How Punk Rock Is Revolutionizing America: And Why America Needs It

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Nicholas Curci

Nova Southeastern University

Author Note

Nicholas Curci, Humanities Department, Nova Southeastern University

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nicholas Curci,

Humanities Department, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314.

Contact: nc937@nova.edu

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Abstract

As the millennium continues, a revolution is taking place. What was once confined to the

basements and garages of middle class suburbia has now found itself back onto the mainstage of

the American music industry. Pioneered by rebels such as The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones,

and Social Distortion, punk rock is experiencing a modern revolution in light of political turmoil

in the United States. No longer hidden deep within the confines of basement-bars, dim night

clubs, and burned cassette tapes, punk rock and the millennials that are spearheading it have

given grunge a voice again. Punk rock is not simply loud music, teenage angst, or contempt of

the system. Punk rock is an art form, it is a movement, and it is the spirit of unity and rebellion.

Like anything else, punk rock experiences rises and falls, it undergoes change, and it has a voice.

This research aims to identify and analyze the re-birth of punk and the political movements that

it brands, and why the United States needs it.

Keywords: Socialism, America, Punk Rock, Revolution, United States, Movement, Millennials

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Introduction

I am not punk. I am not a punker, a grunger, a burnout, or a rebel without a cause. My

hair is not blue, I have no tattoos, the only leather I own is a pair of rainbow sandals. I mean

hell, I am a straight A student with an athletic scholarship, I am the textbook example of what

Hitler and Reagan wanted in their nation’s youth. But I would be lying if I said that punk rock

didn’t have a role in shaping who I am. Deep inside the confines of an iTunes library littered

with superficial hipster noise lies a hidden shrine of the hymns that shaped my identity. Artwork

by The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Social Distortion, Black Flag, Fugazi, The Clash, the Buzzcocks,

and Reagan Youth were able to sound their way through my ears and into my head. Lyrics

preaching anarchy, anti-fascism, rebellion, and the search for truth took root and manifested

quickly into the ideologies that shaped not how the world perceived I, but how I perceived the

world.

Framework ideas that can be quickly sidelined as “teenage angst”, “uneducated

soreness”, and “causeless rebellion” are what create the structure for the increasingly structure-

less world of Punk Rock. But slowed down, when the noise is taken away, when all that’s left is

the bare bones of a cry for help known as lyrics, is where punk rock shows its true beauty. What

started out as an outlet for anger, frustration, and disappointment in a system that seemed to

encompass all aspects of life quickly turned into a sociopolitical counter-culture movement.

Modern warfare, the civil rights migration, and the antidisestablishmentarianism movement in

modern religion were all at the forefront of the lyrics being screamed from the hearts of these

brave new world philosophers.

Now it is true, the music of punk rock has been sufficiently dead since the late 1970’s,

however, its definition still rings true in modern millennia. Today, the sound of punk rock is

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drastically different. Today, punk is found in all genres of music, from country, to rap, to R&B

Soul. The grunge guitars of the 70’s have given way to MacBook synthesizers, “The Dead

Kennedys” have given way to “Migos”, and “Spook City USA” has been re–tuned into “Fuck

Donald Trump”. Women’s suffrage, Civil Rights, and the Environmental Protection movements

of the 1900’s have transformed into the Women’s Marches, Black Lives Matter, and the

D.A.P.L. movements that we see today. Punk rock did not die, it did not vanish, it transformed.

Shaped in darkness and highlighted by turmoil, the music of the people is also the voice of the

people. Driven by the youth, the idea of punk spreads through scandal and injustice. Punk rock

delivers new energy, new hope, and new rebellion into a world dominated by power and greed.

And after a 40-year lull, punk rock is back on the mainstage, ready to revolutionize the United

States once again, and thankfully, just in time. This study investigates the new rise of Punk in

America, the Millennials that are spearheading it, and how music plays an integral role in this

new revolution.

Opposing Views

While remaining within the full scope of this research, it is necessary to recognize that

Punk may not be a factor at all in the revolution of the United States. Those who believe this

would argue that since the term “Punk” is such a recent term, then it could only be applied to the

recent span of time. This would negate punk from having an influence on any of the American

revolutions of the past (The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, and similar political uprisings).

Those would also argue that there is a strict separation of government from public affairs in the

United States and that neither have an impact on each other.

Literature Review

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In order to conduct research into Punk Rock and its relation to the United States, we must

first examine the origin of Punk. In Nick Crossley’s book “Networks of Sound, Style, and

Subversion” he divulges into an extensive encyclopedic journey into the basements of London

nightclubs in the late 1960’s, ground zero in the world of punk. What began as simple political

satire quickly turned into a movement. “Punk was a catalyst, battering a hole in the walls of the

popular music world, creating opportunities and encouraging widespread participation”

(Crossley, 2015, p.3). This “participation” quickly turned into a movement. Records from

English bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Buzzcocks quickly found themselves

in the ears of American listeners who were on the heels of a presidential assassination, the verge

of a presidential impeachment, and hungry for rebellion. These listeners were the youth of their