Old Punk or New Punk?

My friend keeps sayin' that the new punk music is way better cause old punk wasn't as heavy as it is now.
But what music isn't?
I'm asking for an opinion; which would you prefer, Old Punk or New Punk?

If by "New Punk" you mean the crap they play over the radio and MTV, then that's a definite NO. True punk is mostly underground stuff (because playing on the radio goes against a lot of their beliefs) and it has a whole different sound than anything you'll find on the radio. Most of the stuff you hear on the radio that claims to be Punk really isn't. It's like what's happening to Metal. Radio plays Hard Rock or some other stuff, and ignorant people start calling it Metal (ie Disturbed, Korn, Slipknot, ect.) People do the same thing to bands they hear on the radio and call it all Punk when it really isn't.

So you might want to specify what you mean by New and Old Punk because the question might not even be valid if you aren't even talking about Punk.

If he thinks Greenday is better than the Ramones, he needs a slap upside the head.

I hate the Ramones. A lot. And I don't know why, because in general I like old punk. They're just one of those bands I can't stand in the least. And there aren't too many. Like...The Ramones, Genesis. That's all that comes to mind.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. I like old punk more. But I'm not super super into punk, so I couldn't even name you too many bands from now or then. I like the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedys a lot. But then I also don't hate older Green Day. I have some Agent Orange on my computer, and I think they were older, but I really don't know. Dammit, I'm rambling again.

What was the question?

Always hated punk myself... I did like DRI and some of the other spin off hardcore bands from New York though. Same message and energy but they could play their instruments!

Must say my preference lies with old punk like the Pistols and the Ramones. however i do have a soft spot for old Greenday (Dookie era), before they went too "pop" sounding.

why not both? I know alot of bands are mistaken for punk when they are not, but they are a couple New Punk bands that are good and stay to the roots of punk. Anti-Flag, and Rise Against although they don't sound too much like the old true punk, they stay to what punk meant and thats what makes them punk. To me what makes someone punk isn't the music as much as the beliefs. Of course music has a hefty part. Still old green day was good and you cannot deny it. MxPx was okayyyy, pretty good, but still....

Well, I'm old so my vote goes for old punk. Heck, I was out in the clubs when they were playing Gang of Four,The Five and Echo and the Bunnymen,The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Televison...etc...etc...

Those were the days kids...those were the days..of course, I don't remember much about them but what I do remember was terrific! :)

Originally Posted by: olson34My friend keeps sayin' that the new punk music is way better cause old punk wasn't as heavy as it is now.
But what music isn't?
I'm asking for an opinion; which would you prefer, Old Punk or New Punk?

I think your friend needs to have a listen to The Damned, The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers.......

or clit 45, the circlejerks, black flag, lower class brats, FEAR, youth brigade.


those are all well within the range of punk. to me, there's no "new punk" or whatever. it's either punk or it's a mix of "pop sensabilities" fused with punk. greenday never was and never will be a punk band, but they had elements of the bay-area punk feel.

Superhuman you never liked punk? But punk is partly responsible for all modern metal, it was responsible for Metallica. There are some freaking amazingly talented punk bands, old and new.

First off there needs to be a line drawn between punk music and "Punk Music". There is the genre called "punk" which was completely ****ed sideways by people like Greenday and other ****ty rock bands who played loud and fast but were not really ever punk bands.

Punk still exists though, you can find it but it won't really find you usually. It like all punk music it isn't ever played on the radio. Mostly because it is almost always offensive. Old punk is never even played on the radio. I've never heard black flag on the radio.

If you want really cool newer punk bands then I would suggest The Fatal Flying Guilloteens, Die Princess Die, or the Locust. Charles Bronson (the Band) are also pretty good. You could call the Mars Volta punk, but mainly their first album "Deloused in the Comatorium".


The point is there is a major difference between "old punk" and "new punk". Punk is a philosophy and intent that directs people and their music, it is not a genre. The original punk bands where not connected by a sound they were connected by the way they lived and their attitudes.

i dont know much about punk "music" in general. i did like some of the older more mainstream bands like the ramones the clash sex pistols everyone knows what i mean.

as my understanding of punk goes, it was more about feeling abandoned by soceity(sp?) and the main stream. when punk was first being played art rock and the begginings of glam rock (david bowe) as well as the pop soft rock stuff, these kids who didnt want to go quietly into the night and really wanted something to show thier discontent with unemployment, conformity, and the over all drive to grow up get a job 2.5 kids a suburban house and a dog.
what i think sets new punk out is the mtv/ internet generation that has no idea whats its rebelling against, its complete lack of a real personal idenity, and its preprogramed drive to buy everything in site.for these kids of my generation the ideals of punk were bought and sold with the deaths of sid vicious and joey ramone. that song by sum 41 (sry dont know the name) that was all over tv and the radio a few years ago is what punk is now (even though i dont think its true punk), a money machine for record compaines.

true punk died a long time ago and will never be brought back untill some one wipes their ass with their record contract.

dude thats just ignorant. No offense. There are plenty of great bands that are truly punk around today.

Like I said you have to actually go out and find them though because they don't get big record deals (if at all) and if they are signed it is by small underground record labels. Check out a lot of the bands that the late great Gold Standard record label signed.

Check out whats going in the LA underground scene and underground noise scenes all over the country. There are plenty of really good punk bands. Like I said previously I don't think people seem to realize that all the great original punk bands were not super stars. They get recognition now as important musicians but most everyone they influenced saw them on stage.

The idea that there is no answer to MTV and corporate bull**** music is completely wrong. There has been an answer ever since there has been MTV. "punk" is not a genre, the genre labeled "punk" is one of the worst in the world as far as being bull**** goes. At least pop musicians don't bull**** you about what they stand for. Most pop rock now falls under the umbrella of "Punk" at least most of the rock I here on the radio. Otherwise it is alternative bs who's lineage is more from Nirvana and other grunge bands of the eighties-nineties. Sort of the same thing has happened to indie rock. "Indie" is definitely not indie anymore. Most of it is complete formulated bull****. There is still some decent stuff out there but a lot of it is just people trying to get rich on the indie sound and indie image.

But as far as punk goes. Again there are plenty of great bands to find.

And as far as the original question goes, I may actually say that I enjoy some of the new punk (the real stuff) more than the old stuff, it is more modern, and I am a modern person (in the sense that I am alive right now) so I think I probably identify with it more. That isn't to say that older punk isn't as good just that I get off a lot more on Die Princess Die than I do Black Flag or the Stooges.

drew77 i meant no offense. like i said ive never really been a fan of punk. what i hear from the radio (yes i know not many good bands of any genre execpt old ones are on the radio now a days) is bands like greenday blink 182 sum 41 the offspring and many others that have taken the punk style of playing and turned it into the next bubble gum pop. i am more then sure if i looked around here i could find at least 10 good punk bands that no one has ever heard of. but the same would go for every other style. i dont think that old punk is really a genre becuase old punk never stopped being punk and new punk is like those bands i maned up top.

again i meant no offense.

I didn't mean any offense either I was just referring to this quote:

Originally Posted by: BrokenJera
true punk died a long time ago and will never be brought back untill some one wipes their ass with their record contract.

I was just pointing out that nothing ever happened to true punk. It has always been around but just like original punk bands it is never played on the radio. Very little of any punk even from the 70s is ever played on the radio. That's all.