GETTING INTO PUNK MASTERPOST
Want to get into the punk subculture, but a bit intimidated by it?? Here’s a little list of tips and tricks for getting into the scene!!! [especially if you don’t know any punks in real life, or aren’t particularly close friends with any punks online either]
THINK FOR YOURSELF!!!! this is so important, you cannot be punk and NOT think for yourself, before accepting anything you have to think it through for yourself!!!!
DON’T BE RACIST, XENOPHOBIC, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, TRANSPHOBIC, FASCIST. ETC. you cannot be part of a group of radical free thinkers as a bigot. If you are a bigot you are not and will not be welcome in the punk community
INFORM YOURSELF ON CURRENT ISSUES. Work to figure out what you think about current issues because (as stated before) its punk as hell to have your own opinions
LISTEN TO PUNK MUSIC. You don’t have to listen to anything you don’t vibe with, but trying out different genres of punk and listening to some of the big names will help you understand and share something in common with more “seasoned” punks.
TALK TO OTHER PUNKS. most of us are really nice, especially if we know you’re trying to get into the scene! You can always interact/talk to us! most of us know how it can be a little scary to break into the scene and are willing to talk about our experiences!
TAKE YOUR SELF EXPRESSION INTO YOUR OWN HANDS. to whatever extent you can make/modify clothes for yourself. add patches and pins or paint on clothes [use fabric paint or acrylic mixed with fabric base for a cheaper alternative] ITS 100% OKAY TO WEAR YOUR MODIFIED CLOTHES EVEN IF THEY’RE NOT “DONE” YET! FUCK FAST FASHION!!
LOOK AT PUNK FASHION. there have been around 50 years of punk fashion, so find some you dig and base some of your modified clothes off of it (I’m really into 80s punk looks so I normally look like I crawled out of CBGB [famous punk bar in NY] during its peak years). Staples of a punk look are clunky boots or skate shoes (converse or knockoffs), band shirts, and battle jackets! Punk “fashion” is based on DIY and practicality. (it should be noted punk clothing also has an emphasis on being safe for moshing/protests, so normally no HUGE spikes and impractical shoes and super loose clothes)
GO TO SHOWS! ESPECIALLY LOCAL SHOWS!! going to shows in your local area is a good way to get into the scene. if you’re underage or live in assfuck nowhere it’s completely fine to not travel hours or get kicked out of a venue halfway through the show, so feel free to wait until you have a good chance to go to one. If you’re in an area with a local scene, going out to local shows is a great way to meet and support other punks! [suggestion by @juggernaut-is-a-metalhead]
Some other notes
YOU CAN BE ANY RACE OR GENDER OR SEXUALITY AND BE PUNK, PUNK IS NOT JUST FOR WHITE CISHET MEN! PUNK HAS ALWAYS AND WILL ALWAYS BE AN INCLUSIVE SPACE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S SICK AND TIRED OF BEING KICKED AROUND BY ANY/EVERYONE!!!
YOU CAN BE PUNK AND MENTALLY ILL, YOUR MENTAL ILLNESS DOES NOT CONTROL YOU AND WHAT YOU WANT AND WHAT YOU BELIEVE EVEN IF SOMETIMES IT FEELS THAT WAY! It’s also completely fine and valid to not want to go to shows/protests or be confrontational if you have a mental illness or honestly just don’t feel comfortable or safe doing so.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE PIERCINGS OR TATTOOS TO BE PUNK! If you’re underage or just don’t want to or don’t have the money, it’s okay to not have body mods and it doesn’t make you any less punk.
we really don’t like bootlickers (basically people kowtowing to authority and authority figures)
we’re anti-authority
a lot of us are atheists or at least have a distaste for formalized institutionalized religion
we kind of mind our own fucking business as long as the business isn’t hurting us or others
there’re a lot of anarchists in punk but you don’t have to be one, there are also a lot of social democrats
we DO NOT hurt or harass people who don’t deserve it (ie. kids, people who have nothing to do with whatever we’re fighting against)
there’re not really hard and fast rules that’s a big thing with punk, only you have power over yourself (”no authority but yourself” is a popular quote coined by anarcho-punk band, Crass)
Quick and basic punk genre breakdown
proto-punk- the punk before punk, this genre is comprised of 60s and 70s bands with a less refined sound than mainstream bands at the time, however, they normally didn’t have much in common. Bands like The Velvet Underground fall into this genre.
70’s - punk begins to emerge as a genre people argue about who was actually the first punk band a popular choice is Ramones
80’s- LOTS of punk potential here, 69.69% of “classic punk” bands are 80’s punk
90’s- ska started to emerge and punk was seen as skater music a lot of “classic punk” was also 90's
ska punk- based more on reggae, seen as skater music, normally has fun trumpets!
riot grrrl- feminist punk (just being an all female punk band doesn’t make you a riot grrrl band, there’s a sound to it as well)
folk punk- punk but with different instruments and less 3 chord riffs
post-punk- punk but more modern, normally is a bit softer than “classic punk”
hardcore punk- punk with screaming, kind of sounds like black metal, but with anarchy
pop punk- punk but it sounds more pop-y (hotly debated what is and isn’t, its kind of a dumpster fire)
garage punk- punk but EVEN less polished [this is my favorite genre]
THERE ARE MORE GENRES THAN THIS, THIS IS JUST A VERY FAST OVER-VIEW. Punk has about 1000000 different sub-genres so only the most popular and well known are included here!
(note about early punk: 70s and 80s punk sometimes included slurs in music or wearing hate symbols such as swastikas, this was because at the time a lot of punk forerunners subscribed to the idea that wearing/saying things employed by bigots would take power away from them, this idea was largely abandoned by the punk community as they made their way into the 90s. Now in the 20s punks wear lots of anti-hate symbols either coined by the punk community or lifted from other sources)
(2nd note, concerning inflammatory or ironic statements: a big part of punk culture and lyrics is using purposely inflammatory or heavily ironic statements, one way to figure out if the sentiment in a song is actually meant to be harmful or angry and not ironic is to look up the lyrics/band. As a rule of thumb if they’re an actual punk band that’s listened to by actual punks, it’s irony 99.8% of the time)
Some bands (almost) every punk has at least heard of:
Bad Brains, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Blink 182, Choking Victim, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Descendents, Green Day, Leftover Crack, Minor Threat, Misfits, NOFX, The Offspring, Operation Ivy, Pennywise, Ramones, Rancid, Sex Pistols, Social Distortion
[lifted off r/punk on reddit]
Some ending tips:
don’t feel embarrassed to look up lyrics or the sub-genre of a punk song/band, it’s a way of learning! also don’t feel embarrassed to look into punk history, it shows you’re genuinely interested in the message and culture!
listen to punk compilation albums! they have some amount of fame in the scene in and of themselves (such as GIVE ‘EM THE BOOT [VOLUMES 1-5], PUNK ROCK HALLOWEEN [VOLUMES 1-2], and BARRICADES AND BROKEN DREAMS)
check out entire record labels! you can find a lot of cool bands that don’t get a lot of attention. here’s a good masterlist of punk record labels, but if that’s too daunting, Fat Wreck Cords, Epitaph Records, and Discord Records are very well known. [suggestion by @juggernaut-is-a-metalhead]
It’s completely fine to not have a lot of money to spend on records or supplies for DIY clothes. Punk has an emphasis that your clothes and shit don’t have to be “pretty” they have to be functional.
for DIY patches/pins you can put ANYTHING you want on them, song lyrics, rallying cries, dates, sayings, literally anything you want, every punk has some weird shit on their patches.
don’t feel pressured into doing anything you don’t want to do, there is/was a group of punks who are “straight edge” meaning they didn’t drink or do drugs or stuff like that (more common in the 90s/00s)
seriously don’t be afraid to interact with other punks!! we’re a bit rough but generally harmless if you don’t suck!!
it’s 100% normal to also have nonpunk interests, don’t feel like you have to give up anything you love to be punk.
You don’t have to listen to any of this to be punk, being punk is doing what you want to do because you want to!! This is just a compiled list of tips for anyone not sure where to start!
PUNKS NOT DEAD
[feel free to correct me if I’ve gotten something wrong! my DMs and asks are always open if you want to hear more of my punk hot takes or want to talk to someone about punk or punk adjacent shit!]
