spunk, fire-starter, fire-starter tinderから省略された可能性がある。腐った木、朽ち木から派生し、後に悪党、悪党などを指す言葉として使われ、劣った、無価値から派生した。後に若いミュージシャンのグループが、伝統的な音楽への反抗を表現するために、この言葉を使って新しい形のロック?ミュージックに名前をつけた。ファンクと比較される。
If you looked different, people tried to intimidate you all the time. It was the same kind of crap you had to put up with as a hippie, when people started growing long hair. Only now it was the guys with the long hair yelling at you. You think they would have learned something. I had this extreme parrot red hair and I got hassled so much I carried a sign that said "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE." I got so tired of yelling it, I would just hold up the sign. [Bobby Startup, Philadelphia punk DJ, "Philadelphia Weekly," Oct. 10, 2001]