The history of punk culture sees punk originating in America and Britain at about the same time in the mid-1970s. As with many subcultures (philosophical movements in which people group together based on a shared ideology that differs from the cultural norm), the punk movement began among teens and young adults rebelling against the political and social norms established by previous generations.
Punk philosophy grew out of the 1960s hippie movement, manipulating their message of peace and idealism with an expression of frustration and anger at what punks saw as a societal decline into an apocalypse, political failure, and nihilism, the belief that life has no point and efforts to create meaning will fail.
In America, the bands who invented punk rock came from southern Michigan, like MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges, and from New York, like Patti Smith, and the Ramones. At the same time, British punk bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Damned shocked British audiences with anarchic messages and political protests.
Though American punk bands led the charge, the British created stylistic trends in fashion with a DIY philosophy that bucked the system. Punk clothing tended toward dark colors, tears, skinny jeans, modified tartans, leather jackets, belts, and accessories, and the iconic implementation of the safety pin as a fashion accessory.
Many of the anarcho-punk bands advocated living communally in abandoned buildings called squats. This practice continues into the present day among the more dedicated and politically radical factions of punk subculture.
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Punk Music
The history of punk music represents a departure from the rock and roll of the 50s and 60s. Punk music is generally loud, and has a fast tempo, simple melodies, distorted power chords, and shouted vocals. Punk bands use few instruments, one or two electric guitars, a bass, and a drum kit. Early punk originated in Britain, Michigan, and New York in the mid-1970s.
The lyrics to punk songs are often straightforward commentaries on social and political issues and the realities of urban life. They tend toward the nihilistic, with disappointment and frustration at how the political leaders in the 60s, 70s, and later handle social justice issues.
There are several well-known early punk bands who invented punk rock:
MC5, out of Michigan, got its start in the late 1960s playing music with politically charged messages. Their style bridged the gap between the psychedelic rock of the 1960s and the punk rock styles of the 1970s.
Iggy Pop and the Stooges, also from Michigan, produced music with nihilistic themes and a sense of chaos.
The Ramones rocketed to punk popularity due to the dedication of the club CBGB in showcasing punk and new wave bands. The Ramones made short fast songs like "Judy is a Punk" and "I Wanna be Your Boyfriend."
The Clash, a British band founded in 1976, created their own version of punk by incorporating musical styles from militant reggae to jazz and hip hop into their sound. Their songs dealt with their experience of inner-city London, drugs, racism, violence, and police problems. Their first album included hit songs like "White Riot" and "London's Burning."
The Sex Pistols' website claims that although some people say punk started in New York, they were truly the first punks, and all who came after them were punk rock. They rocked mainstream British culture with their songs "God Save the Queen," an alternative national anthem, and "Anarchy in the UK."
Fashion in Punk Culture
In the 1970s, punk fashion took hold in Britain much more quickly than it did in America. The origins of punk fashion are often credited to Vivienne Westwood, who ran a boutique clothing shop called Sex. She sold ripped t-shirts and clothing with provocative and shocking designs. There is some irony in buying punk clothing, since the punk movement and punk culture advocated creating an individual look by modifying existing clothing, often sourced from charity shops.
Punks in the 70s and 80s tended to wear skinny, ripped jeans, often held together with safety pins, leather accessories like dog collars and bondage gear, motorcycle jackets, tartans, and modified t-shirts. Facial piercings increased in popularity as did vibrant hair colors. Hairstyles also broke social norms, with mohawks, shaved heads, and shaggy haircuts. Shoes tended to be boots with thick soles like Doc Martens.
Punk fashion was a deliberate statement in opposition to the ordered regularity of a society that punks saw as failing.
Punk Subcultures
Like other cultural movements, the punk subculture spread out from music and fashion into visual art, dance, literature, film, and lifestyle changes.
Visual Art of Punk
Like fashion and clothing, the visual arts became an area where punk artists could popularize the messages of nihilism, social injustice, and unequal distribution of wealth. Art forms that became popular in punk culture reflect the same DIY spirit as punk fashion. Collage became one of punk's major art forms for creating album covers, posters, and zines. Punk designs include letters cut from magazines, black and white copies cut, pasted, and manipulated, stamped images, stencils, screen printing, and lino printing. Manipulating popular images from the media allowed punk artists to communicate their anger, frustration with society, and feelings of disenfranchisement.
Jamie Reid is a British punk artist known for his creation of visual messages expressing outrage at feeling controlled by societal norms and the government. Reid created album covers for the Sex Pistols, and his artwork is exhibited in the New York Museum of Modern art and the Tate Gallery in London.
Punk Dance
As with other forms of music, punk developed its own form of dance. Punk dance is not a stylized formal dance with specific steps and customary graces. Instead, dancing at a punk concert is mosh or slam dancing in which fans jump up and down and deliberately crash into each other. Stage diving also became popular at punk concerts. Fans and band members jump from the stage into the crowd. Crowd members catch the stage diver and hold them over their heads, passing them back away from the stage.
Although the outsider may see a mosh pit as unmitigated violence and chaos, there are actually unspoken rules dancers should follow. The first and most important is to pick people up when they fall down. No one wants to trample other concertgoers just to enjoy the music. Other "rules" include holding items found on the floor above head level, so that the person who lost them can find them, and that fighting is a definite no-go. On the other hand, it is a mosh pit, and participants are likely to leave with at least a couple of bruises.
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