# What defines Punk Rock for you?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-defines-punk-rock-for-you/666396>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 16, 2013, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-defines-punk-rock-for-you/666396 "2013-08-16T08:00:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 54

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**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-defines-punk-rock-for-you/666396/54 "2017-11-24T23:48:53Z")

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> [@scabpicker](#):
>
> You quoted yourself doing it. If you didn’t have a definition you were pushing, you wouldn’t be arguing, genius. Seriously, this is the stupidest position you’ve ever held on this board. Again, people can scroll back up and read what you posted, even if you weren’t so ham-handed to quote it when you deny it.
> 
> Examples already provided, and lots others can be sent your way as soon as you can be bothered to actually refute anything.
> 
> I don’t have to read about it. I actually was there, in punk bands. Why should I take the word of someone who pretends they were everywhere, yet hardly seems to only know the basic jist of the headlines? In short: What am I going to believe? You, or my lying ears and the examples I provide?
> 
> Since I was there, I can tell you that you didn’t have to be a virtuoso and be in a rock band of any stripe at the time, so that doesn’t make the punks that different. Hell you didn’t have to be a virtuoso to be in one before the punks, either. Similarly, being able to play incredibly well didn’t preclude you from being a punk. If you’d like be to just smother you with examples, fine. [Bad Brains](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCEkuo94X6I) were absolutely punk rock, and not many folks wouldn’t call them virtuosos.
> 
> If you think there are hard lines between the styles you mention, you really don’t know much about music at all, and I’ll quit wasting my time with you.

You mentioned a number of things common to all of them and expect that to serve as a definition? It doesn’t

Just answer one thing I said adequately. Whats my def of it? How is it different from other forms?

Some people need ideas about punk to feel cool. What actually is isn’t the point.

In fact if all your saying is that what you like is punk and what you like is also technical so, ipso facto…something is punk, why are you asking anyone else?

This is the same argument as “what is rock” or “what is metal” or “what is (some musical subset further up the metal genre colon…)”

Practice? Why does practice distiinguish punk rock from other music, or any other art form?

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