"What about Punk Rock?": Views on Punk

Last week I watched the documentary "Punk's Not Dead," a 2007 documentary on the past 30 years of Punk. The film did an exellent job with their wide range of interviewees, from Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day to Animal of Anti-Nowhere League. Throughout the film the focus was on what Punk is about, one part of the film brought up a thought whether bands like Sum 41, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and the rest are punk bands, based on the fact that they have roots in punk or still hold to the "punk ideals/mentality." Before I go too much into this I would like to state that I'm not trying to put these bands down nor do I have anything against them. I still enjoy Green Day and Sum 41.

The reason why the bands labeled as "pop-punk (popular punk)" were interviewed for the film is because they are often ridiculed and bashed by people who listen to "true" punk, because they are all over the radio and TV and/or "sold out."

The aspect of "selling out" was also covered in the film, and most of the stuff stated I agreed with. Essentially everybody has "sold out" if you buy anything then you have "sold out." The type of "selling out" that I think everyone agrees is idiotic and wrong is changing your image, music, or ideals to sell more, that is in fact selling out.

The main point that these bands utilized is that they hold to the essential ideals/mentality of punk rock: individuality, non-conformity, staying true to yourself, DIY, etc... I agree that those things are the ideals/mentality of punk; however, I would propose that punk has more to it than that. The reason why is that those ideals are shared by artists,bands, and individuals who don't play or know about punk or its derivatives; say hip-hop, rap, country, jazz, or any form of music. If punk is solely based on ideals then almost everybody is a punk. Even lyrical content is insignificant in this matter, for all music genre's lyrics are about the same things: good times, friends and family, touring/road songs, politics, romance, partying, being against something, etc... For instance, take a Gangsta rap song and replace the word "nigga" with "punk/x" or "skins" and you have a street punk song and vice versa.

So what is punk? From what I've come to realized punk is essentially a style of music that has various sub-genres, coalesced with the ideals mentioned above, true raw underground music, a worldwide community of individuals tired of the same old garbage with a common interest in the music style and its derivatives, welcoming ANYONE who steps foot inside (that isn't promoting hatred)with open arms. Almost anybody who has been to a punk (and its derivatives) shows can tell you that the thing that separates punk from any other concerts/shows is the fact that there is no barrier(both physically and mentally) between the band and the crowd--no celebrities, no stars, just people like you and me. And there are many bands that have put a lot into the worldwide scene for so long that they simply cannot play those smaller shows they'd like to play. The fact that a total stranger can go to a show and at least two different people will walk up and befriend you, and you aren't being ripped off by merch and ticket prices; you're getting a whole lot more than what you paid for. These, in my opinion, are what makes it punk, not the clothes, not the lyrics, and not the ideals alone. I'm open for discussion about it.