Garage RockGarage rock was a byproduct of the rock and roll explosion of the late '50s and '60s and the relative cheapness of musical equipment at the time. Suddenly kids all over America, inspired by Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, and the early British Invasion bands, began saving up money mowing lawns and working at soda fountains, buying cheap electric guitars at Sears, and heading into their garages to get rowdy. The dirty, fast, incredibly raw music these bands produced was some of the most dynamic in the history of rock and roll, laying the groundwork for the birth of punk more than a decade later. Songs by many of the best '60s garage bands -- The Sonics, The Seeds, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Chocolate Watchband, The Count Five -- can be found on the legendary Nuggets compilation, the first ever retrospective of '60s underground music. While many of the original garage bands vanished into the dustbin of history, the songs they wrote were integral to the fabric of American popular music. Over the ensuing decades garage was supplanted by other styles of aggressive rock (punk and metal, most obviously), but a few garage rock devotees remained, most notably the one and only Billy Childish. In the '90s, a new wave of garage rock bands emerged, beginning with The Gories (who helped turn Detroit into a rock city again), The Makers, and Brian Jonestown Massacre, who helped pave the way for the garage rock explosion later in the decade which launched the careers of bands like The White Stripes, The Mooney Suzuki, and Vue. 
