Rock: A brief history Pt.5

Just as the 60's and 70's defined what we know today as rock music, it was perhaps the 1980's that gave birth to the myriad of sub-genres of rock.

Punk rock began to evolve in the 1980's into a more hardcore scene, and groups such as the Misfits in New York, the Lemonheads in Boston, and Fugazi in Washington began terrorizing their local scenes. The West Coast had its share of the hardcore punk scene, however it was not near as violent, with groups such as Black Flag, X, and The Dead Kennedy's remaining more experimental. This experimental type of punk began the emergence of a new generation of bands with roots in what is called beach punk.

Meanwhile, the southeast was giving rise to a new genre of rock with the emergence of two notable bands, REM and the B-52's. This new form of melodic rock was a mix between folk-rock and pop and culminated into what is now known as college rock.

Neo-rock bands were now beginning to sprout up everywhere, with acts in Boston and New York such as the Band of Susans and the Pixies, known for the genre of rock with was labeled grunge. But it was in Seattle that saw the re-emergence of hard rock and the boom of this new form of grunge rock with acts such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Punk rock was beginning to take flight on its own, and bands began to experiment with different sounds and led the music on a path of its own. Psychedelics in the age of punk rock led to the creation of The Butthole Surfers in Texas, the Flaming Lips in Oklahoma,and Phish in New England.

On a completely different level, another street phenomena was taking place, but it wasn't in the recording studios or on the radios quite yet. It started in the ghettos and gradually took over the streets all across America. Hip-hop was revolutionizing the music scene and with bands such as The Beastie Boys, Run DMC, and Public Enemy bridging the gap between hip-hop and rock.

Across the ocean, Britain was taking a different course in perhaps the opposite direction. Bands began creating simpler, more commercial music. It began with vaguely robotic sounds that gradually evolved into more pop music, and eventually turned into what is now known as synth-pop, music that was typically played on electronic instruments and sung by female or gay singers, although are a notable exceptions. Of the many bands that were successful in this area, perhaps the two most notable bands were The Depeche Mode and The Pet Shop Boys. From this music also came the outrageously successful Irish group U2.