MUSI 2007 W12
Punk and New Wave
• We’re going to look at punk in four historical phases:
• (i) Important ancestors – groups that existed before the name
‘punk’ came into use, but who set up elements of the style
and attitude.
• (ii) New York City punk circa 1974-5.
• (iii) London punk circa 1976-7.
• (iv) The American Independent network of the 1980s.
• As we’ll see, just as with folk music and R+B, the name ‘punk’
has been applied to musics that vary widely in sound and
social outlook.
• To a great extent, punk rock began in New York City.
Throughout the later 1960s, New York had an image that
contrasted sharply with San Francisco. The SF hippies tended
to see New York artists and bands as cold, cynical, and
negative, and the NYC bands tended to regard the San
Francisco scene as naïve and unskilled. However, just as in
San Francisco, many New York groups were exploring
various forms of consciousness and sensory experimentation,
and challenging conservative societal norms.
• For the history of punk, the most important 1960s NYC scene
was the one surrounding Andy Warhol and The Velvet
Underground.
• Warhol was one of the leading figures in the Pop Art
movement, and was also famous for his experimental filmmaking and his fascination with celebrity culture.
• Warhol’s studio in the mid-to-late 1960s was a highly
fashionable hang-out spot which attracted the elite of the art
world, and the jet set, but also a large number of people who
would have been regarded a socially marginal (transvestites,
speed and heroin addicts, etc.).
• Overheads: Andy Warhol art examples.
• Even without considering the musical angle, we can see how
certain elements that would define punk culture are already
present in the Warhol scene (discuss what they are).
• The Velvet Underground was based around Lou Reed and
John Cale, who were both active in this scene. Lou Reed was
an American with a background in poetry, R+B, and pop
songwriting. John Cale was a classical/experimental viola
player and composer who had come to NYC for the avantgarde music and art scene, and was becoming interested in
rock as a site for musical experimentation.
• For a time, Warhol was interested in the idea of producing a
rock band, and he also needed music for the multimedia
performance events he was organizing. So he produced the
VU’s first album, although by all accounts he had a very
hands-off style.
• Audio: The Velvet Underground “I’m Waiting For The
Man” (1966).
• Discuss all the ways in which this song, and the VU in
general, resemble what would eventually be called punk
(consider lyrical theme, musical sound -- also the band name,
and their career path).
• In summary: elements of the 1960s NYC scene that are often
seen as proto-punk…
• Interest in dark themes and shock value.
• A tendency towards nihilism, or at least stances where values
and beliefs are difficult to pinpoint.
• A connection to the avant-garde art world. (Consider the irony
here: groups like The Beatles were the ones usually called ‘art
rock’).
• A commitment to musical simplicity, sometimes by choice and
sometimes through lack of skill. Conveying the idea that you
don’t need to be a highly trained musician to express musical
ideas.
• A liking for abrasive, harsh, overwhelming sounds.
• So by the early 1970s, most of the musical and attitude
elements we associate with punk were in place. But it wasn’t
until around 1974 that the word came to be used. When that
happened, it was first applied to a new NYC scene centered
on a few key clubs, the most famous of which was CBGBs.
• In New York in the early 1970s, there weren’t many venues
where an unknown band playing original music could get gigs.
So the main thing that united many of the early ‘punk’ groups
was simply that they were experimental, new on the scene,
and having a hard time finding places to play. Once a few
places did open up, the scene around them was quite
musically diverse.
• CBGBs was a club in the Bowery district originally intended
for blues and country. In 1974, members of the band
Television convinced the owner to let them play there.
• If one CBGBs band can be seen as setting the template for
the later ‘punk’ stereotype (at least musically), it was The
Ramones.
• When they started (in 1974), they were all barely able to play
their instruments. They would often have to stop songs in the
middle during concerts and re-start, sometimes getting into
fights with each other onstage.
• They were also noteworthy because they portrayed a semisuburban (when compared to the Manhattan sophistication of
many other CBGB groups), street-thug kind of image. Their
lyrics were negative but funny (they wrote a lot of ‘I don’t
wanna’ songs, like “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You,” “I
Don’t Wanna Be Tamed,” and “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To
The Basement,” and their ‘positive’ songs were often along
the lines of “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” and “Gimme
Gimme Shock Treatment”).
• The visual image wasn’t ‘punk’ by current stereotypes, but it
was noteworthy in its simplicity and aggressive rejection of
polish or pretense.
• DVD: The Ramones “Teenage Lobotomy” live, 1980.
• The sound was very fast (for the time), based around simple
riffs (with guitar and bass usually playing the same thing) and
motor rhythm eighth notes. The songs were short (and when
they needed a longer performance or record, they would often
just play through a song twice). But on the other hand, there
was something very pop-like about the music: it had catchy
melodies, concise form, and lots of hooks.
• Although punk mostly began in the US, it was the UK punk
scene centered on London that most defined the style
internationally.
• The London scene began at almost exactly the same time as
the US scene, but was quite different in at least three crucial
ways...
• (i) In the UK, the economic and social situation was very
different from the US. The economy was very bad, and there
was a great deal of anger simmering around the traditional
class system. As a result, UK punk was usually political and
working-class in nature, whereas the CBGBs bands were
generally apolitical.
• (ii) ‘Punk’ fashion as it is generally thought of was a product of
the UK scene, not the US scene.
• (iii) UK punks generally despised 1960s and early 1970s rock
culture (mention the Pink Floyd shirt story). There was a
definite tone of ‘giving back to the people’ that NYC lacked.
• A key figure in UK punk was Malcolm McLaren, who managed
the Sex Pistols.
• McLaren had a general interest in radical art, fashion, and
music. He ran a fashion boutique in London (along with
Vivienne Westwood) from the early 1970s, and also spent
considerable time in NYC around 1972-1975, for a while
managing the New York Dolls.
• Like Warhol, McLaren was mainly interested in music as a
component of a broader kind of performance art. But unlike
Warhol, McLaren was radically political in his aims.
• Explain situationism and its influence on McLaren, the kind of
music and fashion he wanted to instigate.
• By around 1975, the shop’s name was SEX and it specialized
in high-fashion bondage gear. It became a hangout for local
youth, and McLaren put the Sex Pistols together from various
musicians who were part of that crowd.
• Reports vary as to how much influence McLaren actually had
over the group. The only direct musical effect seems to have
come from adding John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) as the singer.
In general, Rotten was responsible for the working-class
anger of the group, McLaren managed the image and created
the situationist chaos, and the other members provided a solid
pub-rock/Ramones musical backing.
• By all accounts, the band members didn’t like each other. And
they also generally disliked and distrusted McLaren. This odd
situation was perfect from a situationist perspective, but was
very hard on the band members.
• In general, McLaren almost practiced a style of antimanagement. He did what he could to make the group
controversial and hated by the general public. The group was
banned from many venues because of reports of violence
(exaggerated), and they were dropped by two record labels in
about five months (1976-1977).
• One example of a deliberate provocation tactic: planning to
release “God Save The Queen” in conjunction with the royal
silver jubilee celebrations.
• Overhead: “God Save The Queen” promotional art.
• Audio: The Sex Pistols “God Save The Queen” (1977).
• Discuss: Musical style.
• Discuss: Components of the visual style.
• Overhead: Early punk fashion.
• The origins of this style of dress are controversial. McLaren
and Westwood are often given credit, but Rotten claims that
this sort of thing was common among his crowd growing up (a
kind of working class self-empowerment).
• The fourth phase of punk to discuss was the American
Independent (aka Amerindie) scene of the 1980s.
• Symbolically, this carried on from UK punk, but was very
different in several respects...
• (i) The US punk scene largely began with a new sound and
look: hardcore.
• (ii) It was in the US that the idea of DIY (do it yourself)
became all-important. Earlier NYC and UK bands had not
rejected major record labels or the established industry, but
the Amerindie scene was premised on the idea that you could
not trust the music industry, and should do as much as
possible yourself.
• (iii) Related to this, for a time an entire parallel/independent
music industry appeared and provided a total context for punk
and ‘alternative’ musicians.
• Let’s look at these in more detail...
• The founders of Amerinide are generally said to be Black
Flag, both because they helped pioneer the hardcore
sound/look, and because they set the mould for independent
business models.
• In 1978, they formed their own record label (SST records).
This was the ultimate extension of the indie label
phenomenon – a band running their own label.
• It is also significant that they were from what was in effect a
suburb of Los Angeles (Hermosa Beach). Up to this point,
punk had been associated with major art/fashion centres of
the world. But the Amerindie scene opened things up to many
smaller cities. In general, the music expressed frustrations
and boredom of everyday suburban/small city life, and in this
sense was closer in spirit to The Ramones than to much UK
punk.
• Black Flag toured relentlessly, helping to build a national
network of contacts and venues that other bands followed.
• Overhead: Henry Rollins (1981).
• Audio: Black Flag “Six Pack” (1981).
• Discuss: how does the hardcore look and sound differ from
earlier punk? How is it the same?
• Because the American scene was premised as much on the
idea of independence as on a ‘punk’ style per se, it became
quite stylistically diverse. One thing that happened was that
the hardcore sound was carried to ridiculous extremes...
• Audio: Hüsker Dü “Punch Drunk” (1982)
• Among the wide range of styles, Amerindie also included
groups that openly showed influence from 1960s rock, and
also from 1970s styles like metal which were hated by many
earlier punks.
• Audio: Husker Du “Sunshine Superman” (1982).
• This kind of crossover developed in several directions, most
notably grunge in the late 1980s (which was just one of many
Amerindie scenes, although it was by far the most
commercially successful). Also, it’s worth noting that the New
Wave Of British Heavy Metal was occurring at around the
same time, and had many of the same cultural features.
• The Amerindie scene required an entire network of factors to
come together, allowing a complete alternative music industry
to exist. Some of the most important included...
• The widespread popularity of campus radio.
• A proliferation of independent record labels and fanzines.
• A generation of bands who were willing to tour constantly and
under less-than-ideal circumstances.
• A subculture of fans dedicated enough to offer material
support to touring bands (e.g. crash pads).
• Audio: The Specials “Do The Dog” (1979).
• Formed in 1977. Overlapped with The Clash early on (toured
together, mutual admiration). Q: What motivated the
crossover between punk and ska/reggae communities? And
were there earlier UK precedents for this?
• Self-consciously political, musical and racial integration. Can
discuss skinhead situation by contrast (at least part of it –
extreme diversity since 1960s roots although working-class
aspect is consistent).
• In 1979 one of the members founded 2 Tone Records. Also
became the name of a movement (gathered together
elements of punk, ska/reggae, mod (esp. fashion), skinhead).
• Overhead: 2 Tone EP label.
• This is all generally regarded as second-wave ska (with the
first being 1950s/1960s Jamaica, and the third being the
1990s ska revival).
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Audio: The B-52’s “Planet Claire” (1979)
Overhead: B-52’s album cover (1979)
Formed 1977.
First album and singles were a major pop success.
The “New Wave” category – what motivated it? How were
these not just “punk” bands or “pop” bands or “rock” bands?
(Keeping in mind the diversity). What did they take from each,
and what prevented them from fitting neatly into each?
Tendency in later years to subdivide (post punk, goth, electropop, etc.).
• Self-conscious “retro” as an aesthetic and marketing strategy.
Have we seen it before this? What are some later examples?
What motivates it here? Elsewhere?