Punk rock = abjection?

In the mid-70’s, punk rock bands had become a major cultural phenomenon, especially in the United Kingdom. The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash had made it big with their anti-establishment lyrics and fast edgy music. Punk rock was mainly geared toward those who rejected any association with the mainstream. Punk rockers usually played shows in local or underground venues where a punk subculture then emerged, expressing youthful rebellion with distinct haircuts and style and an anti-authority way of life.

      The general public, however, was not very fond of these so-called punk rockers and their message. According to Paul Cobley, the press took abjection (vomit, snot, spitting, menstrual blood, fetishism, obscenity, perversion, violence, and unreason) and made it synonymous with punk rock. The funny part is that the press featured these bands in their newspaper articles as reprehensible and filthy, but it only brought more attention to the punk rockers and provided more appeal for youngsters in the midst of teenage rebellion.

      Those that were appalled by the “moral depravity” of punk rock were mostly of older generations. Of course parents didn’t want their children listening to punk rock and being a part of the new twisted culture that they not only didn’t understand but were against. Punk-rock was new, something different than had never been on the scene before and the press was magnifying its appeal to adolescents and young adults who wanted nothing more than the opportunity to be rebellious. The rise of punk rock isn’t the only time nor genre that has caused panic amongst parents and the older members of the population.

In the 1990’s, rap music became very popular with the rise of artists like Tupac Shakur(2Pac), Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. “In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope records refused. Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having "no place in our society”.” (“Tupac Shakur”, Wikipedia).
As you can see, every decade or so there is the rise of something new in music. A new genre makes it big because it’s different; out with the old, in with the new. Young people, who are very impressionable, immediately take to it while parents are outraged. Times change and therefore music changes with it. Parents who listened to music of the 70’s and 80’s are appalled by the suggestive lyrics their children are now listening to just like their parents were of the music they listened to. It’s all a matter of a generation gap and the inability of older people to get out of their ways. Remember, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.