Atticus Stockdale

Phillips

CML

19 May 2017

Punk rock and anti-capitalism

The dominant view on the left has seen popular culture as primarily a means of

manipulation for capitalist ideologues to control the great mass of working people. -Paul Saba

Punk music generally operates under an ideological framework that is innately anti-

conformity, anti-capitalistic, and anti-consumerism. Starting after the rock revival of the 1960s

bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols took political subject matter and mixed it with high

energy aggressive music atypical of rock music, creating the genre we now refer to as punk rock.

Overtime punk music has developed into a much more complex beast that can no longer be so

basically sonically identified. What has stayed consistent however is the revolution ideology

attributed with punk and to this day many punk bands are still pushing anti-capitalistic ideals.

Punk is an immensely important genre and whether or not one is a personal fan is

redundant to the genres social significance. Many will argue that punk has lost effect, one

blogger states that with social media you dont need to sing or play or scream to get your

thought ahead to the people: you just write a hashtag #heforshe to define your feminism

(Artistic Notions). To a degree this statement is correct, however, to say that there are no punk

bands out there making important music is simply untrue. The internet has created a new and
interesting method for music sharing and distribution, punk ideology has adapted and expanded

to embrace internet culture while keeping the core ideological values of punk in tact.

Bomb The Music Industry, a new york based punk band, are regarded as innovators in the

new age punk world. Jeff Rosenstock, leading member and brains behind Bomb The Music

Industry, created the very first donation based record label called Quote Unquote Records. The

idea behind Quote Unquote is that all music distributed on its website is completely free and

listeners are given the choice to donate any amount they want if they feel inclined to do so. This

idea resonated with many artists and websites like Bandcamp were created that offer a feature

where listens can name their price for purchasing music or not pay any money at all. This is an

example of new strides being taken in punk to protest the capitalistic ideals of the music industry

as a whole.

In order to analyse the success levels of new punk bands attempt at protesting anti-

capitalistic and anti-consumerism ideals this paper will focus on two major punk releases of the

last few years, WORRY by Jeff Rosenstock and The Most Lamentable Tragedy by Titus

Andronicus. Jeff Rosenstock is an aforementioned modern punk icon, his newly released solo

effort WORRY can be conceptually viewed as a social commentary piece on the sociopolitical

climate of our modern world. A particular song by the name of Festival Song specifically

highlights the negative side of a capitalism world. The chorus of the song is Oh they wouldnt

be your friend if you werent worth something If they didn't have something they could take

(Jeff Rosenstock). The song is stating that advertisers create a false sense of friendship with the
consumer, manipulating them into thinking they are special or liked, when in reality the

advertisers are just trying to get their money.

WORRY went on the sell immensely well and was very well received critically, earning

an 8/10 from Pitchfork and a 9/10 from Punknews. In addition to the album success Festival

Song was performed live on national TV on the Carson Daily Show. Not only is having the

opportunity to play such a revolutionary song on nation TV a huge leap forward for in spreading

the messages of anti-capitalism but Jeff Rosenstock also added a slew of other political

statements within the performance. The bassist of the band wore a t-shirt stating SMASH THE

PATRIARCHY and the lead guitarist had written on his guitar PAUL RYAN IS A

TERRORIST. Overall WORRY by Jeff Rosenstock has been a major success in advocating

against anti-capitalistic and anti-consumerist ideals and further advanced punk ideology.

Another recent punk album highlighting anti-capitalism in The Most Lamentable Tragedy

by Titus Andronicus. Titus Andronicus is a New Jersey based punk band who have a very

political edge. The Most Lamentable Tragedy is a 4 act rock opera following the mental

struggles of an unnamed protagonist dealing with bipolar disorder. The anti-capitalism comes

into play during commentary about the pharmaceutical industry clearly highlighted in the song

Fired Up where a line states They will make you a patient if you take their medicine, they sell

you shit to make you sick (Titus Andronicus) This line is making commentary on the fact that

the pharmaceutical creates dependencies for individuals to take prescription medication and in

many cases over prescribe just in order to sell more drugs.

Success of the anti-capitalist ideals pushed on this record is iffy. Although the album sold

well and received high ratings, an 8.1/10 on pitchfork, not much advocacy was done outside of
the album. Not the mention the speaking points for reviews focused more on the gimmick of the

rock opera style and complex concept of the album and not so much on the lyrical content.

Overall moderate success in spreading the word of anti-capitalism but this was not a very

prominately recognised ideal pushed on the record.

In conclusion punk music is still alive and flourishing in regard to sticking to its

ideological roots of anti-capitalism and anti-consumerism. Punk will continue to be an important

genre in preaching advocacy against society's evils. Capitalism and consumerism can be plagues

that can repress and harm society and individuals within it. As long as people continue to protest

the wrongs of capitalism and consumerism society has a fighting chance against them. We owe

you nothing, You have no control, You are not what you own (Fugazi)