The Sex Pistols Nevermind the Bollocks…Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977), Essay Example

The Sex Pistols’ 1977 studio album, the only studio album the British group recorded, is regarded by critics as one of the first punk rock albums of all time. The record thus presents a view into what constitutes the punk rock genre. The Sex Pistols’ raw style of rock ‘n’ roll, which is defined by simple and repetitive guitar riffs and lead singer Johnny Rotten’s off key vocals, screechy and thoroughly “unprofessional” vocals provides a template for subsequent rock ‘n’ roll bands. Whereas the music to a certain extent, considered from a contemporary perspective, appears to be more like classic rock ‘n’ roll than hardcore punk rock music, the basic elements of the album, such as its aforementioned simplicity and primitivism in music style nevertheless can be seen as a clear precursor and inspiration to other musical ensembles in the genre.

The musical form of the Sex Pistols throughout this record is consistent in so far as simplicity and repetition provide the main values of their compositional practice. The songs take a classical popular song structure for the most part, employing the chorus-verse-chorus structure throughout the album, with, however some exceptions (for example, the use of an outro in “God Save the Queen”).

In this regard, the music is not particularly adventurous – it is standard rock and roll and even punk music, when considered in terms of musical structure. However, what makes the album impressionable considering its time period is the way that all these standards elements of pop and rock musical form are employed in a primitive manner by the band. It is as though the band were attempting to parody the entire genre, by taking its basic motifs and then presenting an “ugly” and non-commercial version of these same motifs.

Hence, there are melodies throughout the album, catchy refrains such as in the songs “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the U.K.” Nevertheless, these melodies only provide a minimal structure – the band attempts to reduce the elements of pop music to a basic minimum and thereby disrupt the genre of pop music itself by taking its conventions and re-presenting them in a primitive style. Nothing in terms of musical structure is particularly radical, other than the simplicity and the repetition of the tracks presented. Sing along harmonies and back vocals are present in songs such as “Bodies” and “Holidays in the Sun.” Time and duration of the songs, such as “New York” and “Lies” all follow standard pop conventions, apparently intended for ideal radio air-play. Meter and form are also typical.

In this regard, the apparent newness of this record is that it attempts to subvert the genre from within. It does not approach pop and rock music or protest this music by attempting to present a style of music entirely foreign to the conventions of the genre. Rather, it tries to twist the conventions to their breaking point, turning pop music into a very raw form of repetitive and angry pop.

This is above all demonstrated in arguably the most innovative aspect of the music: the song’s lyrics. Here, is what makes the Sex Pistols truly controversial: their songs in favor of anarchist ideology “Anarchy in the U.K.”, in favor of communism “Holidays in the Sun”, their anti-monarchy piece “God Save the Queen”, their song about abortion “Bodies”, and their anti-corporate piece “EMI.” This is where the Sex Pistols truly show their subversive nature: presenting ideological positions entirely at odds with the mainstream Western position. Considering the victory of neoliberalism and global capitalism, the lyrics for these songs are just as controversial today as they were over thirty years ago: arguably, no one could hear such lyrics from a pop or rock song in today’s error, at least in terms of its explicit declaration of political positions. Certainly, there are songs on the album that follow more pop lyrical structures: such as “Problems”, “New York” and “Seventeen”, however these songs are also the least musically interesting on the album. Perhaps this shows the close connection between acerbic lyrical content and possible musical adventure within the pop genre format. Although relying on classical pop elements such as guitar-based rhythm and the bass and drums combination of every rock band, the lyrics of course combined with Johnny Rotten’s deliberately terrible vocal style creates an authentic piece of protest music.

Arguably, this is the true radicality of the Sex Pistols’: they offer an unpopular and direct form of ideological position. Whereas their transformation of pop music conventions which take the form of parody are innovative, they are not particularly radical, especially in comparison with subsequent acts of the same genre. Yet their ideological position still remains relevant: in a world that has accepted capital, or at least is dominated by capital, the Sex Pistols’ present an uncompromisingly different ideological position, especially when one considers that this was a fairly mainstream album appearing on a major label.