Punk rock | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Early to mid-1970s, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia |
Typical instruments | |
Derivative forms | |
Subgenres | |
Fusion genres | |
Regional scenes | |
Local scenes | |
Other topics | |
2017 in punk rock |
Punk rock (or "punk") is a rock music genre that developed in the early to mid-1970s in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in 1960s garage rock and other forms of what is now known as "proto-punk" music, punk rock bands rejected perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands typically produced short or fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through informal channels.
The term "punk" was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to describe garage bands and their devotees. By late 1976, bands such as the New York Dolls, Television, and the Ramones in New York City, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned in London, and The Saints in Brisbane were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment (ranging from deliberately offensive T-shirts, leather jackets, spike bands and other studded or spiked jewelry to bondage and S&M clothes) and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.
By the early 1980s, faster and more aggressive styles such as hardcore punk (e.g. Minor Threat), street punk (e.g. the Exploited), and anarcho-punk (e.g. Crass) had become the predominant mode of punk rock. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to post-punk and new wave and later indie pop, alternative rock, and noise rock. By the 1990s, punk rock had re-emerged in the mainstream, as pop punk bands such as Green Day and the Offspring brought the genre widespread popularity.