“No justice, no peace.” One voice shouts these words in a tiny shop filled with skateboards, vinyls and screen-printed t-shirts.  Around 20 people gather in Fullerton’s Programme Skate and Sound when East Los Angeles garage punk band Hyper Minds decides to get political.

ICE raids have been making headlines throughout 2025, and Hyper Minds lead singer Roland O’Cello has decided to say something about it. When he brings it up, the whole room goes silent.  

All you can hear is the electrical humming of a plugged-in guitar, but that doesn’t stop O’Cello from speaking out. 

Punk rock is a loud, aggressive and harsh subgenre of rock music, emerging from London and New York City in the ’70s with bands like The Clash and

The Ramones. It became the most popularized in the ’80s and ’90s and still is prevalent in youth culture today. It stood out against other genres as it rejected mainstream culture and the commodification of rock music. 

For many, punk overlaps their lifestyle and becomes its own ideology. It is a way to express creativity in an outrageous way that differs from what the modern world expects. It is also about challenging the status quo.  

Rejecting the status quo could mean everything from shaving your head and getting tattoos to piercing your nose, to protesting corrupt governments, and speaking out against racism. Even if asong does not explicitly talk about specific current political events, the screamed vocals, powerful drums, and intense breaks make the listeners feel empowered to challenge the norm  

Today, punk rock has the same bold sounds, edgy looks and passionate fans, but in a new landscape of social media influencers and tribal politics. As new groups emerge and fan bases grow, many people in the scene are divided on whether politics belongs in punk music. Should bands use their music to speak out against injustices, or should they just perform the songs?  

In 1986, the post-hardcore band Fugazi formed in Washington, D.C. They were known for their ethical stance and contempt for the music industry. They did not sell merchandise and kept their ticket prices extremely low in response to bands that made large amounts of money from their shows.  

Punk rockers have often spoken out against authoritative corruption, racism and censorship. It has influenced other genres of music today like new wave, grunge, ska, emo and metal.  

The Dead Kennedys song, “California über Alles,” from 1979, criticizes former Democratic California governor Jerry Brown, comparing him to fascist leaders. Lyrics such as “I will be Füher one day…I will command all of you” directly make the comparison between Hitler and Brown. 

Dead Kennedys lead singer and songwriter Jello Biafra was an outspoken member of the Green Party, even running for president in 2000 and San Francisco mayor in 1979. 

While the punk lifestyle grew out of vinyl shops or a neighbor’s backyard in the ’70s and ’80s, now it’s spreading on TikTok. The app has led to a recent wave in popularity of other musicsubcultures such as goth, emo, and metal, with songs like Radiohead’s “No Suprises,” Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” or Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” trending on the app.  

One of the clearest examples of the popularity of punk on TikTok is the “I’m just a kid,” trend, where users recreated childhood photos to the pop-punk band Simple Plan’s hit song, “I’m just a kid.” This trend reignited an interest in early 2000s pop-punk and punk as Green Day started trending soon after, with Tiktokkers posting videos with the song, “Brain Stew,” in the background. By 2025, there are 132,000 videos posted to that sound on the app. Newer bands are using the algorithm to promote their music and gain more fans. For example, the new-age punk bands,“The Paradox,” and “Super Sometimes,” have used the app to their advantage by posting videos of their songs regularly to gain more exposure.  

Despite the audience social media has introduced to the genre, it has often been criticized for its toxicity and being the ultimate form of consumerism. With the trend of “doomscrolling” and having endless marketing and advertisements curating content specifically to the consumer, how can subcultures that were based on challenging these ideals co-exist with such an entity? How can punk keep its anti-establishment and anti-commodity roots in a new age where social media pushes for the opposite?  

“Social media is a tool to spread awareness for what we do believe in,” says Alyssa Corona, a show photographer who has been taking pictures since March 2023. “But at the same time,there’s a lot of bullying and this weird superiority thing going on.” 

You may see a friend reposting lyrics from bands like Rage Against the Machine on their Instagram story but later find out they did not vote or were silent when someone they like does something wrong. “It seems a lot of people do the activism for the value of saying what you think, but when it comes to something more personal, like someone getting assaulted, they won’t speak out on it,” says Corona. 

It’s easy to regurgitate ideals or opinions that are preached by others or in song lyrics, but people who repost these things aren’t necessarily getting involved in issues in their communities. This has led some to feel a sense of disconnection within the local Orange County punk scene from what it stands for, especially within the past few years.
 

“There’s definitely a lot of good people in our (local) scene, but there’s just enough bad as there is good,” says Corona. “People who are new or who want to get into the scene are scared tobecause they don’t ‘look’ punk. We all start somewhere. I think because of the pressure of people feeling like they need to fit in, they push themselves to look or act a certain way, so the cycle just continues.”  

Punk goes beyond just big political issues but is also about connecting communities. This could mean making crafts and mending what you have instead of buying brand new things from big brands, or throwing fundraiser shows to help families affected by ICE. 

Southern California has had a thriving punk-rock scene since the late 1970s, fueled by discontent of the suburban corporate landscape and often combining elements of surf-rock and hardcore. Though it is still alive and flourishing, there are many criticisms within and outside of Orange County that social media’s influence on the community post– quarantine. 

“I just find there’s a lot of people that dress for it and go to shows, but don’t speak out about anything,” says Nolan Powell, the drummer of local OC punk band N.O.D. “They’re like Punk-fluencers.”    

Punk-fluncers who care more about their fit checks and looking the punk aesthetic never go beyond the surface of punk into the political history of the genre. Instead, they are more worried about how they are perceived by others for their appearance, putting together the most incomprehensible outfit with markers they assume make them alternative. This could mean styling their hair in liberty spikes, wearing JNCO jeans or their studded belt, all without researching the ideologies they claim to stand for. 

“I think people are focusing on the bigger picture, but they’re not really looking down on what’s happening right across the street,” says Anthony Albano, N.O.D.’s guitarist. “People gotta stop focusing on the front page of the news and start diving deeper.  I know punk is about doing whatever you want but at least pick up a fucking book.” 

While people like Corona and bands like N.O.D. would say politics has a place in punk music, not everyone agrees. “People don’t talk about politics,” says Bill Evans, the owner of Black Hole Records in Fullerton. “They say shut up and fucking play the songs.” 

Evans’ band, Naughty Women, focuses more on shock value rather than straight political messaging. Songs like “Put to Death” and “Death Blow” emphasize loud, subversive music with explosive lyrics like “Now you’re going to obey me,” and “Eat shit.” 

Evans argues punk has historically just been about shocking people out of their comfort zone.  “Code Blue” by T.S.O.L., an Orange County band formed in the late ’70s, is an example of a punk song that has nothing to do with politics. It is about a necrophiliac sneaking into a mortuary to “fiddle with the dead.” Like many other shock-rock songs, it’s meant to be morally grey and crudely obscene to challenge people’s expectations.  

Evans says that now the scene has become overly politicized to the point where people are limited in their expressions.  

“In the old days it was different,” Evans says. “Just like when The Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious wore a T-shirt with a swastika. It had nothing to do with what that was; it was shocking people. Now youcouldn’t do that because it would be weird. Or the confederate flag, that was a state flag back then. You do that now; people would think that it’s weird.” 

There is a fine line between shock imagery and borderline neo fascism— especially with social media. This can be hard to discern since intention cannot adequately be read from a picture. For example, Sid Vicious wearing a swastika in the late ’70s was meant to be a shocking and offensive gesture against the previous generation at the time, not as an expression of personal ideology. It was meant to be provocative, similar to Siouxie Sioux’s swastika armband which she wore to upset her parents’ generation. 

There’s always been a rift in the punk scene about what it should be— something that is just getting a reaction out of people, or a movement to change the world for the better.

The Riot Grrrl movement of the ’90s is an example of punk making an everlasting impression in politics. Bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney were feminist punk bands who saw the exclusion of women within the male-dominated scene and aimed to empower women and young girls. They created feminist-based fan zines to share their ideology and inspire others to rise against the patriarchy. These bands have a continued influence in contemporary music and activism, encouraging women to reclaim their voices in male-dominated industries. 

Politics is not explicitly exclusive to who you vote for in the presidential election. It’s how you go about your daily life. Therefore, not even participating in politics is a political decision. Listening to punk music yet not being engaged in politics inherently disregards the genre’s attitude about injustices and its radical history. Don’t be a surface-level punk fan. If you listen to punk music, try breaking the status quo by advocating for women’s rights, making informative zines, or joining protests.  

While some argue that music should only be used as an outlet to escape, like Evans who says, “Music is something people can go to because they want to leave what the world is,” it is also important to use our voices to uplift otherwise disregarded and marginalized communities. That could mean connecting with community members, organizing protests, or yelling when you see la migrain a time when people are being taken off our streets just for the language they are speaking and Medicare could be defunded

You cannot be apolitical and punk at the same time, end of story. Punk is about speaking out about what you find wrong with the world. Maybe that is gender inequality or abortion rights or ICE raids, anything and everything

Punk has always been a way for people to talk about what they are unhappy about, and in a time of political persecution, sometimes the message needs to come through screaming vocals. 

Taken from the Winter 2025 print issue of Inside Fullerton. Read it here.