Post-punk

Post-punk is an ambiguously defined type of rock music that emerged from the punk movement of the 1970s, drawing inspiration from elements of punk rock (such as its DIY ethic or provocative intent) while departing from its defined musical boundaries and cultural affiliations. In part a rejection of punk's roots in traditional rock and roll, as well as an attempt to resist mass cultural standardization, post-punk music was marked by a renewed interest in musical experimentation, in particular with novel recording technology and non-rock styles such electronic music and various forms of black dance music. The movement was also characterized by its dissolving of the common distinction between popular culture and high art, with artists incorporating the influence of non-musical sources such as modernist art, politics, cinema and the avant-garde.

Early post-punk acts included Public Image Ltd, Pere Ubu, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, The Pop Group, Devo and Talking Heads. With its greatest period of growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s, post-punk music was closely related to the development of genres such as gothic rock, no wave and industrial music, and would eventually provide the impetus for much subsequent alternative and independent music. In subsequent decades, the style has occasionally been subject to renewed popularity and musical revivals.