For about two years, rock 'n' roll was rejuvenated and reminded of its true purpose by an angry, (sort of) musical explosion called punk rock.

This unique form of rebellion, politics and anarchy has been dead for some time now and its fashion and styles have blended with the musical genres today that punk inspired.

In October 1976, Malcolm McLaren created the Sex Pistols as a marketing tool. The group became the symbol of a new subculture which affected the lives of youths transcontinentally. Soon thousands of other punk bands would form, more notably The Clash and X-Ray Spex, to spread their political messages and fashion styles.

"It was absorbed overnight. You blink twice and it became new wave," said Bill Kelly, associate professor of integrated arts. "New wave is punk without teeth."

Punk also became a symbol of non-commercial rock 'n' roll. The genre stands against everything which music of the late '70s was becoming: conservative, conformist and laid back. Now it seems punk has willed its high-tempo music style into speed metal, its fashion into new wave, and its political roots into rap.

Matt Wysocki (junior-broadcast/cable), a disc jockey for WPSU-FM radio, said he believes punk's ideology and music is alive in other music forms, such as speed metal, which offers the loud bite of heavy metal but with faster drum beats and guitar riffs as it accompanies sometimes incomprehensible words.

"Punk is the idea that you didn't need talent or musicianship to get your point across," he said.

Dalton Russell Pownell (junior-history), also a disc jockey for the student-run radio station, said that many new wave bands absorbed punk rock, yet "certain rap groups would hold the spirit of punk without the fashion."

Artists such as Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe use punk's influence in their music, yet adapt the grinding guitar sounds to complement rather than cover their lyrics. Rappers such as Public Enemy use powerful rap to convey what used to be punk's attitude toward authority, evidenced by the group's confrontational anthems such as "Fight the Power."

Perhaps one of the most enduring fashion trends to ever originate from music came from punk. It created a style of ripped clothes, black leather jackets with attached chains, and shaved heads. Billy Idol, lead singer for former punk band Generation X, brought his leather and chains and obnoxious screams to mainstream rock as he successfully adapted to MTV.

"A lot of people like to play dress up. I know I did, and call myself punk rock," Pownell said.

But the influence which punk left on today's music goes much deeper than the fashion. As soon as Sex Pistols' lead singer Johnny Rotten screamed "I am the Antichrist," the opening line to the band's first single, "Anarchy in the U.K.," listeners were shocked into realizing there was something very unique and controversial about this noise.

"If punk hadn't happened, the music today would be significantly worse off. . . more commercial, trivial and less interesting," Kelly said. "Punk kept the center and purpose of rock 'n' roll alive at a time when it looked like it would actually die."

Punk rock has died, but its snarling voices, buzzing guitars, shaved heads and political messages have stayed alive in other musical genres.