The difference, by ear
Pop punk keeps punk's tempo and instrumentation and writes proper choruses with vocal harmony. Punk mostly did not want either.
Punk rock is shouted where pop punk is sung cleanly, at much the same pace, around 160 to 200 bpm. To hear the difference, play Ramones next to Sex Pistols. Pop punk grew out of punk rock, three years later.
In figures
Pop punk
Where it sits
In short
Punk speed, garage-pop choruses and lyrics about suburban boredom.
How it sounds
- Simple major progressions - I-V-vi-IV - played fast and distorted.
- Choruses with vocal harmonies and singalong 'whoa-oh' hooks.
- Clean production, compressed drums, tempos of 160 to 200 bpm.
Key acts
- Ramones
- Green Day
- blink-182
- The Offspring
Start here
The pickThe Descendents - Milo Goes to College. The manual, written twelve years before the boom.
Full page →Punk rock
Where it sits
In short
Three chords, two minutes and zero patience for solos. A full reset of rock, and the second major source of extreme metal.
How it sounds
- Three or four chords, open position or power chords, strummed in eighths.
- Songs of ninety seconds to two and a half minutes, with no long intro and no guitar solo.
- Fast, cheap production with the vocals up front and simple drums on two and four.
Key acts
- Ramones
- Sex Pistols
- The Clash
- Buzzcocks
Start here
The pickRamones - Ramones. Fourteen songs in twenty-nine minutes, not a wasted note.
Full page →