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Chapter 16 – Punk Rock and New Wave
“The reason punk felt so good was: not only was music really powerful and exciting then… but it
was a great weapon to attack everyone else with” Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Early Influences on the Development of Punk
Garage bands of the mid-sixtiesAnger at America as expressed by Beat poets and writers,
Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, and others
The Velvet Underground’s songs about drug addiction, sadomasochism, and other problems in street life in New YorkLou Reed, singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboard playerJohn Cale, piano, viola, and bassSterling Morrison, guitaristMaureen Tucker, drummer
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Listening Guide“Heroin” by the Velvet Underground (1966)Tempo: Beginning and ending, 72 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Gradual speeding up to 96 beats per minute, then A sections that speed up again to 144 beats per minute
The introduction opens with a pulse on the half-beats (eighth notes)Form: Three 30-bar A sections, then a final A extended to over double that length and
includes chaotic sound effects created by electric guitars and electric violaFeatures: Even beat subdivisions
No backbeatThe bass drum is hit on beat four of each bar in the introduction, then at irregular
intervals and on half-beats to support the intensity of the faster sectionsThe rhythm guitar enters on the first beat of the second bar of the introduction,
then plays on the first beat of every bar, alternating between two chordsLyrics: The song portrays the effect heroin has on the addict, sung from the addict’s
point of view. Increases in tempo express exhilaration as the drug enters his body. The addict knows the drug has caused his alienation from society, and knows it will kill him, but he cannot do without it.
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Garage Bands from DetroitMC5 (the Motor City Five) formed in 1965
Fast throbbing pulse of the guitar and/or bass and much distortionShouted vocals expressing angerPlayed to those who rioted at the 1968 Democratic Convention in ChicagoFirst album, Kick Out the Jams (1969), criticized and refused airplay for obscene lyrics
Iggy and the Stooges, formed in 1967Iggy Pop acted out disgust with society by hitting and cutting himself, sometimes called the Godfather of Punk
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New York PunkThe New York Dolls, formed in 1971
Combined loud, raw, rebellious, pounding sound of MC5 and Stooges with Rolling Stones-like rhythm and blues and added makeup and dress of glitter movementSongs about “bad” girls, drugs, and New York street life, but with less serious attitude than the MC5 or Iggy Pop
CBGB’s night clubTelevisionRichard HellPatti SmithThe Ramones
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Listening Guide“Personality Crisis” by the New York Dolls (1973)Tempo: 155 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: 16-bar instrumental introduction
Honky-tonk style piano at bar 4AABA, with 8-bar periods, the B sections repeat lyrics about the frustrations of having a “personality crisis.”A short break (silence) occurs between the second and third of the AABA sections
Features: Evenly subdivided beats throb a pulse at double the speed of the basic beatThe fast pulse is created by the guitar, chords on the piano, and the drummer on cymbalsBackbeat on the bass drumVocals are shouted almost in a monotone
Lyrics: A person who plays a role dictated by society during the day, goes wild at night in an effort to shake off the day’s frustrations
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British PunkMid-seventies economic problems in BritainWithout jobs or money to spend, young people could not relate to
grandiose rock acts by progressive or glitter bandsAttitude of anger, frustration, violence, against government,
monarchy, society, and fashionRaw, pounding music of the New York Dolls and the Ramones
represented the music young people wanted1976 - Malcolm McLaren formed the Sex Pistols to meet the needSex Pistols
Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), vocalsSteve Jones, guitarGlen Matlock, bass – replaced by Sid Vicious (John Ritchie), bassPaul Cook, drums
Highly emotional anger in music and lyrics
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Listening Guide“God Save the Queen” by the Sex Pistols (1977)Tempo: 145 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar, with each beat subdivided
into two equal parts creating a constant, throbbing pulseForm: Begins with a 4-bar vamp followed by an 8-bar instrumental
introduction8-bar periods in AABA song form with added C sectionsA sections begin with the song’s titleC periods based on repetitions of words from earlier B periods
Features: The fast pulse is kept by guitar, drums, and loud, repeated bass notesBackbeat in drumsGuitar heavily distorted creating a mood of anarchy and disorderMost vocals shouted in monotone by Johnny Rotten, with groups joining in at C sections
Lyrics: Depressed view of Britain’s economy, social system, and government, emphasizing that there is no hope for anything positive in the future
Charts: British hits, #2
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Other British Punk BandsThe Damned, formed by McLaren in 1976The Clash
Joe Strummer, vocals and guitarMick Jones, guitarPaul Simonon, bassTory Crimes (Terry Chimes), drums
Songs zeroed in on central causes of punk rebellion:Youth unemployment Anti-immigrant racismPolice Brutality
Billy Idol with Generation XX-Ray SpexThe Buzzcocks
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Hard-core Punk on the West CoastPunk in California inspired by tour of the Sex Pistols and the DamnedAttitudes of California punks different from British because the economies were
differentCalifornia bands expressed anger about:
Ex-hippie parents’ worn-out or sold out valuesU.S. government’s involvement in politics of Asian and South American countriesU.S. government’s support of oppressive regime in South Africa
The Dead Kennedys formed in San Francisco in 1978Lead singer, Eric Boucher, named himself Jello Biafra when he heard that the U.S. government had sent Jell-O to starving people of Biafra, Africa, calling it foreign aid
Punk bands from L.A.:Black FlagXThe GermsCatholic Disciplines
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Listening Guide“Kill the Poor” by the Dead Kennedys (1980)Tempo: 96 beats per minute in introduction, then sudden jump to 208 beats
per minute, 4 beats per barForm: Slow introduction with vocals intoned by Biafra is one 8-bar period,
then one 7-bar periodA 4-bar instrumental vamp establishes a faster tempoSeries of A and B periods separated by instrumental vamps, the B periods feature constant repetition of “kill the poor”
Features: Even beat subdivisionsRepeated bass note pulse in fast sectionMore complex harmonies than in much other punk
Lyrics: Satirical praise for the U.S. government’s development of a bomb that can kill people while leaving property undamaged, with the suggestion that money wasted on welfare could be saved by using the bomb to kill poor people
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American New WavePunk too violent and anti-establishment to appeal to a mass audience,
but punk’s energy was welcomePunk’s more commercial alternative called New Wave and often
included:Throbbing half-beat pulseMonotone vocalsEmotional alienation from problems
Devo formed in 1975 with name that represented “de-evolution” of mankind in the modern world
Other New Wave bands of late seventies:Talking HeadsBlondieThe CarsThe B-52’s
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Listening Guide“Jocko Homo” by Devo (1976)Tempo: First section, 240 beats per minute, 7 beats per bar
Second section, 120 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm and Features:
An electronic introduction has 4 bars of 7 beats accented as 4+3, then 4 bars of 7 beats accented as 3+4, establishing a feeling of instability
Even beat subdivisionsNo backbeat accentedMonotone vocals with group exchange declaring that members of Devo are not
humanParts of the introduction are repeated between the second and third vocal periodsSome repetition of instrumental introduction at different pitch levels, each one
higher than the previous onePulsating repeated notes in bass in slower 4-beat meterThe fast 7-bar pattern returns at the end
Lyrics: The coldness of the modern world has had a dehumanizing effect on mankind
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British New WavePub Rock an early seventies English back-to-the-roots of rock
movementPubs are small and forced return to intimate performances when
progressive and glitter ones had become large, theatrical extravaganzas
Pub Rock performers became the basis of British New Wave style:Elvis CostelloBrinsley SchwarzDucks DeluxeRockpileRumourNick Lowe
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Listening Guide“Radio Radio” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1978)Tempo: 144 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: 8-bar instrumental introduction made up of a 2-bar pattern
played four timesAABCAAB, A’s are 8 bars, B’s are 16 bars, C is 8 bars
Features: Bass uses repeated notes to establish a fast (eighth-note) pulse
Strong backbeat in drums during A sections, no back beat in B sectionsContrasting C section in a minor key, at a higher pitch, with a lighter vocal tone quality and organ in background
Lyrics: Dependence of some teens on the radio for entertainment and advice and a bitterness toward people who control radio
Charts: British hits, #29
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Discussion Questions
Punk is angry music, and it is the most effective when the anger is directed at some particular issue, person, or practice. Could a positive message, a religious one, for example, be delivered in a punk style and be taken seriously?
What about new wave, which is generally fairly alienated from emotion? Could it express a positive message effectively?
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