sean@garfield.UUCP (Sean Byrne) (04/12/84)
Well, I am happy to see that the discussion of punk has drawn lots
of interested views, and it has acheived its purpose. (Thanks to
Wombat for giving it a listen, even if he doesn't like it.)
But, I've a few more things to say about punk and the recent goings
on in this here newsgroup.
First of all, a few replys. Tim, I didn't include the Jam in my
discussion of punk, becase they are mod, if anything not punk.
(I hate throwing groups into one classification or another.)
Rich, what's dis garbage that punk `originated` in America? Can
you name some early American punk bands that heavily influenced any
future bands. There is quite a difference between what is
known as American Punk and what is known as British Punk. British
seems (to me anyway) to have more raw emotion and feeling behind
it. American punk seems just to have evolved from what was rock
back in the early-late 70's. It seems that the americans just
changed what they had to sound like the British, not the other way
around. I'm not putting down Americans, there are some good bands
(ie. the DK's, Fear, Husker Du, etc). It's just that I like British
bettter. (the Clash, SLF, the Business, etc)
Somebody suggested that, in order to discuss punk, one must look at
the enviroment from which it came. Punk is very stress-filled music
and a lot of it does say "hey, this sucks", a lot more of it really
has something to say. Punk tends to thrive in stress-filled environs,
like San Francisco, Toronto, London, and big cities around the world.
Most punks, who's backgroups I know usually come from middle-class to
upper middle-class. Not the poor, as is what is generally accepted
as from where punk stems.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, it's about time the Who broke
up. They were getting stale anyway.
Favorite guitarists? I don't and (hopefully) will never have a favorite
guitarist. Sure, I look at some guys style, and say, yah, that's good,
and there are a lot of really good guitarist out there. But I look
more at the group he plays with, coz without other people, it's not that
great. Imagine listening to 2 hours of somebody playing lead! Wouldn't
that be entertaining.
Canadian Bands? You have sadly left out DOA in your discussion.
Anyway, that's enough for now.
--
USENET- .... Sean Byrne
4 years . /\ . Memorial Univeristy of Nfld
of anarchy . / \ .
freedom . / \ . UUCP: {astrovax,akgua,allegra,philabs,
and ---/------\--- princeton,ihnp4,utcsrgv}!garfield!sean
chaos. /. .\
/ . . . \rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (04/17/84)
> Rich, what's dis garbage that punk `originated` in America? Can > you name some early American punk bands that heavily influenced any > future bands. There is quite a difference between what is > known as American Punk and what is known as British Punk. British > seems (to me anyway) to have more raw emotion and feeling behind > it. American punk seems just to have evolved from what was rock > back in the early-late 70's. It seems that the americans just > changed what they had to sound like the British, not the other way > around. The Ramones played their first gig ten years ago (that's 1974, when Yes was still waxing topographic and Rod the Clod Stewart and Barry Manilow shared the airwaves). It was their trips to England (among other things) that precipitated the "punk" movement there. (No, the Ramones were not, are not, and probably never will be truly punk.) Yes, there was a seminal movement there with weird types associating and being labelled as punk (Sid Vicious' Flowers of Romance band, Siouxsie & the Banshees, ...), but most of the "movement" consisted of poseurs and dilettantes. Bands like the Clash and the Jam et al., grew out of this period, so it was not all in vain. I admit, even a bloody toad like McLaren couldn't have made punk a national phenomenon without an initial base already being present. But the very notion of a "punk" style of dress originated with Richard Hell in NYC. I'm in absolute agreement with you (for the most part)--British punk is rawer and contains more emotion and feeling than what followed in America. What preceded it (and also what occurred simultaneously) in America was equally fresh and different as its British counterpart (e.g., Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, Devo, B-52's). Of course, we're no longer talking pure "punk". Just as well. Punk is so limiting and obscure a term that it hardly applies to anything. (Is Billy Idol punk? David Johansen? Burce Springsteen?) About punk evolving from rock. Yeah, I guess it did, just as rock n' roll originally developed from things prior to it. My own tastes lean towards that "new music" which breaks the ties with its forebearers, breaking new ground instead of treading on the old ground over and over again. What gets labelled as punk seems to be that which owes more to rock. (Hardcore probably fits in somewhere else, though the choice seems to be to continue ties to rock) To me, rock is a dead issue. No, not dead, just "obsolete", in the same sense that swing jazz is obsolete--it still gets played and enjoyed, but it's a music of the past, not of the present and the future. Rock today is the music of two distinct groups, the 30-40 year olds who remember the "fabulous sixties" and the glory days of rock, and many of today's younger people who still feel that rock applied to their generation. (In reality, rather than being "rebels" and "individuals" as they might like to believe, they are becoming cogs in a corporate marketing strategy that makes them into clones rather than individuals). Oh, enough preaching for one day... -- Never ASSUME, because when you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME... Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
burris@ihopa.UUCP (David Burris) (04/19/84)
I thought that the great PUNK groups were: The Rolling Stones J. Geils Band Steppenwolf Quicksilver Messenger Service The Who The Doors I also liked the fact that a great number of bands calling themselves new wave played songs by artists such as: Buddy Holly The Beatles Tommy James & The Shondells The Hollies I just love that "new" music. Have you heard that new group called, 1910 Fruitgum Company? :-) -- Dave Burris ..!ihnp4!ihopa!burris AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il.