punk is alive and well in the sense of the hardcore scene that was spawned from it. black flag, minor threat, bad brains, then on. those kids found places to play, started their own labels and blazed a trail. there are still tons of shows, every week. lots of people still goin out to see these bands and buy their records, and who pay no attention whatsoever to whatever's on the radio.
and it spread. most metal, stoner rock, garage rock bands, etc. these days do it the punk rock diy way. just different kind of music. and punk bands these days have little in common w/ the sex pistols and no offense but the average guy wouldn't recognize it if it bit him on the ass. you don't see it or hear it because it is not for mass consumption. but the kids are still organized into record labels and punk houses and makin fanzines, t shirts whatevs all themselves w/out any corporation backing them or radio station playing them.
and the sex pistols are ok and all but they were basically pop because punk was popular for about 10 minutes, just like blink 182 is pop music. in the sense that punk was a part of the mainstream, then yeah punk is dead and snowboard rock/pop punk is alive and well. but the real punk scene is doin fine.
by the way Paul is in a kick ass band, Tragedy, that plays hardcore punk. I went out and saw them play, bought their records and lots of others have.
