Music has been around at least as long as civilization itself, and probably earlier. Whether as the melodic sound from reading poetry in meter, or tribal drums and horns, music has served society in a plethora of ways. In the middle of the twenty first century, music began to take on a new burden from society. As other forms of art less and less served some higher moral or philosophical purpose, music filled the void, speaking out for whole generations. John Lennon and Bob Dylan were the voices of the masses (although Dylan protested this unsought title time and time again) writing songs like Imagine and Subterranean Homesick Blues, respectively. As different wars created new grievances and social movements, new genres stepped up to the plate to speak for upcoming generations. As Punk Rock dwindled and morphed into the less offensive forms: Emo and Alternative, many disillusioned youths of the new generation found that Punk Rock was dead, the masses had become complacent, and that truly, “Success is obedience to a structured way of life” (Operation Ivy). But alas, hope is not lost, and voices very similar to those of the Beatles and the Dead Kennedys live on today.

My parents are astounded to learn that the Beatles appeal to the youth of today as much as they did to themselves. I wonder, why? Our parents sold out- they arguably came closer than any other group in history to effecting change in society and politics, and then became the proud business owners that they are today. Perhaps had they succeeded, the youth of today would not be able to understand a song like Bob Dylan's Hurricane. But just as Beaz, The Beatles, The Stones, and Skinner all spoke out against the injustices of society, so to has Punk Rock provided a forum of expression for the Cold War generation.

When Punk rose to its apogee, every aspect of the music personified the feelings of the Punk-Rockers. More than lyrics appealed to these youths. Children of the Cold War felt marginalized by society, and more and more found that they had no where to fit in. The dingy factories and high-rise apartments that became the new trade mark of modern ghettos were alienating places to live for the residents, who looked around and saw “Empty factories to the east and all our waste,/ The shape of things that came shows on the broken worker's face.” (Operation Ivy). They reacted by trying to look how they were made to feel- by inflicting the ugliness they felt upon those who had to look at them, with their clothing, body piercings, and tattoos. Similarly, the very sound of the music epitomizes the feeling behind it. The cacophony is as painful to the uninitiated's ears, as is the pain that they themselves feel, shocking the listeners in much the same way the first listeners to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde must have been.

Lyrics like “Saw a civilisation where grabbing onto wealth/ Was the only guarantee of freedom, peace and health/ Dollar sign value system upheld as the truth,/ And if you can't find a place it's gonna find you.” by Operation Ivy, and “God save the queen/ The fascist regime/ They made you a moron/ Potential H-bomb” by the Sex Pistols, said for masses what they could not. But eventually, The Sex Pistols stopped booking shows where they knew that they would be booed off stage, and artists such as Green Day sold out, and were banned from the Punk Rock mecca, 924 Gilman Street. While the 924 Gilman Street Project's continued existence is a testament to the enduring Punk Rock movement, by and large it has faded and morphed into Emo and Alternative.

Emo originated with the Punk philosophies in heart, but with a feeling that the musical forms that made up the essence of Punk Rock were too limiting. As the music changed, gradually the lyrics did too, until Emo shared little with Punk other than general dissatisfaction, with, uh- life? The music has become much more emotional and personal than political. Similarly, former Punk bands such as A.F.I. and Green Day joined the ranks of Weezer and Pearl Jam in the Alternative genre. To many, it appeared as though all meaning had been drained from music. There were no more choruses to rally behind, no more voices for the masses; as the Arctic Monkeys say, “There's only music, so that there's new ringtones.” If anyone in the Post-Cold War generation had something to say about society, they had to go back to Vietnam and the Cold War, because the Golf War didn't stir up much musically.

Fear not, music lovers. The Iraq War, The War on Terror, Golf War II, or WWIII, whatever you're government calls it- has once again called upon music to serve as the Voice of a generation. The Arctic Monkey's burst into the international music scene almost overnight, having been quickly proliferated throughout the London Underground scene to an audience desperate for a voice. The Arctic Monkeys expressed their disappointment in modern music as avant-guard, and their disappointment in the youth who created the London night-life, (there are too many examples to choose from in their lyrics), and their disappointment in society in general. Of course, they are Post-Punk, and a marked difference between them and their Punk predecessors is their lack of nihilism. Their upbeat sound gives hope, their very existence a testament that not everyone has given up yet, they are, after all, avant-guard.

Another Post-Punk, and an American, MC Lars, has become the self-appointed voice of what he dubs, the “igeneration.” His songs are satires, poking fun at society and how it manifests itself in modern music genres, and manages to use both the lyrics and the music itself, to put his message across. College educated, (another trademark characteristic of Post-Punks), he speaks up about the lack of meaning in music Signing Emo, the music industry Download This Song, and society If I Had A Time Machine, igeneration, and Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock, and is explicitly avant-guard, The Dialogue (featuring Ill Bill). MC Lars changes constantly and adopts the music of what he is satirizing (he even manages to do this with songs not about music, as in Space Game), which in a sense gets him closer to Punk Rock than other Post-Punks. Conversely, his avant-guard nature is what defines Post-Punk, and excludes him from Punk Rock.

Punk may indeed be dead. Perhaps those kids at Gilman Street aren't as grass roots as they think/wish the are (after all, A.F.I. is still allowed over there). But there is once again a voice for today's generation, and music has learned a lot from Punk's Do-It-Yourself motto. Post-Punk took the best from the legacy's of the 60's and 70's Rock movement and the 80's Punk Rock, and although music may seemed to have lagged for a while, it is coming back full force. Underground music is flourishing, and is once again sending a message.