Garage punk (fusion genre)
Garage punk is a rock music fusion genre combining the influences of garage rock, punk rock, and often other genres, that took shape in the indie rock underground between the late 1980s and early 1990s.[2] Bands drew heavily from 1960s garage rock, stripped-down 1970s punk rock,[1] and Detroit proto-punk,[2] and often incorporated numerous other styles into their approach, such as power pop, 1960s girl groups, hardcore punk, blues, early R&B and surf rock.[3]
For the retro revival garage rock scene that is distinguished from 1980s garage punk, see Garage rock § 1970s–2000s: Revivalist and hybrid movements. For the original 1960s genre also often referred to as "garage punk", see garage rock.Garage punk
1980s, United States
The term "garage punk" often also refers to the original 1960s garage rock movement rather than the 1980s-90s fusion style. The 1980s-90s style itself is sometimes referred to interchangeably as "garage rock" or "garage revival".[3] The term "garage punk" dates back as early as 1972 in reference to the original 1960s garage rock style,[4] although "punk" as it is known today was not solidified as its own distinct genre until 1976. Therefore, despite earlier references to 1960s garage rock as "garage punk", the usage of the term "punk" in regard to the 1980s-90s "garage punk" fusion genre refers to the fusion of 1960s garage rock with the late 1970s-1980s genre currently and more commonly referred to as “punk rock”.[5] After the 1980s, groups who were labelled as "garage punk" stood in contrast to the nascent retro garage revival scene, moving past a strictly mid 1960s influence.[1] Associated bands from that period contributed to the development of stoner rock, a more psychedelic variation of the genre.[2]
Etymology and usage[edit]
The term "punk rock" was first used to describe the music of American garage bands of the mid 1960s, and was not solidified as a genre until 1976.[5] When referring to 1960s groups, the term "garage punk" is usually deployed interchangeably with "garage rock".[6] The earliest known use of the term "garage punk" appeared in Lenny Kaye's track-by-track liner notes for the 1972 psychedelic music compilation Nuggets[4] to describe a song by the 1960s garage rock band, the Shadows of Knight, as "classic garage punk".[7] The Guardian's Michael Hann writes: "Look at the tracklisting for Lenny Kaye's original Nuggets album, the record that codified garage punk and you'll find an awful lot of music that would not now fit comfortably into the genre [psychedelic music]."[8] MTV's Beverly Bryan says that "garage punk" may be used "more likely" to refer to "garage rock" or "garage revival".[3]