Was Wondering...

...how often you guys still listen to punk rock? The genre is, of course, a part of the very fabric of TP, and their influence on new wave and metal genres is a laudable achievement. However, there is a common perception (or misperception) that punk should be relegated to trips down memory lane rather than a genre to immerse oneself in during their later years.

Recently I have become conscious of the fact that I am listening to more punk lately than I ever did when I was in my late teens/ twenties. This could be the third stage of middle age psychosis, although, I don't believe I've developed a rebellious streak dissimilar to the one I've always had. And the current socio-political climate isn't the (main) cause of this new found appetite; it seems the sheer simplicity of it all rests upon the impression that punk music just seems so refreshing right now, as if three chords is the new style in fashion.

Punk has and will always be a social and political phenomenon, a subversive attitude towards institutions and the moral decay that inevitably disseminates from them. Not that the movement was necessarily moral in it's own right, some of it was simply rebellion for the sake of rebellion. Moreover, the style of music itself shares certain properties with avant-garde music: it's self-congratulatory and risk free, the antithesis of what "good music" should be, according to the establishment.

And the genre hasn't gone away either. More contemporary bands are evolving the music, even mixing in other genres within the punk structure itself. The subgenres that have emerged (electro-punk, riot grrrl, dance-punk et al.) hopefully signal that the main genre is not going away anytime soon.

I don't know exactly what younger generations (Gen Z and Gen Alpha in particular) feel about punk rock, I really don't have access to their opinions, although my nephew's band does incorporate some elements into their music. From what I understand, Z and Alpha aren't very rebellious, at least in a clothes-held - together - by - pins sort of way...I don't think the late Malcolm McLaren would have been able to shamelessly schmooze these kids out of their hard-earned cash.

With pop/hiphop music being so dominant in American culture right now (and I'm not a hater, I find myself imbibing on a regular basis), I do wonder what the future holds for punk and it's immediacy in our music culture. My sets will continue to feature the classic and contemporary punk going forward, I pledge this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2025 02:00AM by Fleeingbandit.

On a fairly frequent basis, actually: frequent listens are FIDLAR, Amyl & The Sniffers, The Menzingers, PUP, The Chats, The Rumkicks - I don't think Fontaines D.C. would count, but Idles might. Keep in mind that what looks "popular" in the U.S. is generally dictated by I Heart Media, Sirus/XM, Billboard, etc., whereas there's still a lot of punk coming out in the the UK, Australia, and Asia that flies under the radar.

I hear a lot of it each week, when preparing my show. Like any genre, a listener who explores it will find the good, the bad and the mediocre. If I can find something good, it goes on my show. I just got a pitch from a Finnish band called Slicerrr that'll be in my setlist on Friday.

As for the classics of punk that set my world on fire -- well, if they have some melody, they hold up to my ears. As much acclaim as Black Flag's Damaged received, I don't remember the last time I played it. I can take only so much of Henry's tuneless bellowing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2025 06:19AM by Delvin.

I don't listen to much contemporary punk, although I do return to '70s and '80s punk. There's a paradox in embracing a style created in the '70s as a form of rebellion. Although I like Lambrini Girls, I'm not very interested in music that would've sounded exactly the same were it made 30 or 40 years. Punk as a sonic and political attitude seems better expressed in 2025 by taking other forms, like the electronic African artists on Uganda's Hakuna Kulala label.

Benefits' forthcoming CONSTANT NOISE is a good example; they started off as a band a la Idles, then their guitarist left and they became a duo. Their debut album sounded like an electronic version of '80s anarcho-punk, but CONSTANT NOISE is far more subtle and the more shouty songs are the weakest. Can spoken word backed by an organ be punk?

" There's a paradox in embracing a style created in the '70s as a form of rebellion. " Punk is (as they say), big in Japan. Lots of current bands. But the Japanese are not rebellious people. It's important in their society for everyone to come together as a whole. So it's weird how Japanese punk SOUNDS angry, and they can look tough in their leather and shades, but the songs are all about cats, and food. Y'all are probably familiar with Shonen Knife - that's a fairly typical approach.

So much of pop-punk in recent years/decades isn't rebellious either. It's like bubblegum, the new Archies (for the record, I'm fine with bubblegum). Emo is basically just the new sensitive singer-songwriter attitude, but dressed up to look punk.

But yeah, in recent years, I've def gone back to more primitive rock. The artsy stuff that so blew my mind as a yoof may still be great, but all that Eno/Fripp/Kate Bush etc seems too remote for what I want in the world now. A decade or so ago I noticed that society seemed to be getting increasingly angry, uptight, un sexy, uncool. So the right antidote seemed like The Cramps, the Ramones, as well as related surf, garage, rockabilly, etc. That's how I've steered my radio adventures. You'll note I'm going more for the "lowbrow" aesthetic rather than the screaming fury of hardcore, as sadly anger has been co-opted by the bad guys. In a world of Brady Bunch-bland Starland Vocal Band "It's Morning In America" insipidness, anger was incredibly powerful, just a shocking contrast. But then morons like AM talk radio stole the language of "danger" and "rebellion" and applied it to their oppressive culture. I totally get why some bands still go for angry, and I do find that the occasional blast of hardcore is still nice to clear out the cobwebs, but nowadays it can sometimes just feel like noise shouting at other noise.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2025 01:56PM by MrFab.

Have (hate) to admit I don’t listen to as much punk as I did 45 years ago. And when I do, it’s usually to relisten to bands/albums I know… not to seek out the current punk that I know is out there.

Now it’s more I ‘appreciate it more than I listen to it’ which must sound as lame as it feels to type it.

But I have heard and liked several of the acts BCE mentioned, so maybe there’s hope for me. And, like Mr Fab, sometimes that adrenaline is just what you need in the moment.

Only old school UK punk. Primarily The Damned, and The Stranglers if you consider them punk. The Clash every once in a blue moon. Otherwise, I still listen to tons of post-punk.

Mainly the same as bip and zoo. Will listen to the odd 80s US hardcore song on rare occasions (Circle Jerks, Descendents, DKs) mainly for sentimental reasons. Can only take a song or two of angry atonal caterwauling before I get tired of being yelled at. That said I'm still discovering new post-punk music that I really like, 40 years after the fact.

I was never too big on punk. It was definitely needed; the musical enema that unblocked the pipes from the worst of the 70s excesses. I have lotsa Stranglers, Dickies, Ramones, Rezillos. The Sex Pistols album and the first Dead Kennedys. I probably play The Rezillos and The Dickies most these days. The day-glo side of things. Of all the new stuff I review on the blog, the only Punk material that really caught my ear was The Twistettes.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

I still listen to punk (and it's progeny - I'm never quite sure about lines of demarcation) a lot. My playlists usually include plenty of The Jam, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Mekons, The Damned, Television, The Ramones, Husker Du, The Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Elvis Costello, Devo, The Modern Lovers, Ezra Furman, Idles, Wednesday and on and on.