A Short History of Punk Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lute

The lute arrived in Medieval Europe with crusaders returning from Arab countries. Throughout the Medieval and Renaissance eras, more stringed instruments were developed and perfected. In Spain, for example, there was an instrument called a vihuela that was a close relative of the guitarra latina, which eventually became a guitar.

Answer: Pink Floyd

'Rock music' is a very vague term that encompasses a broad range of subgenres. Pink Floyd preceded the punk explosion of the mid-1970s. They formed around 1963 and by 1967, they had singles placing near the top of the charts in Britain. Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, and Metallica all formed in the 1980s (after punk rock emerged).

Answer: Basic chords and harsh delivery

Garage rock bands of the 1960s included The Seeds and The 13th Floor Elevators. Their songs generally had a simplistic style with basic chords and vocals that were often raw. Garage rock singers often shouted or screamed the lyrics and sometimes used other aggressive noises like growling.

As a result, their songs had a DIY feel, or sounded amateurish as though they had been recorded in a band member's garage.

Answer: 1976

Although The Ramones didn't release their first album until 1976, they were performing as a band from 1974. The Ramones' loud and fast style was inspired by earlier pop and rock bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as harder, heavier bands like Black Sabbath. They brought the different styles together to create something fresh and unique.

Answer: Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols had a love-hate relationship with the British public in the 1970s. Their antagonism and anti-establishment rhetoric caused protests to boycott the band's shows. In one interview, band members were swearing live on TV, resulting in headlines like 'The Filth and the Fury' in the 'Daily Mail'.

Despite the controversy surrounding them (and the fact that they only released one album), the Sex Pistols are one of punk's most iconic bands.

Answer: Post-punk

Post-punk bands took elements from early punk (a faster tempo, for example) but were more experimental. Joy Division's iconic single 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' was an example of a punk band beginning to use electronic sounds, akin to disco and other similar genres of the 1970s. Where early punk songs often centred on socio-political themes, post-punk lyrics were more focused on emotions and relationships.

Answer: Ska

Ska was popular in Jamaica in the late 1950s and early 1960s before reggae came about. It mixed elements of Caribbean styles like mambo, and American rhythm and blues. Bands like the Specials brought ska and punk together to create the two-tone genre. Where most early punk bands used a combination of vocals, guitar, bass, and drums, two-tone bands included brass instruments as well. Jamaican immigrants introduced ska to Britain in the mid-20th century and two-tone began to evolve from there.

Answer: Straight Edge

As the 20th century drew on, punk lost its mainstream following and went underground. In the 1980s, punk developed an even faster tempo and grew into genres like hardcore. Some hardcore bands were opposed to the excesses of the punk subculture. Minor Threat was one of those bands.

Their song title 'Straight Edge' gave a name to a new subculture that shunned alcohol, smoking, and recreational drugs. Some straight edge followers also advocated vegetarianism or veganism. The movement still had followers going into the 21st century: AFI and Rise Against were examples of later punk bands with straight edge members.

Answer: One Direction

Pop punk was a combination of punk's fast tempo and the lightheartedness of pop music of the era. Some of the most popular pop punk bands didn't take themselves too seriously. Blink 182's 'What's My Age Again' showed how silly and carefree punk could be. Green Day, The Offspring, and Bowling for Soup also made a name for themselves around the same time.

Answer: Links to self-harm and suicide

A number of bands that grew out of the pop punk and post-hardcore genres were labelled 'emo'. The term originated in America in the 1980s as a subgenre of punk that focused on emotion and personal issues. Over time, it became associated with depression, self-harm and suicide.

Some bands (such as My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco) distanced themselves from the genre due to its negative connotations. Other bands embraced emo's freedom to explore emotions and to talk about mental health.