The Avengers

American punk had its roots in '60s garage rock and in the raw minimalism of the Velvet Underground and the Modern Lovers; several bands -- the Stooges, the MC5, the New York Dolls -- played what was essentially punk rock before there was a term or classification for it. But for all intents and purposes, American punk truly begins with the Ramones, around 1975-76. A thriving, often artsy punk scene sprang up around the Ramones in New York City, and similar movements took shape in Los Angeles,... [+] Read More

American punk had its roots in '60s garage rock and in the raw minimalism of the Velvet Underground and the Modern Lovers; several bands -- the Stooges, the MC5, the New York Dolls -- played what was essentially punk rock before there was a term or classification for it. But for all intents and purposes, American punk truly begins with the Ramones, around 1975-76. A thriving, often artsy punk scene sprang up around the Ramones in New York City, and similar movements took shape in Los Angeles, where the music was more aggressive and closer to what would become hardcore punk; Cleveland, which tended to be weirder and more experimental, partly due to the lack of media attention; and Boston, which was often closer to garagey power-pop than true punk. New York remained the focal point of American punk, however, featuring most of the style's best-known and/or most influential artists: Television, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads, Cleveland transplants the Dead Boys, etc. By the early '80s, American punk had either faded away or morphed into new forms: hardcore punk, new wave, and early alternative rock. American punk didn't supply the immediate pop-music revolution that British punk did, but it continued to nourish American underground rock for decades, and a California-centered revival of the form -- heavily reliant on the Ramones -- became extremely popular during the '90s. [-] Hide

Crass

When Johnny Rotten snarled "I wanna be...anarchy" on the Sex Pistols' debut single, it was more provocative theater than deeply held political belief. But a number of punk bands who followed took that credo to heart, railing not just against authority but the very idea of government (or, at least, its hypocrisies and abuses of power). Anarchist punk sometimes came from the far left wing (the Dead Kennedys), sometimes from the downtrodden, Thatcher-era working class (the Exploited), and... [+] Read More

When Johnny Rotten snarled "I wanna be...anarchy" on the Sex Pistols' debut single, it was more provocative theater than deeply held political belief. But a number of punk bands who followed took that credo to heart, railing not just against authority but the very idea of government (or, at least, its hypocrisies and abuses of power). Anarchist punk sometimes came from the far left wing (the Dead Kennedys), sometimes from the downtrodden, Thatcher-era working class (the Exploited), and sometimes both; regardless of its origins, it was unified by its radical politics. Most anarchist punk was an offshoot of hardcore punk, since both emerged around the same time, and anarchist punk usually resided on the rougher, more amateurish end of the spectrum. Part of the reason was its ideology of personal freedom (musical self-expression ought to be available to anyone, regardless of technical ability), and also that the message tended to be more important than the music. But it was also important to drive home that message with sounds that were as extreme as the statements - so, anarchist punk was generally played as loud, fast, and thrashy as the band members' technical skills allowed. The definitive anarchist punk band was Crass, both for their crashing, barely structured music and for the communal lifestyle its members lived in support of their politics. [-] Hide

Elvis Costello

By the end of the '70s, British punk was splintering into several distinct strains, most of them arty or ambitious in their own ways. Oi! music was an attempt to keep punk a populist, street-level phenomenon; most of it came from the Cockney working class of London's East End. Likely taking its name from the Cockney Rejects' 1980 song "Oi! Oi! Oi!" (before which it was simply known as street-punk), Oi! was loud, brutal, and extremely simple, with loads of shout-along, almost football-chant... [+] Read More

By the end of the '70s, British punk was splintering into several distinct strains, most of them arty or ambitious in their own ways. Oi! music was an attempt to keep punk a populist, street-level phenomenon; most of it came from the Cockney working class of London's East End. Likely taking its name from the Cockney Rejects' 1980 song "Oi! Oi! Oi!" (before which it was simply known as street-punk), Oi! was loud, brutal, and extremely simple, with loads of shout-along, almost football-chant choruses. In essence, it was punk rock that was most at home in a rowdy pub. It was somewhat similar to hardcore, but not quite as extreme; Oi! stuck much more closely to the original punk blueprint laid out by the Sex Pistols and early Clash. In fact, critics frequently disdained the style for its punk-purist lack of adventurousness, and the way its political statements often replaced the Pistols' wit and intelligence with angry rabble-rousing. The latter wasn't universally true, but all the same, Oi! acquired a bad reputation when it was adopted by racist skinheads aligned with the neo-fascist National Front organization. Most bands (and skinheads) took pains to distance themselves from this unsavory element, especially after a number of violent incidents at live gigs; however, a few genuine white-supremacist bands (most notoriously Skrewdriver) were enough to give Oi! a stigma which it never completely shed. The band that brought Oi!/street-punk to prominence in 1978-79 was Sham 69, and they in turn gave career pushes to Oi! stalwarts like the Angelic Upstarts and the Cockney Rejects. The mid-'90s punk revival led to a renewal of interest in Oi!; many favorite early albums were reissued, and a number of new bands popped up both in the U.K. and overseas. [-] Hide

[-] Hide

The Fuzztones

An indie-label movement that emerged in the mid-'80s, garage rock revival bands aimed to recapture the wild, rowdy, raucous spirit of '60s garage rock. Of course, where the original garage rockers were concerned with imitating their favorite British bands, the revivalists imitate the garage bands themselves -- so their music was full of fuzz-tone guitar, Farfisa organ riffs, and sneering vocals. Like the similarly timed rockabilly and surf revivals, garage rock revivalists also appropriated... [+] Read More

An indie-label movement that emerged in the mid-'80s, garage rock revival bands aimed to recapture the wild, rowdy, raucous spirit of '60s garage rock. Of course, where the original garage rockers were concerned with imitating their favorite British bands, the revivalists imitate the garage bands themselves -- so their music was full of fuzz-tone guitar, Farfisa organ riffs, and sneering vocals. Like the similarly timed rockabilly and surf revivals, garage rock revivalists also appropriated the original music's sense of style, self-consciously playing up their personal favorite qualities -- toughness, sleaziness, brashness, manic energy, rebellion, party-hearty spirit, what have you. Since it was self-conscious, it was sometimes done with a knowing wink and a bit of exaggeration, but regardless, many of the revival bands shared an underlying assumption that garage rock's virtues embodied the true spirit of rock & roll. Garage rock revival never achieved a wide audience, but after the first wave of '80s bands -- including the Chesterfield Kings, the Mono Men, the Lyres, the Fleshtones, the Fuzztones, and several Billy Childish-led groups -- it did maintain a devoted cult following into the '90s, with numerous bands on the Bomp, Estrus, and Sympathy for the Record Industry labels. [-] Hide

Fugazi

Hardcore Punk was the most rigid and extreme variation of punk rock. Emerging in the early '80s, hardcore took the ideals of punk as far as it could go. The music was impossibly fast, the vocals were shouted, the riffs were simple, and the records looked (and sounded) like they were made in someone's basement. Most of the bands sounded incredibly similar to each other, but there was a handful of distinctive bands; they usually developed musically quite quickly, leaving the sound of hardcore... [+] Read More

Hardcore Punk was the most rigid and extreme variation of punk rock. Emerging in the early '80s, hardcore took the ideals of punk as far as it could go. The music was impossibly fast, the vocals were shouted, the riffs were simple, and the records looked (and sounded) like they were made in someone's basement. Most of the bands sounded incredibly similar to each other, but there was a handful of distinctive bands; they usually developed musically quite quickly, leaving the sound of hardcore behind, but not its ideals. Hardcore punk was primarily an American sensation and was concentrated in Los Angeles and New York, but there were small, individual scenes scattered across the country. Hardcore kept going into the '90s without breaking into the mainstream, though bands influenced by the hardcore aesthetic -- including Nirvana and Green Day -- became major rock stars, and former hardcore punkers like Bob Mould, Henry Rollins, Mike Watt, Ian McKaye, and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis became alternative icons. [-] Hide

Flipper

The Los Angeles punk scene was the last of punk's Big Three (the others being New York and London) to develop, and was neither as musically diverse nor as adventurous. However, L.A.'s scene has also proven to be the longest-lasting; as punk mutated into hardcore, then alternative rock, then back to a revivalist punk-pop sound during the '90s, it continued to thrive in the L.A./Orange County area in some form or another. For these purposes, though, L.A. punk refers to the original,... [+] Read More

The Los Angeles punk scene was the last of punk's Big Three (the others being New York and London) to develop, and was neither as musically diverse nor as adventurous. However, L.A.'s scene has also proven to be the longest-lasting; as punk mutated into hardcore, then alternative rock, then back to a revivalist punk-pop sound during the '90s, it continued to thrive in the L.A./Orange County area in some form or another. For these purposes, though, L.A. punk refers to the original, pre-hardcore punks, who played a generally lean and mean brand of punk already. Most L.A. punk was fast and thrashy, with an overall tougher vibe than the often arty New York scene or the young and impassioned amateurs

in London. The major exception was X, whose off-kilter male/female harmony vocals, rockabilly rhythms, and ambitiously literate lyrics would have been a perfect fit with the CBGB's regulars. Other major contributors to the L.A. sound included the angry socialist politics of the Dils, the amateurish proto-hardcore and angst-ridden poetry of the Germs, and the gonzo humor of the Weirdos and the Dickies. With its natural inclination toward more aggressive punk, L.A. became the center for the music's shift into hardcore, with Black Flag (and, later, its seminal SST label) leading the new direction by the beginning of the '80s. [-] Hide

The Jam

In the late '70s, a group of British punk rockers inspired by the Jam brought back the mod styles and sound of mid-'60s London. The Mod Revivalists stuck to the R&B-informed rock & roll that distinguished the original '60s mods, but the sound was harder and more frenetic, and often only implied the music's R&B roots. Since the original wave of mod bands in the '60s only included a few of bands -- the Small Faces, the Who, the Creation, and the Action, as well as a handful of others -- there... [+] Read More

In the late '70s, a group of British punk rockers inspired by the Jam brought back the mod styles and sound of mid-'60s London. The Mod Revivalists stuck to the R&B-informed rock & roll that distinguished the original '60s mods, but the sound was harder and more frenetic, and often only implied the music's R&B roots. Since the original wave of mod bands in the '60s only included a few of bands -- the Small Faces, the Who, the Creation, and the Action, as well as a handful of others -- there were actually more mod groups in the revival than there were in the '60s. Furthermore, since most of the original mods only performed in cover bands (with the exception of the aforementioned groups) or simply danced to Motown records, the revival was the first wave of mod bands to rely on original material. Nevertheless, the mod revival only produced a handful of popular bands. The Jam were the most popular band in Britain during the late '70s and early '80s, but groups like the Lambrettas, the Merton Parkas, Squire, and Purple Hearts managed to cultivate cult followings and occasionally have pop hits. The mod revival lasted as long as the Jam's career -- after Paul Weller disbanded the trio to form the Style Council, most mod revivalists either split up or became new romantics, which usually resulted in a breakup as well. Despite its brief time in the spotlight, the mod revival had a lasting impact on British pop music, as many of the most popular English rock bands of the '80s and '90s -- from the Smiths to Blur and Oasis -- was indebted either to the Jam or to the movement in general. [-] Hide

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

The New Romantics were a peculiar subgenre of new wave. Wearing heavy makeup and dressed in stylish clothing, the new romantics took not only their visual cues from David Bowie and Roxy Music, but also their musical cues. Drawing from Station to Station/Low-era Bowie and latter-day Roxy Music, new romantics created a sleek, synthesized, and danceable form of pop that was designed to be fashionable and transient. More than any other post-punk genre, new romantics relied on style and glamour.... [+] Read More

The New Romantics were a peculiar subgenre of new wave. Wearing heavy makeup and dressed in stylish clothing, the new romantics took not only their visual cues from David Bowie and Roxy Music, but also their musical cues. Drawing from Station to Station/Low-era Bowie and latter-day Roxy Music, new romantics created a sleek, synthesized, and danceable form of pop that was designed to be fashionable and transient. More than any other post-punk genre, new romantics relied on style and glamour. Duran Duran was the ultimate new romantic group, and they were the only one to become superstars. New romantic had died out by 1984, but it had a brief revival in the mid-'90s by the Melody Maker-sponsored, non-movement Romo. [-] Hide

The Human League

During the late '70s and early '80s, New Wave was a catch-all term for the music that directly followed punk rock; often, the term encompassed punk itself, as well. In retrospect, it's became clear that the music that followed punk could be divided, more or less, into two categories -- post-punk and new wave. Where post-punk was arty, difficult, and challenging, new wave was pop music, pure and simple. It retained the fresh vigor and irreverence of punk music, as well as a fascination with... [+] Read More

During the late '70s and early '80s, New Wave was a catch-all term for the music that directly followed punk rock; often, the term encompassed punk itself, as well. In retrospect, it's became clear that the music that followed punk could be divided, more or less, into two categories -- post-punk and new wave. Where post-punk was arty, difficult, and challenging, new wave was pop music, pure and simple. It retained the fresh vigor and irreverence of punk music, as well as a fascination with electronics, style, and art. Therefore, there was a lot of stylistic diversity to new wave. It meant the nervy power pop of bands like XTC and Nick Lowe, but it also meant synth rockers like Gary Numan or rock revivalists like Graham Parker and Rockpile. There were edgy new wave songwriters like Elvis Costello, pop bands like Squeeze, tough rock & rollers like the Pretenders, pop-reggae like the Police, mainstream rockers like the Cars, and ska revivalists like the Specials and Madness. As important as these major artists were, there were also countless one-hit wonders that emerged during early new wave. These one-hit groups were as diverse as the major artists, but they all shared a love of pop hooks, modernist, synthesized production, and a fascination for being slightly left of center. By the early '80s, new wave described nearly every new pop/rock artist, especially those that used synthesizers like the Human League and Duran Duran. New wave received a boost in the early '80s by MTV, who broadcast endless hours of new wave videos in order to keep themselves on the air. Therefore, new wave got a second life in 1982, when it probably would have died out. Instead, 1982 and 1983 were boom years for polished, MTV-radio new wave outfits like Culture Club, Adam Ant, Spandau Ballet, Haircut 100, and A Flock of Seagulls. New wave finally died out in 1984, when established artists began to make professional videos and a new crop of guitar-oriented bands like the Smiths and R.E.M. emerged to capture the attention of college-radio and underground rock fans. Nevertheless, new wave proved more influential than many of its critics would have suspected, as the mid-'90s were dominated by bands -- from Blur to Weezer -- that were raised on the music. [-] Hide

The Dictators

While bands like the Stooges, the MC5, and the Velvet Underground laid the initial groundwork for punk, New York was home to the first punk scene, and was the location from which punk rock spread to later hotbeds like London and Southern California. New York punk didn't have the immediate revolutionary impact on its homeland that British punk had, but its lasting influence is incalculable. The initial spark for New York punk came from the New York Dolls, whose crude Stones riffs and trashy,... [+] Read More

While bands like the Stooges, the MC5, and the Velvet Underground laid the initial groundwork for punk, New York was home to the first punk scene, and was the location from which punk rock spread to later hotbeds like London and Southern California. New York punk didn't have the immediate revolutionary impact on its homeland that British punk had, but its lasting influence is incalculable. The initial spark for New York punk came from the New York Dolls, whose crude Stones riffs and trashy, cross-dressing glam image caused a minor (if mostly local) sensation. The Dolls helped open the doors for a raft of musical misfits, most importantly the Ramones, a quartet from Queens clad in jeans and leather who appropriated catchy hooks from early-'60s bubblegum, surf, and girl-group pop, but played them as loud, fast, and raw as possible. Their sound was basic (two-minute, three-chord rockers) and stripped-down (just guitar, bass, and drums), and their attitude -- bringing a sense of dumb fun back to rock & roll -- stood in sharp contrast to nearly every prevailing musical trend of the '70s. The Ramones became regulars at CBGB's, a dive bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side that became, along with Max's Kansas City, the epicenter for the developing punk scene around 1975-76. Although the Ramones still epitomize the sound most listeners (especially Americans) think of as "punk rock," the New York scene was in actuality much more diverse, united by a common spirit of reinventing and reinvigorating rock & roll than by any one sound. Television, for example, stretched their songs into ambitiously intricate, epic-length twin-guitar duels; lead singer Tom Verlaine's literary bent was echoed in the work of his ex-bandmate Richard Hell and singer/poet Patti Smith. Meanwhile, Blondie's subversions of girl-group pop and the Talking Heads' quirky art-school guitar-pop were some of the first ventures into what would eventually be called new wave, but their attitudes placed them squarely in the punk camp at the time. Also on the dividing line was synth-pop duo Suicide, whose incendiary performances and edgy subject matter made them perhaps the most confrontational band on the scene. There was no formula, but there was no lasting scene either - by the early '80s, much of the activity had died down, as the original bands began to hit the mainstream, fade away, or settle into cult roles. [-] Hide

The Residents

No Wave was a short-lived, avant-garde offshoot of '70s punk, based almost entirely in New York City's Lower East Side from about 1978-1982. Like the post-punk movement that was primarily centered in Britain, no wave drew from the artier side of punk -- but where British post-punk was mostly cold and despairing, no wave was harsh, abrasive, and aggressively confrontational. Most no wave bands were fascinated by the pure noise that could be produced by an electric guitar, making it an... [+] Read More

No Wave was a short-lived, avant-garde offshoot of '70s punk, based almost entirely in New York City's Lower East Side from about 1978-1982. Like the post-punk movement that was primarily centered in Britain, no wave drew from the artier side of punk -- but where British post-punk was mostly cold and despairing, no wave was harsh, abrasive, and aggressively confrontational. Most no wave bands were fascinated by the pure noise that could be produced by an electric guitar, making it an important component of their music (and oftentimes the central focus). Unlike punk, melody was as unimportant as instrumental technique, as most no wavers concentrated on producing an atonal, dissonant (yet often rhythmic) racket. With its assaultive artiness and theatrical angst, no wave was as much performance art as it was music. Two of no wave's central figures were vocalist/guitarist Lydia Lunch and saxophonist James Chance, who performed together in Teenage Jesus and the Jerks; Lunch went on to a long solo career, and Chance formed an innovative no wave/funk outfit called the Contortions. The defining no wave recording is the 1978 Brian Eno-produced compilation No New York, which features material from Chance and the Contortions, Teenage Jesus, DNA (featuring avant-garde guitarist Arto Lindsay), and Mars. Although none of the no wave performers ever really broke out to wider audiences (Lunch's prolific, collaboration-heavy solo output brought her the closest), Sonic Youth fused no wave's distorted cacophony with the more meditative noise explorations of guitarist/avant-garde composer Glenn Branca, and became underground legends after adding more melodic structure to the sound. [-] Hide

The Raincoats

After the punk revolution of 1977, a number of bands formed. They were all inspired by the independent spirit of punk, as well as its raw sound. Instead of replicating the sound of the Sex Pistols, many of these bands forged into more experimental territory, taking cues from Roxy Music, David Bowie, and T. Rex in addition to punk rock. The result was Post-Punk, a group of bands tied together by their counterculture spirit and defiance of accepted rock conventions. Many of these groups -- like... [+] Read More

After the punk revolution of 1977, a number of bands formed. They were all inspired by the independent spirit of punk, as well as its raw sound. Instead of replicating the sound of the Sex Pistols, many of these bands forged into more experimental territory, taking cues from Roxy Music, David Bowie, and T. Rex in addition to punk rock. The result was Post-Punk, a group of bands tied together by their counterculture spirit and defiance of accepted rock conventions. Many of these groups -- like Joy Division or the Cure -- created dark, bleak soundscapes that employed both synthesizers and guitars. Others had a lighter musical approach, but their lyrics and music were off-kilter and subverted traditional pop/rock song structures. Post-punk eventually evolved into alternative pop/rock in the '80s. [-] Hide

Chris Bell

Power Pop is a cross between the crunching hard rock of the Who and the sweet melodicism of the Beatles and Beach Boys, with the ringing guitars of the Byrds thrown in for good measure. Although several bands of the early '70s -- most notably the Raspberries, Big Star, and Badfinger -- established the sound of power pop, it wasn't until the late '70s that a whole group of like-minded bands emerged. Most of these groups modeled themselves on the Raspberries (which isn't entirely surprising,... [+] Read More

Power Pop is a cross between the crunching hard rock of the Who and the sweet melodicism of the Beatles and Beach Boys, with the ringing guitars of the Byrds thrown in for good measure. Although several bands of the early '70s -- most notably the Raspberries, Big Star, and Badfinger -- established the sound of power pop, it wasn't until the late '70s that a whole group of like-minded bands emerged. Most of these groups modeled themselves on the Raspberries (which isn't entirely surprising, since they were the only power-pop band of their era to have hit singles), or they went directly back to the source and based their sound on stacks of British Invasion records. What tied all of these bands together was their love of the three-minute pop single. Power-pop bands happened to emerge around the same time of punk, so they were swept along with the new wave because their brief, catchy songs fit into the post-punk aesthetic. Out of these bands, Cheap Trick, the Knack, the Romantics, and Dwight Twilley had the biggest hits, but the Shoes, the Records, the Nerves, and 20/20, among many others, became cult favorites. During the early '80s, power pop died away as a hip movement, and nearly all of the bands broke up. However, in the late '80s, a new breed of power pop began to form. The new bands, who were primarily influenced by Big Star, blended traditional power pop with alternative rock sensibilities and sounds; in the process, groups like Teenage Fanclub, Material Issue, and the Posies became critical and cult favorites. While these bands gained the attention of hip circles, many of the original power-pop groups began recording new material and releasing it on independent labels. In the early '90s, the Yellow Pills compilation series gathered together highlights from these re-activated power poppers, as well as new artists that worked in a traditional power-pop vein. Throughout the early and mid-'90s, this group of independent, grass-roots power-pop bands gained a small but dedicated cult following in the United States. [-] Hide

The Dictators

Proto-punk refers to a small group of groundbreaking, largely uncategorizable bands who began to emerge in the late '60s, up to the point when punk itself became a phenomenon (around 1975-76). Obviously, none of these artists could be classified as proto-punk until long after the fact; it was never a cohesive movement, nor was there a readily identifiable proto-punk sound that made its artists seem related at the time. What ties proto-punk together is a certain provocative sensibility that... [+] Read More

Proto-punk refers to a small group of groundbreaking, largely uncategorizable bands who began to emerge in the late '60s, up to the point when punk itself became a phenomenon (around 1975-76). Obviously, none of these artists could be classified as proto-punk until long after the fact; it was never a cohesive movement, nor was there a readily identifiable proto-punk sound that made its artists seem related at the time. What ties proto-punk together is a certain provocative sensibility that didn't fit the prevailing counterculture of the time. Proto-punk challenged not only mainstream rock conventions, but the utopianism and general positivity of the hippie movement. It was consciously subversive and fully aware of its outsider status -- sometimes because the bands had arty ambitions, sometimes for the thrill of thumbing their noses. In terms of its lasting influence, much proto-punk was primitive and stripped-down, even when it wasn't aggressive, and its production was usually just as unpolished. It also frequently dealt with taboo subject matter, depicting society's grimy underbelly in great detail, and venting alienation that was more intense and personal than ever before. The first proto-punk group was the Velvet Underground, for a variety of reasons: their boundary-shattering lyrical content, their use of feedback, distortion, and white noise, their unpredictable (yet song-centered) experimentalism, their amateurish technique. Emerging around 1969, the raucous, almost amelodic rock of the MC5 and the Stooges did more to set the sonic blueprint for punk than any other bands. In the early '70s, the New York Dolls kickstarted what would become the New York punk scene with their raw, Stonesy rock and glammed-up image; around the same time, there were also some small-scale recordings that featured soon-to-be-punk poets Patti Smith, Richard Hell, and Television's Tom Verlaine. Most of the British artists who could be considered proto-punk were also part of the glam rock scene, which inspired many future punks with its simple, crunchy guitar riffs, its outrageous sense of style, and its artists' willingness to sing with British accents (not to mention the idiosyncratic images of David Bowie and Roxy Music). [-] Hide

Fear

Punk Rock returned rock & roll to the basics -- three chords and a simple melody. It just did it louder and faster and more abrasively than any other rock & roll in the past. Although there had been several bands to flirt with what became known as punk rock -- including the garage rockers of the '60s and the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and the New York Dolls -- it wasn't until the mid-'70s that punk became its own genre. On both sides of the Atlantic, young bands began forsaking the... [+] Read More

Punk Rock returned rock & roll to the basics -- three chords and a simple melody. It just did it louder and faster and more abrasively than any other rock & roll in the past. Although there had been several bands to flirt with what became known as punk rock -- including the garage rockers of the '60s and the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and the New York Dolls -- it wasn't until the mid-'70s that punk became its own genre. On both sides of the Atlantic, young bands began forsaking the sonic excesses that distinguished mainstream hard rock and stripping the music down to its essentials. In New York, the first punk band was the Ramones; in London, the first punk band was the Sex Pistols. Although the bands had different agendas and sounds -- the Ramones were faster and indebted to bubblegum, while the Pistols played Faces riffs sloppier and louder than the Faces themselves -- the direct approach of the bands revolutionized music in both the U.K. and the U.S. In America, punk remained an underground sensation, eventually spawning the hardcore and indie-rock scenes of the '80s, but in the UK, it was a full-scale phenomenon. In the U.K., the Sex Pistols were thought of as a serious threat to the well-being of the government and monarchy, but more importantly, they caused countless bands to form. Some of the bands stuck close to the Pistols' original blueprint, but many found their own sound, whether it was the edgy pop of the Buzzcocks, the anthemic, reggae-informed rock of the Clash, or the arty experiments of Wire and Joy Division. Soon, punk splintered into post-punk (which was more experimental and artier than punk), new wave (which was more pop-oriented), and hardcore, which simply made punk harder, faster, and more abrasive. Throughout the '80s, punk was identified with the hardcore scenes in both America and England. In the early '90s, a wave of punk revivalists -- led by Green Day and Rancid -- emerged from the American underground. The new wave of punk rockers followed the same template as the original punks, but they tended to incorporate elements of heavy metal into their sound. [-] Hide

Wayne Hancock

Rockabilly Revival refers to the legions of bands dedicated to replicating the style and sound of classic '50s rock & roll. Though there have always been bands that have played rockabilly, the rockabilly revival didn't hit its stride until the post-punk era, when a number of new bands picked up the sounds of rockabilly; not only did they play the music, but they celebrated the kitschy pop culture that surrounded rockabilly. The first rockabilly revival culminated with the success of the Stray... [+] Read More

Rockabilly Revival refers to the legions of bands dedicated to replicating the style and sound of classic '50s rock & roll. Though there have always been bands that have played rockabilly, the rockabilly revival didn't hit its stride until the post-punk era, when a number of new bands picked up the sounds of rockabilly; not only did they play the music, but they celebrated the kitschy pop culture that surrounded rockabilly. The first rockabilly revival culminated with the success of the Stray Cats in the early '80s. Following the Stray Cats crossover success, a number of rockabilly bands appeared in the American underground during the late '80s; there were also a number of rockabilly bands that were associated with the roots-rock and blues-rock scenes, not the alternative scene. The rockabilly revival continued to thrive into the '90s, when the most notable rockabilly band to emerge was the grunge-injected Reverend Horton Heat. [-] Hide

The Selecter

Ska evolved in the early '60s, when Jamaicans tried to replicate the sound of the New Orleans R&B they heard over their radios. Instead of mimicking the sound of the R&B, the first ska artists developed a distinctive rhythmic and melodic sensibility, which eventually turned into reggae music. In the late '70s, a number of young British bands began reviving the sound of original ska, adding a nervous punk edge to the skittish rhythms. Furthermore, the Ska Revivalists were among the only bands... [+] Read More

Ska evolved in the early '60s, when Jamaicans tried to replicate the sound of the New Orleans R&B they heard over their radios. Instead of mimicking the sound of the R&B, the first ska artists developed a distinctive rhythmic and melodic sensibility, which eventually turned into reggae music. In the late '70s, a number of young British bands began reviving the sound of original ska, adding a nervous punk edge to the skittish rhythms. Furthermore, the Ska Revivalists were among the only bands of the era to feature racially integrated lineups, which was a bold political statement for the time. Indeed, ska revival was more implicitly political than any of their British punk and new wave contemporaries. The leading ska revivalist band was the Specials, who formed their own independent label, 2-Tone. Led by Jerry Dammers and fronted by Terry Hall, the Specials established the sound and approach for all of the bands that followed, and were an immediate hit in England. Through 2-Tone and a variety of tours, the Specials helped cultivate an active ska revival scene -- the group offered support for all of the major ska revivalists that followed, including Madness, the (English) Beat, and Selecter. Throughout the early '80s, ska revival bands, particularly Madness, were very popular in the U.K. The groups didn't make much headway in the States until 1982 and 1983, when MTV aired videos by all of the important (and many of the lesser) bands. By that time, most of the bands had run their peak and it was just a matter of months before the Specials, Madness, the (English) Beat, and Selecter all broke up. Although the ska revival bands never became stars outside of the U.K., they did become major cult figures in the U.S. and inspired several generations of musicians to form similar bands. This wave of ska revivalists was equally inspired by hardcore punk and heavy metal, thereby stripping out much of the R&B groove that informed the original ska and 2-Tone artists. Nevertheless, these bands -- including Rancid, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and No Doubt -- became quite popular in America during the mid-'90s. In the U.K., ska revivalists influenced both Britpop bands like Blur and trip-hop artists like Tricky. [-] Hide

The Style Council

Sophisti-pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared during the mid-'80s. In addition to jazz, many sophisti-pop artists incorporated sweet pop-soul into their sound, but the synthesizers that usually polished the arrangements marked sophisti-pop as a product of the '80s. With its slick production and mellow, urbane feel, sophisti-pop fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radio formats, but it never became a wildly popular trend, and by the beginning of the '90s,... [+] Read More

Sophisti-pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared during the mid-'80s. In addition to jazz, many sophisti-pop artists incorporated sweet pop-soul into their sound, but the synthesizers that usually polished the arrangements marked sophisti-pop as a product of the '80s. With its slick production and mellow, urbane feel, sophisti-pop fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radio formats, but it never became a wildly popular trend, and by the beginning of the '90s, it had largely faded away. Some of sophisti-pop's most notable artists include Simply Red, Sade, the Style Council, the pre-electronica Everything But the Girl, Basia, Swing Out Sister, and {$Prefab Sprout. [-] Hide

Minor Threat

Born out of the early Washington, DC hardcore punk scene, Straight-Edge has a strange history. It can be traced back to songs written by Minor Threat vocalist Ian MacKaye. Those songs, "Straight-Edge," and "Out of Step," outlined MacKaye's personal feelings on the hedonism of the day, and the rules were simple: No drinking, no drugs, no smoking, no casual sex. (Over time this would eventually include both vegetarianism and Veganism.) MacKaye eventually backed off, stating that he had not... [+] Read More

Born out of the early Washington, DC hardcore punk scene, Straight-Edge has a strange history. It can be traced back to songs written by Minor Threat vocalist Ian MacKaye. Those songs, "Straight-Edge," and "Out of Step," outlined MacKaye's personal feelings on the hedonism of the day, and the rules were simple: No drinking, no drugs, no smoking, no casual sex. (Over time this would eventually include both vegetarianism and Veganism.) MacKaye eventually backed off, stating that he had not meant to start a movement , but the ideas resonated loud and clear through the national hardcore punk underground, and other disaffected punks got involved and started scenes in New York, Los Angeles and Arizona (to name a few). Longevity was achieved with straight-edge's peak in 1988, with bands like Youth of Today, Seven Seconds and Gorilla Biscuits making the music more accessible by taking the basic hardcore riffs and adding melodic and metallic tones. While the musicality of straight-edge carries many of the simplistic angry structures of hardcore punk, the agenda of the lyrics has many facets, ranging from the original rules, to embracing social and political issues like pacifism, animal rights, civil rights, etc. [-] Hide

Gary Numan

Synth Pop was one of the most distinctive subgenres of new wave. In the early '80s, a number of bands -- primarily British and heavily influenced by Roxy Music and David Bowie -- adapted the electronic innovations of bands like Kraftwerk for pop songs. Initially, in the hands of artists like Gary Numan, the Human League, and Depeche Mode, the sound was eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing, since the electronics droned on relentlessly without any change in inflections. However, these first... [+] Read More

Synth Pop was one of the most distinctive subgenres of new wave. In the early '80s, a number of bands -- primarily British and heavily influenced by Roxy Music and David Bowie -- adapted the electronic innovations of bands like Kraftwerk for pop songs. Initially, in the hands of artists like Gary Numan, the Human League, and Depeche Mode, the sound was eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing, since the electronics droned on relentlessly without any change in inflections. However, these first stabs at synth pop were transformed into danceable, synthesized pop by Duran Duran, who made the synthesized hooks warmer and catchier by grafting them onto a dance beat. Soon, a flood of bands followed Duran Duran's lead and although some of the groups weren't as infectious as that band, they nevertheless relied on the conventions of three-minute pop. Duran Duran became stars, while most other synth-pop groups were lucky to have more than one hit. There were some exceptions -- the Human League and Eurythmics had several hits, as did Howard Jones -- but the field was mainly occupied by one-hit wonders like A Flock of Seagulls. By 1984, synth pop had begun to die out, but the music had helped establish the synthesizer as a primary instrument in mainstream pop music during its time in the spotlight. [-] Hide