Punk rock was originally about an uncontrollable rage and a rebellion against anything and everything. It got it's name from a music critic that said it reminded him of the 60's music he used to listen to. In the late sixties The Velvet Underground was around. They brought rock and roll back to what it started as. They laid the stones for all future punk and alternative bands. They inspired bands such as Iggy And The Stooges, ? And The Mysterians, The Ramones, New York Dolls, and U2. The Ramones started the punk phenomena. They inspired The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads. The Ramones went to England on tour and said it was a freak show with all of the colored hair. While there a bunch of kids appeared and told them that they were the guys that turned them on. Those guys were Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer. Punk inspired a new genre called hardcore. Hardcore bands included Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, and Bad Brains. Punk almost died in the 80's. It was brought back to life by Green Day, The Offspring, MXPX, Nirvana, and Tripl3 Thr3at.

A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'.

music with no boundaries. music with no rules. music from the heart.

A kick ass genre of music corrupted by shitty bands like good charlotte.

Not a style, but a way of life, the music

A genre of music that died around 1996, contrary to what any blue haired fifteen yr old will tell you.

Punk Rock originally had a three chord sound. Everyone knew that the music was not important as the message. Sid Vicious was never known as the best player of the 70s or of any era, but everyone knew who the Sex Pistols were.

True punk rock bands include (but are not limited to): Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Ramones, Youth Brigade, Bad Brains, DK (pre-1987), Descendents, Minor Threat, Fugazi, 7 Seconds, Bad Religion, Sub Society, and Teen Idols.

Examples of "punk" rock, only by record label classification: Good Charlotte, Blink 182, Simple Plan, Avril Lavigne, No Doubt (yes, I once had someone tell me they are punk. Yes, you may laugh too), 311, and The All American Rejects.

Punk rock never died, yet it's often spoiled by nazi boneheads such as gg allin (gotta say he's one hardcore motherfucker though) who claim to be punk but really don't know shit cause punk started off fighting for peace NOT hate. To be "punk" all you have to do is...nothing. You don't take orders from "the man". "Punks" have many different beliefs and are very open minded...that's why nazis don't count. Punks don't judge before they listen. Contrary to popular beliefs, punks CARE. Punks aren't the lazy, careless sods society leads you to believe they are. Punks take action...may it be for animal liberation, anti-war, anti-racism, anti-capitalism, or all of them together.

Music which, contrary to popular belief, does not need to be loud, nor fast to fit under the said moniker. Rooted in the avant-garde of The Velvet Underground, who despite drawing influences from free jazz and swing-- elements that would later be thrown out of the mix when "punk" came to full rise-- laid the blueprint for the aesthetic of what is now considered the "punk" mentality; defying rock conventions and creating music that was messy, unpolished, and primitive. VU's experimentalism carried into their live performances, in which they would commonly improvise songs (an art predocessors, and fellow New Yorkers Television would incorperate into live shows), as well as create feedback and distortion noises.

After VU, The Stooges, a Michigan-based proto-punk band, formed and followed the same philosophy. Led by the infamous Iggy Pop, The Stooges may have "rocked" far harder than VU, but nontheless had VU's flare for being controversial; not only did they follow in VU's footsteps by writing lyrics that blatantly reference drugs and sex, but putting on bizarre live shows, in which Pop would perform shirtless and cut himself, as well as cover his body in peanut butter. While VU managed to gain slight acclaim with their ties to artist Andy Warhol, at the time of their existence, The Stooges enjoyed virtually no success, and barely sold any records at all.

Shortly after The Stooges, The New York Dolls formed, not only adding to the blueprint for what would shortly th...