Street punk

Infobox Music genre
name=Street punk
bgcolor=crimson
color=white
stylistic_origins=Punk rock
Oi!
cultural_origins=Early 1980s United Kingdom and Sweden
instruments=Drums - Guitar - Bass guitar
popularity=Low
derivatives=
fusiongenres=Psychobilly
Crust punk
regional_scenes=
other_topics=Anarcho-punk
Hardcore punk
NWOBHM
Speed metal

Street punk, also known as Streetpunk, is a working classGlasper 2004, p. 10.] subgenre of punk rock which took shape in the early 1980s, partly as a rebellion against the increasingly artistic pretensions of the first wave of British punk. [Glasper 2004, p. 9] Street punk emerged from the Oi! style, performed by bands such as Sham 69, Angelic Upstarts, Cockney Rejects, Cock Sparrer, and UK Subs.Glasper 2004, p. 122.] [Felix von Havoc, "Maximum Rock'n'Roll" #189. [http://www.havocrex.com/press/article/1/16] Access date: September 9, 2008] [Glasper 2004, p. 246.] However, street punk continued beyond the confines of the original Oi! form. Street punks generally have a much more outlandish appearance than the working class or skinhead image cultivated by many Oi! groups. [Glasper 2004, p. 5.]

Punk veteran Felix von Havoc offered this description of the style:

Characteristics

Street punk music is characterized by two main musical aspects: single note guitar lines and short solos. Unlike similar genres such as hardcore punk, street punk bands often contain two guitarists, one of which plays guitar melodies while not singing. Street punk also makes frequent use of gang vocals and sing–along choruses, one of the aspects the genre borrows from Oi!. The lyrics to most street punk songs often feature condemnation or praise of acts of violence, drinking and drug use, partying, inner-city turmoil, or personal politics. [ [http://www.punknews.org/review/3942 Punknews.org | Blood Or Whiskey - Cashed Out On Culture ] ] Street punk bands sometimes express political viewpoints, typically of a left-wing variety, although some street punks eschew politics altogether in favor of a more hedonistic, nihilistic outlook.

Fashion

Street punk style is highly visible. Dress for a street punk is characterized by leather, metal studs, ripped jeans, and Dr. Martens boots. Hairstyles often include unnatural coloration, liberty spikes or mohawks. Some street punk bands have included skinheads. [Glasper 2004, p. 74.] A minority of street punk bands — including The Violators, Major Accident, and The Adicts — dressed like the "droogs" who appear in Stanley Kubrick's film "A Clockwork Orange". [Glasper 2004, p. 86, 145, 217.] Other bands, such as Anti-Nowhere League, took inspiration from the "Mad Max" films.Glasper 2004, p. 309.]

History

UK 82

UK 82 (also known as UK hardcore, second wave punk, [Glasper 2004, p. 8-9] real punk, [Liner notes, Discharge, "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing", Castle, 2003] and No Future punk [Glasper 2004, p. 384.] ) took the existing punk sound and added the incessant, heavy drumbeats and distorted guitar sound of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands, especially Motörhead. [Glasper 2004, p. 47] The lyrics of UK 82 bands tended to be much darker and more violent than the lyrics of earlier punk bands. The term "UK 82" is taken from the title of a song by The Exploited. [ [http://www.uk82.com/] Access date: September 20, 2008.] The three most prominent of these bands, according to Ian Glasper, are The Exploited, from Edinburgh; Discharge,Matt Diehl, "The Young Crazed Peeling", "My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion---How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived Into the Mainstream", New York: Macmillan, 2007, ISBN 0312337817, 9780312337810 p. 107.] from Stoke-on-Trent; and GBH, from Birmingham. [Glasper 2004, p. 44] The Exploited were controversial in the scene for their violent lyrics and for wearing swastikas, considered by many to be "cartoon punks". [Glasper 2004, p. 360] They also had a large Nazi punk following. [Glasper 2004, p. 207.] Nonetheless: "For many, The Exploited were the quintessential second wave punk band with their senses-searing high-speed outbursts against the system, and wild-eyed frontman Walter 'Wattie' Buchan's perfect red mohican." [Glasper 2004, p. 360.] Discharge's early work proved to be enormously influential, providing the blueprint for an entire subgenre. Their later work, however, was decried as bad heavy metal. [Glasper 2004, p. 172]

Cross pollination existed between this era of street punk and American hardcore punk. [Glasper 2004, p. 165, 320.] Lyrics in the UK82 scene tended to focus on the possibilities of a nuclear holocaust, and the apocalypse, partially due to the Cold War atmosphere. The other mainstay of the lyrics of the time was unemployment, and the Conservative Party government of the time. Lyrics demonized the Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher [Glasper 2004, p. 203.] in the same way that American hardcore punk bands did with the Ronald Reagan administration.

Other UK 82 groups include English Dogs, [Glasper 2004, p. 209] Chaos U.K., [Glasper 2004, p. 25.] Blitz, [Glasper 2004, p. 74.] The Partisans, [Glasper 2004, p. 330.] Disorder, [Glasper 2004, p. 22.] Broken Bones, [Glasper 2004, p. 176.] The Violators, [Glasper 2004, p. 84] Abrasive Wheels, [Glasper 2004, p. 148.] One Way System, [Glasper 2004, p. 107.] Vice Squad, [Glasper 2004, p. 12.] and Anti-Nowhere League.

D-beat

D-beat (also known as Discore and käng, in SwedenJandreus, p. 11.] ) was developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, for whom the genre is named."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, Glasper 2004, p. 175.] The first such group was The Varukers."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." Glasper 2004, p. 65.] 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 to heavy metal. It is closely associated with crust punk, which is a heavier, more complex variation. D-beat bands typically have anti-war, anarchist messages and closely follow the bleak nuclear war imagery of 1980s anarcho-punk bands. The style was particularly popular in Sweden, and developed there by groups such as Anti Cimex,Jandreus, p. 20-21.] Mob 47, [Jandreus, p. 143.] Driller Killer, and Wolfbrigade. Totalitär, Skitsystem, and Disfear [Kevin Stewart-Panko, "Disfear + Trap Them + The Endless Blockade", "Terrorizer" #172, July 2008, p. 85.] are contemporary Swedish D-beat groups. Other D-beat groups include Disclose, from Japan; Crucifix and Final Conflict, from the U.S.; and Ratos de Porão, from Brazil.

Contemporary street punk

Prominent 1990s street punk groups included The Virus, The Casualties,Felix von Havoc, "Maximum Rock'n'Roll" #188. [http://www.havocrex.com/press/article/1/15] Access date: September 9, 2008.] [Glasper 2004, p. 185] The Unseen, Oxymoron, A Global Threat, The Restarts and Antidote. Rancid [Chris Jay, "Reevaluating Rancid", "Ventura Country Reporter", October 12, 2006. [http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/?id=3870&IssueNum=93] Access date: September 9, 2008.] [Amy Lou Donati, "Rancid Live at Revolution", "Outloud" issue 70, Summer 2006. [http://www.outloud.com/2006/Sum2006/rancid.htm] Access date: September 9, 2008.] [Justin Bontrager, "Rancid dusts off Clash riffs for new album", "Murray State News", September 18, 20003. [http://media.www.thenews.org/media/storage/paper651/news/2003/09/18/CollegeLife/Rancid.Dusts.Off.Clash.Riffs.For.New.Album-470200.shtml] Access date: September 9, 2008.] [Dane Jackson, "Anthem" by Pressure review, "Skratch Magazine", April 2003. [http://www.skratchmagazine.com/cd-reviews/CDreviewsAPR03.php] Access date: September 9, 2008.] and The Distillers also borrowed from street punk.

ee also

*List of streetpunk bands

Bibliography

Glasper, Ian (2004). "Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980-1984". Cherry Red Books. ISBN-10: 1901447243
Glasper, Ian (2006). "The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 to 1984". Cherry Red Books. ISBN-10: 1901447707
Jandreus, Peter (2008). "The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977-1987". Stockholm: Premium Publishing.

References