By Alizee Compson

Punk originated in the 1970s in London with bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. It was a revolutionary sound that demanded changes in society. This one genre made more genres derived from it, such as new wave, Indie rock and the riot grrrl genre. The riot grrl was movement in America, making bands such as Bikini Kills, and Brat Mobile This type of genre sung about rape, domestic abuse, sexuality and female empowerment.

Punk had pushed for feminist beliefs shown with Rock Against Sexism movement that started in the UK on the 8^th November 1980. This movement organised the Rock tegen de Rollen gestival (Rock Against Gender Roles) in the Netherland, Utreht. This shows how punk inspired other countries to push for feminist beliefs, all starting from the UK. This festival was to show women in the music industry weren’t used as eye candy and can be more than singers. Bands performed such as The Nixe and Pink Plastic and Panties, these were both all-female punk bands that originated from the Netherlands. This punk movement that started in the London became worldwide and spread punk ethos that appealed to both genders.

Berkers, Pauwke. Rock Against Gender Roles: Performing Femininities and Doing Feminism Among Women Punk Performers in the Netherlands, 1976-1982. Journal of Popular Music Studies. Vol. 24, 2012. doi:10.1111/j.1533-1598.2012.01323.x.

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The riot grrrl movement started in America as a feminist punk movement. This music genre was derived from Punk. This was to spread feminist views by singing songs with messages in them and having all female bands. However, punk would also have just female bands, but the riot grrl movement was to try and stop females receiving hate for liking punk or performing in punk bands. The UK Punk movement helped progressing female empowerment all across the world since now female punk bands were showing up all over the world and even making their own movements such as America with the riot grrl movement.

In the book the lost women of rock music by Helen Reddington, she states how in the 1970s and 1980s there was a new emerge of female guitarists, bassists, key board players and drummers in bands. She believed this had to do with the ethic of punk, ‘anybody can do it’. She also believed it had to do with the Equal Opportunities Act on 1974. Although she stands with her belief that punk had allowed women in the future to pursue music in rock, which was predominantly male, proving the influence Punk had on female empowerment. 

Helen, Reddington. The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female musicians of the Punk Era, Whole book. London. Routledge. 

An example of a riot grrl band song is:

I like fucking. The singles, 1998. Bikini Kills

Just cause my world, sweet sister
Is so fucking goddamn full of rape
Does that mean my body
Must always be a source of pain?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no

Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page, with an eventual line-up of legendary front-man Robert Plant, Drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones in London. The band’s popularity was undeniable following the successes of their first four, self titled chronologically named albums, which established the band’s unique sound which incorporated elements of blues, folk and even eastern elements. The band could justifiably claim to have been the biggest act of the 1970s, with an early ending due to the unfortunate and tragic passing of Bonham.

The band had a tight grip on the musical scene in the 1970s both due to a financial success, as well as a musical ingenuity expressed by their inventive musical endeavours. Although their musical style mainly stemmed from blues, they had experimented (quite successfully so) with the incorporation of foreign, more eastern elements into their songs. One of the most prominent examples of such concepts comes in the form of one of the band’s most successful pieces, titled Kashmir, inspired by (and gained production ideas for) in 1972 from a trip to Mumbai, where Page and Plant worked with various Indian musicians for a recording session. The band has established their own unique sound, whilst having a musically diverse catalogue of songs. It has been noted that “Plant created the sound that has defined much hard rock and heavy metal singing: a high range, an abundance of distortion, loud volume, and emotional excess”.

The diversity of Led Zeppelin’s music had an undeniable effect on their popularity. This is evident in their immense commercial success, leading to the combined sales of over 41 million copies of their various records, putting the band on the list of Business Insider’s top 50 best selling albums on three separate ranks, and a grand total of 7 Grammy awards, as well as multiple diamond and platinum album awards, and have even gone on to win the Grammy, and various other lifetime achievement awards.[1]

Whilst never rising to the level of mainstream popularity as other contemporary artists, such as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, they are often viewed as the “progenitors of both hard rock and heavy metal”.[2]

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The influence of Led Zeppelin reached far and led way to the emergence of such bands as Metallica or the much more recent formation, called Greta Van Fleet.

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[1] https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/did-led-zeppelin-or-the-rolling-stones-sell-more-albums-all-time.html/

[2] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Led-Zeppelin

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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