#Punk history

[prettyfr0mtheback]

Hole by Edward Colver 1990

[safety-pin-punk]

Punk History Resources: Vol 2

This is a compilation of resources found and recommended by various alternative bloggers, each of whom are credited for their contributions. This started because I was getting SO MANY asks about resources such as videos, books, and websites to use to learn about punk history. Admittedly, my own list wasn't that long, so I thought it was best to reach out to some others and share their knowledge with everyone. Now, I'm hoping to make this an annual occurrence, where we all share our knowledge with each other. So thank you again to everyone who helped out with this!!

Link to Volume 1

@whatamibutabutteredcroissant @unfriendlybat @ghost--in-a-machine @mushroomjar

YOUTUBE:

Part 1 of The Decline of Western Civilization (It recieved mixed reception from people in the scene) (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

Part 3 of The Decline of Western Civilization (Focuses on the gutter-punks of 90s LA) (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

BOOKS:

Some Wear Leather Some Wear Lace by Andi Harriman and Marloes Bontje (It's mostly goth/horror rock/post punk/deathrock but I feel like it's adjacent enough for it to merit a read) (unfriendlybat)

Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag by Stevie Chick (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

Kids of the Black Hole: Punk Rock in Postsuburban California by Dewar Macleod (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk by Marc Spitz and Brendan Mullen (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

Left of The Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons by David Ensminger (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth by John Robb (A comprehensive history of Goth) (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

Punk Zines by Eddie Piller and Steve Rowland (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

The High Desert by James Spooner ( A graphic novel memoir of how the authro came into the scene) (ghost--in-a-machine)

Let Fury Have The Hour by Antonio D'Ambrosio (About the band The Clash) (anonymous submission)

MOVIES / DOCUMENTARIES:

Masque (A 10 minute doc about the Masque club in LA) (whatamibutabutteredcroissant)

ARTICLES:

History of Anarcho-Punk and Peace Punk (mushroomjar)

Late 80s and Early 90s Puerto Rico Hardcore Punk (mushroomjar)

The Jewish History of Punk (mushroomjar)

Japan's Impact on Punk Culture (mushroomjar)

The Forgotten Story of Pure Hell, America's First Black Punk Band (mushroomjar)

The Black Punk Pioneers Who Made Music History (mushroomjar)

Why Poly Styrene is Punk's Great Lost Icon (mushroomjar)

Alternative to Alternatives: The Black Grrrls Riot Ignored (mushroomjar)

Abandoning The Ear? Punk and Deaf Convergences Part II (mushroomjar)

Race, Anarchy, and Punk Rock: The Impact of Cultural Boundaries Within The Anarchist Movement (mushroomjar)

Street Medic Handbook (safety-pin-punk)

ZINES:

Sticking To It (safety-pin-punk)

So You Say You Want An Insurrection (safety-pin-punk)

All Power To The People (safety-pin-punk)

How to Survive a Felony Trial: Keeping Your Head up through the Worst of It (safety-pin-punk)

Collectives: Anarchy Against The Mass (safety-pin-punk)

Social War on Stolen Native Land: Anarchist Contributions (safety-pin-punk)

A Civilian's Guide to Direct Action (safety-pin-punk)

Critical Thinking as Anarchist Weapon (safety-pin-punk)

Security Culture: A Handbook for Activists (safety-pin-punk)

Betrayal: A Critical Analysis of Rape Culture in Anarchist Subcultures (safety-pin-punk)

ETC:

The Anarcho-Stencilism Subreddit (people upload stencils for others to use for free) (mushroomjar)

I would love to make a Vol. 3 post next year, so if you have resources and want to share, PLEASE message me!! (Preferably DMs)

[creepiestdoll]

An Austin based public access music video channel was around in the 90’s called “Raw Time” it consisted of a rotating panel of personalities, some of which, i and others take heavy fashion inspiration from, like ‘TinaRina’ also known as ‘Tiffy’. Despite being 16, she became one of the most popular hosts due to her quickwitted and sarcastic comebacks she totally used to kick creeps asses! Nothing much is known about ‘TinaRina’ or her actual identity/whereabouts today as she has allegedly addressed in the past that she doesn’t wish for the media to find her, nonetheless she will go down in mallgoth/punk fashion history as an icon imo! may she be doing well in life wherever she and the other hosts are.

[batwynn]

When your punk, queer mom lived/survived through a chunk of the AIDs crisis, and then decided to put this pin on your baby romper just to watch the little old bigots who had a problem with me being a (assigned) girl while wearing blue simply vanish upon reading.

[victusinveritas]

"Wide Lovely Eyes" is about looking into the eyes of Henry Rollins during the signing of the Goth-Punk Accords in the Batcave.

[socialist-microwave-laser]

"hobie's crime is that he's british" okay but no you don't get it bc hobie's accent situates him alongside the black punks and anarchists in great britain (mostly from/descended from jamaica) and he's embodying a very important part of punk and antifascist and anarchist and antiracist history and it's important to me that you all know that

[thisdayinmusic]

28th October 1977

Sex Pistols release their first and last studio album Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols.

[e-von-dahl]

The British punk scene was started by women, immigrants, and queers. Almost every band consisted of working class minorities, including the biggest and most influential bands in the entire scene.

Anyone who tries to claim otherwise doesn’t know anything about the history of the subculture, or who founded it. Anyone who tries to claim “[x right-wing movement] is the new punk” is an ignorant piece of shit.

[the-cricket-chirps]

Judith Calson, cover photograph, Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vedgetables, Photo c. 1979, (Album cover 1980)

The official black cover, (L) and orange cover, (R) originally released without consent from the band.

[The photo of a row of police car in flames was taken by Judith Calson on May 21, 1979, documenting the ‘White Night Riots’, the San Francisco queer community’s response to the minimal sentencing of murderer Dan White, after he assassinated openly gay city official Harvey Milk of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and San Francisco’s Mayor, George Moscone.]

Winston Smith (b. May 27, 1952) American graphic artist & illustrator, Dead Kennedys Logo, c. 1979/80

Fallout Productions, Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (Collage poster)

1980

Album artwork: Annie Horwood Artwork [Poster Assistance] Winston Smith, Artwork [Poster], Sleeve [Sleeve Concept] Jello Biafra

[polyamorouspunk]

Bomb City: The Case of Brian Deneke

The Movie:

“Bomb City is a 2017 American crime film… based on the death of Brian Deneke, the homicide that revealed the cultural clash between the local jocks and the punk community in Amarillo, Texas, and the result from the subsequent court case sparked debate over injustice in the American judicial system.

On December 12, 1997, 19-year-old American punk musician musician Brian Theodore Deneke (March 9, 1978 – December 12, 1997) was killed in a deliberate hit and run attack in Amarillo, Texas, by 17-year-old Dustin Camp. Camp was later found guilty of voluntary vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to ten years' probation and a $10,000 fine, which was later dropped. In 2001, he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for a variety of parole violations. He was paroled under supervision on July 31, 2006. The homicide and the outcome of the trial against Camp galvanized the punk community and raised accusations about the social tolerance of the Texan city. This film is about the events of that night and some of what led up to it, as well as the way the police, the adults and the community re - murdered Brian Deneke, victim blaming and police terrorizing one group of children whilst looking the other way of another group of children for the same actions.

Brian Deneke is a 19 year old from Amarillo, Texas, who is into punk and the punk rock subculture. He is a local DIY promoter who books touring punk rock bands at a small run down venue. In this conservative town, there are many teenagers who actively follow punk and they routinely clashed with the jocks from one of the local high school's football team: The Tascosa Rebels.”

[Source]

History:

“Deneke was remembered by his friends as being friendly, charismatic and seen as a leader in local punk circles, helping to organize many local musical events. Nicknamed "Sunshine", Deneke had a spiked mohawk hairstyle and often wore a black leather jacket with a studded leather collar and sported homemade tattoos. He was also an enthusiastic skateboarder, and it was this interest which drew him into the punk subculture.

Like other punks in Amarillo, Deneke had suffered frequent harassment and bullying, and acquired nicknames such as "Punch" and "Fist Magnet" by tormentors. His parents were against their son's lifestyle, and warned him of possible prejudice from people in Amarillo.

Deneke was an artist for Stanley Marsh 3's art project, Dynamite Museum, which consisted of handmade mock road signs scattered across Amarillo city streets. Deneke was also the vocalist of punk rock group The White Slave Traders, and aspired to become a famous punk rock musician.

On December 12, 1997, 19-year-old American punk musician Brian Theodore Deneke (March 9, 1978 – December 12, 1997) was killed in a deliberate hit and run attack in Amarillo, Texas, by 17-year-old Dustin Camp… Camp was later found guilty of voluntary vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to ten years' probation and a $10,000 fine, which was later dropped. In 2001, he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for a variety of parole violations. He was paroled under supervision on July 31, 2006.

The homicide and the outcome of the trial against Camp galvanized the punk community and raised accusations about the social tolerance of the Texan city.

Pop Culture:

Numerous tribute gigs and concerts have been made for Deneke since his death. In 2000, The Unity Through Diversity festival was held in Amarillo featuring The Undead and Mike Watt, amongst other bands. The tenth anniversary of his death demonstrated the ongoing significance of his death to the punk community with 25 concerts being held on December 8, 2007 across the United States and Canada, including concerts in New York City, Chicago, Seattle and five concerts across Texas including a two-day event in Amarillo. Half of the money raised by these events went to National Organization for Parents of Murdered Children, the other half to various anti prejudice causes.

Deneke's death has been the subject of a number of songs, including:

“Brian’s Song” by Fifteen

“Brain’s Song” by The Code

“Tears on a Pillow (in Amarillo)” by The Undead

“Fortunes of War” by Dropkick Murphys

“Sunshine Fist Magnet” by Against All Authorities

“A Punk Killed” and “Murdered” by Total Chaos

“American Justice Is All A Lie” by Career Soldiers

“Sunshine” by The Swellers

“Hail” by Hammell on Trial

“Punk Song” by LambBed TW FOR FLASHING LIGHTS!!!”

[Source]

Marilyn Manson has also discussed this case before.

Case Coverage:

Skate Park:

Originally, a petition to rename a local skatepark in Amarillo was passed around. Today, the person has changed to build a new skate park and name it after Brian.

[Article 1]

[Article 2]

[Article 3]

[News Clip]

[safety-pin-punk]

Punk History Resources: Vol. 1

This is a compilation of resources found and recommended by various alternative bloggers, each of whom are credited for their contributions. This started because I was getting SO MANY asks about resources such as videos, books, and websites to use to learn about punk history. Admittedly, my own list isn't that long, so I thought it was best to reach out to some others and share their knowledge with everyone. So thank you again to everyone who helped out with this!!

@raggedyfink @lovintheaesthetic @punk-patches @my-chemical-ratz

YOUTUBE:

Punk/Goth Docs Playlist on Youtube (77 Videos) (raggedyfink)

1991 The Year Punk broke (lovintheaesthetic)

She's Real (Worse Than Queer) (lovintheaesthetic)

Don't Need You, The Herstory of Riot Grrrl (lovintheaesthetic)

The Long Queer History of Punk (lovintheaesthetic)

The very Black History of Punk Music (lovintheaesthetic)

Punk's Not Dead (lovintheaesthetic)

BOOKS:

Phantoms the Rise of La Deathrock (raggedyfink)

Too Tough to Love by Roxy Ramone (raggedyfink)

I Slept With Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh (raggedyfink)

Please Kill Me, The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Rock (punk-patches & lovintheaesthetic)

Encyclopedia of Punk (punk-patches)

The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho-Punk, 1980-1984 (my-chemical-ratz)

The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk (my-chemical-ratz)

Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (lovintheaesthetic & my-chemical-ratz)

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout (my-chemical-ratz)

Punk Rock: An Oral History (my-chemical-ratz)

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution (my-chemical-ratz)

Queercore: Queer Punk Media Subculture (my-chemical-ratz)

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution: An Oral History (my-chemical-ratz)

Spider-Punk: Banned in D.C.(this doesnt have anything to do with history but i love spider punk so) (my-chemical-ratz)

MOVIES / DOCUMENTARIES:

The Punk Singer (punk-patches)

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution (punk-patches)

Punk's Not Dead (punk-patches)

Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band (punk-patches)

Queercore: How To Punk a Revolution (my-chemical-ratz)

Afropunk (my-chemical-ratz)

Punk in Africa (my-chemical-ratz)

A Band Called Death (my-chemical-ratz)) (link courtesy of @wrench-p, but is unavailable to watch in the US))

ARTICLES:

(some of these are found on JSTOR, but you can sign up for a free 100 articles per month)

Muslim Punk in an Alt-Right Era (my-chemical-ratz)

A History of Punk (my-chemical-ratz)

Jews, Punk and the Holocaust: From the Velvet Underground to the Ramones: The Jewish-American Story (my-chemical-ratz)

What is Punk and Why Did It Scare People So Much? (my-chemical-ratz)

An Account of a South African Punk Rock Music Collection (my-chemical-ratz)

Queer As Punk: A Guide To LGBTQIA+ Punk (my-chemical-ratz)

Did Punk Matter?: Analyzing the Practices of a Youth Subculture During the 1980s (my-chemical-ratz)

ZINES:

(some may not be *about* history, but they’re a huge part of it!)

Punk Planet archive (my-chemical-ratz & safety-pin-punk)

Queer Zine archive (I personally like the anon boy collection haha) (my-chemical-ratz)

Archive.org in general has a lot of zines :) (my-chemical-ratz)

ETC:

(These aren’t about punk history itself but could be helpful in learning about the politics that go with being punk)

A History of Punk from 1976-78: A Free Online Course from the University of Reading (safety-pin-punk)

Punk History Reading List (safety-pin-punk)

Essays about socialism (my-chemical-ratz)

Leftism 101 (my-chemical-ratz)

Rights as an American protester (my-chemical-ratz)

Social justice classes (I’m really excited to go through these!!) (my-chemical-ratz)

Stamped (my-chemical-ratz)

How To Be An Anti-Racist (my-chemical-ratz)

Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm (my-chemical-ratz)

I would love to make a Vol. 2 post at some point in the future, so if you have resources and want to share, PLEASE message me!!

[cripple-punk-dad]

you have probably been asked this a billion times already, but do you have any punk music recs? I feel I do a search myself I get more watered down stuff.

Yeah! My favorite punk punk band is Pure Hell, I fucking love their stuff, my favorite album is noise addiction (idc if people say that's basic it's a good album lol) and also Streetlight Manifesto if you want something a little more funky. SLM is technically a ska punk band. I love ska punk but it's def not for everybody. if you do wanna listen I recommend their album The Hands That Thieve or Everything Goes Numb

Those are my favorites. But the 70's-80's (Don't jump down my throat I'm listing these off the top of my head) classics are bands like the Misfits, Green Day, Joy Division, Rancid, The Descendents, NOFX, The Romones etc. I can't vouch for the behavior of a lot of these bands and the artists in them, pretty much all of them have a history of being racist/ok with Nazis/bigoted in general so take with that what you will, these are just the bands that most people seem to agree are punk rock.

There's like three different generalized eras in punk, you've got proto-punk (60's-70's) (the stooges, the pink faeries etc) which were garage bands that played stuff that kind of hinted at punk before it became commercially recognized, there's early punk (early 70's) which was when punk started gaining momentum, then you've punk rock (80's- late 90's-arguably present day) and after that a whole bunch of sub-genres popped up and mixed together an all that. That being said I'm not a music historian and this is all very generalized information that I've heard and gotten from the internet. This is also focused on the U.S and the U.K. I hope this is somewhat educational, as always do your own research and all that, rock on!

[the-witchhunter]

So a little bit of punk history

Did punk start in America or England?

Yes

Okay this is something that people will debate but it’s actually really hard to answer because that means deciding who the first punk band was and that’s a contentious topic

The real answer is that the American and UK punk scenes evolved separately from each other. It’s not a matter of it started in one country and crossed over, but it was two separate scenes that came about roughly the same time out of similar influences and global events. Punk was in a lot of ways a reaction to the failure of the cultural revolution of the 60’s, a lot of the protopunk bands toured and played with each other or attended the same shows.

So regardless of whoever produced the first “true punk band” the existence of punk was already independently evolving in each location. There’s actually evidence of a similar music scene occurring in a part of Mexico at the same time independent of the others

The real interesting thing is that American punk and UK punk crossbred to create punk as we know it. From the style, to the music, the combination of the two created punk. American bands toured Britain and British bands toured the US and both influenced the other scene.

Punk as we know it didn’t exist until after the two scenes interbred

So yeah, it’s debatable which country produced a punk band first, and there’s a chance it was Mexico, but that’s because it was separately being invented around the same time. And any attempt to claim “first” is made complicated by a shit ton of briefly together bands in these music scenes. I can’t emphasize how tricky this is because influential bands existed for a couple months before breaking up without any recordings of their music, but then spurred on another wave of performers

[theinternetisaweboflies]

Rest in peace, Dame Westwood (8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022)

[theloosepage]

Riot Grrrl no. 1, Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe, July 1991

photo: Fales Library NYU / Feminist Press

[burningchandelier]

How to be Punk; A History

My very talented and wonderful nibling has a birthday coming up and is, perhaps, doing a bit of soulsearching. With that, they wrote to ask me "how to be punk" and I wrote this back. It is longer than they probably bargained for, but anything less would have been a disservice. Please enjoy.

The most important thing about Punk is that it is a frame of mind. A person can be the most teeshirt-and-jeans-wearing, "normal"-looking person on the planet, but if they are devoted to justice for the underdog, anticapitalism, antiracism, feminism, queer rights, and genuinely making the world a better place through action and resistance, then that person is punk as hell.

Punk is about resisting authority, first and foremost. It is about taking labels that are used to hurt us and reclaiming them, turning them into our armor. It is about making your own impact in the world in the way that suits you best, and yes, of course, to a degree it is about fashion and music.

The best way to know where you are going is to know where you have been. You have to understand the history, at least a little, in order to know why things are the way they are.

With that in mind, here is a summary of the past fifty years of Punk. I hope I do okay.

The very word "Punk" itself used to be a slur used against effeminate men perceived to be gay. Back in the early 1970s, a bunch of dudes in England got called punks for wearing tight clothes with lots of safety pins. They turned around and said "Yeah, I am a punk. What are you going to do about it?"

This caught on incredibly fast.

Originally, the punk scene-- that of the early 70s, was a response to the commercialization of Rock and Roll, which had become pretty hack and overproduced, and to Disco, which was just taking off and was not appealing to everyone (I'll get into that another day).

Early punk (Sometimes called "Proto-punk" by people who want to sound like they know a lot, but it's pretentious) is a lot more accessible than people expect it to be!

Check out Iggy Pop and the Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and the New York Dolls for a taste of this era.

But WHAT ABOUT THE SEX PISTOLS!?

Okay. So here's the thing. The sex pistols are garbage. Yes, you have got to listen to Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen in order to know anything about anything when it comes to punk, but they were essentially an advertisement for a clothing shop, so they were automatically shills.

The important thing is that they created the Punk Aesthetic that we still know and love. Johnny Rotten was and still is a right-wing piece of shit. Sid Vicious was a garbage human. They wore clothes and made one good album, but I'm willing to admit that they did matter.

So then what happened?

Well, let me introduce you to Joey, Johnny, Dee dee, and Tommy.

The Ramones are where Punk took off and it took off like a bat outta hell.

You still see Ramones logos everywhere and that's for a good reason. It's because they rock. In this era, you also got Black Flag, The Misfits, The Dead Kennedys, The Damned, the list goes on and on (and it's awesome).

The 80s were a tumultuous time, politically and Punk got harder, more intense, more guitar-driven, and the bands had figured out that all you needed to make some incredible music was 4 chords and a message.

Sometimes, that message was awesome. Sometimes that message was total bullshit. Sometimes that message wasn't really a message as much as it was "I want to wreck stuff" but that's still kind of a message, isn't it?

It is worth noting that during this time, Punk was fighting for it's identity and a lot of that fighting included issues of race and gender-- some bands were total fascists and some bands were all about making fun of them. So you have to kind of understand that in order to get what was going on.

This is part of why fashion is SO important in the punk scene. Everything, everything, everything, down to the color of your shoelaces used to mean something specific. A bandana in your pocket could mean how you liked to have sex (and if you were Queer). Your boots could signal if you were a Nazi. Sometimes it wasn't a big deal, but sometimes it was important.

Wait. Nazi Punks?

Oh yeah, honey. There were a lot of Nazi punks in the scene, especially back in the 80s and 90s. That's the whole reason for the song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off."

We had to fight really hard, and continue to fight hard, to keep them out. They have no business in our spaces and in our music.

This sounds bad. I'm not sure if I want to be punk.

That's fair, but here's the thing. Being punk is so so so incredibly worth it (remember that part at the beginning about being anti-authority?) The community and the music and the beliefs are why we do it.

To be fair, if you've made it this far, you're probably in too deep already. Good for you! Keep going!

Okay, so then what happened after the 80s? Well, I know you can count, so you know what's coming next.

Punk took a backseat in the 90s. Grunge happened and Punk became kind of passe. The diehards were out there, slugging it out as always, but things had calmed down. In the West, politics weren't as dire, things seemed kind of hopeful. Punk was still important, but it wasn't what people needed.

That said, there was a rise in more pop-punk sounds that are, let's face it, fucking delightful. This is where we get Greenday, as well as a slew of bands that came into their own a little later on.

This was also the time of Riot Grrrl music, which I will happily tell you all about another time, but for now, we can say that it was the incredibly necessary, fantastic response to the "boys only" sign that alternative music, especially punk, had been hanging for years.

It is also worth noting that Punk, just like most art, is full of hypocrites who don't see their own blind spots. This doesn't make people bad, it just makes them people.

Punk has a long, crappy tradition of ignoring the contributions of women/people perceived as women and people of color even though it would not exist without those individuals.

It is getting much better, but god damn, it has taken a long time.

So then the 2000s happened and shit. went. nuts.

It doesn't really matter if you call it punk, pop-punk, emo, mall-goth, or anything else, but the alternative music scene of the 2000s went off like a bomb and there was no stopping it.

Like the 80s, the political landscape of the West was toxic to self expression, especially for young people who were suffering under the Bush Administration, the culture war against gay marriage, and the real-life wars that America had taken to the Middle East. Punk came back with a vengeance because the kids were not alright.

This punk, though? This punk was a different kind of fun.

This punk was the kind of punk where you were a lot less likely to get beat up and a lot more likely to get a sunburn at Warped Tour.

Making Punk accessible to more people with a broader appeal meant. for some, a watered down message, but for many others it meant being exposed to those messages at all. In my opinion, a net positive.

Did the DIY ethos of anticapitalism that bands like Thursday and My Chemical Romance, and even Fall Out Boy touted in their early days survive being brought to MTV? You have to be the judge of that. I am probably too biased to say, myself.

Into the future we go!

I believe that you need about 15-20 years to reflect on history with a proper degree of distance. It is too hard to pick out trends and important events when you're examining something that happened five to ten years ago, so I won't get into the 2010s or '20s yet.

Just remember that Punk has staying power and adaptability.

So. What makes a person punk? That's up to you.