As someone who spent a weighty part of teen hood believing punk rock = Green Day, I owe much of my music history knowledge to VH1, and a bit to High Fidelity. Otherwise I wouldn't have known that Green Day sounds like a combination of the Clash and Sticky Little Fingers (thanks, High Fidelity). I also wouldn't have known that punk rock was all about ugly dudes making a lot of noise (thanks, VH1). I didn't have access to music videos as a teenager.
When I moved to a small but urban area in Korea, I soon found a miniature music shop that caught my liking. I guess I liked it because it was near my house. I pretended it was my own little High Fidelity-type rare music place, only without the rare music. Actually, the chances of finding what I was looking for were often slim. But I usually found something that ended up being not-too-crappy.
Once I found a Rancid CD, ignored the parental advisory label, and made a purchase. Later, I found the label was EXTREMELY well-warranted, but I also learned a few things about why I tend to like punk rock. So here goes.
1. There's joy in it. The more old-school, pure style of punk is about enjoying life to the fullest. Sure, the punks often find this through sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, but that's not the part I'm talking about. It's about a Carpe Diem sort of thing. Usually it has to do with love or music.
2. Rebellion. Sometimes I believe it's OK to rebel. For example, pop music, where pleasing music with meaningless lyrics and image are key. As VH1 astutely observed, the punk dudes were ugly and noisy. They were crass, but knew pure evil when they heard it. And so they rebelled. Later, Green Day rebelled against the rebellion by making punk popular, but that's another story. It ends with us blaming them for Blink 182.
3. It sounds good. Sometimes three chords are all you need.
4. Style. Look at them. They're so colorful!
I feel like there should be a number five, but four works for me.
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