Focus Rock: Post-Punk

Post-Punk is another one of these music
historical terms that were, of course, applied
backwards.

It is not really sure what it means, especially
because it starts around the same time as punk
(1977).

Does it include or exclude simultaneous styles
such as industrial and no wave? In general
post-punk -and that's how we will understand it
in this class- are styles (! plural) that share
some of the aesthetic of punk and the DIY
approach, but are not punk, and evolved around
the same time from late-70s to mid-80s in
relationship to punk. This includes industrial,
no wave, new wave, various revivals (punkabilly,
ska) and mutations (mutant disco, free funk,
post-blues) as well as some art music.

All these styles originated as opposition to
cooperate 70s rock, complex and bombast
prog-rock,

and at the same time are looking forward (No
Future !?) as well as backwards to archaic rock
music.

But not only rock music, also the avant-garde
influenced post-punk strongly: from free jazz,
free improvisation, contemporary art music, and
German krautrock to -yes, entering through the
back door- prog-rock. But post-punk in general
can be seen as the emancipation of rock from
blues. So far, even the most artistic prog-rock,
still had strong influences and traces of blues,
if it was chord changes, scales or inflections in
guitar solos. Post-Punk for a large part gave up
on chord changes all together and fully embraced
dissonances and sounds as basic elements,
resulting in a variety of new approaches and
forms. Most post-punk riffs are free of blue
notes or inflections.

This class looks at the most creative time in
rock music after the 60s and will show how
between 1977-1985 the grammar of rock music has
been rewritten, influencing nearly everything
that is being played today.