Punk

“Punk” precursor – Velvet Underground Often described in various music history books as the “proto punk” or new-wave band Perhaps more accurately described as a darker side of art-rock, or as avant garde. Co-founded by John Cale and Lou Reed, a former Brill Building songwriter

Velvet Underground Heroin Released in 1967 This song has been described as the musical representation of a heroin high Consider the timeframe, this is very different than many other late 60’s groups

Velvet Underground, continued Lou Reed, singer /songwriter John Cale, bass, keyboard, viola Sterling Morrison, guitar Maureen Tucker, drums Nico, singer (later) Stark musical style Raw rock energy, noise Lyrics often dealt with dark subject matter: –Sex –drug addiction Their style was a strong contrast to the concurrent “psychedelia” of the mid to late 1960s Pictured here with Andy Warhol

Velvet Underground Sweet Jane Released in 1970 How is this song different from the previous example? This song has been covered by many artists

Punk Rock, continued The “Punk rock” movement was focussed in two different cities: New York… …And London. What differs is the *audience* and the social environment in which those two movements took place.

Punk – U.S.A. American punk was a strong reaction against “corporate” rock. An important aspect of the punk movement was the “DIY” attitude – do it yourself This applied to many things--the spikey hair, the ripped T- shirts, the self-taught musicians. This movement also fostered the development of a number of independent labels (major labels wouldn’t touch punk at first!)

Punk – U.S.A. American punk was also a strong reaction against a trend toward middle-class complacency, in both the society and in the music world. Ironically, the original American audience for punk tended to be middle-class, young, suburban listeners The result was a kind of “disconnect” between the demographics of the musicians vs that of their audience.

CBGB The punk-music scene in New York Founded 1973 by ex-marine Hilly Kristal Located in the Bowery, a rundown neighborhood Originally CBGB-OMFUG, “Country, Bluegrass, Blues, & Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers.” By 1974, CBGB’s attracted New York avant grade bands like Television and the Velvet Underground. Recently, after a move to evict the club from its location, there’s been a movement to save CBGB’s as a historic cultural landmark

The video sequence we’re going to view talks about some of the groups that pioneered some aspect of either sound or attitude that would eventually become identified with punk rock. Iggy Pop MC5 New York Dolls Velvet Underground

Patti Smith Lyrics: influenced by Beat Poets & French poet Rimbaud Music: influenced by Hendrix & Jim Morrison Writer for the Rock mag Creem Work with guitarists Lenny Kaye & Tom Verlaine eventually led to the formation of the Patti Smith Group. Patti described their work: “three chords merged with the power of the word.” A legendary 7-week series of gigs at CBGBs was followed by their first recording, “Horses” (Produced by John Cale of the Velvet Underground).

Patti Smith Group Gloria From the 1975 album, “Horses” This is the same song recorded by Them (Van Morrison), but Patti added some original poetry This was recorded in Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studio

Patti Smith Group Because the Night Released in 1978 album, “Easter” This song was co-written by Bruce Springsteen & was produced by Todd Rundgren This is the most successful Patti Smith Group song

Patti Smith Group People Have the Power From the 1988 album, “Dream of Life” In 1980, Patti married punk guitar icon Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5 Fred “Sonic” Smith, R. Mapplethorpe, friend & artist, & keyboardist R. Sohl died soon after this release

Punk - USA Patti Smith Horses Radio Ethiopia Easter Wave Many rock historians have theorized that Patti Smith’s presence as one of the earliest prominent celebrities of the American punk music scene was an important factor in the general acceptance of, and receptivity to, women in the punk / new wave genres.

The Ramones Joey, Johnny, DeeDee, and Tommy (not really related !!) Musical style: short, fast, and loud!

The Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop Released in the U.S. in 1975 on Sire Records, 1976 release in the U.K. This was the Ramones first single The opening chant, “Hey Ho, Let’s Go” has become a popular phrase at sporting events

The Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated Released 1978 on “Road to Ruin” This album shows the influence of girl groups, 60’s pop, and bands like the Byrds This was written by Joey Ramone during a hospital stay

Punk - USA The Ramones The Ramones exemplified many aspects of the punk movement: The idea of paring down the sound to its basics, in a way that could be compared to the 50s rockers The rejection of the “virtuoso” aesthetic that characterized many of the other rock genres of the 70's A style that focused on two minute songs with about 3 chords and a ton of attitude

The next video sequence mentions a number of bands that were important at the beginning of the punk rock movement in New York. ←Ramones Blondie→ ← Patti Smith Band Talking Heads→ ← Television

Punk - Britain Britain in the late 70s had many social and political problems: divisive politics; strife between Thatcher government and more moderate political factions tremendous economic divisions racist tensions Civil rights issues Therefore, British punk had a different focus than its American counterpart. It was: more radical more consciously political more visually confrontive more verbally extreme.

Punk – Britain (continued) British punk bands were, however, influenced by American punk bands. Many British musicians cite the following influential events: 1975: Festival of CBGB based bands in England 1976: The Ramones toured England.

The Sex Pistols The group was a created by entrepreneur and clothing store owner Malcolm McLaren Frenzied, raw, loud sound Provocative lyrics Music was rudimentary but very intense Visually, they embodied the punk “image,” marketed strongly by McLaren On-stage persona of the band: angry, provocative, destructive, even abusive Also some very subtle humor in here, but I think not everyone “got” it

Sex Pistols God Save the Queen Released in 1977 on A&M, who dropped the band almost immediately The title is directly from the British National Anthem – but the lyrics were considered extremely offensive! The band attempted to play this song at the Queen’s Jubilee, but were arrested

Sex Pistols (continued) The Pistols hit the punk music scene with incredible power and instantly became famous, if not notorious. They were controversial in just about every way possible: visually, musically, politically. Hundreds of other punk bands followed in the wake of the Sex Pistol’s success.

Sex Pistols Anarchy in the UK Released in 1976 on Virgin Records (UK) This was the only official album the Sex Pistols released The Sex Pistols claim this as the first punk single released, although the Ramones released “Blitzkrieg Bop” 2 months before

Sex Pistols, continued At the end of their 1978 tour, Johnny Rotten (real name Johnny Lydon) disbanded the Sex Pistols Sid Vicious (left, above) died of a drug overdose soon after. Rotten resumed using his his real name, John Lydon, & started what he called the “anti rock and roll band” - Public Image Ltd.

The Clash The Clash channeled the anger & frustration that characterized punk rock through the element of political and social protest. Strongly influenced by reggae and ska These two Jamaican forms of music which could be heard in the large immigrant population pouring into Britain at that time.

The Clash London Calling Released on the 1979 album, “London Calling” Listen for the reggae-style bass contrasted with the punk rock-style guitars The song describes some of the issues the poor experienced in post WWII London

The Clash The Guns of Brixton Released on the 1979 Album, “London Calling” Written & sung by bassist Paul Simonon Listen for the strong reggae influence, reflective of the area (Brixton) that Simonon grew up in

British Punk drew a strong & aggressive negative reaction from arch-conservative British groups like The National Front Ironically, British punk also had attracted a lot of skinheads and Neo- Nazis. In reaction to this, a number of British punk bands became involved in the “Rock against Racism” concerts and the Anti-Nazi-League Carnival concerts. In 1978 the National Front burned down two auditoriums that had been used for Rock against Racism shows Clash at Rock Against Racism show

Punk, continued Punk began partly as an attack on pop culture and pop politics. However, in the later 70s, punk was more or less “assimilated” into pop culture, as the media embraced punk and made it “fashionable,” especially in America.

The Punk movement, in both Britain and America, had a huge effect on the world of 1970s rock and roll, proving that alternatives were possible. Early 1970s rock: Rock as corporate big-business manufactured pop stars elaborate and expensive shows Major labels with 6 figure record advances VS Punk: Do-it-yourself attitude small independent labels stripped-down musical content Punk paved the way for later New Wave, Grunge, and various forms of Alternative Rock.