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Alternative Rock Essay

Student: Stefan Craciun Faculty: Arts Specialization: Music The document discusses the rise of alternative rock music in the 1990s. It describes how alternative rock emerged from punk rock in the 1970s and 1980s as a genre that differed from mainstream rock. In the 1990s, bands like Nirvana and those associated with grunge and Britpop became commercially successful and brought alternative rock into the mainstream. Many major labels then began signing popular alternative acts. Bands such as R.E.D., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Oasis enjoyed widespread success in the 1990s and helped drive alternative rock's popularity during the decade.

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454 views2 pages

Alternative Rock Essay

Student: Stefan Craciun Faculty: Arts Specialization: Music The document discusses the rise of alternative rock music in the 1990s. It describes how alternative rock emerged from punk rock in the 1970s and 1980s as a genre that differed from mainstream rock. In the 1990s, bands like Nirvana and those associated with grunge and Britpop became commercially successful and brought alternative rock into the mainstream. Many major labels then began signing popular alternative acts. Bands such as R.E.D., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Oasis enjoyed widespread success in the 1990s and helped drive alternative rock's popularity during the decade.

Uploaded by

Craciun Stefan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Student : Craciun Stefan

Facultatea de Arte
Specializarea : Muzica

Alternative Rock Music in the 90’s


Essay

Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alternative pop, alt-rock, alt-pop or simply alternative)


is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely
popular in the 1980s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop
music. The term's original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective
debt to either the musical style or simply the independent, DIY ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the
groundwork for alternative music.

Traditionally, alternative rock broadly consisted of music that differed greatly in terms of its sound, social
context and regional roots. The name "alternative rock" essentially serves as an umbrella term for underground
music that has emerged in the wake of punk rock since the mid-1980s.

With the breakthrough of bands such as Nirvana and the popularity of the grunge and Britpop movements
in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream and many alternative bands became commercially
successful during the 1990s.

By the start of the 1990s, the music industry was enticed by alternative rock's commercial possibilities and
major labels actively courted bands including Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, Dinosaur Jr,
and Nirvana.[5] In particular, R.E.M.'s success had become a blueprint for many alternative bands in the late 1980s
and 1990s to follow; the group had outlasted many of its contemporaries and by the 1990s had become one of the
most popular bands in the world.[6] Mazzy Star had a top 40 hit with "Fade into You" (1993) and Smash
Mouth recorded hits "Walkin' on the Sun" (1997) and "All Star" (1999).[7]

The Red Hot Chili Peppers became an important band in the rise of alternative rock with their album Blood
Sugar Sex Magik. Combining funk rock with more conventional rock music, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were able to
achieve mainstream success, culminating with the release of their 1999 album Californication.

Oasis was a massively popular Britpop band at the forefront of alternative rock. From their release
of Definitely Maybe in 1994, through to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? in 1995, Oasis enjoyed international
success throughout the 1990s. These albums included hugely popular songs such as "Slide Away", "Wonderwall"
and "Don't Look Back in Anger". "Wonderwall" peaked at number 2 in the UK Singles charts, and number 8 in the
US Billboard 100.

Some of the top mainstream American alternative rock bands of the 1990s included Hootie and The
Blowfish, Collective Soul, Creed, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Green
Day, Weezer, The Offspring, Matchbox Twenty, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soul Asylum, Liz Phair, The
Lemonheads, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Live, Counting Crows, Spin Doctors, dc Talk, Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye
Blind, The Smashing Pumpkins, 4 Non Blondes, Beck, The Breeders, Foo Fighters, Sublime, No
Doubt, Hole, Cake, Blind Melon, Stone Temple Pilots, Garbage, and Pearl Jam. These bands were variously
influenced by ska, punk, pop, metal, and many other musical genres.

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