There have always been subcultures running counter to whatever was the dominant culture. The late 1970s saw the eruption of the virulently angry punk rock scene, with spiked hair and screeching vocals.

In 1979 the punk band Bauhaus recorded "Bela Lugosi's Dead"—a song about the demise of a famous horror-film actor. "Many young fans latched onto this mysterious, eerie sound as inspiration for the budding gothic subculture" (Alicia Porter Smith, "History of the Gothic Subculture," gothicsubculture.com).

To counter the increasing violence of punk rock, a few bands in the late 1980s began to do more dramatic musical performances that became known as emotive hardcore. Fans of this variation were labeled "emo." The term and style died out until the turn of the 21st century. Emo became one of the first cultural movements born (or reborn) on the Internet through social networking sites.