The difference, by ear
Protopunk is the handful of garage bands who kept going past 1967 and got heavier and stranger - the Stooges and the MC5 come out of this scene.
Both are sung cleanly and move at much the same pace, around 140 to 180 bpm. Songs run longer in proto-punk: usually 2½ to 6 minutes, against 2 to 3 minutes in garage rock. To hear the difference, play The Sonics next to The Stooges. Proto-punk grew out of garage rock, four years later.
In figures
Garage rock
Where it sits
Rock › Rock and roll › Garage rock
In short
High-school bands, a Farfisa organ and one good idea recorded badly. Attitude beats technique here, and punk descends from it directly.
How it sounds
- A Farfisa or Vox organ, very often louder in the mix than the guitar.
- Raw production cut in a few hours, with saturated vocals and distant drums.
- One good riff, repeated for two and a half minutes.
Key acts
- The Sonics
- The Standells
- The Seeds
- ? and the Mysterians
Start here
The pickThe Sonics - Psycho. Gerry Roslie's voice is a decade ahead of punk.
Full page →Proto-punk
Where it sits
Rock › Rock and roll › Garage rock › Proto-punk
In short
Garage rock turned hostile and repetitive, with noise and nihilism. Nobody called it punk yet, but everyone at CBGB copied from it.
How it sounds
- A repetitive, near-hypnotic riff held without development - the opposite of blues rock soloing.
- Spoken or shouted vocals delivered with calculated contempt.
- Noise, feedback and lyrics about boredom, drugs and urban alienation.
Key acts
- The Stooges
- MC5
- The Velvet Underground
- New York Dolls
Start here
The pickThe Stooges - Fun House. The sound of a band self-destructing in real time.
Full page →