Punk Ethos and Orthodoxy

It might not come as much of a surprise to those who know me that I was a writer and listener of Punk Rock music (with a few forays into blues and hip-hop) throughout a good portion of my life. What might be surprising is that I believe that this love of punk is tied in with many of the same drives that led me to seek out Orthodoxy and join the Church.



First, a short musical biography: I grew up on Oldies. Back to the Future was a very popular and much-viewed movie during my formative years. The Monkees was on constant rerun around this time and a favorite program of the family (my dad's copy of their Greatest Hits vinyl was in heavy rotation on my little record player). During car trips of any length when my parents did not have the radio station set to Christian programs it was set to the local Oldies station (during this time "Oldies" meant specifically songs from the '50s and early '60s. No Beatles post-Rubber Soul and certainly no songs from the '70s). And I loved it. It didn't matter if it was Bill Haley, the Beatles, Buddy Holly, the Supremes, the Monkees, or James Brown; this was the music that when I was little I wanted to hear.

As I got older my tastes changed a bit. I fell in love with what would now be called "old school" hip-hop during middle school. During high school I first heard Nirvana and suddenly desired to learn guitar. I listened to a lot of mid '90s alt-rock, but my absolute favorites were Nirvana and Green Day's Dookie album.

Later in high school I discovered the bands before Nirvana: the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, the Clash, and the Misfits. I discovered punk rock.

How does this all tie in together and how does this all tie in to Orthodoxy? After all, these forms of rock music are completely different from each other. And they are about rebellion and anti-authoritarianism where Orthodoxy is about Tradition and Bishops with actual authority and Priests who hear confession.

But, in a weird way, Punk is about tradition. It all started with the Ramones and other East Coast bands rejecting the innovations of prog-rock and disco. They wanted to get back to rock-n-roll: three chords and spontaneity and the spirit of rebellion. It's hard to realize now, with abundant songs about girls kissing girls (and liking it) and casual murder and drug dealing, just how risque the songs of the '50s were. But they were extremely shocking at the time. Punk bands, even the most apolitical, sought a return to this subversive tradition. And punk songs might be faster and played through more distorted amplifiers, but compare them to the songs of the '50s and early '60s and you will hear the same chord structures, vocal patterns, and even drum beats. More, you can follow this approach, called different things, from the '50s all the way through until today. In short, punk rock is the living tradition of Oldies.

Orthodoxy is to Christianity what Punk is to Rock'n'roll. It is the Living Tradition of Christianity, spread throughout history until now. It is the ultimate subversion for a fallen world- rejecting worldly authority and priorities in favor of the Heavenly. Orthodoxy is at its best when its expressed in our St Athanasius: Athanasius contra mundum. We respect authority save when authority falls away from our subversive Truth, with Sts Maximus the Confessor and Mark of Ephesus. What can be more "punk rock" than Orthodoxy?