New book explores how punk virus continues to infect new generations

LAWRENCE — Nearly 50 years after the musical form’s first flowering, the show of the summer here was by a punk rock band. On July 30, Aussie quartet Amyl and the Sniffers sold out the Granada Theater as frontwoman Amy Taylor performed for a crowd of 900 sweaty, moshing fans.

Four days earlier, Olivia Rodrigo sold out the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, stomping the stage in her Doc Marten boots before a crowd of nearly 20,000.

This was no surprise to Iain Ellis, a senior lecturer in the University of Kansas Department of English and author of the new book “Punk Beyond the Music: Tracing Mutations and Manifestations of the Punk Virus” (Rowman & Littlefield).

“The music always is rejuvenating itself,” Ellis said. “There's a lot of music coming out of Britain at the moment that is definitely rooted in punk. I call them neo-post-punk — bands like English Teacher or Sleaford Mods or some of the hip-hoppers like Bobby Vylan — people who are taking that punk sensibility and sometimes the punk style, as well.

“A key component of punkers is the way they use symbols as messages — as a kind of commentary. To me, it's always been a visual phenomenon as much as a sonic one.”

Ellis, who grew up in Britain during the birth of punk there, did his doctoral thesis on the subject during the 1980s. But during COVID-19 lockdown he began thinking of punk again as a virus, maintaining some core tenets while mutating its shape over and over.

“I structure the book around five tenets of punk,” Ellis said. “The outsider is one ... meaning you assume the position of an outsider. And that's why it's been so friendly and welcoming to minorities, whether it be Rock Against Racism, which was built on punk in reaction to Britain's issues of racism in the ’70s, or things like queer core or the riot grrrl scene. It's always had much more of an open invitation along the lines of gender, sexuality, class, race.”

“It also has an aspect of feelings of alienation or being antiestablishment or anti-institutional. So there is a kind of pre-political or political with a small ‘p’ element to it — to be an outsider by self-definition, even if it does include privileged white dudes, as well.

“I also mention politics, the importance of notable symbols and the DIY ethic. These things aren't always fixed in punk, but they seem to always swim around it.”

The book hits the highlights of what Ellis calls:

• Pre-punk — forerunners of punk expression across the arts, such as William Burroughs, Andy Warhol, Dada, Situationist International.
• Proto-punk — those who immediately prefigured the punk explosion, including Charles Bukowski, John Waters, Monty Python.
• Primary punk — the 1976-77 music (Ramones-Clash-Sex Pistols), arts and subcultural explosions.
• Post-punk — expressions of punk aesthetics that have come since in various waves and manifestations.

Ellis’ analysis includes punk’s influence on fashion, comedy, theatre and much more.

“It manifests and mutates across the arts, infecting culture, lifestyles and even national heritage,” he said.

Ellis continues to have déjà vu. Shortly before his book's publication, Britain was wracked with anti-immigrant rioting.

“It feels like history is repeating itself,” he said. “I feel like I'm going through the 1970s again with open racism, the far right on the streets. Trumpism is the new National Front, for me.

“And I think the same reactions are coming out where you get new manifestations of youthful dissent, and it has a very punk vibe to it. We still need Rock Against Racism.

“A lot of it is coming out of the north of England, as well. It's almost a revival of a kind of Northern, working-class socialism, with very militant politics of the Gang of Four type.

“And at the same time, there are also incredibly co-opted, commercialized, pop versions of punk in singers like Olivia Rodrigo, one of the biggest pop stars of the last decade, or the 5 Seconds of Summer boy bands.

“That's why it no longer can be seen as just an outsider or a subculture. It's mainstream culture. We have politicians in Britain now who debate over what the Smiths were like, because that generation that grew up with the music are now people in positions of power. So it's fascinating the way it's now a multigenerational phenomenon. And of course, it is not manifested the same way each time. History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.”