The Beginning
Easily one of the most controversial music genres of all time, the punk movement paved the way for such bands as The Scientists,Dead Kennedys, and the Sex Pistols to name a few. Established in the mid 1970's, punk rock followed the protopunk music of the late 60's and opened the door for bands like the Ramones to be the frontrunners of the genre.
The strong political themes and rough instrumentals so characteristic of punk rock did not appeal to the masses. Instead, a subculture was formed following the emergence of punk music. This subculture quickly became associated with disillusioned, rebellious youth and an anti-government mentality.
While punk music enjoyed a fair amount of fame in the United Kingdom during the late 1970's, the genre did not enjoy much popularity elsewhere. Because punk bands typically rejected mainstream culture, it wasn't until the turn of the century that punk became popular because of the emerging alternative rock genre.
Characteristics of Punk Music
Bands and artists like The Clash and Patti Smith exemplified everything punk music stood for, and their stripped-down music and thought-provoking lyrics proved that punk was a distinct genre apart from everything else. While many early punk bands were influenced by the harsh sounds of 1960's garage rock, it was clear that punk rock served a very separate fan base.
Typical characteristics of punk music included vocals that often sounded nasal, and the frontman (or woman) screaming the lyrics rather than singing them normally. Punk songs were usually short, with most songs clocking in at less than two minutes. During the second wave of punk music however, many bands chose to break away from that.
In addition to the format of most punk songs being similar, the lyrics were often blunt and to the point. They dealt with real-life issues such as government, crime, poverty and other social problems. Punk rock redefined the music scene, and people who didn't have bands to identify with before now had several that spoke to the reality of the world's issues.
The Punk "Look"
Such a distinctive music style naturally led to a certain clothing style adopted by punk bands and their followers. Typical punk attire included leather, bondage-type clothing, T-shirts, motorcycle jackets and denim jeans to produce the "tough" vibe most punk bands tried to emulate. It wasn't until the late 1980's, however, when piercings and tattoos began to increase in popularity among the punk subculture.
The Punk Revival
It's true that punk music did not enjoy mainstream success when it was first emerging, and it wasn't until the early 1990's when punk music became popularized by bands such as Green Day, Bad Religion and Rancid. The punk revival bands of the '90's helped to popularize the genre by acknowledging early punk musicians as influences on their work.
While punk music has become increasingly popular in the past decade (and will probably continue to do so as new bands emerge,) there are still underground punk bands that exist today in an attempt to remain true to the punk music scene that was so revolutionary during the early 1970's.
