To me, punk rock isn't a style of music, it's something you

“To me, punk rock isn’t a style of music, it’s something you live.” Thus spoke Shavo Odadjian, musician and seeker of truth, who saw in punk rock not merely chords and noise, but a way of being, a creed of rebellion and authenticity. His words pierce through the shallow notion of music as fashion, reminding us that certain sounds are more than entertainment—they are lived philosophies, born of defiance and carried in the blood.

The ancients would have said: “Better to live one’s truth in ragged garments than to wear the silks of hypocrisy.” In this spirit, punk rock emerged not as polished art, but as raw existence. It was a refusal to bow, a cry against conformity, a life lived on one’s own terms. To live punk is to breathe resistance, to carry independence in every choice, to carve out identity even in the face of ridicule or scorn. It is not played—it is embodied.

Consider the rise of the Sex Pistols in the 1970s. Their music was chaotic, sneered at by critics, banned from radio stations. Yet their presence shook nations, igniting a movement. It was not merely the sound that mattered, but the life they embodied—standing as living symbols of resistance against a suffocating system. Their legacy remains because they lived their music; they were not performers of punk rock, but vessels of its very spirit.

Or recall the story of Victor Jara, the Chilean folk singer who, though not called punk in his day, lived the same truth. He sang against oppression, knowing it could cost him his life. And indeed, he was murdered for his defiance. Yet his life testified to Shavo’s words: true music is not a style but a way of being, carried to the end. In this, Jara’s voice joins the chorus of all who live their art, not as masks, but as their true selves.

The meaning of Shavo’s words is clear: punk rock is not clothing, not sound, not attitude alone—it is a life of authenticity and resistance. It is the refusal to conform to chains, whether of society, expectation, or fear. It is the daring to stand apart, even when standing apart means standing alone. It is the power to shout “I am” in a world that demands silence.

The lesson, then, is profound: live your truth not as performance but as existence. Do not wear your convictions like a costume to be put on and taken off; embody them as your second skin. Let your beliefs shape your daily choices, your friendships, your work, your art. True punk is not on a stage—it is in the way you face the world with unyielding honesty.

Practical counsel follows: question authority where it demands blind obedience. Defy trends that smother your individuality. Speak when silence is demanded. Create boldly, without apology. Live as though your very existence is a song of defiance and authenticity. For the world does not need more polished masks; it needs more souls who truly live what they claim to be.

So remember this, O seekers of freedom: punk rock is not merely a sound—it is a fire in the bones, a creed of life. As Shavo Odadjian declared, it is something you live. Take up this spirit, live with courage, resist with integrity, and let your very life sing the anthem of truth.