I posted this on /his/ originally because I thought I would get more serious answers posting there but I didn't get many replies.
Why didn't punk rockers in the 70s and 80s actually do anything more than complain about the government and society? They seemed to have had the motivation and drive for change but wasted it. It seems most were just in it for the drugs and a good time and music and politics came second. There were many visionaries and idealists for people to get behind but nothing seemed to formulate.
>>66439235
Because punk is shithead music
punk rock was never filled with visionaries who wanted legitimate social change, it was an outlet for pissed-off rebellious teenagers
they were just angsty, man. It was all pointless.
>>66439284
Why wasn't the want for social change legitimate? Was it mostly just all talk to be edgy?
>>66439235
What is the Clash you idiot
>>66439284
>>66439300
Pretty much answered it
What the fuck did Darby know about political strategies and economic rebellion? All of them just wanted to get fucked up and not care
>>66439331
I'm not sure what he knew or exactly he wanted to do actually but in the movie What We Do Is Secret he (Shane West) explained he was a fascist and wanted to overthrow the system from the inside. Not that I completely agree with his views but if he was serious about it it's surprising nothing became of it. Seeing as the Germs were basically cult status in early 80s L.A.
>>66439545
He and many others might have wanted it but they were drug addicted and not intelligent enough to form a cohesive movement. I love their music and think they turned others onto this path but punks didn't have the academic background or connections to take down the complex pre existing system which they were fighting. Still plenty of merit in what they did to me though
>>66439617
The music is very influential. Hopefully we can do what they didn't even attempt.
>>66439235
Actually quite a few of them played at demonstrations and protest rallies in the early 1980s including such bands like D.O.A. The Dead Kennedys M.D.C. and Bad Brains to name but only four. Plus the bass player for the Canadian Subhumans who went by the moniker of Gary Useless was arrested on conspiracy charges for planning to blow up a power plant so some of them weren't just all talk.
The New York and LA scenes were not generally political. The London scene was political, and while there were some political poseurs (i.e. the Sex Pistols), there were also a lot of activists, like Crass. Crass played a huge role in making the animal rights movement as big as it is. Crass also ran, and still run, an artist collective commune. Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) ran for public office numerous times. Fugazi are known for playing benefits and protests. Jack Grisham (TSOL) and Krist Novaselic (Nirvana, Flipper) have both been elected politicians.
Your question and the way you ask it say to me that you know very, very little about this topic.
