The Ramones (Johnny, Marky, Joey, Dee Dee), c.1990 from Anthology album,by Sin City Sounds
The development of punk music appeared to be an evolution of Rock n' Roll that some scholars suggest began around the mid 1960's with one-hit wonders who combine rank amateurism with a certain pugnacity like Question Mark and the Mysterians ("96 Tears") and the Troggs ("Wild Things"). Lester Bangs , a rock writer legend, developed three themes of an emerging punk aesthetic from these 1960's rock bands. The three themes of punk aesthetic are assaultiveness, minimalism, and rank amateurism. "First, sheer aggressiveness and
loudness, the element of physical shock. The Troggs' music was 'so insanely alive and fiercely aggressive that it could easily begin to resemble a form of total assault'" (Gendron 233). The first element of punk music that endures is the aggressiveness of the music through the volume of performances, the aggressive or emotionally driven lyrics, and intense energy associated with performances. "The mid-sixties bands according to Bangs were 'most effective when operating at their bone-minimal'. Thus, began a theme that was to become a mantra of the 1970s alternative discourses, which is that rock n' roll is at its best when 'stripped down' to its 'bare essentials' - an antidote to the increasing complexity and pretentious experimentalism besetting the music" (Gendron 234). Therefore, minimalism, in association with punk music was to be defined with a certain simplicity in musical performances. This meant the use of mainly guitars and drums, simple riffs, a maximum of three chords, and the avoidance of long guitar solos. This was done as a rejection to the popular music of the time which the emerging punk musicians and followers felt was becoming too complicated and experimental. Therefore the idea of rank amateurism falls in line with the strive for simplicity. Amateur musicians would not be equipped with the knowledge or expertise to perform anything complicated musically, but would still have room for creativity. Amateurism brought about a way of preserving the punk rock music's intensity and energy that has now been associated with short, aggressive, energetic, loud, and simple performances. The bands of the mid-sixties like The Troggs and Question Mark and the Mysterians would influence the rise and the coming of age of punk rock that was to occur in the 1970's. Punk rock for the most part had evolved from prior rock n' roll music and is for this reason an American development. Punk rock music has been false
music can trace its rise in several cities like New York, Detroit, Cleveland and San Francisco in the late 1960's to the early 1970's and so on. The most important of these cities were Detroit and New York in terms of influence on punk rock's development. The main influential bands from Detroit were Iggy and the Stooges, and MC5 (Motor City Five) and New York had several prominent and influential bands like the Velvet Underground, Television, Richard Hell , New York Dolls, The Ramones, Patti Smith Group, and Blondie group. During this time in New York City, there were few venues for these new rock n' roll bands. The main venue in New York City was the CBGB OMFUG club (Country Bluegrass Blues, Other Music For Uplifting
Gormandizers), which opened in 1973 and quickly became a popular venue for rock n' roll bands to get exposure. Of the first of the bands to play were Television and the Ramones. The owner of CBGB, Hilly Kristal, remembers the performances were "I thought the band was terrible; screechy, ear-splitting guitars and a jumble of sounds that I just didn't get... Little did I suspect that both Television and the Ramones would eventually get it together and become two of the most important punk bands of the 70's. It taught me to be more forgiving in judging new bands, and to listen a little more closely." Luckily, Kristal kept an open ear and allowed anyband to play at the club as long as the band performed their own music showing originality and therefore technique and how they played not as important. As a result, punk music would be allowed to flourish and have a venue to play at since the music was original because it was a rejection of the popular music at the time. This was especially helpful to rock n' roll bands because venues and public places to play were hard to come by. Mainly, the sole medium for bands to get their music out was through the radio. Therefore radio was dependent upon
recording companies to provide the music which gave the companies considerable power and control. Recording companies were especially unwilling to give new music a chance and opted to focus on supporting the main musicians and music that continued to make profits. Therefore the new punk music genre went "underground" by performing at localized venues like CBGB. There also began a sort of bitter resentment that punk bands began to have towards major record labels because of the record companies control and unwillingness to give new music a chance. This also led to punk rock music as being an outlet for teenage youth who felt alienated and without a way to express themselves partly because of record companies control, but mainly to the political and economic situations of the mid-1970's. As Hilly Kristal noted,
"THE YEAR WAS 1974, the middle of a recession.
It was a struggle just to keep going. People had no money but at least rents were
cheap,and living was pretty easy. I lived in the back of the club and worked day and
night trying to support the place by doing art and household moving jobs.
The drinking age was still 18 in N.Y. so a lot of young people got involved in rock.
The city was in decay. These were drab uninspiring years. Coming to an end was
the great social upheaval of the sixties.
And here we were :
1973 Roe verses Wade(last socially significant achievement)
1974 Nixon impeached(scandal... big time)
1975 End of Vietnam War (clump)
It was a period of dismay for young people. They were disoriented. They were
trying to find something of their own to hold on to.
The world was in flux, a transition period. CBGB to many became a place where they could express frustrations, desires, anxieties and maybe even dreams."
Furthermore, scholar A.S. Van Dorston, notes the importance of the punk movement.
"Punk may have cosmic and sometimes conscious artistic ties to past radical movements, but most of its significance lies within the barriers of language and expression that were broken down. It was a breakthrough in free speech for underclass youth who rarely have a voice, neither culturally nor politically. The fact that the
Club CBGBfrom Scene from Joey Ramone's memorial shrine outside CBGB's, New York City, April 16, 2001 www.notkin.net/joey/cbgb.htm
Situationalists had said many of the same things that Johnny Rotten/Lyden and his cronies did is irrelevant considering the difference between the exclusive elitism of the privileged college educated upper-classes and the inclusive unpretentiousness of a largely working-class youth... Punk gives the message that no one has to be a genius to do it him/herself. Punk invented a whole new spectrum of do-it-yourself projects for a generation. Instead of waiting for the next big thing in music to be excited about, anyone with this new sense of autonomy can make it happen themselves by forming a band. Instead of depending on commercial media, from the big papers and television to New Musical Express and Rolling Stone, to tell them what to think, anyone can create a fanzine, paper, journal or comic book. With enough effort and cooperation they can even publish and distribute it. Kids were eventually able to start heir own record labels too. Such personal empowerment leads to other possibilities in self-employment and activism.
Both Hilly Kristal and Van Dorston note attraction punk music had upon the youth as an outlet for the political and economic trifles of the time. Mainly of the depression and the anxiety, frustration and uncertainty about the future the youth held. Punk music allowed youth a mode of expression which was an independent attitude of what partly defines punk as do-what-you-want, when-you-want attitude.
Music Samples
Iggy and the Stooges- "I got a right", 1972, is considered to be one of the foundational and more influential bands of the punk rock movement. The band especially influenced the New York movement with its simplicity of music, use of two chords, powerful sounds created through the amateur musicians of the band.
The Ramones- "Judy is a Punk", circa 1975, is an example of early punk rock music and particularily characteristic of the Ramones, short, simple and energetic and to the point exemplified through the use of bar-chords, funny words and no solos.
Richard Hell and the Heartbreakers- "Blank Generation", circa 1975, was performed and written by Hell when he was with Television prior to 1975. The song struck a chord with the punk rock audience through its lyrics which has come to symbolize the mood of listeners, feeling alienated and without a voice, thus belonging to the "Blank Generation".
music samples from Punk Legends: the American Roots albumcompiled by Alan Hauser through Jungle Records, circa 1997
