Punk’s not dead. It never will be. Punk rock, first formed in the garages and dive bars of the 70s, is a spirit that will never fade. Originally taking shape with three chords and the truth, the angry youth have taken it and formed and re-formed it countless times over the years.
Starting as a crunchy, violent sound, punk has morphed over the years, especially with the idea that sounding good musically didn’t mean a song lost punk cred. Thus, the late 90s/early 2000s pop-punk explosion. Still the sound of bitter youth, just refined and polished a bit to better fit the interim 20 years of musical progression.
And now it’s back again. Like clockwork, the youth are digging into the sounds of those just a bit out of their age range and falling in love with what is there. Olivia Rodrigo is the obvious poster child for the next wave of punk, but K-pop has just as many fans of Avril, Green Day, and Fall Out Boy, just as eager to draw from the timeless sound of youth in revolt, plus some who have been here all along.
