Annotated Bibliography #4

Bennett, Andy. “Punk’s Not Dead: The Continuing Significance of Punk Rock For An Older Generation Of Fans.” Sociology 40:2 (April 2006): 219-235. Web. Accessed 25 May 2011.

Andy Bennett’s article Punk’s Not Dead: The Continuing Significance of Punk Rock For An Older Generation Of Fans examines the relation with the punk scene older fans have by drawing on studies and interviews that have been done in reference to the interaction the “forefathers” (228) of this subculture have with the current scene and the role these people play within it. The article is split into three main points in which Bennett examines the visual image of older members of the punk community, relations between the generations and punk festivals concluding that of those who are still an active part of their local punk scene, their relation to the scene though different to when they were younger is still a significant part of their identity and is something that is respected by younger members of the community. Of the articles I have discussed on here, this is the only one that looks at punk as something other than a youth scene and I think this fact in itself makes Bennett’s article a very useful one for my research. It provides a different perspective on the current subculture and looks at different activities and practices to most other articles. While my final essay will probably focus primarily on youth involvement in modern punk, I think it’s very important for me to not disregard the fact that there are members of the culture who have seen it change over the years and still play a huge role and when discussing the place of older generations within this subculture this article will be my primary source.

Annotated Bibliography #3

Hannon, Sharon M. Punks: A Guide To An American Subculture. Santa Barbara, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. Accessed 19 May 2011.

Chapter One of Sharon Hannon’s book Punks: A Guide To An American Subculture seeks to answer the highly contested question of what is punk? In this chapter, Hannon offers more of a historical look at punk and its sub-genres than a strictly theoretical one, but through that historical approach she is able to identify and discuss the different ways punk has been understood and defined over its lifetime. In the beginning of the chapter Hannon demonstrates how everyone has a different understanding of what constitutes punk and this in turn makes it virtually impossible to define what is actually punk and what is not. Some of us define punk by the political ideologies it may embody, others identify it by its visual aesthetics while some simply define it by the way the music sounds. (2) This way of understanding punk also shows that no single viewpoint is inherently correct: the person who believes The Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen (a song that expresses anti-monarchist sentiments) embodies all that punk is, is not necessarily more correct than the 15 year old kid who believes My Chemical Romance’s Vampire Money (a commentary on bands ‘selling out’ to be featured on the Twilight soundtrack) is punk. Hannon’s chapter is probably the weakest of the three resources I’ve discussed on here as far as theoretical and critical ideas of punk go, however, I still feel this chapter will be useful as its factual, historical structure gives important background information for me into this subculture and the varying viewpoints it presents expands my understanding of punk and has given me some new ideas to work with.

Annotated Bibliography #2

Haenfler, Ross. Straight Edge: Clean-Living Youth, Hardcore Punk and Social Change. United States: Rutgers University Press, 2006. Web. Accessed 11 May 2011.

Chapter Eight of Ross Haenfler’s book Straight Edge: Clean-Living Youth, Hardcore Punk and Social Change focuses on the commercialisation of punk, and in particular the straight edge movement, over the past 10-15 years. In this chapter he poses the argument that punk is no longer an underground movement and looks in detail at the way this commercialisation has affected the identities, practices, values and so forth of members of this subculture, concluding that commercialisation hasn’t “killed” the movement (186) but has made some obvious changes. To do this Haenfler looks at the way the media has incorporated punk into the mainstream culture industry and I think most importantly for my essay, at the impact the internet has had upon the punk scene. I feel Haenfler’s discussion of the impact of the internet will be highly useful for my essay and the fact that this chapter is so heavily focused on contemporary ideas of punk makes it stand out amongst other readings I have encountered which seem to have a heavier focus on the subculture during the 1970s and 1980s. While I still feel Moore’s article will be an invaluable resource, Haenfler’s chapter definitely picks up where Moore’s fell down with its minimal discussion of the current state of punk. My main concern with this chapter is that it does focus more on straight edge and hardcore than straight punk rock. However, in a contemporary sense where there are many debates online about what is and isn’t punk, it’s definitely important to take a look at these movements as well.

Annotated Bibliography #1

Moore, Ryan. “Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction.” The Communication Review 7:3 (2004): 305-327. Web. Accessed 5 May 2011.

Ryan Moore’s article Post Modernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction places the punk subculture in a postmodern framework as a way of understanding and analysing the practices, beliefs and so on of members of the subculture. Moore traces a history of punk through the article, relating all changes in the culture and the development of new subsets (eg. hardcore etc.) back to theoretical ideas, with a strong focus on authenticity and deconstruction within punk cultures. I feel that authenticity is a very important idea when discussing punk, particularly when looking at the DIY aspects of it, and this article discusses clearly the significance of this for the subculture. However, what I found most interesting and helpful in this article was Moore’s discussion of deconstruction. This is an idea I hadn’t really given too much though to but Moore’s analysis of punk as what he refers to as a “culture of deconstruction” (311) has opened up new ways of thinking about punk for me. Most interesting I found was Moore’s analysis of bands that “flaunt their immaturity and idiocy” (317) such as The Descendents and The Circle Jerks as a “rebellion against authority.” (318) As I think I’d like to focus on more recent punk movements in my essay, this discussion of bands like The Descendents offers a strong framework to look at more recent bands that could fall within this “immature” punk category, like Blink 182 and early Green Day. Overall, I see Ryan Moore’s article providing a very strong basis for my research and feel it will be very useful.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog for MUSC2000 Music Subcultures and The Media. Over the next few weeks I will be posting bits of my research for my final essay in which I will be focusing on the punk subculture.