The punk subcultre was born in a spirit of revolt and rebellion; the artists expressed themselves through punk or punk rock music. It is characterized by an aggressive rhythm and mainly contains powerful political messages. Punk became an international movement in the last five years of the 70s.
Ever wonder where punk culture comes from? What were punks rebelling against? Or maybe you're wondering about the purpose of this cultural movement and its relation to politics? Or perhaps you're a fan of this style and want to know its secrets?
Welcome to Skull Action, the team of enthusiasts who will provide you with answers to all your questions. We have punks in the group with whom you would have liked to have a beer or two and discuss this unique culture.
We will discover together in this article :
- The origin and development of the punk movement
- The message behind this rebellious culture.
- The relationship of punk with politics.
- How this movement has progressed through time.
Are you excited to discover all this? We're going to dissect this subject together. At the end of this article, you'll be an expert on the matter. You’ll be able to argue about the punk movement with confidence or simply enrich your general knowledge on a passionating topic. Meanwhile, we invite you to discover the favorite necklace of our Punk community, you just have to click on the picture to get yours.
What is the punk movement?
The punk movement was born in the back of musicians' garages (garage rock). You know this American trend of the 70s where young music bands were forming in garages. Punk rock spread to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
The punk rock is characterized by its fast and hard rhythm, with repetitive guitar riffs. The lyrics made fans among the youth because they targeted politicians and adopted a rebellious discourse.
Punks systematically rejected the rules of society, and everything had to be questioned. The central power of punk has its roots in music and the union against the system.
How was the punk movement born?
Around 1972, a few artists like Lenny Kaye and his album Nuggets, or the Seeds, The 13th Floor Elevators were the first to create a rock music genre different from the one played on the stages in the 60s. Punk rock was thus born, and it is the beginning of a beautiful ascent.
Simultaneously, bands like MC5, Iggy, and The Stooges became interested in the cries of distress from the youth community and created a new style called hard rock.
The heroes of Punk: Sex Pistols
If you are a punk, you surely know Sex Pistols, founded in 1975; this British punk band is one of the first who proclaimed themselves punk and is responsible for this movement.
The music remained faithful to the hard rock style with some modifications; the lyrics were implicitly or explicitly addressed to politicians by criticizing the time’s political, social and economic decisions. The audience of the Sex Pistols and bands like Identity and X-Ray Spex was mainly made up of young rebels 🤘.
The Dogma of punk
Punk is a movement that expresses itself through the art of music. It can be considered artistic. It described the youth’s need to reconnect with human nature and move away from capitalism and its problems.
The unbridled music, clothing, and hairstyles aimed to be in opposition to the political and social system of the time, and this style aimed to shock society and make people talk about the movement. This ruthless approach would shake people's spirits and bring them back to reality.
The real power of punk lies in the fact that anyone can express their punk side. There were no peremptory conventions. Indeed, the hairstyles and the music were similar in style, but everyone could express themselves in their way; This gave the whole world the opportunity to embrace this new revolution.
Punk in the United Kingdom
How about the british punk? A few albums have made a buzz in punk music, bands that stand out for their thoughtful lyrics and unforgettable humor.
London Calling (1979) by the band The Clash.
Never Mind the Bollock Here's the Sex Pistols (1977), as the title says, this is an album of the band Sex Pistols.
Pink Flag (1977) by the group Wire.
Raw Power (1973) by the Iggy and The Stooges group.
All these groups have an anarchist vision of society; they demand freedom and preach very political words.
Punk in the U.S
The band that participated the most in the rapid evolution of the United States’ punk movement was The Ramones; They were an essential band in the CB'S club scene (CBGB & OMFUG). The Ramones songs were concise and aimed to go straight to the point. It was a punk that combined relevance and minimalism.
No punk will forget the Sex Pistols’ success in 1977 in the United Kingdom; this success was transferred worldwide, especially in the United States.
Certain big American cities adopted the Sex Pistols’ Punk style during their tours in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Seattle; regional groups quickly formed and spread this counter-culture.
Towards the beginning of the Eighties, a new tendency arrived, it very quickly allured the American youth, the punk yielded the throne to the Disco. Punk had to wait until the early 90's to get back on track with Nirvana’s success.
Punk Around the world
At the time when punk music became unavoidable, the movement reappeared around the globe. The propagation was rapid, thanks to the often famous local scenes that embraced this style by rejecting any resemblance with the dominant musical or clothing styles of the moment.
During the 80s, while disco was taking over, different punk styles emerged, such as hardcore punk and street punk. This allowed the movement to survive and continue to spread.
Afterward, bands started to stand out, and other styles still thematized in rock were born from punk, such as alternative rock, indie pop, new wave, etc... You are probably wondering why GreenDay reminds you of pop-punk bands? Now you know why 😎.
What has become of punk today?
Let's be clear; Punk is still alive! We know that you are happy to hear this news. This subculture has been so reversed that it has had to struggle to survive. Nowadays, we rarely find punk haircuts on the streets, there are fewer dedicated underground concerts, but the punk spirit is still there.
Punk, as much as a movement has influenced rock artists, a lot of sub-genres were born thanks to the emerging origin, punk rock💪.
What influence did punk have in the fashion of the ‘70s?
So far, we have seen the impact of punk in society; we could understand that this movement goes beyond music or clothing style. Speaking of style, you can probably guess that punk has had an impact on fashion.
During the ‘70s, the emergence of punk completely changed the style of clothing of young rebels, from clothes to hairstyles to makeup, everything was reinvented to counter capitalist conformism.
Dark as color to counter the shine of discos, and spiky or completely disheveled hair to counter the hippie movement. The colors were different. It wasn't just black or multicolored.
Jewelry was a masterpiece (and still for the punk fashion). Who doesn't know those unavoidable leather bracelets and necklaces with spikes all around? Ripped jeans and jackets with lots of skull patches and rebellious slogans, or tattoos and piercings in the body’s most unexpected places.
The punk movement and politics
Do you know in which context the punk movement was born? In the 70s, the United Kingdom was going through a very complicated period, an applied democracy, demonstrators were thrown in jail, youth wars in the streets, women didn't have the same rights as men.
A wealthy class profited from the oppression while the working class and the laborers struggled for survival and rights. All this pain led to the emergence of a movement that expressed anger and the will to change the situation.
If nowadays a punk style makes it possible to stand out from the others, at the time young people saw this as a necessity. As a uniform, a lifestyle, an ideology that expresses their anger and dissatisfaction with the country's system.
Nowadays, punk has become more mature, even if it was born with aggressiveness due to its situation. A minority of musicians have continued in the original movement and the majority has adopted a softer style that reaches a wider audience.
Do you want to become a Punk?
We have just retraced the identity of a unique movement, from its birth to its divergence. You can now debate on this subject and we hope that you will leave with a very rich idea and a great understanding of the Punk movement.
Did you know that the punk movement has adopted the powerful symbol of the skull and crossbones? In the form of patches on jackets or jewelry, punks love skulls of all kinds. If you too are a rebel and you want to express your uniqueness, nothing better than a beautiful skull ring to give you a style. We have more than 500 choices available for you, you will find your happiness by clicking on the image below.
