''Punk'' was a

music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and culture in music cognition, music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with ...

and

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

created by cartoonist John Holmstrom, publisher Ged Dunn, and "resident punk"

Legs McNeil Roderick Edward "Legs" McNeil (born January 27, 1956) is an American music journalism, music journalist. He is one of the three original founders of the seminal ''Punk (magazine), Punk'' magazine; as well as being a former editor at ''Spin (magaz ...

in 1975. Its use of the term "

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

", coined by writers for ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...

'' magazine a few years earlier to describe the simplistic and crude style of 1960s

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

bands, further popularized the term. The founders were influenced by their affection for comic books and the music of

The Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

, the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

, and The Dictators. Holmstrom later called it "the print version of

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

". It was also the first publication to popularize the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

scene. ''Punk'' published 15 issues between 1976 and 1979, as well as a special issue in 1981 (''The D.O.A. Filmbook''), a 25th anniversary special in 2001 and 3 final issues in 2007. ''Punk'' was a vehicle for examining the

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, Popular music, mainstream popular music culture. Underground styles lack the commercial success of popular music movements, and may involve the use of avant-g ...

scene in New York, and primarily for punk rock as found in clubs like CBGB, Zeppz, and

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists, and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Dece ...

. It mixed '' Mad Magazine''-style cartooning by Holmstrom, Bobby London and a young

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Neat Stuff'' and ''Hate (comics), Hate''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to drama ...

with the more straightforward pop journalism of the kind found in ''Creem''. It also provided an outlet for female writers, artists and photographers who had been shut out of a male-dominated underground publishing scene. ''Punk'' magazine was home to (many of whom were being published for the first time) writers Mary Harron, Steve Taylor, Lester Bangs, Pam Brown, artists Buz Vaultz, Anya Phillips, and

Screaming Mad George , known as Screaming Mad George (born October 7, 1956), is a Japanese special effects artist, film director, and former musician. He was born in Osaka, Japan, and emigrated to the United States, where he has become known for his surreal, gory spe ...

, and photographers Bob Gruen, Barak Berkowitz, Roberta Bayley and David Godlis. After Dunn left in early 1977 and McNeil quit shortly afterwards, Bruce Carleton (art director, 1977–1979), Ken Weiner (contributor, 1977–79), and Elin Wilder, one of few African Americans involved in the early CBGB/punk rock scene, were added to the staff. Between April 1976 and June 1979,

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild St ...

of Blondie was a contributing photographer. Consequently, the band were regularly featured and

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

would frequently appear as one of the characters in the photo-stories.

Issues

A complete list of issues There were no issues 9, 13 or 18

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.punkmagazine.com/ * John Holmstrom Papers and Punk Magazine Records. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Music magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1976 Magazines disestablished in 1979 Punk zines Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City Rock music mass media