The Punk Movement of the Late 1970s - Essay Example

Therefore, the essential features of the punk musical aesthetics contribute to an understanding of the difference between punk rock and the other popular rock music styles of the time such as the style of the Beatles. Significantly, “Anarchy in the U.K.,” the first single of the Sex Pistols, as well as “White Riot,” the first single of the Clash, divulges the crucial musical and lyrical features of the which, in turn, illustrate the distinction of the punk music to the popular music of the day. One notices the quality of fast and bare organization of music in them which reflects the style of the garage rock of the 1960s. The relatively shorter songs of “Anarchy in the U.K.” as well as “White Riot,” accompanied by stripped-down instrumentation also indicate the musical elements in the rock. These features set the punk rock bands apart from the popular music of the time and the decisive result of this music was undeniably far-reaching. As Frith and Horne suggest, “Punk rock was the ultimate art school music movement. It brought to a head fifteen years of questions about creativity in a mass medium, and tried to keep in play bohemian ideals of authenticity and Pop art ideals of artifice… It ushered popular music into postmodernism.” (Frith and Horne, 124) The short but passionate song of the “White Riot,” along with the quality city of its lyrics, which deals with the controversial issues of class and race, illustrates the musical aesthetics of tank rock in common. The effect of these musical bands, unlike that of the other popular band's brands they s the Beatles, was visible in the cultural militia of the period.

Focusing on the mussel seals the punk rock music, it is illumining to distinguish between the two contrasting styles of punk – the Plebian punk rock style and the ‘art rock’ style. The former “places a lyrical emphasis on providing an exposition of working-class dissatisfaction with ‘normal’ society, and frequently focuses upon concerns that are particular to young people,” while the latter “specifically references modes of communication found in theories of art.” (Borthwick and Moy, 78) It is the former which is, musically, more aggressive in style and followed an inexpert style whereas the music of the latter is more complicated and layered. In both musical styles, one finds the elements that are considerably distinct from that of the other popular music of the time. The Sex Pistols, as well as the Clash, led the punk music movement to a greater realm of the musical world which was inaccessible to the other popular music styles. In conclusion, the distinctive musical and lyrical features of punk music, as evident in “Anarchy in the U.K.” as well as “White Riot,” sets the punk movement highly superior to the popular music of its time.