So while the Ramones, Television, and Patti Smith were busy creating new anti-establishment sounds in New York, it was the oppression of British working class youth that helped propel punk rock and, with it, its torn and tattered anarchist appeal to a new generation. In a society ruled by the rich and the powerful, the Sex Pistols became, from the moment they hit the stage at their very first gig, the embodiment of the nihilistic attitude of a segment for Britain’s youth. Working class angst was widespread, and the economic outlook for the country’s youth was bleak at best. In Britain, this was a period of social unrest. Consisting of a rag tag group of young anarchists, who could play just good enough to get by, the Sex Pistols were born, and a new kind of Anarchy began in the U.K. In 1975, inspired by the fashion, sounds, and punk attitude he experienced at CBGB shortly after it opened, Malcolm McLaren, an eccentric art school dropout with a penchant for business, headed back to his native England to put a punk rock band together. On the other side of the pond, in London, a similar movement was beginning to take shape. It was also where Television’s Richard Hell began fashioning what would become the ultimate punk uniform and aesthetic: ripped t-shirts, black leather jackets, black motorcycle boots, chains, and spiky unkempt hair. Within months, CBGB had become not just the place to hear new sounds, but also a focal point and creative outlet for the anti-establishment. Although he didn’t know it at the time, CBGB owner Hilly Kristal had opened up a space that was to spawn an entire movement in music history-a movement that would turn CBGB into a legendary household name. In search of a new home, the group of musicians carried their sound over to the East Village venue and effectively established it as home base. Around the same time, CBGB, a ‘biker bar turned live music club’, aiming to appeal to the country, bluegrass, and blues crowd, had opened up just a short cab ride away. During the early 1970s, as a reaction against the happy-go-lucky mainstream music of the time, New York City bands, including the Velvet Underground, The Stooges, The New York Dolls, Television, and Patti Smith, began to experiment with new sounds in the alt-culture mecca of Greenwich Village. Long before punk rock became synonymous with safety pins, slogan T-shirts, and studded bracelets, it was simply a convergence of influences that began with mid-1960s garage rock-a period that came to be known as proto-punk. Understanding how one graphic designer captured a voice and defined a generation built on chaos can teach us a thing or two about what it means to make your message heard. Because the same social, political, and economic unrest that provided the breeding ground for punk rock in the 1970s is back to greet us in 2017. So pull out your favorite Ramones and Sex Pistols records, and crank the volume up to 11. It was also fertile ground for a new kind of design aesthetic-a communication style that shared the same ideologies that the movement came to represent. Working class angst, coupled with the frustrations of living underneath the weight of establishment gave birth to punk’s characteristic ideals, sound, and attitude. The story of its influence is mostly a tale of two cities-New York and London-during the mid-1970s, but punk has been a constantly evolving movement, drawing in anyone who rejects the mainstream. Few cultural movements have had as much impact on modern society as punk rock music. Shaggy spiked hair and studded black leather jackets motorcycle boots and thick chain necklaces the permanent expression of anti-establishment disgust.
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