The Underlying Political Ideologies of Punk

Whilst listening to Ramones on an unhealthy considerable amount of repeat the past few days, one starts to memorize the lyrics at hand. As my head bopped rhythmically, while driving on the Long Island Expressway with the unrelenting sunshine coming through my windows...I started to notice a trend. Eventually, my English Major skills would be properly tuned once I got past Joey Ramone's raspy voice and recognized the patterns underlying the lyrics. I always knew that punk was supposed to be a constant statement, that's a given. However, this CD had something a little different. Instead of the overarching theme of rebellion and good angst, specific political themes sparked up. These songs weren't just making a statement for statement's sake—they really was addressing deeper messages with a political undertone. 

This article will be stemmed from the idea that a person's very existence is a political statement because each of your actions are under some form of policy or under some jurisdiction of the law and governmental structure. Therefore, whatever one may feel or do can somehow be linked to a political agenda. For example, the human right to adequate food. By being designated as a human right, it then becomes a political standpoint. If the person doesn't have access to food, they can feel the need to protest and demand that this right be granted by their government. Even smaller acts, such as identifying as LGBTQ+, being a person of color, being part of a religious sect,having a mental illness,being disabled—these are also political statements because the rights of these persons can easily be manipulated and monitored by a governmental structure. The personal is political, simply.

So, let's get back to punk. When I was listening to my CD for tenth time in my car, Ramones song "Anxiety" struck me first with this political undertone. The lyrics spoke about the crippling sense of inadequacy one may feel when suffering with this mental illness. Yet, the twist was when they sang about how because they have anxiety, they are labelled as crazy although they are already in a crazy world. This is political statement on the stigma behind those with mental illness. Twas properly disguised, but that was the genius behind it. Which...got me thinking. Are there possible political ideologies behind certain strains of punk? Well, there was.  

Punk ideologies were stemmed from certain political and social beliefs associated with the punk subculture. The subculture was stemmed from the disgruntled working class based on economic issues and bourgeois hypocrisy by neglecting the working people and their struggle for survival in a capitalistic society. So, what came out of the subculture birthed a political and social ideology concerning the subjects such as anti-establishment,equality,freedom, anti-authoritarianism,anti-corporate culture/corruption, anti-war, and free-thought. This movement spread throughout North America but originated in England and New York. The movement also adapted anti-racist and anti-sexist belief systems. These ideologies were expressed through punk rock music but also through punk literature, spoken word,punk fashion and visual art. Radical right? So, here is my super brief but interesting rundown on the my top five ideologies of punk with some of their originators: 

Anarchism 

Commonly known as "anarcho-punks" or "peace punks," bands such as the Sex Pstols and The Exploitated. Quite blatantly, the Pistols' Anarchy in the UK, although they did not embrace it as an disciplined ideology, some of these bands were not considered part of the anarcho-punk scene. These punks believed in direct action and generally were pacifists. This included engaging in peaceful protest but some anarcho-punks believed that violence of property damage was an acceptable way to achieve social change. Some notable anarchist punk artists include: Aus-Rotten,Dave Insurgent, Crass, Subhumans,Contravene,and DIRT.

     Apolitical

I know I talked about how these are mostly political ideologies but in my humble opinion—even claiming you are apolitical is a political act. Moving on. These punks claimed to be non-political, however socio-political ideas were sprinkled throughout their lyrics (told ya it'd happen.) Two bands that come to mind are Charged GBH and G.G Allin. Like, c'mon Allin claimed the vague desire to kill the U.S President and destroy the political system in "Violence Now." He wasn't good at being too subtle. Some sub-genres of punk that fall under the apolitical sphere would be glam punk,psychobilly,horror punk, punk pathetique, or pop punk. Other bands that really fall under the apolitical crowd would be Ramones and New York Dolls.

Islam

Taqwacore is the punk sub-genre on Islam which touches on its culture and its interpretation. It's composed mostly of young Muslim artists who live in the United States and other western countries. The over-arching theme is that they openly reject the traditionalist nature of Islam. Some bands include Alien Kulture, Secret Trial Five, and Omar Waqar.

Nihilism 

 Sorry, I'm a hardcore existentialist nerd, therefore this had to make the top five. Anyways, these punks centered on the belief in abject lack of meaning and value to life. The idea also stems from having their lyrics serve as critical realism, which is the combination of cynicism and nihilism. Their muse will serve as the question between those relations, and the listeners would be then forced to think beyond what is said in mainstream popular music. The point is to get their readers to think beyond what has been presented them. This ideology was a staple of some proto-punk and early punk rock artists. Some nihilist punks are Iggy Pop,Nihilist Cheerleader, Richard Hell, and Darby Crash.

   
Socialism 

Obviously, these bands highlighted and actively promoted this particular political ideology. The most noted band would be The Clash. Their front-man, Joe Strummer, summed up his views nicely. His belief also echoed in other bands and artists that identified under this ideology. He stated,"I believe in socialism because it seems more humanitarian, rather than every man for himself and 'I'm alright jack' and all those asshole businessmen with all the loot. I made up my mind from viewing society from that angle. That's where I'm from and there's where I've made my decisions from. That's why I believe in socialism." Some other bands expressed a form of socialist working class populism. Some bands sand about unemployment, economic inequality, and working class power. Many believed that elements of punk rock fulfill a "revolutionary culture function" according to Neil Eriksen in 1980. Even Bernie Sanders was endorsed by various bands and musicians under this ideology—it's even stated Sanders had a huge impact on the east coast punk scene in the States. Some of the punk artists under this ideology include Pussy Riot,Belinda Carlisle,Cheetah Chrome, Flea, Paul Weller, and Attila the Stockbroker.




Feel free to share some of your favorite punk artists in the comments! Happy listening!