Punk rock
Punk rock got its name from the slang word punk meaning rotten and worthless.
It was originally used to describe simple guitar based rock of bands like
The Seeds, and later on Detroit bands
like The Stooges and
MC5. The anti-establishment
ethic of punk hit a fevered
pitch in
1976 through 1980, started partially as a
backlash to the hippie movement of the late 60's. Many of these bands
also intended to shock mainstream society, rejecting the "peace and love" image
of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks
thought, into mellow disco culture. The fashion of the time included mohawks,
body piercing with safety pins and conversion of unusual items into clothing and
was very shocking to outsiders at the time.
Punk rock embodied the ideals that anyone could start a punk rock band. Punk was stripped-down, three-chord music that could be played fairly
easily.
The lyrics introduced a new honesty of expression in matters both political and sexual
freeing the artist to write in a more personal and honest way. Using
cover songs as a ironic form of social commentary was a common theme among many
artists. The emphasis in punk rock was placed on emotion and energy and not strictly
musicianship. It's best known bands are the
punk rock holy trinity of the Sex Pistols,
The Damned,
and The Clash who many feel are the defining
bands of the genre. The roots of punk rock were dark
psychedelic and
garage rock,
glam rock,
new wave music
and the unusual and sporadic style of the
immortal Velvet Underground, long thought to be the originators of punk
rock. Later bands incorporated punk and ska
elements which were largely unknown in the rock genre.
In Britain the Sex Pistols were the first artist to receive wide acceptance.
They chose antagonistic stage names like Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious to
complete their transformation in to the living embodiment of punk ethic. They
flatly rejected anything that symbolized hippie counterculture such as mellow
music, loose-fitting clothing, or long hair. Their debut single "Anarchy in the
UK" was a confrontational slap in the face to
liberal politics choosing anarchy and destruction over the peace and love driven
music of the 70's. Their second release "God Save the Queen" attacked British
traditions so vehemently that it was banned from British airways. Despite that
fact the record rose to the top of the charts in the UK and suddenly everyone
was talking about the new movement going on in the England underground.
On the other side of the Atlantic The Ramones released their first album around
the same time. If the Sex Pistols exemplified the British punk genre the Ramones
were the American version of the same phenomenon. American punk was just
as aggressive but less political and maybe a bit more alienated. The Ramones
gained notoriety on the New York punk scene playing clubs like CBGB and others.
Punk was largely an East coast movement until the late 70s when LA bands like
Black Flag and X came along and suddenly punk became divided into the east coast
and west coast genres.
The Clash formed in late 1976 inspired by The Sex Pistols. They quickly became
accepted in the punk scene and there were rumblings that they might replace the
Sex Pistols and leaders of the genre. Their first gig
at a rehearsal studios in Camden for journalists and friends received rave
reviews. Soon they were supporting The Sex Pistols on their Anarchy tour and the
stage was set for them to become a large influence on the punk scene. Every show
was a mixture of blood, abandon, of pure energy. By early 77 they signed to CBS
and their first album The Clash was a huge success. They continued to make great
music until their dissolution in the early eighties due to drug use and
conflicts within the band.
Punk rock groups influenced a new generation of college bands like the Talking
Heads and Devo. Slowly they began to garner the title New Wave to differentiate
them from more overtly punk bands. Punk rock did not sell many records
preferring to remain loyal to small labels like Stiff Records but they were a
huge influence on generations to come in movements like
gothic rock,
industrial,
hardcore punk,
grunge,
nu metal, thrash metal,
gothic metal, and
new wave among others.
Silver Dragon Records Presents the History of Rock
Thank
you for your interest in
Houston Rock Record Label Silver Dragon Records.
Below is some information on our record label and website catering to rock fans
and musicians.
Houston Rock Record Label Silver Dragon Records
presents
rock band Lazarus X
and the their latest independent CD release
Weapon of Love.
Lazarus X's combines determined hard hitting rock with haunting and soulful
melodies which struck a chord with many
underground
rock music fans. Some fans received a preview of the
publicity photos
and underground
rock CD WOL at a
rooftop listening
party a day before it was released
and the response was amazing. Check out
Rock Band Lazarus X
merchandise like
The Weapon of Love Tour T-Shirt and
the
Weapon of Love CD
or preview one of their songs by
downloading a
free rock mp3.
Silver Dragon Records is a
Houston
rock record label
producing and promoting experimental, hard rock and alternative metal albums. We
provide 24 bit digital recording in a
quiet
private studio
free of distractions. If you think we are the label for you
submit a
demo to our record label and let us tell you how we can help your
band with
artist promotion,
publicity, marketing, recording, mastering, help in marketing a demo or shopping
for a major label deal. We are happy to offer musicians our online resources
like our musicians
toolkit for recording audio, our
museum of rock
music history and our
Houston rock music resource.
Thank you for checking out
music history or rock genres and sub-genres and enjoy the above links.
SDR Home
-
Free Mp3s -
Lazarus X
- CDS / T shirts
Copyright 2003 Lazarus X - Silver Dragon
Records - All rights reserved.
