Post-punk was a popular musical movement beginning at the end of the 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid 1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "blank">Post-Punk". _All Music Guide. Retrieved November 2 2006. . Post-punk laid the groundwork for alternative rock by broadening the idea of what punk and underground music could do, incorporating elements of Krautrock (specifically the use of synthesizers), Jamaican dub music (specifically in bass guitar), American funk, studio experimentation, and even punk's traditional polar opposite, disco, into the genre.

It found a firm place in the 1980s indie scene, and led to the development of genres such as industrial music and alternative rock. Post-punk's biggest influence remains in the vast variety of sounds and styles it pioneered, many of which proved very influential in the later alternative rock scene.