Much of punk rock mutated in the 1980's into hardcore, a harder, faster, and less melodic form of punk.
Other punk musicians headed in the opposite direction toward the synth-heavy, danceable pop that dominated the pop music world in the early 1980's.
By the late 1980's, a new form of punk began to emerge with a hard and fast guitar and drums base but powered by pop melodies like much of 70's punk rock.
California-based independent record label Lookout! helped spearhead this development.
A group of California-based bands, often referred to as the first wave of punk pop, began to succeed commercially in the wake of the mass success of grunge rock in the early 1990's.
Among these bands were Green Day, who originally recorded for Lookout! Records, and Rancid.
Green Day moved to major record label Reprise in 1994 and gained such commercial success with the album Dookie they were accused of being sell-outs.
A second wave of punk pop bands emerged in the late 1990's. They were led by another California-based band, blink-182. The sound of second wave bands is marked by a radio-friendly sheen to their music, but it still maintains much of the speed and attitude of classic punk rock. Other punk pop bands from around the U.S. and Canada were soon signed by major labels. These included Good Charlotte, Bowling for Soup, and Sum 41.
http://top40.about.com/od/popmusic101/p/punkpop.htm
