7 Best Punk Rock Guitars (2023 Guide) – Find your perfect Guitar for Punk Rock!

Punk originated in the 1970s as a movement in America and the UK and quickly became a political ideology with a unique aesthetic centered around condemning elitist art, capitalism, greedy corporations – these thoughts were expressed unabashedly through the medium of punk rock, an aesthetic that displayed teen rebellion, and other unorthodox mediums.

The word ‘punk’ was originally used to describe simple garage music of the 60s and gradually developed a more hardcore and politically infused personality over the years. The ideology was a consequence of myriad factors, such as the JFK assassination, the violence of the Vietnam War, Women’s Rights, and other injustices that caused the youth to lose faith in the government and resort to taking social change into their own hands – all the art and music that emerged as a result blatantly called out the hypocrisy of the authorities and other institutions meant to protect the people and their rights.

The MCs would be one of the first punk rock bands, with their highly political lyrics and hard, loud sound that marked a significant shift from other music of protest which was primarily light and focused on metaphorical, poetical writing.

Iggy and The Stooges were another important band of this genre. Iggy pop’s highly controversial and often alarming on-stage antics (self-mutilation, for example) introduced new extremes into the punk rock traditions and pushed the limits of self-expression.

Soon, a community began to form among the punks, and ideas began to be exchanged and debated – all of it to better define the style and culture of punk amongst its advocates. The Ramones are known to be the band that gave the world its signature punk rock sound – hard, fast playing with repetitive chord progressions and limited technical skill.

The Clash, an English punk rock band, added extensively to the social consciousness of punk music. The band took it upon itself to spread awareness among the masses, being very invested in the social issues plaguing Britain during that time.

Loaded with a critique of the music industry and growing consumerism embodied in songs such as the Sex Pistols’ ‘EMI’ and X-Ray Spex’s Identity’, early British punk rekindled an interest in rock. Mirroring radical social change with a series of revolutionary songs packed with socially aware lyrics rooted in black humor, groups such as the Clash and Sex Pistols scored hits in the late seventies.

Punk in America slowly came to a halt after the emergence of disco, and only rose again in the mid-1980s after the success of bands such as Nirvana who brought about a newer, more refined, and emotionally charged feel to rock music.

Like every significant movement, it is difficult to determine the exact origins of Punk subculture, but without punk rock, many recent musicians wouldn’t have created new sounds – evolved, more refined versions of punk, packed with more individualistic and emotional elements.

Punk rock as an artistic movement will always be honored as an unconventional (oftentimes freaky) means of channeling frustration and feelings of isolation into making timeless art that paved the way for newer genres and generations in the world of music.