Kevin Johnsen

Professor Lee Patterson

English 2135-0011
17 September 2015
Genre Analysis Essay

Thrashing the strings of a guitar, spewing rebellious slurs and a lack of individuality, all
together becomes punk rock. Punk music, is an allegedly primitive style of music played
primarily with bass and electric guitars. Punks initial foundations began to appear in the 1960's
continuing on to form the basis of what is now known as punk rock in the late 70's. Punk rock,
is a genre defined by its abundance of rebellious messages and drive for anarchy. By analyzing
the rise of bands who formed the groundwork for the genre punk rock, including the Ramones
and Sex Pistols and those prior to them and comparing said bands to the historical and social
contexts of the 1960's-1980's the bands effect and significance can be observed.
Prior to the Ramones rise in the United States, the bands that played their style of
music began in the 1960s, which included MC5 and New York Dolls. The emergence of
these bands in the United States revealed the point at which the youth began to test the
boundaries of social norms. These bands were formed in urban settings such as New York, and
Detroit. MC5 represented a youthful group who were politically influenced by Marxism and
groups such as the Black Panthers. The band MC5 went so far as to begin playing during
protests of the Vietnam War in 1968. The 1968 Democratic National Convention was later
broken apart by police, though the band had played eight hours straight. Their actions clearly
display how punk rock became known for being extremely vocal about their opinions on politics
and social events. While the New York Dolls was supported by the transvestite community, the

band would therefore shake the gender roles of New York as they would dress with the clothes of
the opposite sex. Hence both bands had found their own way to defy social standards and
promote their own ideologies. These bands led the pathway for what became known as Garage
Rock, and later known formally as punk rock.
Still punk rock's movement throughout the United States and Great Britain cannot be
shown without first introducing the Ramones, one of the initial bands to tie together all the
characteristics that punk rock is known for. While many bands were known to have prior aspects
of punk in their songs, the Ramones were the first to tie them all together. Their primary
attributes that influenced their public in New York were physical and were based on their
apparel, from long unkempt hair to wearing leather jackets and torn jeans. Yet another influential
piece was the bands music, while the majority of their songs were not directly for anarchism and
the fall of government, they did utilize social taboos in their songs, yet again demonstrating how
punk rock tested the boundaries of society and politics. One of their most notable songs was
Blitzkrieg Bop, the song has different interpretations from some stating that the song was a
reference to the Nazi Germany's attack style otherwise known as the Lightning strike.
Blitzkrieg, a fast paced song, became quite influential all the while being viewed as
inappropriate, due to remarks such as Shootem in the back now. The remarks in the song were
thought to be referring to citizens being killed during World War II by the Nazi's. Nevertheless,
the song rose to fame and became known as the anthem for punk rock, showing that punk rock
had begun to take hold in urban communities throughout the United States. The song also
strengthened the genres ability to test social norms and critique political actions as it was a
common piece in the foundation of punk rock. Another view on the songs meaning was that
Blitzkrieg Bop actually referred to teenage sex in a car, this came about through the lyrics The

kids are losing their minds and They're piling in the back seat clearly shocking the
community in light of the blatant references to erotic ideas. Once again the references appalled
music producers and audience members alike. Another instance in which a song of the
Ramones dismayed politicians and the public, was the song Bonzo goes to Bitburg. The
song was an indisputable reference and ridicule of Ronald Reagan, for his visit to a Nazi
cemetery. Unlike the majority of their later songs, this had direct references to political figures,
such as the songs name referencing Bonzo, the chimp that Reagan had worked with in the past.
Clearly no other form of music would be able to support such statements against a highly
respected political figure even if the public was firmly against his actions. Still, due to punk
rocks background no one had been surprised by the songs emergence. Joey Ramone being of
Jewish descent was outraged, and gladly wrote the song, though the song itself caused a large
dispute in the band. The effect was similar in the United States, on one side stood Joey Ramone
who was clearly opposed to the actions of President Raegan, while Johnny Ramone was a firm
supporter of Raegan and defended his actions. While this dispute occurred the band had
composed the song, and the argument itself became a significant milestone. The actions taken by
the Ramones demonstrated the effect that punk rock has had in history, and the clashing within
the group signified what occurred within the American public as the situation began to drag out.
The Ramones brought the use of social conflicts to ridicule not only society but past groups that
were prominent in history. The Ramones frequently had inter group conflicts which led to the
creation of the song The KKK Took My Baby Away. While the song was used to ridicule
Johnny Ramone for supposedly stealing the girlfriend of Joey Ramone it brings light to the
hatred that society had pent up. Johnny was the only politically conservative member of the
group, which lead Joey out of anger and frustration to make the exaggerated comparison of

conservatism to the white supremacist group called the Klu Klux Klan. While the song was
supposedly meant to be a jab, it brought about discomfort within the community as it was their
hidden shame that such a group existed in the United States. The ability of punk rock to test such
unthinkable topics was a defining aspect of the genre, allowing it to gain fame and spread like
wild fire due to the ability of its members to speak their minds. Lastly the song that broke all
boundaries in the 1970s was the song called 53rd and 3rd, the song itself was noted as highly
unorthodox at the time. 53rd and 3rd recounted the time of a Vietnam veteran returning home
and becoming a male prostitute. In the song the veteran acted as a prostitute and proceeded to kill
a man who took interest in him, proving that Im no sissy. The song put a spotlight on the
negative views the Country had of the gay community, and how dishonored soldiers were after
the Vietnam War. The song therefore discussed the obvious tensions occurring in society, again
pushing the limits to extents no other genre or sub-genre of music could. All in all the actions of
the predecessors of the Ramones, including MC5 and New York Dolls laid the ground
work for the radical new genre of music, which became formally defined by the Ramones. The
genre of punk rock again spread, though at this point due to the efforts of the Ramones to
spread its appeal.
Due to their extremist actions and music a band in Great Britain named Sex Pistols
shocked the citizens of England with their radical anarchist ideologies, which were expressed in
their music. The band was created by a man who had previous experience with punk rock, the
manager was none other than Malcom Mclaren. McLaren had previously been the manager of
New York Dolls, and found himself attempting to form another band. Yet, McLaren craved to
form a band that would shake the foundations of music and of 70's culture. One of the first songs
released by Sex Pistols was Anarchy in the UK, the results clearly defined their beliefs and

desires for a world without leadership. The song itself came to be a perfect example of how punk
rock would prod the social standards for what could be said. The band went onto doing a live
interview on national television to discuss their music. This process led to further disaster as they
used the word fucker in the interview. What followed could be seen as upheaval, many record
stores and radio stations began to ban their music. Sex Pistols promoters soon after began to
cancel their tour dates, and annul all contracts with the band. Due to all the opposition towards
the band, it began to gain mass popularity from the younger generation. The music offered an
outlet and relief for those who experienced hardships. Britain in the 1970's faced many struggles
such as the first oil shock, with the collapse of Bretton woods, and the complications faced in
Northern Ireland. The Prime minister had declared a state of emergency five times, due to so
many dilemmas. Overall, these problems in England resulted in Sex Pistols music, while
heavily frowned upon, to have a massive consumer base. Therefore, the band continued to
release songs despite the public unrest and hostility towards them. Sex Pistols continued to use
anarchist concepts in their songs, with the release of God Save The Queen. The song was a
mockery of the British national anthem, due to the many issues occurring in England at the time,
the youth supported the song wholeheartedly. The youth began to feel oppressed by the royal
monarchy, and with the queen being the head, they targeted her to no end. The song can be seen
as another stab at cultural norms, and standards by punk rock bands. The song itself gained so
much popularity that it soon became known as the punk rock anthem in the United Kingdom.
What followed the release of the song was chaos for the band, immediately after the songs
release their record label A&M dropped the band. However the song becoming unmarketable
turned into a blessing for the band, as the sales for the first week were extraordinarily high, thus
leading them to compose more songs. As time went on, the band and their manager McLaren

began having a strained relationship. A prime example of this uneasiness and distrust became
apparent in the song Submission. Initially McLaren had intended for the song to be a form of
advertisement for his adult novelty store, though due to the worsening strain on their
relationship, John Lyndon instead devoted the song to describing a submarine. Lyndons
intentions can be seen in the lyrics I'm on a submarine mission for you baby and Under the
water in the sea, while the song has sexual innuendos it makes no reference to support
McLarens store overall making an attempt by Lyndon to mock his manager. Yet again, similar to
the bands previous songs, due to the sexual nature of the lyrics it was poorly accepted by the
community. The song led to be a considerable failure as it no longer had the support from the
younger generation in search of relief. All in all leading to a loss in revenue for the band, and
strained tensions mainly between John Lyndon and his manager McLaren. In the end the band
ended after the tour in the United States, by the end of their last show Lyndon could be seen
altering the lyrics in the song to display his displeasure. Therefore ending the bands legacy of
releasing the most revolting songs to 1970s social and cultural norms, all while targeting the
politics of England.
All in all, the bands the Ramones and the Sex Pistols including their predecessors
MC5 and New York Dolls have had a considerable influence on social and cultural norms
through their unrestricted songs. The bands lasting effects were their ability to alter the standards
for what could be discussed and critiqued in music, allowing others to mock political figures and
governments without fear of reprisal. The significance of these bands are the effects they left on
punk rock and their audience, reshaping punk rock to be the sound of youthful rebellion for years
to come.

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