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Street punk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the genre of music. For the album by Hunx and His Punx, seeStreet Punk (album).
Not to be confused withStreetcore.
This article is about the urban working class punk rock genre. For the subculture of transient and homeless punks occasionally referred to as "street punks", seegutter punkandcrust punk.
Street punk
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsEarly 1980s,United Kingdom
Typical instruments
Derivative formsD-beat
Regional scenes
United Kingdom
Local scenes

Street punk(sometimes alternatively spelledstreetpunk) is anurbanworking class-based subgenre ofpunk rock,which emerged as arebellionagainst the perceived artistic pretensions of the first wave of British punk. The earliest street punk songs emerged in the late 1970s by bands includingSham 69,theU.K. SubsandCockney Rejects.By 1982, bands such asDischarge,GBHandthe Exploitedhad pushed this sound to become faster and more abrasive, while also embracing the influence ofheavy metal music.In the 1990s and 2000s, a street punk revival began with bands such asthe Casualties,Rancidandthe Analogs.

Characteristics[edit]

Street punk bandGBHonWarped Tour

Street punk lyrics commonly address topics such as fighting, drinking, partying, inner-city turmoil, gang violence,blue-collarissues, union ororganized laborissues.[1]

Punk veteranFelix Havocsaid:

It was aggressive, yet hadmelody.As opposed to today's "melodic" punk it still had a lot of energy. It washonest.Hence the term "street punk." There is and was a feel that this was the kids music, from the streets, and was uncorrupted by "professionalism" or "musicianship." As opposed to theanarchobands its message was more bleak and irreverent. The music was not a-political, just a less intellectual expression of political views of working class youth. The music was marketed as being of and by the working class. I suspect this was not universally the case. Still most middle and upper class kids cringe at frank discussions of violence as evidenced in a typicalBlitzsong. Early 80's UK punk was catchy as hell; it has sing-a-long choruses and hooky riffs.[2]

History[edit]

Origins (late 1970s and early 1980s)[edit]

Street punk grew out ofworking classyoung people who disliked the first wave of punk's more artistic nature.[3]TheAllMusicguide creditsSham 69as the band which brought street punk to prominence around 1978–1979,[4]while an article by theihailed theU.K. Subsand their 1979 debut albumAnother Kind of Bluesas one of the first examples of street punk.[5]Writer Ian Glasper credited theCockney Rejects1980 single "Bad Man" as setting a "new standards for what was to become known as street punk" due to its "melodic lead guitar, belligerent vocal delivery and gang backup chants".[6]However, as the sound began to form, it was quickly split between two separate punk scenes: theanarcho-punkscene, which saw the sound as inherently political due to its working class ties; and theoi!scene, which was largely apolitical.[7]

UK 82[edit]

1980s-era punks

UK 82(orUK hardcore) is a style of street punk which pushed the genre's tempos faster and embraced the influence ofheavy metal music,particularlynew wave of British heavy metalbands likeMotörheadandIron Maiden.[7]The termUK 82is taken from the title of a song bythe Exploited.[8]

The three most prominent UK82 acts were the Exploited,DischargeandGBH.[9]The Exploited werecontroversialdue to their aggressive lyrics and rowdy concerts, and were considered by Glasper to be "cartoon punks".[10]Glasper wrote: "For many, The Exploited were the quintessential second wave punk band with their senses-searing high-speed outbursts against the system, and wild-eyedfrontmanWalter 'Wattie' Buchan's archetypal orange mohican. "[10]Discharge's early work proved to be enormously influential, providing the blueprint for an entire subgenre. Their later work, however, has been described as moving intoheavy metal.[11]

The lyrics of UK 82 bands tended to be much darker and more violent than the lyrics of earlier punk bands. They tended to focus on the possibilities of anuclear holocaust,and otherapocalypticthemes, partially due to the military tension of theCold Waratmosphere. The other mainstay of the lyrics of the era wasunemployment,and the policies of theConservative Partygovernment. Lyrics frequently denounced the Conservative leaderMargaret Thatcher.[12]

D-beat[edit]

Main article:D-beat

D-beat (also known asDiscore[13]orkäng(boot), in Sweden[14]) was developed in the early 1980s by imitators of the bandDischarge,for whom the genre is named.[15]The first such group wasthe Varukers.[13]The vocal content of D-beat tends towards shouted slogans. The style is distinct from its predecessors by its minimal lyrical content and greater proximity toheavy metal.It is closely associated withcrust punk,which is a heavier, more complex variation.[14]D-beat bands typically haveanti-war,anarchistmessages and closely follow the bleaknuclear warimagery of 1980sanarcho-punkbands. The style was particularly popular inSweden,and was developed there by groups such asAnti Cimex[16]andMob 47.[17]

Revival (1990s and 2000s)[edit]

In the 1990s, a new era of street punk began with emerging street punk bands likethe CasualtiesandRancid,[18]The Casualties became one of the most well-known street punk bands and achieved underground success. Their 2004 albumOn the Front Linepeaked at number 8 on theIndependent Albumschart.[19]On the Front Lineand the Casualties' 2006 albumUnder Attackpeaked at numbers 7 and 9 on theHeatseekers Albumschart, respectively.[20]

The 1990s also saw the spread of street punk to other countries, particularlyEastern Europeanstates that were previously behind theIron Curtain.The Analogs,a group fromSzczecinformed in 1995, gradually became one of the most active punk bands inPoland;[21]with roots in the antifascist Oi! scene,[22][23]The Analogs are widely considered to be precursors of street punk in the country and are credited with popularising the genre there.[21][24][25]Their influence has spread to other countries in the region, asMister X(started in 2003) – leaders of the street punk scene inBelarus[26]– have often cited The Analogs as one of their main inspirations.[27][28]

International outfitBooze & Glory,originating from the Polish migrant punk scene inLondon,was formed in 2009. Playing punk rock, especially Oi! and street punk, they grew popular worldwide and have performed concerts selling thousands of tickets inIndonesia,where the hardcore punk scene is lively and growing.[29]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Ensminger (11 August 2016).The Politics of Punk Protest and Revolt from the Streets.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 53.ISBN978-1-4422-5445-9.
  2. ^von Havoc, Felix."Maximum Rock'n'Roll #189".Havoc.Archived fromthe originalon June 21, 2004.RetrievedSeptember 9,2008.
  3. ^Glasper 2004,p. 435
  4. ^"Oi!".AllMusic.Retrieved14 June2024.
  5. ^Nelson, Alex."40 essential punk records to mark 40 years of rock rebellion".i.Retrieved14 June2024.
  6. ^Glasper 2004,p. 410
  7. ^abEllis, Iain."REBELLING AGAINST THE REBELLION: BRITISH PUNK'S SECOND COMING".PopMatters.Retrieved14 June2024.
  8. ^UK82Access date: September 20, 2008.
  9. ^Hobson, Rich."UK82: the chaotic story of the 80s punk scene that changed metal forever".Metal Hammer.Retrieved14 June2024.
  10. ^abGlasper 2004,p. 360
  11. ^Glasper 2004,p. 172
  12. ^Glasper 2004,p. 203
  13. ^abGlasper 2004,p. 65: "The Varukers were the original Discore band, the first and best of the hardcore punk acts to take the simple, yet devastatingly effective formula laid down by Discharge and play it as fast, hard, heavy as they could."
  14. ^abJandreus 2008,p. 11
  15. ^Glasper 2004,p. 175: "I just wanna be remembered for coming up with that f-ckin' D-beat in the first place! And inspiring all those f-ckin' great Discore bands around the world!" – Terry "Tez" Roberts
  16. ^Jandreus 2008,pp. 20–21
  17. ^Jandreus 2008,p. 143
  18. ^DIEHL, MATT."Agnostic Front Doc Shows a Band of Hardcore Brothers Who Never Gave Up".Rolling Stone.Retrieved22 August2018.
  19. ^"The Casualties Chart History (Independent Albums)".Billboard.RetrievedMay 22,2019.[dead link]
  20. ^"The Casualties Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)".Billboard.RetrievedMay 22,2019.[dead link]
  21. ^ab"The Analogs - biografia, historia, o zespole".muzyka.dlastudenta.pl.dlastudenta.pl.Retrieved2024-02-25.
  22. ^Maciek Piasecki (2015-10-22)."The Analogs:" Tradycyjni skinheadzi pukają się w głowę, kiedy słyszą o skinheadach-faszystach "".vice.Vice Media.Retrieved2024-02-25.
  23. ^Stowarzyszenie „NIGDY WIĘCEJ” (2023-09-06)."Seria koncertów The Analogs pod hasłem" Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi "".ngo.pl.Portal organizacji pozarządowych NGO.PL.Retrieved2024-02-25.
  24. ^"Oi! Młodzież".Empik.Retrieved2024-02-25.
  25. ^"The Analogs - Biografia".polskirock.eu.Archiwum Polskiego Rocka.Retrieved2024-02-26.
  26. ^Wiktor Rykaczewski (2012)."Mister X – wywiad".Dead Press.RetrievedMay 25,2016.
  27. ^ANONIM.2230 (October 5, 2007)."5.10 Koncert: Los Fastidios, Dr. Green, Zimbabwe, Mister X, Bang Bang".Co jest grane.RetrievedJuly 18,2016.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^Hardcore Tattoo Records (2023-04-04)."Mister X - Nie chcę twojej pomocy from" Uliczni wojownicy "- Tribute to The Analogs".bandcamp.Bandcamp.Retrieved2024-03-05.
  29. ^Rusek, Marek (2024-02-28)."Marek Rusek / Mark Rsk / KWADRANS TWARZĄ W TWARZ [Booze And Glory] [ENG sub.] Zagłębiowska Mediateka".Kwadrans twarzą w twarz(Interview). Interviewed by Klaudia Pluta.Sosnowiec:Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna w Sosnowcu.Retrieved2024-03-05.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Glasper, Ian (2004).Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984.Cherry Red Books.ISBN1-901447-24-3.
  • Glasper, Ian (2006).The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 to 1984.Cherry Red Books.ISBN1-901447-70-7.
  • Jandreus, Peter (2008).The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977–1987.Stockholm: Premium Publishing.
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