Punk rock is a music genre that came to prominence in the 1970s, particularly in New York, London, and Los Angeles. The music was inspired by scrappy, countercultural 1960s rock bands, such as the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and was popularized by acts like Patti Smith, the Ramones, and the Clash.
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Band members Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were students at the Ohio university when the National Guard shot and killed student protestors. Casale said that the experience led them to pursue the project, which was a satirical critique of mindless consumerism and conformity.
The English band used Presley’s 1959 debut album as the template for the cover of its third record, an ambitious double album that explored rockabilly, reggae, ska, R&B, jazz and pop.
“Train in Vain” was a hit in the US, something that hadn’t yet happened for other first-wave punk acts. But the song was added to “London Calling” at the last minute, after the record jackets were already printed, making it one of the more popular “hidden tracks” in popular music.
The 2 Tone record label, spearheaded by the Specials, popularized second-wave ska in the late ‘70s, which married British punk with Jamaican rhythms. The music—intentionally multicultural and performed by multiracial bands—was a response to England’s growing nativism.
Pettibon’s brother, Greg Ginn, was the guitarist for a new band in search of a logo. Pettibon delivered an image that would become one of the defining icons of punk: four black bars, meant to symbolize a waving flag.
The illustrator’s anxiety-ridden comics adorned flyers for LA punk bands, defining a distinctive aesthetic for the burgeoning genre. That work caught the eye of Paul Reubens, who was staging a late-night show with his persona Pee-wee Herman.
The DC hardcore band released the song “Straight Edge” in 1981, which detailed singer Ian MacKaye’s decision to abstain from alcohol, drugs and promiscuous sex. The track inadvertently inspired legions of young hardcore kids to similarly declare themselves “straight edge,” which eventually grew into its own subgenre.
Before they became a legendary rap group, the New Yorkers played fast, scrappy hardcore in the style of Bad Brains. Still, they were fans of the explosion of hip-hop culture in their city and recorded a jokey track in 1983, which led to a record deal and conversion to hip-hop.
Punk sought to dismantle the self-importance of mainstream rock, favoring simple arrangements, short songs, and raw passion over sophistication or expertise. When the Buzzcocks struggled to find a label to release their debut record, “Spiral Scratch,” they took that do-it-yourself approach and applied it to business by releasing it themselves.
The band Gray was formed in New York after the city’s ‘70s punk explosion, though Basquiat’s band (which also featured filmmaker Michael Holman and actor Vincent Gallo) was considered no wave—a more experimental subgenre that used the guitar for dissonance rather than melody and toyed with multiple sounds, including hip-hop.
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