1. Please click on Handout 2: Punk Rock Discussion Guide and Handout 3: Punk Rock Document Set. You will use the documents to help you answer the questions.
- Music
- “Virtuosity” is defined as having great technical skill. For which of the bands in the videos is virtuosity more important?
- According to the interview with Bono, what was Punk Rock’s attitude toward virtuosity? Does he believe you need to be a virtuoso to make Rock and Roll?
- Look at the track listings from two different albums. What do you notice about the lengths of the songs? How does the length of the songs on the Clash’s 1977 album reflect what Bono is talking about?
- Does the music created by the virtuosic artists convey the same message as the music performed by the other groups? How might their messages differ?
- Audience
- What do you notice about the performers’ interactions with the audience in the two videos? Is the audience involved? What distinguishes the audience from the performers?
- How would you describe the role of the audience in this picture of Led Zeppelin?
- How would you describe the role of the performer in this picture of Rick Wakeman?
- Who do you think was going to the performance? Watch the clip of the "Sex Pistols Discussing the Music Scene" and speculate as to how they might react to such a concert.
- Social Context
- According to the Graham Parker video, what was the outlook in Britain in the late 1970s? What are some of the specific words Parker uses to describe the general situation?
- What do you imagine the situation of young people in particular in this period would have been? What words do you think would best describe their outlook on life?
- Why might young people turn to music to express themselves in this type of situation? If you had been living in this situation, how might you have gone about expressing yourself through music, even if you didn’t have any money or musical training?
- Do you think a young person living in this situation would have been more likely to attend a Stadium Rock concert or a Punk Rock show? Why? Do you think that one of the performances in the videos best represents the social and political events of the time? If so, which one and why?
- What do you imagine the music you would have made in this situation would sound like? (Note the words Parker uses to describe two album titles from this period, which include the words “howling” and “anarchy.”)
- Can Punk Rock be considered a form of protest music? If so, what were the people who created it and listened to it protesting?
- How might Punk Rock have been empowering to young people in this time and place? Think about the role of the audience, the sound of the music, and the “DIY” attitude of Punk.
- Album Covers
- How are the two sets of album covers different?
Elton John (1975) and Meat Loaf (1977)
The Sex Pistols (1977) and The Clash (1977) - Which covers seem to better represent the idea of virtuosity? The idea of “DIY”? Why?
- What message do you think the Sex Pistols and the Clash were trying to convey with these album covers? (Note: “Bollocks” is British slang with multiple meanings, but is generally taken to mean “nonsense” or “rubbish.”) Did they make them because they couldn’t afford professional artists to design their covers? What other reasons might there be?
- Which album cover do you find most appealing, and why?
- Why do you think the Clash decided to use this cover for their 1979 album London Calling? Compare it to this this cover from a 1965 Elvis Presley LP. What message do you think the Clash were trying to convey about their music? About how they saw themselves fitting in to the history of Rock and Roll?
- How are the two sets of album covers different?
