Punk rock also known as simply punk is a rock music genre that emerged in the mids. Rooted in s rock and roll [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] and s garage rock , punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation. Lyricism in punk typically revolves around anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian themes.
Punk embraces a DIY ethic ; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent labels. The term "punk rock" was previously used by American rock critics in the early s to describe the mids garage bands. Certain late s and early s Detroit acts, such as MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges , and other bands from elsewhere created out-of-the-mainstream music that became highly influential on what was to come.
By late , punk had become a major cultural phenomenon in the UK. In , the influence of the music and subculture spread worldwide. It took root in a wide range of local scenes that often rejected affiliation with the mainstream. In the late s, punk experienced a second wave, when new acts that had not been active during its formative years adopted the style. By the early s, faster and more aggressive subgenres, such as hardcore punk e. Many musicians who identified with punk or were inspired by it went on to pursue other musical directions, giving rise to movements such as post-punk , new wave , thrash metal , and alternative rock.
Following alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough in the s with Nirvana , punk rock saw renewed major-label interest and mainstream appeal exemplified by the rise of the California bands Green Day , Social Distortion , Rancid , the Offspring , Bad Religion , and NOFX.
The anti-government stance and nihilistic impression of the future provided by capitalism united the punk scene in the s in the United Kingdom as other bands emerged in the 70s and 80s like X-Ray Spex and Steel Pulse. The first wave of punk rock was "aggressively modern" and differed from what came before.
