{{Short description|Punk rock subgenre}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Egg punk | other_names = Devo-core (early) | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Punk rock|garage punk|lo-fi music|new wave|post-punk|synth-punk}} | cultural_origins = Early 2010s, Indiana | instruments = {{hlist|Synthesizer|electric guitar|bass guitar|drums|drum machine}} | derivatives = | subgenres = | regional_scenes = | other_topics = Internet rock }}
'''Egg punk''' (originally known as '''Devo-core''') is an Internet microgenre of punk rock that emerged in the 2010s. The genre came to be known as "egg punk" due to a series of internet memes. The style is characterized by a lo-fi recording style and satirical tone, influenced by new wave band Devo.
== Etymology and characteristics == The nomenclature of egg punk originated from a series of internet memes circulated in 2017 that proposed a spectrum of punk rock music between "egg punk" and "chain punk".<ref name="DIY2">{{cite web |date=25 June 2022 |title=Egg Punk vs. Chain Punk |url=https://diyconspiracy.net/terms/egg-punk-vs-chain-punk/ |accessdate=25 April 2024 |website=DIY Conspiracy}}</ref><ref name="SPIN2">{{cite web |last=Salmon |first=Ben |date=4 January 2024 |title=The Rise of Second-Wave Egg Punk |url=https://www.spin.com/2024/01/second-wave-egg-punk/ |accessdate=25 April 2024 |website=SPIN}}</ref> The meme was intended to distinguish between the traditionalism and aggression of those deemed "chain punk" with the more experimental and satirical approach of those considered "egg punk".<ref name="DIY2" /><ref name="P4K" /> The satirical tone and style of egg punk has been characterized as a response to the traditional "chain punk" bands in the local scene that were viewed by some as taking their music and message too seriously.<ref name="C2">{{cite web |date=12 April 2023 |title=Snõõper Are A Force Of Nature |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/snooper-are-a-force-of-nature/ |accessdate=25 April 2024 |website=Clash}}</ref><ref name="WKNC">{{cite web |date=19 November 2023 |title=Egg Punk – A Genre Field Guide |url=https://wknc.org/2023/11/19/egg-punk-a-genre-field-guide/ |accessdate=25 April 2024 |website=WKNC 88.1}}</ref><ref name="DIY2" />
The music of egg punk is influenced by the do-it-yourself ethos of punk subculture, characterized by the use of minimal or lo-fi recording and mixing methods and hand-drawn or collage album covers.<ref name="WKNC"/> Also known as Devo-core, the genre is heavily influenced by the music of new wave band Devo as both an aesthetic and stylistic influence.<ref name="P4K">{{cite web|website=Pitchfork|last=Snerburne|first=Phillip|date=7 October 2021|accessdate=25 April 2024|title=25 Microgenres That (Briefly) Defined the Last 25 Years|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/microgenres-25th-anniversary/}}</ref><ref name="WKNC"/><ref name="AVC2">{{cite web |last=Anthony |first=David |date=27 February 2017 |title=Exploring the weird, lo-fi world of “Devo-core” |url=https://www.avclub.com/exploring-the-weird-lo-fi-world-of-devo-core-1798258451 |accessdate=24 April 2024 |website=A.V. Club}}</ref>
''Pitchfork'' described the genre as "subversive", "experimental", and typified by "wry lyrics and cheapo keyboards".<ref name="P4K"/> John Robb wrote that the subgenre consisted of "lo-fi perfectly ‘badly’ recorded fast punk rock songs", featuring "garage melody with jitterbug jittery guitars and even sometimes cheapo synths" and oriented towards "cocking a snoop[sic] at punk’s sometimes seriousity instead embracing introvert nerds, alien noise fiends and manic goofy behaviour".<ref name="LTW2">{{cite web |last=Robb |first=John |date=28 January 2024 |title=Egg Punk – LTW examines the manic thrills of punk's current new wave plus playlist! |url=https://louderthanwar.com/egg-punk-ltw-examines-the-manic-thrills-of-punks-current-new-wave-plus-playlist/ |accessdate=25 April 2024 |website=Louder Than War}}</ref>
== History ==
The origins of egg punk are attributed to a community of DIY<ref name="WKNC" /> midwestern American punk rock artists from the early 2010s, including such notable bands as the Coneheads and Lumpy and the Dumpers.<ref name="LTW2" /><ref name="AVC2" /> The microgenre encompasses a range of punk rock bands active in the early 2010s in the Midwestern United States, with central figures such as the Indiana band The Coneheads, founded in 2013 and led by Mark Winter,<ref name="LTW2" /> and St. Louis band Lumpy and the Dumpers, whose frontman, Martin Meyer, would distribute similar cassette recordings under the label Lumpy Records.<ref name="AVC2" /> Other Midwest bands adopting this approach included Uranium Club in Minneapolis and Warm Bodies in Kansas City.<ref name="SPIN2" /> The genre came to be known as "egg punk" due to a series of internet memes.<ref name="DIY2" />
The increased visibility of the egg punk scene was attributed to the distribution of rips of cassette tapes to YouTube by mononymous user Jimmy.<ref name="DIY2" /><ref name="AVC2" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Scott |first=Tim |date=8 December 2016 |title=Meet Jimmy, The Guy Behind the Punkest YouTube Channel of 2016 |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jpmd4y/meet-jimmy-the-guy-behind-the-punkest-you-tube-channel-of-2016 |accessdate=25 April 2024 |website=Vice}}</ref> The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further facilitated the spread of egg punk, as musicians had more time and fewer resources to create music, leading to greater openness to a DIY approach.<ref name="SPIN2" /> Egg punk has extended outside the Midwest to several regions, including the Australian punk scene, which involves bands such as Ausmuteants,<ref name="AVC2" /> R.M.F.C., Gee Tee,<ref name="LTW2"/> Billiam and The Split Bills, Checkpoint, and Tee Vee Repairmann.<ref name="SPIN2"/> Other notable artists labelled as egg punk include Snõõper, Prison Affair, Powerplant,<ref name="LTW2"/> C.C.T.V. and Landline.<ref name="WKNC"/>
== See also == * Lo-fi music * Internet rock
== References == {{reflist}}{{New wave and post-punk}}{{Rock music}}{{Alternative rock}}{{punk}}
Category:Punk rock genres Category:Music of Indiana Category:21st-century music genres Category:Microgenres Category:2010s in music Category:2020s in music Category:Internet music genres