What is punk? Punk began as a form of rebellion against mainstream popular culture and music in the 1970’s. Pop music started as a sort of symbol of hope in the 1950’s with rock and roll after World War II, but by the 1970’s this hopeful feeling started to die when the music industry had become led by businesspeople rather than musicians. During the musical rebellion, of the 1970’s, “punks” made their own music and culture, which was just loud and simple since they didn’t have much money or musical training. The two bands that started off this divergence were MC5 and The Stooges in 1965, and after these two groups the band The Ramones really popularized punk music. Their songs were very short with loud yet simple chords, following true punk fashion.

Soon, punk began to find itself in the United Kingdom, due to British designer Malcom McLaren, who was visiting New York City at the time. He brought back the ideas of punk design to the UK with him, and also brought forth and managed The Sex Pistols. They were the first ever British punk band; they first performed in 1975 and released their first single “Anarchy in the UK” in 1976. The song was then banned from British daytime radio for being believed to have encouraged youngsters to rebel against the government.

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood also inspired DIY handmade punk clothes, since materials like plastic, leather, and plaid wool (which they used in their fashion) was very expensive. People also used makeup, hairstyles, clothing, and patches to show their rebellion. Along with DIY music, fashion, and art, fanzines and flyers were very popular as well. They are a huge part of punk culture. 

Some consider punk to have died off in the 80’s when people began to make more money, since there was less to rebel against, but many punk and new wave bands are still rocking today with bands like Blondie, Iggy Pop, or Bad Religion. All in all, punk is not dead. Punk is alive and thriving off of the youth it was born from. To find punk, get out and look for it, get involved with the scene, and get rocking!!