The Velvet Underground Punk Neil Young The scene Bristol Bristol 1988–1997 Can Indie pop The Smiths The scene Seattle Seattle 1988–1992 Brian Eno Shoegaze Ramones The scene SST Records Los Angeles 1978–1990 Joni Mitchell Math rock The Birthday Party The scene Manchester Manchester 1976–1981 Suicide Synth-pop Patti Smith The scene 4AD London 1980–1995 Nick Drake Jangle pop Sex Pistols The scene Greenwich Village New York 1961–1965 Sonic Youth Folk punk My Bloody Valentine The scene PC Music London 2013–2017 Joy Division Trip-hop The Cure The scene CBGB New York 1974–1977 Aphex Twin Post-punk Talking Heads The scene Detroit–Ann Arbor Detroit–Ann Arbor 1966–1969 Leonard Cohen Darkwave R.E.M. The scene Riot Grrrl Olympia 1990–1994 Bad Brains Indie rock Pavement The scene Elephant 6 Denver then Athens, Georgia 1993–2000 The Clash Midwest emo The Velvet Underground The scene DC Hardcore Washington DC 1980–1993 Kraftwerk Post-rock Can The scene The Windmill Scene Brixton, South London 2016–now Fugazi Britpop Brian Eno The scene No Wave Lower Manhattan 1978–1983 Siouxsie & The Banshees Freak folk Joni Mitchell The scene Düsseldorf–Cologne Düsseldorf 1968–1974 Hüsker Dü Folk Suicide The scene Lower East Side New York 1999–2005 Wire Gothic rock Nick Drake The scene Bristol Bristol 1988–1997 New Order Post-hardcore Sonic Youth The scene Seattle Seattle 1988–1992 Bob Dylan Riot grrrl Joy Division The scene SST Records Los Angeles 1978–1990 Cocteau Twins Art rock Aphex Twin The scene Manchester Manchester 1976–1981 Neu! Hyperpop Leonard Cohen The scene 4AD London 1980–1995 Radiohead Hypnagogic pop Bad Brains The scene Greenwich Village New York 1961–1965 Björk Minimalism The Clash The scene PC Music London 2013–2017 David Bowie Proto-punk Kraftwerk The scene CBGB New York 1974–1977 The Velvet Underground Punk Neil Young The scene Bristol Bristol 1988–1997 Can Indie pop The Smiths The scene Seattle Seattle 1988–1992 Brian Eno Shoegaze Ramones The scene SST Records Los Angeles 1978–1990 Joni Mitchell Math rock The Birthday Party The scene Manchester Manchester 1976–1981 Suicide Synth-pop Patti Smith The scene 4AD London 1980–1995 Nick Drake Jangle pop Sex Pistols The scene Greenwich Village New York 1961–1965 Sonic Youth Folk punk My Bloody Valentine The scene PC Music London 2013–2017 Joy Division Trip-hop The Cure The scene CBGB New York 1974–1977 Aphex Twin Post-punk Talking Heads The scene Detroit–Ann Arbor Detroit–Ann Arbor 1966–1969 Leonard Cohen Darkwave R.E.M. The scene Riot Grrrl Olympia 1990–1994 Bad Brains Indie rock Pavement How to read it Punk a genre, in its year
Every genre sits in the year it was born, joined to the one it grew out of; each colour is a family. Tap a genre to light up its line back to where it began. Swipe to travel through time. The index, A–Z ↓
Starweave 1 2 3 4! Free Garage Art Psychedelic Songwriter Minimalism Families Garage 27 sounds
Art 8 sounds
Psychedelic 8 sounds
Songwriter 5 sounds
Minimalism 4 sounds
The family tree of genres How to read it Punk a genre, in its year
Every genre sits in the year it was born, joined to the one it grew out of; each colour is a family. Point at a genre to light up its line back to where it began. The index, A–Z ↓
’60s ’70s ’80s ’90s ’00s ’10s 1963 1967 1976 1978 1980 1984 1986 1989 1990 1991 1994 1996 2004 2010 Garage rock Minimalism Psychedelic pop Art rock Proto-punk Singer- songwriter Krautrock Power pop Industrial Punk Ambient No wave Post-punk Synth-pop Art pop Dance-punk Gothic rock Hardcore punk Noise rock Indie pop Jangle pop Dream pop Darkwave Folk punk Noise pop Post- hardcore Twee pop Alternative rock Shoegaze Grunge Alt- country Drone Indie rock Neo- psychedelia Slowcore Post-rock Riot grrrl Trip-hop IDM Lo-fi Britpop Emo Math rock Chamber pop Experimental pop Midwest emo Freak folk Indie folk Hypnagogic pop Vaporwave Hyperpop Bedroom pop Index Every genre A–Z, with the page its feature is on ↓ Starweave The back page
Index Every genre in this issue, with the page its feature is on, and the record to start with. Electronic and Folk have no year, so they don’t stand in the city: find them here.
In this issue
Born in each decade 1960s 7 1970s 10 1980s 13 1990s 16 2000s 3 2010s 3 Oldest and newest
The Kingsmen, "Louie Louie"
Clairo and the streaming-era home recording wave
