GREENMUSE is a regular reader and fan contributor at antiMUSIC, the views expressed here don't necessarily reflect those of antiMUSIC or our sponsors, but we are sure you will enjoy what he has to say! 

Lately I�ve seen this phrase thrown around by lots of people, mainly followed by the names blink182 and sum41. To judge an entire movement of music and culture by just a few bands is silly and seems to be particular to just the punk genre. You didn�t see people saying "country's dead" when Billy Ray Cyrus came out with "Achy Breaky Heart", or people saying rock is dead when Limp Bizkit crooned out "rollin" did you? I didn�t think so, this phrase seems to be permanently attached to the punk genre. It�s a mystery that perhaps will never be solved.

Then there is a lot of people that go about saying how "punks changed so much it cant be called punk." I think punk has changed for the better, sort of the first wave of punk had lots of energy and rage but the energy was so scattered and the market so saturated with bandwagon hoppers that it didn�t have the impact it should have had. Don�t get me wrong the Pistols, Clash, Crass and all were great bands but then the 80's hit, this was American punks time to shine. Some of the best music ever was produced during this era. A right wing republican combined with the excess of the period made for some fantastic music.

Lets flash forward to today, after all one can�t talk about punks present without talking of the past. It is true that today�s punk bands don�t really have the fire that their predecessors had, but are nonetheless just as punk. 

Punk has changed with the times; today�s punks are more social conscious than ever. Many bands donate money to good causes, such as blindness and cancer just to name two that I can think of right off the top of my head. Punk�s become more popular than ever and with the addition of the internet, punk music has become more accessible to all, musical instruments are cheaper than compared to back in the 70s, as far as quality versus price. These are very active political times, just a general feeling of unrest and a growing gap between the rich and the poor.

In general, I am saying that I think we are sitting on a veritable timebomb, punk will break out of this stagnant muck its been stuck in since 1990 or so. People just have to smarten up and look past all of the marketing gimmicks that seem to define the mainstream view of punk. Punk�s dead? No, it has just been asleep for a few years with some stirring every once in while.