Evolution of Punk.

Punk evolved in two ways since its downfall: The birth of Pop Punk and the birth of Hardcore

Punk is a major genre that has split in many ways, but these are the two polar opposites. Punk can be divided into two categories: The ideology, and the image. The ideology of Punk was anarchical, and anti-establishment. This was presented through the political protest or the screw-society enigma it presented; often through the unedited or undoctored sound of the music, or the torn up, outrageous or provocative fashion sense. A clear example of imagine over ideology is Sex Pistols, who were the figureheads of commercial punk. They are reprented as dirty, provocative social outcasts who society have disregarded, or political hierarchical structures do not compensate for.

 

 

 

In the video for God Save The Queen, it's very clear what the image stands for. The opening shots show them standing around on stage to a backdrop of anarchic posters; the Queen's face against a Union Jack flag, with their title over her eyes, as a direct protest.

Their stance however, is very nonchalont, with very little interaction, which is a contrast to the angst in their ideology, and what we would expect to see of them. Their presence is minimal to focus on their image, which is how they are presenting their ideas of protest and anti establishment.

 

Punk then weakened, as the image grew out. Their representation was no longer presented through how they looked, as the generation grows up, or being become accustomed to seeing such striking or unordinary visual elements of a sub-culture; it was no longer protesting the way it wanted to. The focus therefore, came from the ideology and the meaning of the music.

Therefore, Punk re-shaped itself musically. Along came a generation of people who didn't care how they dressed, but had such fury or anger towards themselves or others. Pantera were at the forefront of this idea. Their song 'Walk' clearly demonstrates the emotions that was once felt in punk, and is intensified in more violent concepts in the new hardocre/punk crossover.

 

 

The stage looks fairly simple and their presence is more daunting or aggressive when playing. The lead singer presents his image in a more raw human form, a more masculine or militant presentation of image. The shaved head and tattoos are now the striking or aggressive connotations of the time.

The lyrics are simple and are about violent themes. Their body language consists of solid movement - far less fluent and almost effeminate than punk; clenched fists and stamping is a visual display of anger and their presentation of musical motive. Essentially, the representation of the bands in this genre is to emphasise the raw aggression and anger they feel. It's apparent the attention to image has gone, but the feelings and attitudes of punk have intensified.

 

 

Now in the modern day, this branch of punk is purely ideology. Known as Hardcore, the genre name is mainly reflective of the music. It's a very solid, very aggressive and unwelcoming sound, reinforced by the angry stage presence or actions of the band. The video below is for Emmure and their song 'Solar Flare Homicide' displays exactly how they are (or wish to be perceived).

 

The base anger and fast paced editing of their music video isn't overly depictive or defined in sense of their image, but the body language and human interaction between them all defines this as the next evolution (or arguable devolution or proliferation of Punk).

 

 

Alternatively, Punk took a completely different route. The elements of punk that were focused on the image, and evidently the camaraderie of the sub-culture has been carried through, but in a different sense. The focus has become less on being different or outrageous and focuses instead on the fun and the energy that the genre or sub-culture had to offer. This genre was Pop Punk

 

And far as the genre goes, New Found Glory are at the top, and have been for decades.
This video is a monument, and it shows exactly what kind of people they are; they are quite the opposite of must bands. They do not take their 'job' or 'profession' seriously, because to them, that is not what it is. They're guys that have grown up physically, but still have the teenage party mentality, and they're free. Therefore, they are fun.

This is exactly how they wanted to be represented. They don't want to present themselves as vulgar and offensive as Punk previously did; they portray themselves as funny, as friendly and as entertaining. They even show their fan base as funny.

They do not care for image or appeareance, hence the bassist showing off how fat he is in their video for 'My Friends Over You'.

 

However. This video is a whole decade ago, 10 years before Decade (an analysis piece on my blog) which is an example of modern Pop Punk. It has evolved, or more so grown up. Seemingly, it has returned back to the image concepts of Punk, as now there is far more focus on how the band is dressed, or how they look on stage or wherever else, than what they stand for. Motives aren't now anti-establishment, and stopped being when Pop Punk was born. It's now more about having fun, or being fun - quite the contrast to what Punk stood for. The focus is now whether a band member is attractive, or appealing to female audiences, or whether or not fellow musicians might admire a certain band member. Essentially, it has gained an element of theatrics or vanity; the outrageous visual appearances of Punk are now represented by the children of that genre, the casually dressed, but with maintained appearances, not the rugged dirty or carelessness of Punk.

This is visible in Young Guns' video for 'Bones'. The focus (minus the dancing girl narrative) is on the band, and mainly the frontman, as this is now the formula for the ideal Pop Punk band.

Essentially, Punk has made some form of decrescendo, in the sense that the two key ideals of Punk have dissolved or devolved into two different themes: The Look, and The Sound.
The look being the appearance and their presentation and the sound being the anger, the presence and the connotations of their band.