1st Edition
The Poetry of Punk The Meaning Behind Punk Rock and Hardcore Lyrics
Punk bands have produced an abundance of poetic texts, some crude, some elaborate, in the form of song lyrics. These lyrics are an ideal means by which to trace the developments and explain the conflicts and schisms that have shaped, and continue to shape, punk culture. They can be described as the community’s collective ‘poetic voice,’ and they come in many different forms. Their themes range from romantic love to emotional distress to radical politics. Some songs are intended to entertain, some to express strong feelings, some to provoke, some to spread awareness, and some to foment unrest. Most have an element of confrontation, of kicking against the pricks. Socially and epistemologically, they play a central role in the scene’s internal discourse, shaping communities and individual identities.
The Poetry of Punk is an investigation into the Anglophone punk culture, specifically in the UK and the US, where punk originated in the mid-1970s, its focus being on the song lyrics written and performed by punk rock and hardcore artists.
List of Figures
Foreword: On Punk Lyrics
Greg Bennick
Introduction: ‘Three Chords and the Truth’
Chapter 1: Definitions
Etymologies
Defining Punk
Defining Poetry
Chapter 2: Punk Lyrics in Form, Function, and Delivery
The Meaning of Punk Vocalization
The Economy of Punk Songs: Text-Music Reciprocity
Text and Paratext
Form
Intertextuality in Punk Songs
The Levels of Communication in Punk Songs
The Functions of Punk Lyrics
The Anatomy of Punk Lyrics
Chapter 3: The ‘Punk Ideology’: The Language of Politics in Punk’s Poetry
Anarchy
Anticapitalism and DIY
Religion
Gender and Sexuality
Race and Ethnicity
Vegetarianism and Animal Rights
Chapter 4: "Anarchy in the UK": Genealogies of British Punk and Post-Punk
Sex Pistols: A Crudely Poetic Revolution
Anarcho-Punk: A Crass Threat to the Establishment
‘UK 82’: The Austere Poetics of Thatcher-Era Punk
Eclecticism and Diversification: British Punk in the Twenty-First Century
"The Queen Is Dead": From Punk to Post-Punk
Chapter 5: "Rise Above": A History of North American Punk and Hardcore
The Ramones: Punk as Pastiche
Dead Kennedys
The Harsh Poetics of Reagan-Era Hardcore
Straight Edge: A Sober Revolution?
‘Neo-Punk’: Between Underground Credibility and Mainstream Appropriation
The 1990s and Early 2000s: Modern Hardcore’s Defining Years
Index
Biography
Gerfried Ambrosch holds a PhD in English and American Studies from the University of Graz. He spent several years working and researching in London. He currently lives in Vienna, where he works for an international NGO. As a touring musician, he has intimate knowledge of the goings-on in international punk communities.
"Gerfried Ambrosch’s book is a pioneering, comprehensive study of punk culture and music, with a special focus on punk lyrics, that is likely to hold its ground for a long time. It is highly convincing, indeed unique both methodologically and in terms of the wide range of contents and themes it offers. It is academically well-founded, but still accessible to a broader readership in the innovative ways it maps out a tremendously complex, dynamic, and still developing field with consistent reference to a host of original interviews with leading figures of punk, as well as to the lyrics of punk as an essential expression of the (sub)culture’s ideologies."
– Hugo Keiper, Department of English Studies, University of Graz, Austria
