Punk Rock

Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock, and some of my own words
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produced recordings and distributed them through informal channels.
The term "punk" was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to describe garage bands and their devotees. By late 1976, bands such as the Ramones in New York City and the Sex Pistols and The Clash in London were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.
By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore and Oi! had become the predominant mode of punk rock. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to post-punk and the alternative rock movement. By the start of the 21st century, pop punk had been adopted by the mainstream, as bands such as Green Day and The Offspring brought the genre widespread popularity.
==Green Day==
Let's start with my favorite punk band of all time: Green Day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, drummer Tré Cool, and guitarist and backing vocalist Jason White, who became a full member after playing in the band as a session and touring guitarist for 13 years.  Cool replaced former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990, prior to the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1992).
In 1987, friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, 15 years old at the time, formed a band called Sweet Children.[10] Its first live performance took place on October 17, 1987 at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California.[11] In 1988, Armstrong and Dirnt began working with Sean Hughes and the former Isocracy drummer John Kiffmeyer, also known as "Al Sobrante".[12] As said in the film Punk's Not Dead, Armstrong cites the band Operation Ivy (which featured Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman of Rancid) as a major influence, and a group that inspired him to form a band.
In 1988, Larry Livermore, owner of Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show and signed the group to his label. In 1989, the band recorded its debut extended play, 1,000 Hours. Before 1,000 Hours was released, the group dropped the name Sweet Children; according to Livermore, this was done to avoid confusion with another local band Sweet Baby.[13] The band adopted the name Green Day, due to their fondness for marijuana.[14]
The band released 2 albums, 39/Smooth and Kerplunk under the independent label Lookout! in the early 1990s.  They left Lookout! and signed with Reprise Records to release their third and major-label debut album, Dookie, which produced the band's first five singles, Longview, When I Come Around, She, Basket Case, and a re-mastered version of the Kerplunk song, Welcome to Paradise.
==Rise Against==
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_Against
Formally named Transistor Revolt, and sometimes called R.A., and Rise, Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in summer 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Zach Blair (lead guitar, backing vocals), Joe Principe (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums, percussion).
Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it released two studio albums, The Unraveling (2001) and Revolutions per Minute (2003). Both the albums met with considerable underground success, and in 2003 the band signed with the major label Geffen. Their major label debut Siren Song of the Counter Culture brought the band mainstream success, producing several successful singles. Their next two albums, The Sufferer & the Witness and Appeal to Reason, were also successful and peaked at number ten and number eight on the Billboard 200 chart respectively. Appeal to Reason was followed three years later by Endgame.[2] All four albums released via Geffen were certified platinum in Canada, while Siren Song of the Counter Culture, The Sufferer & the Witness and Appeal to Reason were certified gold in the United States.
Rise Against is also known for their advocacy of progressive organizations such as Amnesty International and It Gets Better Project. The band actively promotes animal rights and all members are straight edge (excluding Barnes), PETA supporters, and vegan.
To me, they're like a political punk rock band, with some of their songs involving stuff happening around the world.  For example, their song, Help Is on the Way, the song was inspired by McIlrath's time in New Orleans while on a tour break and the massive amounts of destruction he witnessed in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after both Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster.[1][2] McIlrath has also stated in recent interviews that the song - while having the lyrics pertaining to Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster - can be in reference to any world issue.
The meaning of the band's song, Prayer of the Refugee:
The song begins with a conversation between a refugee and his son. The refugee talks about the good life he, and his people, once had, but no longer do. The chorus is the refugee calling out, saying not to help him, as carrying himself is all he has left. He says that all those who have tried to "help" in the past have merely let him down again.
The next verse is about how these refugees are quietly trying to change the world in the background, in subtle ways. In the final verse, he tells the son to step out and change the world for the better.
The song is against many practices used as a result of capitalism in the United States.
==Politics and ethics of Rise Against==
All of the group's members are vegetarians and active supporters of PETA, an animal rights organization.[54] Their video for the single "Ready to Fall" contains footage of factory farming, rodeos, and sport hunting, as well as deforestation, melting ice caps, and forest fires. The group has called the video the most important video they have ever made. In February 2012 the band released a cover of the Bob Dylan song Ballad of Hollis Brown as part of a benefit for Amnesty International.[55] The Director's Cut of the video was first made available to a PETA website.[56] In 2009, the band was voted Best Animal-Friendly Band by PETA.[57] In addition to being vegetarians, all the members of Rise Against, with the exception of Brandon Barnes, are straight edge; that is, they refrain from consuming alcohol or using drugs.[58]
In addition to their support of animal rights, the band has voiced their support for Democratic causes. During the 2004 United States presidential election, the band was part of Punkvoter,[59] a political activist group, and appeared on the Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 compilation. The Rock Against Bush project raised over $1 million for then presidential candidate John Kerry. During the 2008 presidential election, the band members endorsed Barack Obama.[60] In a news bulletin in early 2009, the band stated: "Few things are more exciting than watching Bush finally release America as his eight year hostage."
==Ramones==
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ramones
Pretty much as the band who invented punk rock, The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group.[1][2] Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement in both the United States and, perhaps to a greater extent, in the United Kingdom.
All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", although none of them were related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years.[2] In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell concert and disbanded.[3] Only a little more than eight years after the breakup, all three of the band's founding members—lead singer (and, at the time of founding, drummer) Joey Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—had died.[4][5][6]
Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold was the compilation album Ramones Mania.[7] However, recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now cited in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone list of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time[8] and VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.[9] In 2002, the Ramones were ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine, trailing only The Beatles.[10] On March 18, 2002, the Ramones—including the three founders and drummers Tommy and Marky Ramone—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[2][11] In 2011, the group was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[12][13]  They are widely known for their song, "Blitzkrieg Bop."
==Pop Punk==
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_punk and some of my own words.
Pop punk (also known as pop-punk and punk-pop[1]) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars.[2] About.com has described contemporary pop punk bands as having "a radio friendly sheen to their music, but still maintaining much of the speed and attitude of classic punk rock".[3]
It is not clear when the term pop punk was first used, but pop-influenced punk rock had been around since the mid- to late-1970s.[4] An early use of the term pop punk appeared in a 1977 New York Times article, "Cabaret: Tom Petty's Pop Punk Rock Evokes Sounds of 60s".[5] In the mid-1990s, the California pop punk bands Green Day and Blink-182, who were later followed by The Offspring, New Found Glory and subsequently by Fall Out Boy, would all achieve worldwide commercial success.
The first pop punk bands I listened to were Sum 41, Green Day, and Fall Out Boy.  Sum 41 became one of my favorites in the pop punk genre with songs like "Fat Lip", "Underclass Hero", "In Too Deep", and "Noots".
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