Created by

Nina Maltseva

ТМПА1-07-03

Irkutsk, 2010

Punk Rock in the USA More than music

A juvenile delinquent – несовершеннолетний преступник. Decipher – расшифровать, разгадать, распутывать. Grass-roots – местный. Immature – недоразвитый, незрелый. Relentlessly - неумолимо, непреклонно . Misfit - человек, плохо приспособленный к окружающим

условиям; неприспособленный к жизни человек. Stud – заклёпка. Mohawk – ирокез. Ethos – характер, дух. Confrontational – противоборствующий, противостоящий. Deriding stupidity – Высмеивающий глупость. Dissent – разногласие, инакомыслие. Homogenization – усреднение.

Vocabulary

The term punk initially referred to

the scene in general, more than the

sound itself. Punk has often been

called the "cutting edge" of modern

rock & roll; it has clearly been the most fully developed subculture of youth rebellion in America since the late 1970s. Punk is really a state of mind, an attitude, a world-view. It is from the earlier sense of the word "Punk" as "a young outlaw, a juvenile delinquent, a young hooligan or troublemaker" that this term came to be applied to a musical genre, starting in New York at the end of 1975 and spreading around the world since then. But the history of Punk includes much more than music; there have also been punk art, punk film, punk video, punk comics, punk athletics, punk fashion, punk politics, and even punk comedians.

Prologue

Punk is basically grass-roots minimalist and anti-elitist. Bands produce cassettes, records, and CDs, selling them by themselves locally or through small independent record companies and distributors.

Punk arose at New York City's small but legendary club, CBGB's, at the end of 1975; spread to England and California in 1976, Canada, Australia, and other parts of America in 1977, and grew internationally in the 1980s. Many of its values and features have diffused into other musical genres, from synthesizer electro-pop to to rap.

Punk Pock

Musically, Punk tends to be fast loud, raw, and extremely energetic, structured, at its best when performed live, and typically featuring bands with a singer, 1 or 2 guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. However, there are many variants on this description and exceptions are not uncommon. Lyrics tend to be very important though they often cannot be deciphered without a text. Places to perform are small clubs, rented halls, private parties, and occasionally theaters.

Punk Rock

US Punk scene is the result of the great impact of the UK Punk scene on the globe. Although, rather immature and definitely less controversial than their UK partners. In the US, punk was fundamentally diverse than the UK scene in regards to violence and outburst. The US political system at the time was rather affecting the African Americans of the urban America than the socially acceptable white kids in the suburbs. Elementary musical knowledge reflected in brilliantly simplistic, yet astonishingly dominant lyrics of

The Ramones provided a generation with

minimalist catchy punk sounds. At the same

time, US punk groups introduced musical

speed and song brevity to start their revolution.

The most significant groups of the US : Punk Scene are:

US Scene Review

The Ramones (1970s)

New York Dolls (1970s)

Blondie (mid-1970s)

Sonic Youth (1980s)

Green Day(1990s)

Punk vibrates around a creative, dynamic tension between the values of community and of individualism. It is a society of non-conformists, encouraged to "Think for yourself!". It is a very colorful collection of alienated youths with often conflicting viewpoints, struggling to strengthen their common bonds and preserve their differences at the same time. Punk is relentlessly realistic, yet idealistic. It is a home for self-chosen misfits and other social outcasts which must constantly deal with the few who would abuse its great freedom. Punk is a rebellious resistance to all forms of homogenization.

Punk Subculture

It is characterized by the color black, leather jackets, studs, chains, heavy work boots, and short or unusual (such as mohawk, spiked, and skinhead) haircuts. Sometimes the hair is dyed unusual colors. Band stickers and punk slogans distinguish punk leather jackets from those of other subcultures. Appearances, however, are diverse, not

uniform: clothes do not make a punk. American Punk has developed its own totally uncensored media network including cartoons, photos of bands, drawings, collages, politics, articles critical of society

and so on.

Punk Fashion

In general Punk seems to have these characteristics: It is shocking; aggressive, confrontational; skeptical, especially of authority, romance, the mass media, business, school; politically aware, anti-military; anti-"rock star"; stressing intelligent thinking and deriding stupidity; welcoming bisexuals, gays, and sexual experimentation generally; hostile to established religions but sometimes deeply spiritual; disorganized and spontaneous; honest.

Punk Ethos

Punks may not be able to change the world, but are dedicated to creating an island of freedom, a community of dissent and experimentation. It is about advocating kids to not wait to be told what to do, but make life up for themselves, it is about trying to get people to use their imaginations again, it is about not being perfect. The real creativity came out of making a mess.

Prologue

Questions for discussion1. Why do you think it was New York where

American punk first appeared ?2. Does a real image of a punk, described

earlier, correspond with your own view? 3. Discuss if punk’s values are of current

interest in modern society.4. Can we call punk a stage in cultural

development of the US?5. Make up dialogs, using new vocabulary.