Music which, contrary to popular belief, does not need to be loud, nor fast to fit under the said moniker. Rooted in the avant-garde of The Velvet Underground, who despite drawing influences from free jazz and swing-- elements that would later be thrown out of the mix when "punk" came to full rise-- laid the blueprint for the aesthetic of what is now considered the "punk" mentality; defying rock conventions and creating music that was messy, unpolished, and primitive. VU's experimentalism carried into their live performances, in which they would commonly improvise songs (an art predocessors, and fellow New Yorkers Television would incorperate into live shows), as well as create feedback and distortion noises.
After VU, The Stooges, a Michigan-based proto-punk band, formed and followed the same philosophy. Led by the infamous Iggy Pop, The Stooges may have "rocked" far harder than VU, but nontheless had VU's flare for being controversial; not only did they follow in VU's footsteps by writing lyrics that blatantly reference drugs and sex, but putting on bizarre live shows, in which Pop would perform shirtless and cut himself, as well as cover his body in
peanut butter. While VU managed to gain slight acclaim with their ties to artist Andy Warhol, at the time of their existence, The Stooges enjoyed virtually no success, and barely sold any records at all.
Shortly after The Stooges, The
New York Dolls formed, not only adding to the blueprint for what would shortly thereafter become punk rock, but doing the same for "glam" rock; dressing in drag, drawing influence from the likes of David Bowie, and playing 'Stones-inspired songs that would eventually influence the likes of
Motley Crue and Poison. However, like VU and The Stooges before them, they never broke through to the mainstream audience, and disbanded in the early seventies.
Now the year was 1974; bands like The Ramones,
Talking Heads, and Television began to form. The Ramones, whose music was influenced by bubble gum and girl pop as much as it was by the likes of the
Rolling Stones, played fast, catchy, simplistic three-chord rock songs, and became the first punk band to play regularly at CBGB's.
Talking Heads, whose music was more diverse and pop-sounding, soon followed suit, as did Television, whose music was more complex and jazzy, as well as having featured revolutionary, dueling guitars. Richard Hell & the Voidoids were also key players in what is now considered the CBGB's New York punk scene.
While The Ramones and
Talking Heads would enjoy lasting careers, and, in the case of
Talking Heads, critical acclaim and mainstream success, Television self-destructed after two studio albums, including the classic "Marquee Moon." While similar fate struck many other New York punk bands, their influence nontheless managed to stretch across the pond, hitting England. Bands like The Buzzcocks, The Clash, Evlis Costello & the Attractions, and The Sex Pistols began sprouting up, and the punk rock scene reached it's height between 1977 and 1978.
While The Clash and Elvis Costello both managed successful careers well into the eighties, the death of Sid Vicious essentially marked the end of punk, and as bands like Joy Division, and Echo & the Bunnymen began what would become the post-punk movement.
So when you kids are trashing The Strokes for being overhyped and trendy, despite taking a page from the likes of VU and Television, who had more to do with punk rock than
Operation Ivy ever did, and when you're calling New Found Glory "too soft," when
Talking Heads seldom used distortion, just remember-- none of
the bullshit you listen to is punk rock, so
it doesn't matter!
