I'm jumping on my soap box

I recently read an article that was posted on Yahoo music. The article is based on the idea that punk rock is dead and has been since the late 70's. You can read the article HERE but be careful. It might make blood pour out of your ears out of confusion.

I don't even know where to begin. I'll start with the idea that punk rock died "once the Sex Pistols imploded and The Clash's Joe Strummer had the temerity to kick Mick Jones out of the band." Well first of all, these events happened 5 years apart. The Sex Pistols "imploded" after their US tour in 1978 and Mick Jones was kicked out of The Clash in 1983. There's a big span of time in between there. If punk rock really died in 1978 then that means The Ramones classics like "Kkk Took My Baby Away" and "I Wanna Be Sedated" are not punk. Bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Circle Jerks, just to name a few, are then also not punk rock according to the author of this article. At this point in the article, Mr. Shawn Amos already lost my attention but I read on to see if he had any other points.

He claims that another death blow to punk rock is the creation of Hot Topic in 1988. That may be true to an extent. I saw my first Hot Topic in about 1998 when I was in high school. I'll admit, I was upset when I saw it. This was a bit before bands were selling merch online and you could only get shirts for your favorite local band at their shows. Hot Topic changed that and it didn't sit well with me. It was like a rite of passage to go to the show and get a shirt. Now these other kids were buying them thinking it would make them "cool." That being said, no real punk rock fans actually shop at Hot Topic. Yes, I have purchased a couple things from the store like hair dye and a Harry Potter jacket (yes I'm a nerd) but I don't buy into the image that they sell. In fact, the last time I was at a Hot Topic I think the only punk rock related thing in the store that I saw was a Ramones t-shirt on the wall. I will reiterate the point...real punk rock fans do not shop at Hot Topic for their image.

Here's a great line from the article. "Punk was born on the street but is now bred in major label board rooms with clothing manufacturer tie-ins." The author has it right on one end. The Ramones started what we know as punk rock from the streets of New York City. The Sex Pistols were all but created by a guy that owned a clothing store. Hypocrisy?

That's enough commentary on the first two paragraphs of the article. The author then goes on to use specific bands as examples for his point. Green Day, Avril Lavigne, Blink 182, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. If I see the phrase "punk is dead" and then see names like Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan, the article is irrelevant. A person that considers Avril, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan to be punk in any way shape or form has no clue about the music in general. Sure, the mainstream audience may put those artists into some form of punk category but that doesn't make them punk rock. I remember hearing that Avril Lavigne was punk rock because of her looks. I'm fairly certain that I have never seen anyone wearing socks on their hands at a punk rock concert. Green Day and Blink 182 will get a pass from me. Green Day has matured and evolved and at this point probably are not a punk band but they do have a strong history. Blink 182 is a similar situation. They capitalized on their success but their roots are based in the pop punk world from the mid 90's.

An argument that I have made countless times is that album sales do not determine what style of music you play. Green Day has sold millions of records but they got their start at the same place where many bands have. They toured the country in a van while playing basements of peoples houses. They finally got a shot and took it. I have no issue with that. Rise Against and AFI are in similar situations currently.

To summarize...the author of this article is full of shit. If he really thinks punk rock is dead, I suggest he takes some time to listen to bands like Teenage Bottlerocket, The Grit, and Banner Pilot to start. There are plenty of artists around that still embody the idea of punk rock. You just have to find them and not wait for MTV to tell you who they are.

Ok, I'm done.