Punk Rock and the Art of moving forward

Episode 29 - Breaking boundaries, revolutions and rebelling to remember

Sep 29, 2025

Greetings,

I know it’s been a while. Frankly, this is a time when writing has been a lot more difficult for me, or rather it seems it’s going in different directions.

Likewise, the world itself is changing, shifting, turning and twisting, always in surprising new directions. Better stay close to the fire.

Who knows what will happen. And maybe that’s the point.

yellow fire digital wallpaper — Photo by Guido Jansen on Unsplash

Punk Rock

'Punk Rock’ is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the 1970s. You might wonder what does this have to do with anything, but hear me out. The main characteristic of this subgenre is a powerful need to defy conventions. It's a rebellion against societal norms and, therefore, musical norms too. The music is often loud, fast and distorted.

Basically, it’s the antithesis for how music was defined across the past… I don’t know, ever? Which is fascinating. Centuries upon centuries of clearly defined rules and expectations of what sound should be, but just about 50 years ago (less than a century), we have collectively decided to screw it all and make something different.

grayscale photo of woman in black leather jacket — Photo by Giullianna Balza on Unsplash

Punk Rock was appealing to my, and probably most, teenage minds. The pre-adulthood years seem to be collectively defined by a need to assert your own identity and that means, by definition, that it has to be something unique and different from all other identities around yourself - and so, rebellion is so common that it’s actually the norm.

But rebellion against what? Well, I suppose against the ways of thinking of most adults around you. That’s the gift of youth: the capacity and need to break all the rigid limiting boundaries that the collective ego has entrenched itself in, for decades. And Punk Rock is a representation of that.

It’s the middle finger to everything you think you and the world should be.

And there’s something cathartic about that.

Until it gets lost.

We’re losing something

I distinctly remember those years. I remember what I used to think and how I used to feel. I remember the anger, which isn’t gone, but merely transformed. And I’m wondering what happened to that rebellious spirit? Not just mine, clearly.

Now obviously I’m not talking about mindlessly rebelling ‘against everything’ and hating society and culture. I’m talking about keeping that spirit alive in your own life when you become entrenched in your own paradigms.

You see, I think what it’s easy to forget is that, as society and culture become rigid, unmoving and tyrannical, so do we. In fact, it’s the other way around: society becomes like that because we do. Because that’s what society is: people.

And I’ve noticed that within myself. I’m aware I am often slightly tyrannical with myself. What does that mean? It means holding myself and my output to extremely high standards out of fear. Because I fear what would happen if I didn’t.

How many more books do I have to write? How much art should I produce monthly? How many substack posts should I write? I’ve actually been feeling guilty for not keeping up with these over the past weeks. How often should I go out and socialise? How many new friends have I been making?

How much money should I be earning by this age? How many partners should I have had? And then, you know, comparison follows. And we all know that’s when everything goes to shit.

How does it happen?

A group of birds sitting on top of a tree — Photo by ali khodaverdi on Unsplash

These expectations become rigid. Maybe, as a functioning adult (heh!) you figure out some way to at least make sure you meet some of them. And then you have to sustain that, and so you figure out some habits you can have on a weekly basis. And then those habits become routine and routines become your invisible prison walls.

And so you forget all about rebellion.

Maybe you watch some cool movies about it, or still put on your favourite Punk Rock band from your youth. But by that point you’re bitter, stuck and you feel that time is going by too fast to do something about it. Then fears creep in, like shadows at the corners: fear of time, fear of poverty, fear of death.

There is no more rebellion. There’s only conformity. Because the opposite is worse. Something worse could happen. And, you tell yourself, I just can’t deal with it.

When you truly believe this, your friends start to. Then your neighbours. Then your city, then your country. Then the world. And thus, society becomes rigid and totalitarian, insisting that measures must be taken to ensure protection, defence and stability. As more and more of your freedom gets taken away from you by tyrannical governments, you become even more frustrated and angry.

I’m sure it’s not difficult for you to see this around you.

What is difficult is to recognise that the Orwellian dystopia starts within and all revolutions tend to bring about the same thing again, with a fresh coat of pain(t).

I don’t think I’m being cynical. This isn’t about hopelessness, but right direction. You already know that changing the outside yields little fruit unless you change the inside. Why?

Because they are the same thing.

More to come. Stay rebellious.

Blessings,