American Punk vs. British Punk ⎯ an early punk scene ⎯

by Nguyen Tran (Moon)

Punk Timeline

PROTOPUNK

1976 1980s 1974

EARLY PUNK PUNK ROCK POST-PUNK

The Sonics Iggy Pop MC5 The Monks The Stooges The Velvet Underground Television New York Dolls

Blondie Patti Smith Group The Ramones Talking Head The Sex Pistols

Buzzcocks X-Ray Spex Generation X Black Flag The Misfits The Clash The Damned Dead Kennedys

Joy Division Siouxsie & the Banshees The Cure Gang of Four Bauhaus The Smiths Sonic Youth

What The Punk?

NOISE

What The Punk?

The Sex Pistols “God Save The Queen”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jTY30RJkS0

!   Music movement & Style

! Timeframe: 1974 – 1980

! Style: fast, hard-edged music

! Structure: short songs, stripped-down instrumentation

! Lyrics: political, anti-establishment, shouted

! Recording: self-produced, informally distributed (DIY ethic)

What The Punk?

Who Play Punk? “punk is rock and roll by people who didn't

have very much skills as musicians but still

felt the need to express themselves through

music”

⎯ John Holmstrom (editor of ‘Punk’

magazine)

1 vocalist + 1 or 2 electric guitarists + 1 bassist + 1 drummer

(hostile slogan)

(white noise) (texture)

The Ramones (live at CBGB, 1977) Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kmUfWPeIRE

The Bands/Solos

New York City

!   Iggy Pop

!   Patti Smith

!   The Ramones

!   New York Dolls

!   The Velvet Underground

!   The Dead Kennedys

London

!   The Sex Pistols

!   The Clash

!   The Slits

! Siouxsie & the Banshees

!   Generation X

!   X-Ray Spex

US Punk vs. UK Punk

New York City

!   1st concrete punk rock scene – mid ‘70s

!   Underground

!   Poetic

!   By poets, artists, musicians

!   More melodic & experimental

!   Turn into hardcore

London

!   Emerged soon afterwards, separate creation story

!   Mainstream

!   Rebellious, political

!   By angry youth

!   More raw & honest

!   Turn into ska/reggage

New York City – CBGB Club

London – The Street

Patti Smith (live at CBGB) Land/Gloria/Elegie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytlMDNOG8oo

Thank You!