Punk Is Not Dead

1. Punk musicians as the representatives of the rebellious underground movement were amazed by being broadcasted on radio because they did not expect to become so popular that the uprising from the basement clubs would become mainstream. The reaction was ambiguous. Some wanted to perform their music to more people, which meant the inevitable commercialization of the idea of punk. Others did not want to be sold to corporations and preferred to stay popular with their initial small audience.

2. The Warped Tour helped punk musicians to gather in one place and exchange ideas promoting punk culture and making the festival for their fans. However, the issue of commercialization was closely associated with the Warped Tour. As the bands were mostly unable to finance the organization of the festival, various companies began to support it by becoming a part of it. Advertising became an integral part of the Warped Tour, and in 1995, its name was changed to the Vans Warped Tour after its sponsor, the manufacturer of shoes Vans (Dynner). Although the festival may be called a commercial and non-independent event, it is still an annual event which promotes punk culture.

3. Dick Lucas’s ideas focus on the fact that the emergence of punk all over the world helped people to direct their anger at the government because of the political issues and social problems. Punk was not only music, weird hairstyle, and leather jackets but also the demonstration of one’s attitudes, which are meaningful in terms of global sustainability. Kevin de Franco from The God Awfuls as well as many other punk musicians and followers agree that punk is concerned with one’s attitude to mistreatment by society and expression of oneself (Dynner).

4. Considering the history of punk, which emerged as the counterculture movement and later became the mainstream, I think that everything that is against something becomes popular afterward. People like the opposition, the feeling of being a rebel. At the different stages of its evolvement, punk attracted people because of its opposite and unusual ideas. However, with more adherents, the counterculture became mass culture. Thus, both approaches are applicable for describing punk.

This project is created by Liana Wonga who is an editor at superb essays