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Punk culture started in the late 1960s as a movement or rebellion against some styles of music which were emerging at the time,
such as the 'pop' Beatles and their vast array of followers, and against the hippy culture which was
becoming so popular. Followers of punk culture developed their own, dystopian styles of music, which were originally
like underground, minimalist rock and roll. The Sex Pistols are a good example of punk bands of this era.
Gradually punk became more varied and less minimalist with bands such as The Clash incorporating other underground musical influences like
ska and rockabilly and even hip-hop into their music, but the message of the music remained the same; it was subversive,
rebellious, politically incorrect and often anarchist. It dealt with topics such as problems facing society, oppression of the
lower classes, etc. Punk culture was a message to society that all was not well and all were not identical.
Punk culture in the United Kingdom spilled over into North America in the 1980s and 1990s where people
created a new musical style called hardcore which is known for faster, more aggressive beats than its European counterpart. Other
styles emerged from this new genre including skate punk and straight edge.
Since the beginning of punk, major label record companies have tried to profit off of underground punk culture. For the most part this is meet with much resistance
because of the punk ethic of musical integrity which punks often feel is threatened by record lable profit motivation. Beginning in the late 1980s, the punk music of the Pacific Northwest began to be
marketed as "grunge". Successful grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam began opening the general public up to
sounds derivative of punk music. This early
commercial success gave way to another very marketable style of punk called pop punk. Examples of punk pop bands include Simple Plan,
Good Charlotte, and Sum 41.
Though these bands have very large followings, many people of the original punk subculture find this commercialization of punk disillusioning.
They argue that punk is by definition unpopular (seeing "pop punk" as a contradiction in terms) and should remain that way because it provides
a needed challenge to mainstream culture.
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