exploited, Discharge, D.R.I.), ska (Social Drinking, Operation Ivy). For the most part, punk bands of the 80s did not attract wide public attention, being in the underground. However, at the same time, the genres of alternative rock, noise rock, post-punk were developing; key bands in these areas (Sonic Youth, Pixies, Big Black, Hüsker Dü) maintained a strong punk influence while developing new musical ideas.
By the late 80s and early 90s, thanks to the bands Bad Religion and NOFX, pop punk gained popularity; this kind of punk rock differed significantly from the pop punk of the 70s (Buzzcocks) and achieved major popularity. Offspring bands, green day, Rancid became the mainstay of pop punk in the 90s; however, it is generally accepted that the genre began to degenerate with the emergence of non-original bands like Blink 182.
Musical direction punk rock emerged in the early 1970s. The United States is considered to be the birthplace of punk. In England this genre gained popularity a little later. The word Punk in English originally had a sharply negative connotation. In jargon, so called girls of easy virtue. In America, prisoners were branded with this designation. lower caste criminal world. Having entered the everyday lexicon, the term received the meaning of "dirty", "rotten", "garbage garbage".
The era of "garage rock"
At the very end of the 50s, a large number of amateur musical groups and collectives. This phenomenon was very a simple framework. The popularity of the great Beatles forced young performers to take up musical instruments.
"Garage rock" is also commonly called "proto-punk", because it was he who became the basis for the future mass movement. It received the name "garage" due to the fact that novice bands rehearsed in ordinary garages on primitive equipment. The music was notable for its compositional simplicity, rudeness, rigidity and extreme negligence during performance. The concept of about was practically absent. The main thing was the desire, not the ability to play. The performers created for themselves and a narrow circle of acquaintances and friends. This is how the first prerequisites for a punk party began to take shape.
The Sonics
The first signs of punk rock
American New York became the center of punk rock in the late 60s. The first real punks in this style deservedly considered the Ramones. Their music was very simple and had a high tempo. The songs could be no more than 30 seconds, based on the cry of just a few phrases of the vocalist to the deafening noise of the instruments.
British punk rock bands of the period were represented by The Damned and the Sex Pistols. It was the latter who laid the foundation for behavior on stage, professing aggression and a cheeky demeanor. An interesting phenomenon was that in the US punk rock remained mostly underground, and in the UK it turned into a broad youth movement.
Sex Pistols
English punk rock music grew into a global protest, speaking out against a rich existence, shaking the canons and respectable foundations. A significant social burden, which was demonstrated by the punk rock style, was the political background and dissatisfaction with the rules and regulations. The lyrics featured social appeals and statements.
A huge number of young bands copied the Sex Pistols, finding in the process a completely new color and sound. The main ideology was the idea lost generation”, which protests against everyone and everything. The music remained loud, brutal, hard and simple.
Style development: second wave
Punk rock of the 1980s, after a violent explosion, slowly began to lose popularity. Many famous teams broke up, and the most talented members of the bands began to look for themselves in other musical directions. But the calm was temporary. The search for a fresh sound led to Black Flag and Circle Jerks. So the derivative genre of hardcore began to gain momentum. There was also a mixture of punk rock with heavy metal. The result can be assessed in the work of The Exploited group. Aggression and protest steadily persisted. Most of the bands, however, could only be content with a deep underground and a narrow circle of fans.The Exploited
A new impetus to punk music could be given by the growing movement of post-punk and alternative rock in musical circles. Outstanding representatives became Pixies and Sonic Youth.
In the 90s, the most significant can be considered mega popular groups The Offspring and Green Day. The sound of these world-class bands has become more melodic, amateur musicians have been replaced by real professionals. The energy and high tempo of punk rock, the availability and simplicity of compositions for the listener, went to groups from the punks of the first wave. The main additions can be considered professional performance, high-quality sound of instruments and vocals. The ideas of protest and aggression were replaced by unbridled musical joy and complete detachment, having received the definition of "California punk rock". The softest today can be considered an offshoot of pop-punk.
Punk rock in Russia
Like any other popular world movement, punk rock has been widely and for a long time represented on the territory of the Russian Federation. The story begins in 1979. Russian punk-rock bands of the first wave were presented: "Automatic Satisfiers", "People's Militia", "Diogenes" and many others. Has become a cult Siberian group « civil defense". Widely popular among Russian punks was a group called "Gas Sector".
civil defense
Magazine Rolling stone has long been considered an authoritative publication, so its articles, criticism, praise are taken seriously. No less serious are the ratings of this well-known publication. In 2011, the magazine published a list of " The best punk rock bands". The results were unexpected, as they depended on the number of visits to the official sites of the groups where the voting links were posted. That is how those who took the first places were determined. It is worth noting that the list did not include Russian punk bands like Korol i Shut or Lumen. Moreover, there were representatives of only two countries.
The best punk rock bands: TOP-10
10th place in the list of "best" was taken by the Bad Brains team from Washington. They appeared during the heyday of the punk style in the late 70s and became the founders of hardcore punk.
In front of them are representatives of hot California, Social Distortion. Their work drew inspiration from early punk and more old school bands like the Rolling Stones.
Eighth among the winners of the Rolling Stone edition were the founders of the horror punk The Misfits. They formed in the turbulent 70s in the States. Initially, the band was played by Glenn Danzig, later the founder of the metal band of the same name. After his departure, The Misfits broke up for a dozen years, and only in the mid-1990s did the group revive.
Another team that participated in the formation of the hardcore punk style - Black Flag, took the honorable 7th place in the TOP of the best groups. The band was formed in California and in its eight years of existence has left a significant mark on the global punk scene.
The second five was opened by the legendary The Stooges, whose member was the coryphaeus of alternative music - Iggy Pop. Formally, the style of this group is defined as a mixture of garage, psychedelic rock with punk and glam. The Stooges formed in 1967 when the world didn't know about punk rock and even heavy metal. But one of songs Stooges is very reminiscent of the riff of the future greatest hit. The group existed intermittently until 1974. Now the team has gathered again and successfully tours.
Punk Bands: Top 5 Bands
Fifth on the list "" were The Dead Kennedys, who also played hardcore punk with elements of other genres (psychedelic, surf, rockabilly, garage rock) and achieved notoriety. They have been sued multiple times. Among the accusations was the distribution of immoral materials (including the Frankenchrist album). They were sued by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which is known as the "Washington Wives".
Fourth were the Sex Pistols - the first non-Americans in the ranking. They are considered the initiators of the punk revolution in England, which was facilitated by the tracks God save the Queen and Anarchy in the UK. The group lasted only 4 years, recorded only 1 album, but left a significant contribution to music. It was in their composition that Sid Vicious became famous.
The second was again the British. Group The The Clash was influenced by the Sex Pistols. Throughout their career, the musicians have not shied away from communicating with fans, seeking low prices for their albums and tickets. The Clash got into the famous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which is rare for a punk band).
Topped the list best punk rock bands in the world» Founders of pop-punk Green Day. Of all the rating groups, Green Day appeared last. They exist to this day, never running away. They were especially popular with the album Dookie (1994), which became the platform for their success, and the rock opera American Idiot (2004), which was even staged on Broadway.
One of my favorite genres in music is post-punk. Rummaging through it for a long time, I noticed that for the most part its representatives are not popular in the broad sense of the word, that is, they don’t collect stadiums, they don’t flicker in the charts. Cultism - much more suitable characteristic for post-punk bands (by the way, for gothic rock bands too), but even it has its own geography.
I don’t know how the situation with post-punk is developing now in the same UK (the birthplace of the vast majority of post-punk bands from The Lucy Show to some), or in France (which was once also in post-punk topic with bands like Mary Goes Round), or even in the USA (I still can't believe that Talking Heads comes from there, and not from the UK, as I thought before). As far as Russia is concerned, for a long time I got the impression that only two categories of people are well versed in post-punk: some are basically post-punk fans (relatively speaking, two and a half people), and others are big fans of participating in disputes from the “A” series. plagiarized everything from "(a bunch of trolls raiding sites of Russian rock fans, as well as just two and a half people with much more adequate views). Certainly, big role played historical factor- it is impossible to get rid of it completely, but its influence can be reduced, in which great help His Majesty the Internet can provide us.
5 British post-punk bands you need to hear
- low life
After listening to the very first Lowlife song from their first album, the following association immediately appeared in my head: Dave Gahan (from the 80s) performs something from the repertoire of Joy Division. However, it is worth noting that with each subsequent album of the group, the possibilities of its appearance become less and less: in particular, latest work Gush in 1995 is more like creativity, to which only a little spirit of Joy Division was added.
- Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
But Red Lorry Yellow Lorry with a couple of their first albums would have been quite drawn to the real EBM. There are at least two reasons: firstly, drums, to which an unprepared listener can react only with phrases from the series “It hits the brain!”, And, secondly, vocals in the style of “How did you all get me, I’ll go beat everyone with a bat." Interestingly, in more later works Red Lorry Yellow Lorry began to play softer music, but they no longer had success.
- The Chameleons UK
If it suddenly seemed to you that the previous two points were inserted on a "from one extreme to another" principle, then The Chameleons (listed in the US as The Chameleons UK) is definitely for you. Their repertoire ranges from armor-piercing songs in the vein of early Red Lorry Yellow Lorries to soft ballads. By the way, you should also be pleased with the fact that there are more video clips with the participation of this team.
- Sad Lovers & Giants
Post-punk melancholy, in my opinion, Sad Lovers & Giants did a particularly good job of revealing. What else this group is remarkable for me is the fact that its vocals can hardly be called not only outstanding, but at least memorable, but this does not spoil it at all, because, in my opinion, the melodies are the main ones here. Well, as in Russian rock texts.
- The Psychedelic Furs
This group can boast both much more memorable songs (in terms of the politics of radio stations and TV channels, of course, what do you think?), And the equally memorable vocals of Richard Butler, who sings the way he would sing if he was forced to renounce punk rock. This is probably why one critic called The Psychedelic Furs from post-punk an intermediate link between and, that is, between punk rock and alternative rock, which, like post-punk, also have their own stars and their own bands that have fallen out of sight .
I propose the following experiment. Evaluate the groups included in the material of this article, and vote for the one you like best in the corresponding
