PuNk RoCK
Punk rock is an anti-establishment rock music genre
and movement that emerged in the mid-1970s.
Preceded by a variety of protopunk
music of the 1960s and early 1970s,
punk rock developed between 1974 and 1977 in the
United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia,
where groups such as the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash
were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement.


Punk rock bands, eschewing the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock,
created short, fast, hard music, with stripped-down instrumentation
and often political or nihilistic lyrics.

The associated punk subculture expresses youthful rebellion, distinctive clothing styles,
a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies, and a DIY (do it yourself) attitude.

Punk rock became a major phenomenon in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s;
its popularity elsewhere was more limited.
During the 1980s, forms of punk rock emerged in small scenes around the world,
often rejecting commercial success and association with mainstream culture.
By the turn of the century, punk rock's legacy
had led to the development of the alternative rock movement,
and new punk rock bands popularized the genre decades after its first heyday.

New Wave
New Wave arose along with the earliest punk rock groups; indeed,
"punk" and "New Wave" were initially interchangeable.
Over time, however, the terms began to acquire different meanings:
bands such as Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo, and The Police
that were broadening their instrumental palette, incorporating dance-oriented rhythms,
and working with more polished production were called "New Wave" rather than "punk".

Combining elements of early punk rock music and fashion
with a far more pop-oriented and less "dangerous" style,
New Wave artists such as The Cars and Elvis Costello
became very popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

New Wave became a catch-all term
for mainstream punk-inspired music,
encompassing disparate styles such as 2 Tone ska,
the mod revival based around The Jam,
the New Romantic phenomenon typified by Duran Duran,
and synthpop groups like Depeche Mode.

New Wave became a pop culture sensation with the debut
of the cable television network MTV in 1981,
which put many New Wave videos into regular rotation.
However, the music was often derided at the time as being silly and disposable.

Origin of the Term PuNk

Preceding the mid-1970s, punk, a centuries-old word of obscure etymology,
was commonly used to describe "a young male hustler, a gangster, a hoodlum, or a ruffian".

As Legs McNeil explains,
"On TV, if you watched cop shows, Kojak, Baretta,
when the cops finally catch the mass murderer, they'd say, 'you dirty Punk.'
It was what your teachers would call you. It meant that you were the lowest."

The term punk rock was apparently coined by rock critic Dave Marsh in a 1970 issue of Creem,
where he used it to describe the sound and attitude of the Mysterians.
In June 1972, the fanzine Flash included a "Punk Top Ten" of 1960s albums.
That year, Lenny Kaye used the term in the liner notes of the anthology album Nuggets
to refer to 1960s garage rock bands such as The Standells, The Sonics, and The Seeds.
Bomp! maintained this usage through the early 1970s,
also applying it to some of the darker, more primitive practitioners of 1960s psychedelic rock.

By 1975, punk was being used to describe acts as diverse as the Patti Smith Group
—with lead guitarist Lenny Kaye—the Bay City Rollers, and Bruce Springsteen.

As the scene at New York's CBGB club (popularly referred to as "CBGBs")
attracted notice, a name was sought for the developing sound.
Club owner Hilly Kristal called the movement "street rock";
John Holmstrom credits Aquarian magazine with using punk
"to describe what was going on at CBGBs".
Holmstrom, McNeil, and Ged Dunn's magazine Punk,
which debuted at the end of 1975, was crucial in codifying the term.
"It was pretty obvious that the word was getting very popular,"
Holmstrom later remarked. "We figured we'd take the name before anyone else claimed it.
We wanted to get rid of the bullshit, strip it down to rock 'n' roll. We wanted the fun and liveliness back."