Tag Archives: music

Punk: Musical Resistance?

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Shane Greene’s article “Peruvian Punk as a Global Means of Underground Production” was a fascinating read for me, as I am someone who hasn’t really explored all that punk as a music genre has to offer- socially, culturally and politically. Greene discusses punk as a “form of resistance” that is “difficult both to sustain and to predict its future lives”, as he identifies the role of underproduction and undercutting within the context of the Peruvian punk scene (286). As a culturally-produced phenomenon that ultimately seeks to subvert a public norm, “to disregard: to negate regard; to refuse to respect”  and “to repudiate rather than hold in esteem”, punk challenges and resists what ‘is’ (290). As something that grew in Peruvian popularity, albeit ‘underground’ of sorts, with a primary medium consisting of a “poor-quality demo cassette”, Greene highlights how, even in its forms and methods of distribution, punk conveys the very messages it has been created to deliver (291). Music as a form of cultural resistance is arguably not uncommon today, with lyrics of songs in popular media becoming increasingly politically charged, but the punk scene presents acts of resistance to not only political contexts, but the creative destruction of “aesthetic professionalism and monopolization”- these popularized channels of cultural media production themselves (289).

I think the comment made by Greene that stimulated the most thought for me while reading was how “to be maximally punk one starts by disregarding others’ definitions, including others’ definitions of what punk is or can be”, how a ‘true’ punk doesn’t even think about what it means to be punk- to put it more succinctly, “not giving a fuck if you are punk or not” (286). This had me wondering, then, what an ‘authentic’ or genuine punk would have to say about what others have to say about them. I guess you could say that talking and writing about what punk is and does, is, of course, not very punk at all. In fact, you could say that by writing this I am doing the exact opposite of what true punk attempts to do… All-in-all, as someone without much punk listening experience I found Greene’s article to be quite thought-provoking; it opened some windows into a genre of music I hadn’t yet ventured into much. 

My question is for anyone who is an active listener of punk, or anyone at all who wants to answer: I would love to know what draws you to punk as a genre of music? What does punk mean to you?

The Communicative Power of Narco-Corridos

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I must admit, before reading Shaylih Muehlmann’s chapter “A Narco without a Corrido Doesn’t Exist”, I had not yet heard of narco-corridos or the extensive cultural popularity they have amassed. Of course, although I am somewhat familiar with the history of the War on Drugs, and the nature of cartels, it is fascinating to me how quickly I have dangerously come to associate the word ‘narcos’ with the pictures of glorifying and distorting television series’. I guess this is, in essence, what Muehlmann is trying to convey- the associative power of popular cultural mediums. The way in which songs, movies and television can become vehicles for communicating some sort of uncensored truth, despite the lenses that are worn when writing them or directing them, is undeniable. The power of the role played by narco-corridos seems to lie in their separation from the state, and the transparency with which they can musically reflect a violent reality for the ears that listen to them. 

Muehlmann made a point of being careful not to make a link of causality between the songs and the violence they sing about, but rather to understand the music as representative of “the powerful potential of media circulation” and its ability to “heighten awareness of violence and censorship” (104). What struck me most, due in part to the similarity of my own reaction to Muehlmann’s, was when she described the decapitation in the video her friends played for her to watch. It was fascinating how, what many might perceive to be a desensitization to violence created by these corridos, in many cases, has been quite the opposite- an understanding of it. The awareness her friends had, in this moment, for the violent reality of cartels, painted their engagement with the music earlier on in the chapter as an active act of reflection, rather than passive dismissal. Through watching the video with open, unflinching eyes, it seemed as though they understood that in order to engage with the songs, they had to accept what they were about. Sold in roadside stalls, the circulation of videos capturing similar atrocities performed by cartels further demonstrates the accessible and uncensored nature of these, more informal, means of popular communication.

I found myself swiftly moving to Youtube after this reading, to listen to a few narco-corridos myself. What was fascinating, and a point noted by Muehlmann, was the unified sense of pride and Mexican patriotism the songs seemed to evoke in the comment section. Despite the themes and events the lyrics emerge from, it must be acknowledged there is a universal and undeniable appreciation for something as accessible and culturally binding as music.