Punk Rock Music History
Punk rock music began as an anti-establishment rock music genre in the mid 1970s. The punk music genre is rooted in garage rock and what is now known as protopunk music. By late 1976, bands like the Ramones and the Sex pistols were recognized as the vanguard of this new musical movement.
In 1977 punk rock music began its spread around the world and soon became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. By the beginning of the 1980s, more aggressive styles such as the hardcore style had become the predominant mode or punk rock music. Musicians identifying with this music also pursued interests in a wide variety of other variations which gave rise to the alternative rock music movement. Throughout the history of punk rock music, technical accessibility and a do it yourself mentality have prevailed to become the key aspects of this genre. During the earlier days, this ethic stood in remarkable contrast to what those in the music scene considered to be an ostentatious musical effect. By 1973, John Holmstrom, who was the founding editor of Punk Magazine, recalled thinking that punk rock began because the rock scene had become so tame over the previous years. Acts such as Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel and others similar were then being called rock and roll when indeed, fans thought that rock and roll should be considered a wild and rebellious music type. The subculture that depicts punk rock music also rejected political idealism and the Californian flower-power mode that many were becoming bored with at that time. The music itself was fast and hard and typically the songs were short with the bare minimum of instrumentation. Punk rockers could be seen worldwide by the beginning of the 1980s, sporting their wild hair and their colorful layers of clothing.
Many of the punk rockers from Great Britain made a show of rejecting the traditional and contemporary style of rock as well as the culture that was associated with rock music. During the end of the 1980s, a band originally called Sweet Children was first noticed. This band soon changed their name to Green Day and set a completely new scene for the next wave of punk music subculture. During the past ten to fifteen years, punk music has enjoyed a tremendous climb back into popularity. The grunge scene during the early 1990s left a wide open track for pop punk bands such as Green Day to hit the charts.
Although no one can say for sure where punk music will move on from here, it is a good prediction that this music genre will remain to be composed of creative and varied personalities that have something to say and know how to make themselves heard. No on knows where punk music will go to next but it is fairly evident that it will continue to grow and change for years to come.