ok so im wrting this paper about how punk rock has become this phony media thing..?

Question

and i cant think of how to start it. Can ne one help me please give me some ideas that will grab the audiences attention.

awe jordan if u only knew hun... what are you like 12. You are obviously the one who knows nothing of punk rock and its roots. If you did you would recognize the fact that it is phony now. Anyways thanks for the sweet comment i really appreciated it. ;)

Answer 1

Just a thought, and it's kind of a stretch, but you could go with the premise that Nirvana killed punk rock. I was thinking about it yesterday and I started to think about what was punk rock to me, and I came up with Nirvana as the only commercially viable punk band. It was fascinating watching Kurt Cobain's kind of punk rock value system mesh with his level of success and innevitably kill him. If you look at punk as the value system and the musical platform Nirvana can kind of qualify as a borderline case.... and plus it becomes kind of irrelevant whether Nirvana was a punk band or not because here is the chain of events in relation to the birth of pop punk which is the creation of the media b*stardation that you describe. Nirvana makes Nevermind and it is this gigantic thing that changes the whole scope of pop music. Nevermind opens the door for Green Day to release Dookie who are influenced by groups like the Ramones, Husker Du, and Social Distortion and have some initial juice in the punk scene (on the softer side, but they had a little cred) and Green Day gives birth to pop punk. Green Day, say what you will about them but they are the perfect poster kids for accessible record label's wet dream the cool kids can now like "punk rock," is responsible for Blink and all the other like bands that would follow. The necessity for a message is lost. The values are gone. Punk rock becomes simply music played with power chords, at 120 bpm, with a 1,2,1,2 drum beat and a "screamy without being a turnoff" vocal style. "Punk" artists are now making tons of money and it is fashionable to be a "punk," the whole point gets totally lost.

I'm no punk purtist, not even really a punk rocker, but I do follow music and know a lot of old punks, people who went through adolescence as kind of Ian MacKaye desciple types. Not that I think they would answer your question the same way, but I bet they would think it was ok.

By the way, I totally agree with the guy above who said you should seek out quotes from Ian MacKaye. The guy is definately a great figure of the scene with a lot to say. I saw him do a Q & A a couple years ago. It was fascinating. Mainly just storytelling, I'm pretty sure he's mellowed out quite a bit with age, but I'm sure you could find great quotes. Dischord records was founded on giving the finger to the record companies for their profit gouging mentalities. Which is, of course, very relevant to what you're talking about.

P.S. No offense, just a pet peve of mine, but please type out anyone instead of ne one. Based on the rest of the question I can tell you're better than that (and you didn't even save a keystroke). This whole internet shorthand thing is going to breed a generation of kids that can't spell. We need the intelligent ones to keep good language alive. I hope that doesn't offend you.

Answer 2

Well, I saw somewhere (don't remember where, some rock mag probably) put forward the following equation:

bubblegum + feedback = punk

A lot of the roots of punk were actually in 60's pop: Beatles, Beach Boys, Phil Spector girl groups, one hit wonders, etc. It's in the seeming simplicity of it (though much of it was really complex) combined with the edge from acts like MC5, the Stooges, etc is what created it.

What happens with genres (of any type of music) is that the name of it might be descriptive of the genre initially. But then acts that come later try to ape what the first ones did, and despite not coming near to pulling it off, it gets slapped with that label. (Progressive rock is a prime example of this. Brian Wilson's 'Smile' is a billion times more 'progressive' than anything that I've ever heard from Spocks Beard).

A connection to the 60's (to me) seems to be what's missing from what gets labeled 'punk' today. Watering it down or 'balladisizing' it on occasion isn't the same...

Answer 3

The original punk rock bands were down and out, dead broke kids, pissed off at the world, and didn't WANT anybody to like their music.

But it's been around for such a relatively long time now, that what once seemed new and raw isn't so new or raw anymore. So it seems stale and washed out, and it is.

But you can argue that this has happened with all genres of music at one point or another.

Look at hair bands of the 80s. In the beginning (1977-78) there were new exciting LA bands like Van Halen, with a new sound and attitude that made Disco and 70's soft rock seem lame. But soon after, everyone and his brother had a shredder guitarist and a good looking front-man wearing tight pants and headbands in their band.

Eventually we ended up with watered down, carbon copies like Poison, Ratt, Stryper, etc. and it all collapsed into itself once a kid from Seattle named Kurt Cobain pointed out how "gay" it had all become.

And on and on it goes!

Answer 4

I don't know how to help you a good attention grabber or opening statement. grrr. i was never goo with those.

but you should talk about what these "punks" are all about.
i guess they are all about non-conformity.

have you noticed lately the whole skinny jeans trends?
I'm currently in high school and I think its so funny when you see a hardcore scene kid and you stereotypical fashionista wearing the same type of jeans.

for example, a store like Hollister which is the typical "preppy" clothing has caught on to this skinny clothing phase and little cami's with tiny skulls.

so you can see that their once so called "unique" fashion is now mass produced.

that could be one of your key points for the paper.
talk about how you see freaking punk/scene clothes in almost all the stores in the mall!

Good luck!

Answer 5

My suggestion is that you could open with examples of how living a counter-culture lifestyle means living one life at the expense of another. For example, a person might live in a crappy apartment, make the most of their re-sale shop finds, and prepare their own inexpensive meals because their job working for the leftist-weekly newspaper doesn't pay much, but their ideals are untarnished,and they love what they do. I also like the idea other people have given about opening with quotes from songs. Good luck with your paper!

Answer 6

i would start by first say something about punk rock... its origins, how it was seen by the general community, what led to its formation.

then say something about punk rock's reluctance to enter media and how those who were punk rockers and became famous because they entered the media were shunted away from the comunity (for eg. green day).

to end, i would say something on how punk rockers are getting over this media thing and many are now on the media (my chemical romance, fall out boy, etc...) and then comment something on their popularity (ie. if they have significant amount of fans, how poeple are taking their music, the influence it has due to its increasing accessibility, etc...

hope that helped a little!!!

Answer 7

Use lyrics that prove your point. Use a quote from some source that agrees with you. Find someone like your music teacher or a local, well-known professional musician to comment on it and quote him/her, especially if the comment is controversial. What would grab your attention? It would likely grab other people, too.

Answer 8

How about pointing out that the guys who wrote Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (Good Charlotte) are now rich and famous and they're dating famous models? Or look up Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, who is the producer of Dischord Records, and use some quotes from him. He says a lot on this subject.

Answer 9

Blame Canada...just like Kyles mom says on South park haha .. but thats besides the point.

Its where hippy and punk clashed. Spawed the birth of emo. ;)

You have to blame Greig Nori (producer and musician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada) producer for Sum 41 .. seriously, thats where it started!

He's produced so many "punky/emo" bands.

"Punk" now days is Avril La(someone) ... I need to name some great punk bands:
Rancid
Stiff little fingers
The Damned
The Dwarves
Circle Jerks
DRI
Sex Pistols

=)

Answer 10

Start with comparing the DIY flier & word of mouth nature of advertising for early punk shows with the glossy media promo campaigns you see now, and extend the theory that that change illustrates how the spontaneous & antiestablishment spirit of early punk has been subsumed by its redefinition as just another market niche/image used to sell products?