The Punk Rock Culture

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience of the punk rock culture.

Thesis: The punk rock culture is something that you all have probably been exposed to, but may not know much about.

Organizational Pattern: Topical

I. Introduction

A. Attention Getter: Sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. Chains, studded belts, and Chuck Taylors. Mohawks, mosh pits, and social defiance. What kind of person do you think of when you hear these phrases?

B. Relevance: Whether you were watching MTV, at a local concert, or walking through the Quad here at Illinois State, I am sure that you all, at one point, have encountered someone who considered themselves to be part of the punk rock culture.

C. Credibility: Personally, I have been interested in the punk rock culture since 1990, when I saw live footage on the news of a riot in North Hollywood, California. The riot was started by the audience of a punk rock concert, and had they turned North Hollywood to chaos.

D. Thesis: The punk rock culture is something that you have all probably been exposed to, but may not know much about.

E. Preview: Therefore, we will talk about the history of punk rock, rock out with the founders of it, and sing of the effects that punk rock has had on society.

Transition: To begin, we will talk about the history of punk rock.

II. Body

First, we will chronicle the beginnings of punk rock.

1. According to Eric Jaffe of In Music We Trust online magazine, punk rock surfaced in the early months of 1975.

2. Also, he talks about who started the punk rock revolution. This is a topic that most people have very different opinions about. However, everyone can agree that punk music started in either New York City or in Great Britain. This is something that we will go over later in the speech.

3. There are many answers as to why punk rock music came about.

a. Eric Jaffe lends the idea that the popular bands of the late sixties and early seventies, like The Who, helped to give a certain sound to the first punk bands.

b. He also says that it is possible that teens of the mid-seventies were getting tired of the “absurdity of stage shows that rock and roll had turned to”. He uses the example of Alice Cooper, whose shows consisted of garish make-up, live boa constrictors, and toy dolls meeting their death in electric chairs and gallows. Because of this, teens tried to make a new scene and genre of music that shied away from such tactics.

Transition: Now that we have talked about the history of punk rock, we will explore the most prominent bands associated with the beginning of the genre.

There are three main punk bands that have the honor of being called the “founders of punk rock”.

4. The first band that is related to the origin of punk rock is The Sex Pistols.

a. The Sex Pistols consisted of four members. They were Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock, and Steve Jones. They were from England, and began in 1973.

5. Another band is The Velvet Underground.

a. The Velvet Underground had five members- John Cale, Nico, Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker. They originated from Manhattan, New York, and their first album came out in 1974.

6. The last, and possibly most famous band affiliated with the beginning of punk music, is The Ramones. [Show Power Point].

a. According to The Ramones’ Official Website, the members of The Ramones were Johnny, Joey, Tommy, and Dee Dee Ramone. They started in Forest Hills, New York, in 1974. Over twenty two years of touring together, they played 2,263 shows.

Transition: Now that we have learned who was responsible for the punk rock musical revolution, we will discuss how else punk rock has revolutionized society.

C. The punk rock culture has undoubtedly had a profound and worldwide effect on society.

1. A person who identifies with the punk rock culture will be greatly affected as an individual.

a. People who see themselves as part of the punk rock culture may feel a sense of belonging, where as they may not be accepted otherwise.

b.