Drumwolf says punk rock is dead!

[drumwolf]

I grew up on bands like Ramones, Pistols, Damned, Subhumans, GBH, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Husker Du, and Bad Brains.

But punk rock died in the early '90s, and it was replaced by cheesy, awful Orange County/Epitaph bands like NOFX or Offspring who were basically nothing more than Backstreet Boys playing thrash beats. Now we have the Warped Tour pop-punk genre, which is nothing but Bay City Rollers with tattoos instead of flares.

[Droopy]

1. Punk is dead! Long live punk!

[ugarte]

2. I pledge allegiance to the flag

Long may it wave.

[ghostsofgiants]

3. It's not dead, it just evolved

Maybe you don't like what it's evolved into, but to say it's dead is ignorant. There is a lot of good punk out there.

[drumwolf]

11. That was my point, that I don't like what it's evolved into.

I dislike the music that is considered punk rock by contemporary standards, and I stand by the general sentiments that I expressed in my original post.

But I wasn't being completely serious when I said that "real" punk is "dead." The only reason I chose the particular wording of my thread title was to make a copycat thread. You've seen the other threads in the Lounge that say "Tweety says rock is dead" and "Sylvester says disco is dead."

I can't stand most current punk, but at the same time, I've also outgrown the particular point in my life where I would have said in all seriousness that this band or style is "real punk rock" and that other band/style isn't "real." That's as pointless as trying to define what a "real" feminist is, or a "real" libertarian, or a "real" Christian, for example.

[ghostsofgiants]

12. Ahh, I didn't realize this was a copycat thread

I didn't see the others.

[DBoon]

4. Late 70's punk was a broad movement of rebellion

Many different bands were "punk". What they had in common was angry rebellion and alienation.

Punk wasn't a style of music. It wasn't a formula.

What's called punk now is a very narrow musical style, that hasn't changed in 15 years.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

5. I was involved in the punk scene at the height of

Epitaph bands and many others popularity. I also have a great appreciation for the bands you mentioned above. I do not enjoy the direction "punk" has taken with the pop punk and emo. I will always cherish those years I was involved in the scene and still listen to the music of the bands but have since moved on.

Instead of worrying about the death of punk we who enjoy and appreciate the music of The Ramones, The Clash, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Fugazi, etc. should try to get those younger than us interested. So much of what I enjoyed was the thrill of the live show but even if that opportunity isn't available to kids today they can still appreciate the music.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. Exactly. Though personally I wouldn't write off emo, either

There's a lot of good emo out there. There's a lot of shit as well, but that can be said for any genre.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

8. I was around for the beginning of the rise of emo

and have never been able to stand it. That's just my opinion. I find some pop punk to be fun to listen to, like pop of any genre, but haven't found an emo band I like.

[ghostsofgiants]

9. Fair enough

[jpgray]

6. The new Fall album was pretty good

But punk/rock is like a modern-day Frank Sinatra--it's not too rebellious these days.

[Swede]

10. Social tension spawns great music.

Right now there is tension.