Have You Heard the New That You're Dead?
When you hear of punk rock music, a few things that come to mind may be violent images of mosh pits, fishnet material clinging to bodies that are packed together like sardines, and sweat bleeding off of every living thing in the room. On the elevated stage, the greasy-haired and pale-faced lead singer gives a demonic screech into the microphone pressed against his lips. Behind him, the bassist and lead guitarist are battling each other in a match of quick fingers. The band is playing heavily, and the audience experiences nothing but the pure satisfaction of raving for the sake of raving. This is the stereotype of a punk rock concert.
The stereotype for punk rock itself? Punk rock music used to be a unique new form of modern music, one that mainstream music fans and musicians themselves could enjoy and appreciate. But today, the common assumption about the punk rock genre is that it has morphed from a revolutionary and worthwhile genre of music into mainstream, monotonous bands that contribute nothing to society.
In other words, punk rock is dead.
This, however, is far from the truth. While there are many examples of artists that have put the bad label on the genre (Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, the list of the mediocre could go on,) there are far more instances of artists that have contributed the same amount of worthwhile material to the musical world than those decades earlier did when the movement first began. All in all, punk rock music is, in fact, a noteworthy genre of music.
Sing it for the Boys, Sing it for the Girls
First of all, what does the word “noteworthy” actually entail? According to Dictionary.com, the word “noteworthy” is defined as “worthy of notice or attention; notable; remarkable,” (Dictionary.com.) This leaves the task of determining what exactly is “noteworthy” a hard one to accomplish. To answer this question pertaining to the punk rock category, we must look at reasons by which someone would judge it.
Though it should not play a large contributing factor to its true worth, in music, influence certainly comes into play when considering whether a type of music is noteworthy. Certainly, punk rock music is not going to be as mainstream as pop/contemporary. Punk rock, however, has managed to find its own niche in the musical world, with bands gathering up followings that push the border of religious.
Most of these fans lie within the adolescent demographic. For example, when the New Jersey-based punk rock group My Chemical Romance did an early streaming of their newest album “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys” on YouTube.com, the album received over 10,000 views in the first two days. The statistics also read that most of those viewing were in the age range of thirteen to seventeen, the other main group being between eighteen to twenty-four (YouTube.)
Most of punk rock’s appeal to the younger generation lies within the rebellious nature of genre. “Since the concept of 'adolescence' began, young people have been marginalized,” says Leonisa Ardizzone. Young people are expected to act a certain way, stick to a certain set of guidelines that are viewed as acceptable. Because of this, the select few tend to fight against the conformity. Punk rock bands were the ones to cater to this need to defy the normal. The musical gene is a huge departure from the “Top 40” that dominates the younger demographic, providing them with a means of channeling the rebel within themselves.
Do You Know Your Enemy?
Popularity is a contributor, but there are larger issues to attend to when trying to analyze punk’s noteworthiness. One of the greatest and most credible ways of looking at the genre is by observing what modern music critics have to say about the artists that are a part of this group. Magazines like Rolling Stone, Spin, NME, and Kerrang! all devote themselves to analyzing newly-released punk rock albums and can be considered “noteworthy” themselves. Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield commended one of the biggest punk artists today, Green Day, on their latest album “21st Century Breakdown,” not only saying that it is a break from their own style, but a break from “bad” punk musical style, in general. “They [Green Day] revitalize the whole idea of big-deal rock stars with something to say about the real world. They're keeping promises they never even made, promises left behind by all the high-minded Nineties bands that fell apart along the way,” Sheffield says.
Green Day
Going back to My Chemical Romance’s release of “Danger Days,” James Montgomery of MTV.com commended the punk band on delving away from their own black style of music, one that has become stereotypical of them and of punk itself. However, he also praises them on sticking to the original values of punk rock music, at the same time. “It's about the fast and loose joy of rock and roll played very loudly, the spiritual release of shouting along to your favorite song, the swagger of gunslingers and motorcycle gangs…” says Montgomery. “It is loud, brash, unafraid and unapologetic, a four-on-the-floor, pedal-to-the-metal, bullets-in-the-chamber, bugs-on-the-windshield thrill ride. And, in a lot of ways, it's the most American rock album in recent memory.”
MCR (2004)
MCR (2010)
My Generation is Zero
These qualities are certainly something to consider when attempting to determine how noteworthy punk rock music is. One of the more defining qualities of this—one that most musicians and musical critics would agree with—would be the artists’ ability to observe their predecessors and take good “punk tactics” from them, while also evolving them and creating their own. Some of the most acclaimed artists of the twenty-first century have been said to echo those who were trailblazers in the rock world, while still holding their own unique style. Sheffield agrees with this while analyzing Green Day: “All over [“21st Century Breakdown,”] Green Day combines punk thrash with their newfound love of classic-rock grandiosity — one moment they're quoting Bikini Kill, the next they're wailing away like it's the final minute of ‘Jungleland.’ The title tune is a multipart opus that pays cheeky tribute to a host of 1970s-heartland radio anthems — Queen's ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ Sweet's ‘Fox on the Run,’ Mott the Hoople's ‘All the Young Dudes.’”
Montgomery also acknowledges My Chemical Romance’s love of all things classic punk: “It [“Danger Days”] takes its cues from the MC5, the ham-fisted proto-punk of the Stooges…and even the cocksure swagger of Guns N' Roses.”
My Chemical Romance front man and head songwriter, Gerard Way, also expressed his love of these classic acts when he met Iggy Pop (of the aforementioned Stooges) for the first time. “Seeing bands like Thursday and At the Drive-In, they were…channeling the Stooges, channeling the MC5… I guess all I added to that was eyeliner. I wanted to challenge gender, abuse the audience…I think I got that from Iggy [Pop,]” says Way.
Iggy and the Stooges
Don't Want to be a Top 40 Idiot
Some believe that punk rock is dead. Others believe that it never thrived to begin with. But just like the energy of a live performance of a punk rock band, punk rock music brings a certain charge to the musical world that people throughout the world cannot deny. Whether you ask the public, the critics, or the artists themselves, there is admittedly more than just a heavy beat and three chord tunes. There is a philosophy. Though punk rock may have gotten a bad name from stereotypically awful bands in the past, there is no denying that there are several bands of this genre that are the frontrunners of contemporary music. These artists will be making what will be rock and roll in the future. To quote Montgomery about My Chemical Romance—and perhaps, every other punk rock group of its caliber-- “’We're an American band,’ they seem to be shouting, echoing the sentiments of Grand Funk Railroad. ‘From the future.’”
Source Citations
"Noteworthy | Define Noteworthy at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/noteworthy>.
"YouTube - Dr. Death Defying Listening Party - MCR - Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeUa6FcEJQY>.
Sheffield, Rob. "21st Century Breakdown by Green Day | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews." Rolling Stone | Music News, Reviews, Photos, Videos, Interviews and More. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7910/38805>.
Montgomery, James. "My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: Born In The USA - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV." New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649447/20101006/my_chemical_romance.jhtml>.
Ardizzone, Leonisa. "Yelling and listening: youth culture, punk rock, and power." Taboo 9.2 (2005): 49+. General OneFile. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.
Greenwald, Andy. "Gerard Way meets Iggy Pop: with his wild onstage antics and upcoming 'Sleazy Detroit Rock' album, my chemical romance's frontman is a true disciple of the stooges. 'I didn't want the girls to want to F--K me, I wanted the straight guys to want to F--K me,' way says. 'I got that from Iggy.'." SPIN Magazine Apr. 2010: 72+. General OneFile. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.
