What do you think punk is?

Question

I want to know what people consider punk now, I think I have a different though of what it is, then what most people now considered punk. Be truthful of what you think punk is. Give me a definition or just list band names, or what ever you think would be best.

Answer 1

I think Punk, in it's purest form, is a wonderful music genre. When i think of Punk I think of the Sex Pistols, The dead kennedys, the ramones, the clash, ect. I also think of it as a kind of life style, not one that still exists, but there was a time when the music reflected a way of living. Now the lines of punk have blurred into umpteen million sub genres. classic punk, old school punk, pop punk, modern punk, ect. You could probably dissect the genre down to almost nothing. In the current youth society I feel that Punk is really more seen these days as a fashion statement. which bugs me. but, hell, alot bugs me.

Answer 2

Punk is a fashion, plain and simple. I know a lot of people aren't going to like or agree with this answer, but it's the truth. Look at all the first wave British and New York punk bands: The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, The Ramones, The Stranglers, Television, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, The Dead Boys, etc... They were all quick to call themselves "Punk", but not a one them sounded ANYTHING like one another. They all had very distinct styles and all sounded completely different, and they all sang about different things. But what did they all have in common (except The Ramones and their long hair)? They all LOOKED and DRESSED the same. Punk is also an attitude, but first and foremost, it's a fashion.

It wasn't till MUCH later that all 'punk' bands started to sound somewhat alike.

Answer 3

Punk rock is about being unconventional & breaking rules. It has absolutely nothing to do with spiked, dyed hair, facial piercings, chain wallets, and/or tattoos. It has nothing to do with distorted guitar, quick-step beats and tough-guy, pseudo-rebellious lyrics.

Ironically, most of what you hear on the radio and see at Hot Topic is about the farthest thing from punk.

Bands like Rancid, The Distillers, Good Charlotte, etc. are SO NOT punk (at least according to how I define it). They follow proven recipes of what people associate with punk and they're constantly trying to re-invent that recipe, but a fart by any other name stinks just the same.

I think its funny and kind of sad when I see kids at the mall with their green nail-spike mohawks & what-have-you. It's not shocking NOR rebellious anymore. Maybe back in 1979 through 1984 heads may have turned but not so much today. It's kinda like the hippie kids you see on Haight St. in S.F. with their tie-dye shirts & smelly dreadlocks that keep the Summer of Love alive and well.

To ME... punk is a state of mind rather than a look or a sound. I think the TRUE punk rockers of today are most often found in "normal" looking packages. A "wolf in sheep's clothing" if you will. The more someone tries to sell their identity by advertising it with a tattoo ensemble or re-hashing a sound the average Joe might identify as punk, the farther away they are from actually being it.

Answer 4

punk was almost all the bands from 1977 to 1985 that called themselves punk, after that there have been a few real punk bands like Refused and to some extent Rancid, but they have been very rare. Alot of the older bands people are mentioning in this post are pretty much all TRUE punk really was. I love older Green Day and Offspring, but that's not real punk, it was pop-punk and alternative

Answer 5

It's ironic that some people are telling you what punk is when they aren't even spelling the band names right. Punk is a music genre. It's that simple. I could easily say that punk is about politics, rebellion and change. But even though lots of punk bands incorporate that in their music it doesn't mean that all punk is that kind of punk.
There are two things that punk will always, universally be: raw and fast.
That is how I describe the music. Not screamo or metal thrashing or pop vocals or acoustic guitar it's fast and it's raw. It's real. Punk is music. I could say punk is plaid pants, leather jackets, band tees, vests, safety pins, mohawks and piercings. But at the end of the day no matter what material object you're wearing if you love punk music (real, unsaturated punk) you are punk.

There is no music I love more than punk. Punk is me. Punk bands are as followed: Dead Kennedy's (my favorite band), The Dead Milkmen (punk kings of satire), Television (70's punk), The Descendants, The Vandals, The Misfits, The Casualties, Millions of Dead Cops, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, Operation Ivy, Patti Smith (singer, very old punk), Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, BAd Religion, Screeching Weasel, Dropkick Murphys, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Tarakany, Agent Minor, The Screamers and old Blink 182 is punk (like Dude Ranch album and older).
Yes you guys are gonna be like "Blink 182 is not punk."' This is a FACT: Most bands when they start out they are new musicians, know few chords, don't sound refined and play fast and anxious so they are punk because they sound punk. But many bands later when they become mainstream or refine their sound do get out of their punk stage and become pop-rock like Blink did.
And I hate it when people say punk bands sell out when they sign to major labels. Hey dumba/ss in order to spread their music to all their little sell out fans like you they need to get a record deal.

Answer 6

I think punk is sort of like a way of life (best word I could think of). Being rebellious and stuff like that. Punk bands are the Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Dead Kennedy's. Bands like Simple Plan, Green Day Blink 182 are NOT even close to punk.

Answer 7

punk isn't supposed to be pretty......its raw, in your face, the whole piss off I could care less - and is reflected in the stripped down, pounding, fast music and political/anarchistic lyrics It was a sort of rebellion against the conformity of the mass public. It was Iggy & The Stooges, The Ramones, The Sex PIstols, The Clash, The New York Dolls, The Velvet Underground.

Answer 8

There IS NOT punk today. Green Day is NOT punk. Avril Lavigne is NOT punk. Punk is Misfits, Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedies, Ramones, etc.

Answer 9

Green Day, The Ramones, The Misfits, The Clash, NOFX, Pennywise, Sum 41, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Antiflag

Answer 10

punk deals with social and political issues around the world listen to the clash, anti-flag, and rise against for example