Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk (or hardcore) is an intensified version of punk rock usually characterized by short, loud, and often angry songs with exceptionally fast tempos and chord changes.

Overview

Hardcore originated in the late 1970s and early '80s in North America, primarily in and around Los Angeles and Washington, DC, but also in around New York City, Vancouver, Boston, and other cities. Former DC club promoter Steven Blush claimed, in his book, American Hardcore: A Tribal History, that hardcore was punk rock adapted for suburban teens. Hardcore lyrics often express righteous indignation at society, usually from a politically left perspective.

Related Topics:
North America - Los Angeles - Washington, DC - New York City - Vancouver - Boston - Steven Blush

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The origin of the term 'hardcore punk' is uncertain. One story is that the term was coined by New York City producer and manager Bob Sallese while promoting a show by the band, The Mob, circa 1981, at a Bayside, Queens club. (The common New York term for fast punk, at the time, was 'thrash.') A less dubious possibility is that it comes from the "Hardcore '81" album by Vancouver's D.O.A.. Until roughly 1983, "hardcore" was used fairly sparingly, in the spirit of an adjective, and not in the sense of a defined musical genre: American teenagers who were into hardcore considered themselves into 'punk' -- as opposed to 'punk rock' or '77 punk,' the earlier, slower style of the Sex Pistols, et al., which they generally considered hopelessly dated and passé. 'Hardcore' was initially an in-group term meaning, in perfect anthropological fashion, "music by people like us," and included a surprisingly wide range of sounds, from hyper-speed punk to sludgy dirge-rock, and often including art/experimental bands such as Mission of Burma, The Stickmen, and Flipper. Today (and for the purpose of this article), it refers more-or-less exclusively to what used to be known as 'thrash.'

Related Topics:
Bob Sallese - The Mob - D.O.A. - Sex Pistols - Mission of Burma - The Stickmen - Flipper

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