Post-punk
Post-punk (originally known as new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. The term was coined by Jon Savage in November 1977. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experimental approach that encompassed a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-rock influences. Inspired by punk's energy and do it yourself ethic but determined to break from rock cliches, artists drew influence from Germany's krautrock scene and experimented with styles like funk, electronic music, jazz, and dance music; the production techniques of dub and disco; and ideas from art and politics, including modernist art, cinema and literature. These communities produced independent record labels, visual art, multimedia performances and fanzines.
The early post-punk vanguard was represented by groups including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire, Public Image Ltd, the Pop Group, Magazine, Joy Division, Talking Heads, the Raincoats, Gang of Four, the Cure, and the Fall. The movement was closely related to the development of ancillary genres such as gothic rock, neo-psychedelia, no wave, and industrial music. By the mid-1980s, post-punk had dissipated; however, it provided a foundation for the new pop movement and the later alternative and independent genres.
Quotes about post-punk music
- As far as genre descriptors go, post-punk is pretty vague—let’s just get that out of the way immediately. In the late ’70s, punk bands like the Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks began tiring of the standard rock tropes, and members went on to experiment in different directions, inspiring others—particularly in the UK and New York, but also in places like Cleveland and Athens, Ga.—to incorporate unusual sounds, from electronica to free jazz to world music, into their punk-rock roots. The results were as musically and lyrically diverse as they were artistically vital. Post-punk lyrics could be scathingly political or absurdly nonsensical. There was an anger to much of the music, but it was often masked by a playfulness. These were musicians interested in seeing where music could go.