Post-punk

Post-punk was a musical movement beginning at the end of the 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock "explosion". For the more recent "post-punk" movement in rock music, see post-punk revival.

Post-punk in the 1970s

During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976–1978, bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock music by stripping the musical structure down to a few basic chords and progressions with an emphasis on speed and attitude. Yet as punk itself soon came to have a signature sound a few bands began to experiment with more challenging musical structures, lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance.

Related Topics:
1976 - 1978 - Sex Pistols - The Clash - The Ramones - The Damned

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Typically more introverted, complex, arty, and experimental than classic punk rock or the more pop-oriented New Wave music, post-punk laid the groundwork for "alternative rock" by broadening the idea of what punk and underground music could do, incorporating elements of Krautrock, Jamaican dub music, American funk, and studio experimentation into the punk rock genre. It found a firm place in the 1980s college rock scene, and left behind several major sub-genres. However, post-punk's biggest influence remains in the vast variety of sounds and styles it pioneered, many of which proved very influential in the later alternative rock scene.

Related Topics:
Experimental - New Wave music - Alternative rock - Underground music - Krautrock - Dub music - Funk - 1980s - College rock

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Classic examples of post-punk outfits include Gang of Four, Joy Division/New Order, and Wire. Bands such as Crass and The Fall also came within the scope of post-punk, as with several outfits formed in the wake of traditionally punk rock groups: Magazine from Buzzcocks, for instance, or Public Image Ltd. from the Sex Pistols. A list of predecessors to the post-punk genre of music might include Television, whose album Marquee Moon, although released in 1977 (when the punk genre was just forming), is considered definitively post-punk in style. Other groups, such as The Clash, remained predominantly punk in nature yet inspired and were inspired by elements in the post-punk movement.

Related Topics:
Gang of Four - Joy Division - New Order - Wire - Crass - The Fall - Magazine - Buzzcocks - Public Image Ltd. - Television - Marquee Moon - 1977

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Championed by late night BBC disc jockey John Peel and record label/shop Rough Trade (amongst others, including Postcard Records, Factory Records, Falling A Records, Fast Product, and Mute Records), "post-punk" could arguably be said to encompass many diverse groups and musicians. The original post-punk movement took place largely in England, with significant scenes throughout Europe, though did not spread to North America in the same way that punk rock had (with some notable exceptions, such as Boston's Mission of Burma).

Related Topics:
BBC - Disc jockey - John Peel - Rough Trade - Postcard Records - Factory Records - Falling A Records - Fast Product - Mute Records - Mission of Burma

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See also: Industrial music, Goth music, No Wave, Cassette culture, Indie rock, Oi!

Related Topics:
Industrial music - Goth music - No Wave - Cassette culture - Indie rock - Oi!

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