Punk rock

**Punk rock** (or "**punk**") is a music genre and kind of rock music. It is often described as harder, louder, and cruder than other rock music. Many punk rock songs have lyrics (words) which tell angry stories or which use rude words.

## About punk rock

Punk rock is a style of rock music. Many musicians and punk rock music listeners ("**punk rockers**") want to protest or rebel against the norms or rules of society. Punks say that people should "Do It Yourself", which means that people should try to accomplish their goals using the materials in their own communities. Many punk bands make their own music recordings and distribute them without using a major record company.

Many punks have strong political beliefs. Punk rock musicians are often mad at the government, the police, and laws. Many punk rock songs protest injustice, lies, and unfairness in countries. Almost all punks are leftists. Some punks are vegetarian or vegans, because they believe that animals should not be killed for food. Some punks are anarchists. Very few punks are conservative, libertarian, or Republican.

Many punk musicians put colored hair dye in their hair or put gel to make it stand up. They wear distinctive clothes as a form of protest or rebellion against the norms and rules of society.

### 1970s

Punk rock developed in New York City in the mid-1970s. Bands like The Ramones, Television, The Heartbreakers, Blondie, joy division and Patti Smith played loud, angry songs. Many bands played at a club called CBGB's. The music soon spread to Australia and Britain, were bands started playing punk rock in 1976–1977. British bands like Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Damned, Generation X, The Jam, and Sex Pistols played punk rock music that was inspired by the music being played in New York, as well as by garage rock, pub rock, and other protopunk music.

These early "punks" rejected the excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They created fast, hard-edged music, with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. They often did controversial things, such as saying bad words in public. Many newspapers wrote articles about the "bad" behavior of punk rock musicians.

### 1980s

In the 1980s, a new type of punk rock called "hardcore punk" or "hardcore" developed. It was louder, harder, and faster than the original punk rock. By the mid-1980s, hardcore punk rock began being mixed with Heavy Metal rock music. Many hardcore bands began playing in the United States and in the UK.

### 1990s

In the 1990s, punk rock began being mixed with pop music to create a new lighter style of music called pop-punk. Pop-punk bands include Green Day and Good Charlotte. Some pop-punk bands mixed punk rock stars ska music.

### 2000s

Pop-punk was still popular in the 2000s. Some people who like the 1970s-style punk rock criticize pop-punk because pop-punk is commercialized.

Some people say that punk rock is dead. But that is not true, because the spirit lives on and many punk rockers are around today.

## Notable artists

- Anti-Flag
- Bad Brains
- Bad Religion
- Black Flag
- Bloodhound Gang
- Buzzcocks
- The Clash
- Crass
- The Damned
- Dead Boys
- Dead Kennedys
- Generation X
- Iggy Pop
- The Jam
- Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers
- Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers
- Matchbook Romance
- My Chemical Romance
- Ramones
- Richard Hell & the Voidoids
- Sex Pistols
- Chris Sievey
- Siouxsie and the Banshees
- The Slits
- Patti Smith
- The Stranglers
- Talking Heads
- Television
- Tenpole Tudor
- The Undertones
- X-Ray Spex
- Pornofilmy

## Related pages

- Alternative rock
- Hardcore punk
- Pop-punk
- Ska
- Anarcho-punk

## Infobox (music genre)

- **name**: Punk rock
- **color**: white
- **bgcolor**: crimson
- **cultural origins**: Mid-1970s, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia
- **popularity**: Topped charts in UK during late 1970s. International commercial success for pop punk and ska-punk, mid-1990s–2000s.
- **subgenrelist**: Punk rock subgenres