Alternative Rock
A flurry of British bands wish to do what?
'to get rid of grunge" and "declare war on America", taking the public and native music press by storm
What increased the diversity and prominence of alternative rock? What were some distinct styles?
1980s - magazines and zines, college radio airplay, and word of mouth ----- noise pop, indie rock, grunge, and shoegaze
When did the genre become popular enough to make a tour?
1989
What are other names for Alternative Rock?
Alternative Music, Alt-rock, or Alternative
The American alternative scene was dominated by what styles and when?
Alternative pop, noise rock, and industrial rock in the late 1980s
The New York Times declared what in 1993?
Alternative rock is not so alternative anymore. Every major label has a handful of guitar-driven bands in shapeless shirts and threadbare jeans
Who wrote "Bela Lugosi's Dead" and when?
Bauhaus in 1979
Who created the first Alternative songs chart and when?
Billboard on September 10, 1988
What helped Alternative Rock enter the musical mainstream?
Breakthrough of Nirvana and the popularity of the grunge and Britpop movements
Who were some post-grunge bands?
Foo Fighters, Creed, and Nickelback
What was ska punk made of?
Mixture of earlier British ska and punk acts
What grunge bands found critical acclaim in the U.S. and U.K.?
Soundgarden and Mudhoney
What was post-rock established by?
Talk Talk's "Laughing Stock" and Slint's "Spiderland" albums both released in 1991
Neil Strauss was of what thing?
The New York Times
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, what alternative rock bands emerged?
The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, The Rapture
Who experienced a notable rise in popularity during the latter half of the 2000s?
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Who were American indie record labels?
Twin/Tone Records, Touch and Go Records, and Dischord Records
Throughout the 1980s, alternative rock remained mainly a what?
Underground phenomenon
Indie Rock became what?
a distinct form following the popular breakthrough of Nirvana
What did Gothic Rock utilize?
a synthesizer-and-guitar based sound drawn from post-punk to construct "foreboding, sorrowful, often epic soundscapes"
What influenced the decline of Alternative Rock at the end of the decade?
death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in 1994 and Pearl Jam's lawsuit against concert venue promoter "Ticketmaster"
In 1979, what did Terry Tolkin used the term Alternative Music for?
describe the groups he was writing about
What was grunge music?
featured a sludgy, murky, guitar sound that synthesized heavy metal and punk rock
What was Indie Rock?
formulated as a rejection of both alternative rock's absorption into the mainstream by artists who could not or refused to cross over, and a wariness of its "macho" aesthetic
The new emo had what?
much more mainstream sound than in the 1990s and a far greater appeal amongst adolescents than its earlier incarnations
What were the common music industry terms for cutting edge music called?
new music / postmodern
Usage of the term "Alternative", broadened to include what?
new wave, pop, punk rock, post-punk, and college/indie rock (all found on the American "commercial alternative" radio stations)
What did Nirvana's "Nevermind" Album do?
not only popularized grunge but also established "the cultural and commercial availability of alternative rock in general
During late 1990's, what was grunge replaced by?
post-grunge
According to Jim Gerr, Alternative encompassed what variants?
rap, trash, metal, and industrial
Alternative has been largely defined by its what?
rejection of the commercialism of mainstream culture
Pearl Jam did what?
releases its debut album "Ten", a month before "Nevermind" in 1991 but album sales didn't pick up until a year later.
What is math rock?
similar to post-rock but was more "rockist" amd relies on complex time signatures and intertwining phrases
What is Alternative Rock?
style of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s
Dischord Records became the center for what?
the city's emo scene
Alternative can describe music that challenges what?
the status quo and that is "fiercely iconoclastic, anti commercial, and anti mainstream"
Alternative rock lyrics tend to address topics of what?
topics of social concern, such as drug use, depression suicide, and environmentalism
What was the term college rock used for?
used in the US to describe music during the 1980s due to its link to the college radio
What single is considered to be the proper start of Gothic Rock genre
"Bela Lugosi's Dead"
Gothic Rock had a reputation of what?
"darkest and gloomiest form of underground rock"
In 1997, Neil Strauss defined alternative music as what?
"hard edged rock distinguished by brittle, 70s inspired guitar riffing and singers agonizing over their problems until they take on epic proportions"
Who was included on the tour when the genre became popular enough?
New Order, Public Image Limited, and the Sugarcubes toured the US arena circuit
The breakthrough success of what band led to the widespread popularization of alternative rock in the 1990s?
Nirvana
Who wrote "Smells Like Teen Spirit"and when? What other importance was it?
Nirvana, 1991, and it marked the instigation of the grunge music phenomenon
What groups dominated the American indie scene for most of the 1990s?
Pavement, Superchunk, Fugazi, and Sleater-Kinney
What was the first number one song?
Peek-a-boo by Siouxsie and the Banshees
When did Alternative Music enter the musical mainstream?
1990s
What laid the groundwork for alternative music?
DIY ethos of punk rock - - late 1970s
Who founded Dischord Records?
Former Minor "Threat" singer, Ian Mackaye
In the Wake of Nevermind, alternative rock what?
Found itself dragged-kicking and screaming into the mainstream and record companies
Who played a huge role in convincing the underground that melody and punk rock weren't antithetical
Husker Du
Alternative rock is a wide term consisting of music that differs greatly in terms of what?
Its sound, social context, and regional roots
Who were major labels actively courted bands?
Jane's Addiction, Red Hot, Chili Peppers, Dinosaur Jr, Firehose, and Nirvana
Who wrote that "Alternative" encompassed varians such as rap, trash, metal, and industrial?
Journalist Jim Gerr
In 1979, what radio station had a late night new wave show entitled "Rock and Roll Alternative"?
KZEW
What genres does post-rock get its influence from?
Krautrock, progressive rock, and jazz
What was a signifier of Alternative Rock's decline?
Lollapalooza festival failed attempt to find a headliner act in 1998
What was the key British alternative rock band to emerge during the 1980s?
Manchester's The Smiths
What record labels dominated the American indie scene for most of the 1990s?
Matador Records, Merge Records, and Dischord
What band was the most immediately successful and what was their debut album?
R.E.M. with "Murmur" in 1983
What American rock band entered a new-found popularity in 1999?
Red Hot Chili Peppers
What band was described as the first "emo" band?
Rites of Spring
Where did the Grunge genre emerge?
Seattle Washington
Who singled out The Smiths and their contemporaries R.E.M. as "the two most important alternative rock bands of the day"?
Simon Reynolds
Who wrote Siamese Dream and when?
Smashing Pumpkins and 1993
Who was the first person to use the term Alternative Music?
Terry Tolkin
What early american alternative bands combined punk influences with folk music and mainstream music influences
The Dream Syndicate, R.E.M, The Feelies, and Violent Femmes
What did Twin/Tone Records, Touch and Go Records, and Dischord Records preside over?
The shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging
Alternative rock during the 1980s was mostly featured on what?
independent record radios, fanzines, and college radio stations
What did the use of the term "emo" expand to?
it became associated with fashion, a hairstyle and any music that expressed emotion
Out of Washington D.C.'s hardcore scene which was called emocore or emo emerged and was noted for what?
its lyrics which delved into the emotional very personal subject matter(vocalists sometimes cried) and added free association poetry
When did Alternative Rock become widely popular?
late 1990's
Where did Gothic Rock develop from?
late-1970s British post-punk
What did Gothic Rock's Lyrics address?
literacy romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and supernatural mysticism
What was one of the main indie rock movements of the 1990s?
lo-fi
When did the term "alternative" describing rock music originate?
mid-1980s
