Protopunk is a term used to describe a number of performers who were important precursors of punk rock, or who have been cited by early punk rockers as influential.
Most protopunkers are Rock and Roll performers of the 1960s and early-1970s, though some earlier performers have been cited. Garage rock in general has been cited as quite influential.
Protopunk has proven notorioriously difficult to define, and many widely different groups have been so dubbed. Most had a certain attitude or appearance seen as important, and not any specific musical tendencies. Significant examples include Love, MC5, The Velvet Underground, the Stooges, The Modern Lovers, The Monks, and the New York Dolls.
Some protopunk bands also fall into the categories of glam rock or UK pub rock.
Punks were working class, but both movements shared a disdain for high culture, for detatched bohemian/hippie art, and for lethargy or nostalgia.
It was presented as part of a larger aesthetic/performance package, and in comparison (or contrast?) to Punk, the musicians tended to hide their personalities behind the instruments.
But the comparison with Punk ends up also suggesting that any movement which thrives on "the new" is bound to be short-lived and inevitably falls into a state of imitation and statis.
Punk rock is an anti-establishment rock music movement with origins in the United States and United Kingdom around 1974 or 1975, exemplified by bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Damned, and The Clash.
Gradually, punk became more varied and less minimalist, with bands such as The Clash incorporating other underground musical influences like ska and rockabilly and even jazz into their music, but the message of the music remained the same; it was subversive, counter-cultural, rebellious, politically incorrect and often anarchist.
Punk rock was a message to society that all was not well and all were not equal.
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