exist to resist
Forty (some may argue fifty) years ago in London, youth culture was turned on its head with
the arrival of punk. This year London celebrates this landmark with an ongoing string of
events - but it would seem that not everyone will be partaking in the celebrations.
S
ince the beginning, Punk has been a
movement destined to cause friction. So
to even ask whether Punk is dead takes
guts. With Joe Corré, the son of punk
monarchs Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm
McLaren, preparing to set his £5 million
punk collection alight this November,
accompanied by what will be a substantial turn out in support, it seems
now is the perfect time to re-evaluate the position of the movement.
Fittingly it was the Queen’s approval of the year long celebrations that
sparked this renewal in rebellion, and
with backing from the Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson, as well as the Heritage Lottery Fund it has felt like
the punches have just kept on coming. Joe Corré summed it up by stating “the Queen giving 2016, the year
of punk, her official blessing is the
most frightening thing I’ve ever heard.
Talk about alternative and punk culture
being appropriated by the mainstream.
Rather than a movement for change,
punk has become like a fucking museum
piece or a tribute act”. In all fairness
he makes a few valid points. In the past,
fashion and deadened by the marketed notion that to be punk is to be
‘cool’ - which was never what it was
about. It was a movement filled with
bands giving any source of authority
the middle finger yet now the head
of country is in support of them. In
more ways than one, punk has become
conventional - rehashed repeatedly in
fashion and deadened by the marketed notion that to be punk is to be
‘cool’ - which was never what it was
about. Even Camden, thought to be the
birthplace of punk and home to the
alternative, is overridden by tourists,
families and high-street chains. Somewhere along the line, Punk has become
less a form of rebellion and more
of a money cow for the entertainment and tourism industry. For this,
the resentment toward the exploitation
of a ‘genuine moment of political and
social rupture’ by such sedating industries is understandable - but is it
the final nail in punk’s coffin? Maybe. Those who question the existence
of punk do so without recognizing its
place overseas and its ability to adapt.
the ways of Punk in the West but
“punk has become like a fucking
museum piece or a tribute act”.
the mere mention of the P-word would
conjure up reactions of uncertainty,
disgust, even fear yet today society does not hold the same response,
it has become desensitized to it all.
It was a movement filled with bands
giving any source of authority the middle finger yet now the head of country
is in support of them. It was a movement
filled with bands giving any source of
authority the middle finger yet now the
head of country is in support of them.
In more ways than one, punk has become
conventional - rehashed repeatedly in
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. In 2014 documentary Yangon Calling:
Punk in Myanmar, by Alexander Dluzak
was released and it was clear the
sound, style and attitude was just
beginning to have an impact outside
of Europe. Just like London in 1976,
bands like No U Turn and Rebel Riot
have formed in Myanmar, their pur-
pose is not to entertain but to express their ‘hatred for authority’ and
provoke a reaction in a city where
‘poverty is the governments way of
keeping you down and controlling you’.
w
ith punk material like records and
magazines being imported by sailors at
the request of a small few, there
were approximately 200 punks in the
Punk is
perceived as a
threat
city at the time of filming. Two years
later and the Punk scene in Myanmar
is still very much an underground one,
as it is in many other censored areas of the world. In Islamic countries
like Indonesia authorities and religious fundamentalists have been known
to persecute those who identify with
the movement as Punk is perceived as
a threat. Nonetheless, whatever the
constraints the irrepressible spirit
of punk is without a doubt prevailing
.
In terms of the existence of punk in
todays music, sadly there are not many
artist making anything remotely like
Talking Heads or Siouxsie Sioux or even
anyone who stands for something similar. Punk today often exists alongside
other genres but this is not a novel idea. It has been around since the
early days with bands like Bad Brains
taking influence from Reggae and The
Clash combining it with funk, as far
as adaptability goes not much has actually changed. What has changed is
their motivations. As the world around
us has evolved so have the causes for
rebellion. In addition to censorship and
poverty, there is economic recession,
austerity measures, third-wave feminism, climate change and capitalism.
Even though our societies are more multicultural than ever, there are still
issues with race - and it is with these
issues that punk remains fueled by.
Alien Kulture were the start of Muslim punk in 1979, rises in extremism and
islamophobia have seen it resurface and
built upon as seen with the emergence
of the Taquacore genre which, following the inspiration of Michael Muhammad
Knight’s 2003 novel The Taquacores, is
now a subgenre of punk which addresses Islamic culture and interpretation.
R
egarding music there are also a few
who equate the lack of Punk on the
radio to be the final end of the movement, but this point is a contradiction
in itself. Punk was never intended to
make it onto mainstream radio. To be
played on the radio defeated the point
of being punk in the first place. Besides,
if you were the Sex Pistols, you were
more likely to get your record banned,
by the BBC, WH Smiths and Woolworths
too if you remember it. We also live
in a world where records belong to a
multitude of genres so it could even
be argued that most of the time people
do not even realize they are listening to it. Even in cases of completely
different music styles there is still
evidence of cold, hard punk ethics.
Moreover,
Punk
is
not
just
about
fighting
outward
systems,
whether it is contesting opinion or
making local and global political injustices known to the masses - it
comes in different forms. In the US,
the original birthplace of Punk, groups
like Ho99o9 incorporate Hip Hop into
their records and continue to create
create just to provoke those that oppose them while letlive bring in aspects of metal in order to ‘advance.
the conversation’ on societal affairs.
In these instances, punk has been
adapted to suit the moment and, with
all due respect to Corr, it does
not sound like anyonehas ‘given up
the chase it seems more like chasing something different. Admittedly,–
it is hard to see a future for punk
when its icons now lead respectable lives. Lesley Woods (singer/guitar for Au Pairs) is now an immigration barrister, Jordan (aka Pamela
Rooke, a punk icon) is a veterinary
nurse and Steve Ignorant (lead singer for Crass) has been a lifeboatman for around nine years now. When
you look a little closer, it becomes
clear that their original punk intentions of trying to attain meaning
and make a difference remain true.
Punk was never
intended to make
it onto
mainstream radio.
It is this underlying need to speak up
and do something that maintains the
legacy of and punk and its icons to
this day. It could also be the reason why ‘appropriation’ of punk culture takes place - because everybody
can relate to fighting for something,
whether it is internally or externally.
In some strange way, this ‘appropriation’ could be a generation revising the
definition of punk to suit their situation, even if it does not tick the ‘conventionally punk’ box. Who knows, this
‘revised’ meaning may not even involve
punk as we know it at all – with Dance
Tunnel closing in August and club
Punk will never
die as there will
always be something to fight
against
In essence, Punk will never die as
there will always be something to
fight against. In todays age, like a lot
of things, it will not always be clear
who or what is punk and it will not
always be expressed through specific
music or clothing. The modern punk
will not have to listen to the archetypal music or fall into the archetypal image, as it has never solely
been about these things, but what they
will have is a DIY attitude and a willingness to speak their mind, act however and live with the consequences.
They will understand that it is about
having a questioning nature, taking
chances and not accepting the status
quo - maybe even expanding the means
of their expression to the world of
art, photography and film. Or not. Doctor, actress, vagabond – to put it in
the simple terms of 1998 American film
SLC Punk! ‘punks are still everywhere,
but a lot of them like myself wear
their camouflage on a daily basis so
they’re a little harder to spot you can do a lot more damage within
the system than you can outside of
it’. Now, is that ‘punk’ enough for you.
culture in London rapidly vanishing
maybe a punk revival
will stem
from a generation of clubbers and
students who are ready to ‘explode
Words by Rebecca small nguyen
the title and words of the Stranglers 1977 single ‘something better change’ have never rung truer
.
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