Why is "Post-Punk" even considered "Punk"?
 

So I grew up listening to modern punk rock, pop punk, skate punk, emo, hardcore etc. (I'm 20) and so I'm not very familiar with anything that came before the mid to late 90s. So I know punk in general has been around as long as the other rock genres that we all know and worship, but what really confuses me is the relation between punk and post-punk... Could someone please explain to me why "post-punk" contains the word "punk" when it doesn't really resemble the "punk" I know and love. Post-punk sounds like it belongs under Alternative rock along with indie rock and garage rock and gothic rock etc. Punk is not an alternative rock subgenre, so then why does this "post-punk" even coexist?

Because.

To understand the link between roots genres and their subgenres you always have to look at the first wave of artists, not necessarily what the subgenre looks like today almost 40 years later.

I'm not much of a post-punk buff but from what I understand it started in the late 70s with bands like Siouxsie & the Banshees and Wire.

This is Siouxsie & the Banshees in '79:



That's pretty punk.

A couple of years later in '81:



Things are getting weirder and "post-ier" but the roots are still there, you can still smell the punk.

This is '77:



Again you can still smell the punk but it's definitely evolving, this is one of the less adventurous tracks on the album.

Somebody that actually knows post-punk well will be able to give better insight but I think at the most basic level post-punk bands were basically adventurous punks taking what they know about punk, their snarky vocals, their crinkly guitar tones, and their disdain for traditional rock and roll tropes and pushing the genre in more experimental directions from within. Fast forward 40 years and yeah the roots may not be as evident as they once were, but trace back the influences far enough and it all makes sense.

Yea with siouxies & the banshees I know they experimented around with a few genres, but primarily under Alternative Rock at least from today's perspective. Regardless I would consider them gothic rock/new wave more than anything else, and I suppose that goes along with all post-punk bands... But I would never label a band as "post-punk", it just doesn't feel right coming from a diehard punk music fan such as myself.

That means you know almost nothing about punk rock. Go learn the basics. If you have question about a specific band or record that would make it possible to deal with your question. No Wave happened so fast it was almost like punk's mother had a ****ing abortion.

Not very familiar with anything pre 90's?

So hipsters have something to complain about.

Because it developed out of punk, but wasn't exactly the same as punk?

Is there such thing as cis-punk? And if so, is it a male or female?

Post-Punk evolved out of Punk, Alternative Rock evolved out of Post-Punk. Although it has taken on its own identity, Alternative Rock and Indie Rock are definitely derivative to Punk to some extent. They are essentially punk that focuses more on melodies than rhythm and riffing.

However, I don't think you'll really "get it" unless you look back on how all this stuff formed.

First off, I don't know if you'll even consider the Ramones punk by your standards, but they were the supposed originators of the genre as it was in New York. If you've never heard their stuff, here's a taste:



Their sound was based more on groove and poppy riffs, and was definitely one of the catalysts for the post-punk genre. On the other side of the pond, the Sex Pistols were originating their own style of punk, less based on pop, and more hard-hitting and anarchic:



After these two bands, many more Punk and Punk-inspired bands started popping up. There was a bit of an underground powerhouse in fact, back in the early days of punk. Because the sound of the scene was not set in stone yet, many bands began very quickly branching away from the basic foundation of punk. One of those directions was hardcore punk. After all, if we could have loud, fast, and heavy-hitting bands, why couldn't we have louder, faster, and heavier-hitting bands like these:




These bands and their sound obviously evolved into the punk sound of today, so then where does post-punk fit in?

You know how punk was really loud, heavy and fast? There were some who enjoyed the simple chord patterns and melodies, but not the fast tempos and the extreme distortion. These bands very quickly went from punkier:



and then split off in way too many directions to count:






Seriously, it's impossible to keep track. If you want to explore Post-Punk more, you can check out this chart with nearly every significant album in the post-punk mythos.

So where did post-punk go? Well, as for itself, it pretty much disappeared after the early 80s. However, it's legacy is obvious:






Anyways, back to the topic. Why is post-punk considered punk?

The answer: It really isn't. It's just like how you wouldn't consider metal to be rock just because one evolved from the other. Post-punk evolved from punk, and ended up becoming so significant that it became its own unique "genre", before imploding on itself and spawning the music scene of the 80s and 90s.