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I totally agree, but how?

YESSSS!

everyone in my school calls greenday punk and i want to hit them all over the head with a bass guitar. same thing with blink and simple plan.

No no, it has to have some guidelines. If it didn't Kevin Federline could be called punk.

So I guess it's alright to say that the Bad Brains aren't punk because they pretty much copied off the "God Save the Queen" sound into their song "Redbone in the City".

What I'm trying to point out by saying "no limits or guidelines" is that punk music isn't about conformity. It has always spoken for doing things YOUR way, and ignoring what others have to say about it. What Steven Blush realized about the hardcore scene is that each scene had a different sound.

When it comes to the music genre, the ideals and beliefs that the bands uphold shouldn't matter. The guidelines that elitists put on the sound of the music is way too strict. If you ever listened to the Zero Boys, you'd notice that their song "Trying Harder" sounds much like the sounds of bands like Simple Plan. But, Zero Boys is considered a punk band.

So, if we stuck to our rules and guidelines for punk, Simple Plan probably would have been considered a punk band. First of all, their music is very simplistic (like much of punk music). Second, they use repeated power chords. And, third, their music is easy to play. When I was younger, I used to learn to play my guitar by copying bands such as Simple Plan, just like the members of the Middle Class when they learned to play through early punk rock records. So, who's to say Simple Plan can't be a punk band?

Ian Mackaye himself says that punk is "undefinable". If it's undefinable, how could it have rules or guidelines?

Influences are one thing, but the Bad Brains imitated the riffs and beats of Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen". I don't know what kind of guitar sounds they used, but that's of no importance and doesn't contribute to the point I'm making.

I advise you to pull your finger out of your a**, and stop getting so uptight about the "Molly's Lips" thing. Using that little bit of "Molly's Lips" in Green Day's "She's a Rebel" doesn't mean they're ripping Nirvana off. It shouldn't even be of any importance at all. If you listen to the Ramones' "Blitzkreig Bop", you'd notice that many punk bands have used similar riffs and beats as the song's main riff and beat, sometimes identical.

Recently, I wrote a song about pity-whores. I noticed that the melody and beats were slightly similar to that of Beastie Boys' "Deal With It" in their early hardcore punk album Aglio E Olio. Do I lack originality? Or are the Beastie Boys merely an influence to my song writing?

You are incorrect. I have downloaded and listened to both tracks, and although I've noticed their similarities, I've also noticed the bigger differences in each song. If you've listened to the entire "She's a Rebel" track, it's not the same 2-chord repetition as "Molly's Lips". "She's a Rebel" actually starts with the G-C chord repetition like "Molly's Lips". But, unlike "Molly's Lips", the riff moves on to play the D chord, then back to C, then back to the G-C chord repetition. Also, the chorus is entirely different. It's nothing like "Molly's Lips". Also, the melody of the vocals of both songs are similar but not exactly the same.

At this point, I've listened to "She's a Rebel" more times that I'd like to, and I've noticed that the riff sounds more like another song.

Oo no, I understand what point you're trying to make. You don't have to show it to me. I understand what riffs have been copied. However, even for someone who's into metal, such a small thing like that little riff shouldn't be taken as seriously as you took it. It's only a 2-chord riff after all. XD

Because the "stolen" riff is such a small riff, one would question whether Green Day had purposefully copied the riff or if the whole thing was merely coincidence. Regardless of that, it's too small of a matter to even bother getting angry about.

If you're a songwriter like me, you'll find that sometimes your riffs sound like other known riffs. For example, I copied off a riff from an Aus-Rotten song, beat for beat, note for note. My reason for using the riff was because it fit so well with the rest of the song.

By coincidence, I found this song by Oi Polloi that had the exact same riff as one of my original riffs. I thought it was pretty bitchin'. XDDDD

yeah, especially since we're all confined to the same 7 tones...