Punk or Politics? Punk rock is an aggressive genre, but does that always mean it has a political view behind it? Punk rock first originated in the 1970s and the U.K.’s main focus was politics. The U.S. tended to write more about their personal experiences. Punk rock is much more than a political statement. For example, The Sex Pistols wrote God Save the Queen, which is a rebellion against British Politics. Punk rock can be about politics, but it can also be about other ideas. A preeminent, modern punk rock band is The 1975 who wrote a song called Chocolate, which is their euphemism for marijuana. Punk rock may consequently express political views to the subculture, but may not always be a political statement. The society in which one grows
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Today, some punk rock music may be about politics, but others may be about drugs or just today’s youth. The 1975 is a modern-day punk rock band, that does not choose the issue of politics as their basis of their music. They have a song called Chocolate, you would think this song was about actually chocolate, but it was just a euphemism for marijuana (Ryan). They repeatedly say, “my hair smells like chocolate| my car smells like chocolate,” referring to the marijuana they have smoked. Today’s youth tends to write about whats important to them, in this case, sex. The 1975 wrote a song called Sex, which didn’t have a euphemism, they literally sang about sex. While politics is still an option for music it is not always the primary …show more content…
U.K. punk rock in the 1970s focused on the working class, or sub-cultures, while the U.S. punk rock focused on the rich, higher status, or the counter culture. Today punk rock is targeted to everyone not just a specific culture. Punk rock containing politics can be used to help others become politically aware (Eriksen 39). But today with all our technology and social media, music is not our “go-to” for political awareness. Mpst people are aware of what happens around the world a few minutes after the incidences, because of technology and social media. The cultures express themselves differently regarding relations, ideas, and objects (Eriksen 7). The audience in the 1970s for the U.K. was predominately the subculture, the music was about the English race being mistreated. Why would the upper class want to listen about the lower class being mistreated? They would not. Today we do not have a hierarchy, and politics are not the bands focus. The focus is on general themes that have not vanished, such as, love, sex, or sexism (Eriksen
Today, some punk rock music may be about politics, but others may be about drugs or just today’s youth. The 1975 is a modern-day punk rock band, that does not choose the issue of politics as their basis of their music. They have a song called Chocolate, you would think this song was about actually chocolate, but it was just a euphemism for marijuana (Ryan). They repeatedly say, “my hair smells like chocolate| my car smells like chocolate,” referring to the marijuana they have smoked. Today’s youth tends to write about whats important to them, in this case, sex. The 1975 wrote a song called Sex, which didn’t have a euphemism, they literally sang about sex. While politics is still an option for music it is not always the primary …show more content…
U.K. punk rock in the 1970s focused on the working class, or sub-cultures, while the U.S. punk rock focused on the rich, higher status, or the counter culture. Today punk rock is targeted to everyone not just a specific culture. Punk rock containing politics can be used to help others become politically aware (Eriksen 39). But today with all our technology and social media, music is not our “go-to” for political awareness. Mpst people are aware of what happens around the world a few minutes after the incidences, because of technology and social media. The cultures express themselves differently regarding relations, ideas, and objects (Eriksen 7). The audience in the 1970s for the U.K. was predominately the subculture, the music was about the English race being mistreated. Why would the upper class want to listen about the lower class being mistreated? They would not. Today we do not have a hierarchy, and politics are not the bands focus. The focus is on general themes that have not vanished, such as, love, sex, or sexism (Eriksen