[Perception]

Really, at it's roots, the now-horrendous looking genre tree for punk is quite a trip. Even some of the lesser-known recent post-hardcore punk bands can be quite good. Punk started as the anti-pop (Primus reference not intended). Everything that was popular, conventional, wholesome, tame, oppressive, confining, or otherwise depressing was the object of original Punk's attack. So in accordance with the core of Punk's very anti-consumerism philosphy, most of the true Punks never made it to the spotlight. The Punk movement very quickly became the excessively irrational hair metal movement; and subsequently, the other movement on par with Punk's self-and-society-destructive fetish, Grunge (which then became far too mainstream for it's spokesmodel's liking; Cobain replied to the gluttonous corporate whore his music had become with his suicide/requested murder and successfully killed Grunge). But because of it's firm roots in anti-conventional and anti-moral beliefs, true Punk music has remained a constant but rare staple of any local music scene. There are many bands that have successfully displayed Punk's core of satire-laced rhythms and beats, paired with its intelligently offensive poetic lyrics spotting the music history timeline all the way from the mid-late 1970s up to more recent Gen-Jones and Gen-X Punk projects.

Towards the beginning of the Punk movement, The Sex Pistols were a prime example of the original Punk ideals. They were one of the few to achieve mainstream status, but for good reason. They didn't sell out until later. Back in the beginning, they were popular for their offstage antics; subsequently legend-ized by the Sid & Nancy thing. Sid Killed Nancy, Sid felt guilty, Sid proceeded to kill self. John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon was then left broke with a ticket for the cash train The Sex Pistols became. He is now considered a total sellout prick by most of the Punk community.

More recent Punk-rooted music includes Rancid, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Misfits, At the Drive-in, Mindless Self-Indulgence (sort of), and I'm sure there are plenty that I've never heard of. The firm belief that selling out is the single most gluttonous and disgusting thing an artist can do keeps a lot of Punks from getting any recognition. The genre is more than just the catchy, simplistic rhythm and chord progressions (I know, they are painfully simple). There is a whole philosophy, social commentary, and lifestyle behind all of it.

Don't judge a book by its cover, bro! Come on, you're a stoner, you should know that. =)


Peace!