Punk Rock
Is punk music an expression of counter-cultural angst?
How did Punk Music come to be?
Proto-Punk
¨The Witch¨ by The Sonics
Lyrics
Who's new in town
Well, you better watch out now
Or she'll put you down
'Cause she's an evil chick
Say she's the witch
She got-a long black hair
And a big black car
I know what you're thinking
But you won't get far
She gonna make you itch
'Cause she's the witch
Well she walks around late at night
Most other people sleepin' tight
If you hear her knocking on your door
You better say "get away", wahoo
Whoa, baby, oh no, hoo
Now you know the score
'Cause I set you straight
But you better be careful
Before it's too late
She gonna make you itch
'Cause she's the witch
Ow
Ow, she walks around late at night
Most other people sleepin' tight
If you hear her knocking on your door
You better say "get away"
Wah-ooh
Well you know you win
Say don't you know
And do you remember
That I told you so
Gonna do you in
'Cause she's the witch
Ahoo, ahoo
The Roar of the ´70s
¨California Über Alles¨ by the Dead Kennedys
I am Governor Jerry Brown
My aura smiles and never frowns
Soon I will be president
Carter power will soon go 'way
I will be Führer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will meditate in school
Your kids will meditate in school
California Über Alles
California Über Alles
Über Alles California
Über Alles California
Zen fascists will control you
Hundred percent natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face
Close your eyes, can't happen here
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The hippies won't come back, you say
Mellow out or you will pay
Mellow out or you will pay
California Über Alles
California Über Alles
Über Alles California
Über Alles California
Now it is nineteen eighty-four
Knock-knock at your front door
It's the suede denim secret police
They have come for your uncool niece
Come quietly to the camp
You'd look nice as a drawstring lamp
Don't you worry, it's only a shower
For your clothes, here's a pretty flower
Die on organic poison gas
Serpent's egg's already hatched
You will croak, you little clown
When you mess with President Brown
When you mess with President Brown
California Über Alles
California Über Alles
Über Alles California
Über Alles California
Punk Music in the ´80s
¨TV Party¨ by Black Flag
TV party tonight
TV party tonight
TV party tonight
TV party tonight!
We're gonna have a TV party tonight
All right!
We're gonna have a TV party, all right
Tonight!
We've got nothing better to do
Than watch TV and have a couple of brews
Everybody's gonna hang out here tonight
All right!
We'll pass out on the couch, all right
Tonight!
We've got nothing better to do
Than watch TV and have a couple of brews
Don't talk about anything else
We don't want to know
We're dedicated to our favorite shows
That's incredible!
Hill Street Blues!
Dallas!
Fridays!
We sit glued to the TV set all night
And every night
Why go into the outside world at all
It's such a fright
We've got nothing better to do
Than watch TV and have a couple of brews
TV news shows
What it's like out there
It's a…
Comparing the Grunge movement to the Punk movement
Why is Punk music so white?
There’s no denying that the US punk scene was, in part, driven by the anger and isolation felt by the white working class. But punk music is not the sole property of whiteness, even though to people of this generation may appear that way at first glance. The historical image of punk has been whitewashed; when you think of punk’s history, it’s bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash and The Ramones that immediately spring to mind. But the ‘spirit’ of punk is present, and has always been present, in music made by people of color too, from the Bad Brains to Polystyrene of the X-Ray Spex. In many ways, black people were the original counter-cultural figures, racially excluded from a domineering white society, often not by choice. The perceived whiteness of punk may also be the reason why black people have often felt isolated from so-called ‘alternative’ culture. However the recent Afro-Punk movement , has inspired both a cult following and a successful festival, exposing the beating heart of alternative black culture to the mainstream, as well as the more indistinct links between black and punk culture.
Everybody's only in it for themselves
When the fact of the matter is they just don't care
To extend a helping hand to anyone else
So tell me why, did you have to lie
And try to make me all confused about the you. S. A.
When the fact of the matter is you just don't care
To comprehend or understand a single word I say
I don't want to have I go against I
Oh let me tell you
The same old story, no factual glory
I against I against I against I
And I say I don't like it, and I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I
Almighty watching, almighty watching
I against I against I against I
And I say I don't like it, and I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I
I said who's gonna tell the youth about the drugs
About the drugs, mugs, bugs, and the police thugs
About the rotten stinkin' rackets and the fantasies
Around the nation, around the nations
Oh baby what you gonna do
I tell you the truth is looking straight at you
I got a brass continental with a 300 Z, two color T. V. S, now a video too
I got a rest home in Jamaica for my fantasty, for my family
Around the nation
Around the nations
What you gonna do.