Punk Rock

An icon for rebellious and alienated teens, punk rock emerged in the latter half of the 1970s. Rooted in garage rock from the 60s, punk rock rejected the advertised excess of popular rock music at the time. The songs are typically short and fast-paced with political and anti-establishment (against powerful organizations and government) lyrics. 

At home, find different articles of clothing and items and have your own Punk Rock concert/fashion show

Learn new vocabulary: Anti-Establishment, Politically Charged, Rebellion

Tool Kit: A camera or phone, clothes found around the house 

Step 1: Because Punk music is known to be explicit and often offensive, I have provided songs to listen to this time so that there won’t be anything inappropriate when you are trying to research. Here are a few youtube links to different punk songs. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=268C3N2dDYk&ab_channel=RHINO – Blitzkrieg Bop 

https://youtu.be/rkPCb-uEjaI – Behind Closed Doors 

https://youtu.be/ok5BJlAd5-4 – All The Small Things 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kz6hNDlEEg&ab_channel=Paramore – That’s What You Get 

Step 2: Think about the main elements of the songs and videos shown. How do they dress, is their hair color different than normal? Do they wear different kinds of clothing? Think about their energy too. Do they seem to be laid-back people or are they energetic and bouncy? 

Step 3:Keeping all of those questions in mind, find objects around your house that represent the punk lifestyle. That could be a speaker, a leather jacket, a ragged piece of clothing, whatever comes to mind. Take these objects you find, and decide between either hosting a fake concert for your family and friends or starring in your very own fashion show. 

Group Activity: What did your family and friends think of your concert/fashion show? Did they pick up on the punk vibe? If not? Ask them what they think would better show the punk style 

Extend Your Journey: Try and find some more punk music you may like. Be careful though, the genre is known for its aggressiveness and harsh attitude. If you didn’t like what you heard already, check out this documentary on how the Ramones changed the landscape of punk music.

Access Our Instructional Video Here