UNIT 20: PUNK, NEW WAVE & ALTERNATIVE ROCK

Siouxsie & the Banshees

- Gothic influence...dark and creepy - Part of The Sex Pistols' entourage

THE BUZZCOCKS

- Pop-friendly punks

THE ROOTS OF PUNK

- 1965 -The Kinks - Chaotic behavior, raw sound - 1967 -The Velvet Underground forms in New York - Singer Lou Reed - dark lyrics, urban sound, drugs (heroin mostly) - Andy Warhol connection - 1969 -The Stooges Singer - Iggy Pop's insane performances - Crowd surfing, bodily injury, smearing peanut butter - 1970 - MC5 - Raw, aggressive sound, Political themes, confrontational performances, obscene language

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

- A New York group promoted by the pop art superstar Andy Warhol. - Their music was rough-edged and chaotic, extremely loud, and deliberately anticommercial. - The lyrics of their songs focused on topics such as sexual deviancy, drug addiction, violence, and social alienation.

PUNK ROCK MODEL

- About the attitude, not the music - Youths trying to reclaim a rebellious music - Typically, untrained musicians - Fearless performers - Disenchanted youth - 2 major scenes: - New York -The 1st scene but less popular - Biggest Names: The New York Dolls, The Ramones, Blondie - United Kingdom - 1st to be popular, more controversial - Biggest Names: The Sex Pistols, The Clash

PEARL JAM

- Also from Seattle - Leader: singer Eddie Vedder - Their sound was closer to heavy metal than other grunge bands - Made for more radio airplay - In contrast to their anti-commercial attitude - Their early albums established them as a top act by mid-decade - Ten (1992) - VS (1993) - Vitology (1994) - Began a legal battle with Ticketmaster - They believed the company was forcing higher ticket prices - Made it difficult for their fans to afford to see their concerts - Lost a court case against the ticket retailer - They were heroes to the anti-establishment alt-rock community

NEW WAVE

- America was mostly unaware of Punk until 1977 - Including the scene in New York - The Pistols' US tour toured the South - A move designed to insight riots and get headlines - Late 1977 - Elvis Costello broke Punk in the US - On Saturday Night Live - replacement for The Sex Pistols - The sudden excitement drew interest from the US - Record companies - Fear of Punk bands kept them from signing CBGB's bands - New Wave, a friendlier Punk, was the answer - Poppier, less offensive, clever lyrics

THE CARS

- Based in Boston - Leader was guitarist/vocalist Ric Ocasek - Included ex- Modern Lovers drummer David Robinson - Among the first new wave bands to get regular FM radio play - Signed with Elektra - Debut release: The Cars(1978), contained two popular FM radio hits - "My Best Friend's Girl" - "Just What I Needed" - Candy-O (1979) - "Let's Go" - Panorama (1980) - Continued to top the charts well into the 1980s

THE UK PUNK SCENE

- By 1975 -UK in massive recession - Youth unemployment - Disenfranchised teens of England turned to drugs, clubs and Punk - Malcolm McLaren - Inspired by Richard Hell's fashion, opens "SEX" - Punk fashion, leather clothes and fetish-wear - Began managing Punk groups - The Sex Pistols

ELVIS COSTELLO

- First British new wave artist - Distributed by Columbia in the United States - Well known for aggressive and clever attacks on the status quo - Trio of albums established Costello as one of rock's most interesting songwriters - While My Aim Is True (1978) contained the ballad "Alison" - This Year's Model (1978) was recorded with a backup band: the Attractions - "Pump It Up" and "Radio Radio" show his raucous side - Armed Forces (1979)

FOO FIGHTERS

- Formed by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl - Band got its name from the UFO's and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II - First album, Foo Fighters (1995) - Set of solo recordings he'd made - Initial release on cassettes - Reached number twenty-three on U.S. album charts - Released several more successful albums

BLONDIE

- Formed by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein - Played at CBGB in 1974 as the Stilettos - By 1976 Harry and Stein had reformed the group as Blondie - Signed with Private Stock Records and released their first album, Blondie - The track "X Offender" demonstrates their early style - Early 1960s girl-group influences: spoken introduction - Happy driving beat - Backup vocals - Combo organ sounds - Ventures-like guitar solo - Become one of the most commercially successful CBGB bands

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

- Formed in 1983 in Hollywood - Influenced by 1970s funk and punk - Shown in playing style of the band's bassist, Flea - 1985 album Freaky Styley produced by George Clinton - 1989 covered Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" on Mother's Milk album - First commercial success with BloodSugarSexMagik - Produced by Rick Rubin - Number three in 1991 - Subsequent hit albums - One Hot Minute (1994) - Californication (1999) - Developed a reputation for innovative videos

GREEN DAY

- Formed in San Francisco - Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong - Hard driving and aggressive sound - Clear stylistic influences of 1960s pop and 1970s punk - First significant commercial success began in 1994 - Dookie - 1995 album Insomniac - The ballad "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is significant - Demonstrates their softer side - Played during the final episode of Seinfeld

ALICE IN CHAINS

- Formed in Seattle by singer Layne Staley in the late 1980s - Similar lyric approach to that of speed metal bands - Dark lyrics dealing with drug addiction and death reflect speed metal influences - Metallica - Megadeth - 1991 debut album, Facelift, was initially directed at metal fans - Capitalized on Nirvana's success as a Seattle band - Album Dirt reached number six in the U.S. charts - 1994 EP Jar of Flies had an important distinction - First EP to reach number one on Billboard's album chart - Acoustically oriented - 1995s Alice in Chains debuted at number one in the U.S.

SOUNDGARDEN

- Formed in Seattle in the late 1980s - Led by the vocals of Chris Cornell and the guitar playing of Kim Thayil - Blend of earlier styles: - Heavy metal - 1960s psychedelia - 1970s blues rock - Commercial success with Superunknown (1994)

TALKING HEADS

- Made up of students from the Rhode Island School of Design - Led by singer David Byrne, their brilliant lyricist, was the icon - Debuted at CBGB in May 1975 - Signed with Sire and released Talking Heads(1977) - Two subsequent albums established the band as one of new wave's leading groups - Fear of Music (1979) - Remain In Light (1980) - "Once In a Lifetime" - Artsy depth, clever lyrics, subversive Pop sound

RAMONES

- Members used stage names with the last name Ramone: - Joey (1951 - 2001) - lead singer - Johnny (1948 - 2004) - guitar - Dee Dee (1952 - 2002) - bass - Tommy (1949 - 2014) - drums - Played short, fast high-energy rock songs - Albums didn't sell well but they had a big influence on other bands - Ramones (1976) which contained "Blitzkreig Bop" - Leave Home (1977) - Rocket to Russia (1977) - Road to Ruin (1978) - The band's music was better received in the UK than in the states

NIRVANA

- Most important band in Seattle's grunge scene - Played their first shows in Olympia, Washington - Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Kurt Cobain - Their music rejected the entire rock star apparatus - Debut album Nevermind (1991) - "Smells like Teen Spirit" (1991) - Began the movement called alternative rock - In Utero (1993) - Unplugged in New York (1994) - Nirvana's career ended with Kurt Cobain's suicide in - April 1994

DEVO

- Most ironic and unusual of the new wave groups - From Ohio - Led by brothers Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh - Developed an image based on 1950s sci-fi predictions of the future - First album did better in England than in the United States - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Containing the cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - Their theme song: "Jocko Homo" - First U.S. commercial success: Freedom of Choice (1980) - Contained the hit single "Whip It"

NEW YORK DOLLS

- New York Dolls Formed in the early 70's - David Johansen - Lead singer Inspired by British Glam (David Bowie) - Performed in make-up and costumes - Didn't seem gimmicky...more seedy, dangerous - Their albums never sold well - They inspired future punks with their fearless attitude - Raw rock sound - Radical controversial imagery (communism, androgyny)

THE ROXY CLUB

- Opened in January of 1977 - Central club of England's Punk scene - The house DJ played a lot of Reggae Music - This led to a different core sound to UK Punk - Bouncier, more danceable, less blues or roots - A huge amount of drugs invaded the club - Smack mostly...a cheap version of heroin - Club closed in April of 1978 - Violence and the influx of drug dealers and gangsters

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS

- Originally from Florida - Inspired by folk-rock style of Bob Dylan and the Byrds - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers continued to release hit albums through the 1990's - Their successful records and tours span decades - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1977) - "American Girl" - So similar to Byrds sound that Roger McGuinn thought it was one of his own songs - You're Gonna Get It - "I Need to Know" - Switched to MCA records, releasing Damn the Torpedoesin late 1979 - several strong tracks, included in the album: "Don't Do Me like That" "Refugee

THE SEX PISTOLS

- Punk's "Nihilists" - 1975 - Signed by McLaren - 1976 - "Anarchy in the UK" - Cursed on live TV, aa major scandal - Sid Vicious was added to the line up for his looks - 1977 - Nevermind the Bollocks... - #1 on the UK charts - "God Save the Queen" was the hit single - Ultra-controversial, banned on UK radio - 1978 - Johnny Rotten quit, Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose - The Pistols popularized and defined Punk

THE CLASH

- The "Political Protestors" - 1980's London Calling - Their political masterpiece - Title track is a protest song - Big Reggae influence

ALTERNATIVE ROCK: GRUNGE

- The connection to 1970s British punk: - British punk motivated by socioeconomic issues - American punk was not based on those frustrations - Many American guitar oriented post-punk bands emerged during the 1980s - Alternative rock embraced the same return-to-basics approach as 1970s punk bands - Possible reasons for acceptance of alternative music - Rejection of the MTV emphasis on glamour - Rejection of heavy metal virtuosity and self-indulgence - The "return to basics" approach of punk had proven successful earlier - Rock audiences require changes in the overall genre

THE CBGB'S BANDS

- This club was the hub of NY scene - Country, Blue Grass, Blues Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers - Early Performers: - Patti Smith 1973 - Forms her band - Intelligent poet with cryptic political lyrics - 1975 - Horses goes to #47 on Billboard - Television - Richard Hell's band - Sharing bills with Patti Smith, they built the CBGB's scene - Richard Hell's fashion informed punk fashion - Tattered clothes, safety pins holding things together

POLICE

- Well known for strong reggae influence on their style and masterful performance - Complex drumming of Stuart Copeland - Literary lyrics of Sting - Tons of atmospheric guitar from Andy Summers - Went through a stylistic evolution - Started with a punk-oriented style - Gradually became more sophisticated - Intricate musical arrangements - Poetic and intellectual lyrics - First hit single, "Roxanne" (1979) has a strong reggae influence - Their first album, Outlandos d'Amour (1979) relies on punk simplicity - Fifth album title, Synchronicity (1983) drawn from the psychological writings of Carl Jung - Eight singles in the American top ten during the early 1980's - "Every Breath You Take" (1983) went to number one - Four of their five studio albums and five singles went to number one in the UK

PATTI SMITH

Known for trance-like recitations of avant-garde/punk poetry.

CBGB

a club located at 315 Bowery in New York's Lower East Side that was the focal point of the city's punk scene.