Ladies and gentlemen, please brace yourself for this following statement for it is quite upsetting yet true. Punk rock is dead. Punk rock came about in the seventies for people who were uninspired by Simon and Garfunkel, and couldn\'t really be bothered with Hendrix’s endless solos that went nowhere. Punk answered this cry for help with bands like The Ramones, The Clash and The Sex Pistols.



Joe Strummer once proclaimed that “Punk rock is meant to be our freedom. We’re meant to be able to do what we want to do”. It created a whole trend of non - conformist followers who were convinced that by not conforming to society and doing what they wanted to do, they were individuals, though failed to notice the irony when they all sported the same clothes and hair do's as their idols.



It provided great out-spoken people within society who weren't afraid to speak their mind, people like Patty Smith. But this is no longer the case, now it is just a joke. Sid Vicious would be turning over in his grave if he saw the state Punk rock is in currently. Punk wasn’t just about the music, it was the philosophy that came with it. It gave the genre a bit of soul, it’s spark.



For further reference to the death of the Punk "trend" look no further than Camden Town. The punks that sit on the bridge near the Lock drinking cheap beer and smoking cheap weed as a means of rebelling against the followers of society, against normality and plain boredom. However instead of innovating a new point for the cause, they are simply imitating the simplest facet of the original Punk trend, and are therefore merely pathetic followers convinced that they are stirring society and keeping the dream alive whereas what they really embody is a modern day Tourist Attraction. After all, Londoners are ahead of the curb as far as music and fashion is concerned and always have been, we aren't impressed nor shocked, only the foreigners taking polaroids or fancy Sepia shots on their Japanese camera's are.



That hard edgy music that was once a voice of a generation has died. The beast has been put down, slowly and painfully. The musicians of today that have the cheek to call themselves punk should be ashamed, they are more concerned about their look and acting ‘punk rock’ on purpose. The Towers of London are a fine example of this. Throwing televisions out of hotel windows has now been labelled cliché. These bands that call their styles punk should be relabelled as GHD and Topman, and we should prepare ourselves for many years of skinny jeans and guys with girl\'s hair. If anything it is the androgynous image that is replacing Punk Rock, and those pathetic try-hard imitators of the Donny Tourette breed are as transparent as the Perrier water they go home to drink. So next time you see these pathetic Joe Strummer wannabes, allow yourself a moment to feel bad for them, but more importantly feel bad for the glorious and distinctive Sid Vicious.

Posted In Features, Nov 25 2008. Words - Anthony