Got to Get One Now

Did you know that the first commercially successful punk band

was the Sex Pistols? Then came groups like Black Flag, Husker Du,

and Bad Brains. Punk was invented in Britain in the mid Seventies.

The first American punk started in a New York club called CBGB's.

CBGB's would attract a crowd of about 500 with its Sunday-afternoon

hard-core matinees. The concerts would be over by a reasonable

time so kids could get home to eat dinner with their parents. In

this paper we will take a look at some history and aspects of punk

rock over the years.

Slam dancing has been popular through the history of punk.

You may have heard of called "mashing" or "stage diving." Mashing

is just a big game of bumper cars like you played when you were a

kid. I think Natalie Jacobson who is dating the lead singer of

"Murphy's Law" describes stage diving best when says, "It's like

diving into a human carpet. Something like the old kids' trust

game. Just my way of getting into it. Gospel people got their

thing, I got mine."1

Some punks consider themselves Nazis', or are concerned with

issues like peace, racism, and nuclear war. Most punk is against

parental, musical, and political authorities. On the other hand

some isn't. Bob Mould of Husker Du talks about politics quite

frequently in his songs.

Most punks that live in small towns have trouble