Rock in the Nineties and Early Two-Thousands

“Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a

passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes.”

Comedian Bill Cosby

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

50th Birthday of Rock Music

Exactly when the birthday was, depends on opinions about exactly when rock began

Late-forties rhythm and blues performances were leading to the development of fifties rock

Rock was well established and gaining widespread popularity by the early-to-mid fifties

Many styles of rock music to follow allowed for a greater variety of music than ever to be available today

Some of those diverse newer styles are the subject of this last chapter

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Grunge RockRoots and influences:

Progressive-influenced punk rock by “no wave” band from New York, Sonic Youth, invited early Seattle bands to play at concertsSeventies British heavy metal vocals and guitar/bass riffs and much

distortionPunk intensity and noise level

“Grunge” title from loud crunch of guitar soundsEarly Seattle bands:

SoundgardenMudhoneyNirvanaPearl Jam

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Listening Guide“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana (1991)Tempo: 116 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: 12-bar instrumental introduction, then 16-bar verses or choruses with some 4-bar instrumental

introductionsThe 3rd verse is instrumentalThe recording ends with nine repetitions of the words “A denial!” and then a fade out

Features: The first 3-bars of the introduction are played by a strummed acoustic guitarDrums enter at bar 4, and fuzztone electric guitar and electric bass guitar come in at the 4 th beat of

bar 4The instruments play a riff pattern that changes pitch as the chords changeThe 4-bar introductions to verses are somewhat subdued, with a strong backbeat in drums, and the bass playing repeated notes on the half-beatsDuring the instrumental verse, a fuzztone electric guitar plays the verse melodyCobain’s vocals are sometimes sung in a melancholy mood and other times screamed.

Lyrics: The lyrics are difficult to understand, but include statements of insecurity and a desire to be with a group where one is accepted.

Charts: Pop, #6

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Pop PunkAn outgrowth of more melodic punk by such bands as the Ramones in

songs like “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker”Green Day formed in 1988, Oakland, CA

After two albums and tours, signed with Reprise Records, a move disliked by hardcore fans, but brought band to mainstream acceptance and a Grammy for Best Rock Album, Dookie

(1994)More political on American Idiot (2004) as anti Iraq-war concept album

Other pop punk bands:RancidThe OffspringBlink 182

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Listening Guide“When I Come Around” by Green Day (1994)Tempo: 100 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: Structure based on repetitions of a 2-bar riff that only breaks during three

chorusesThe riff repeats as an introduction, then vocals enter at the fourth repetitionEach of 2 verses is sung through eight repetitions of the riffAt each chorus, chords are held and the riff returns at “When I come around.”

Features: Instrumentation is guitar with heavy fuzztone, electric bass guitar, and drumsEven beat subdivisionsStrong backbeat in drumsVocals are almost monotone and the singer sounds quite bored

Lyrics: The singer is a promiscuous male who proudly announces he will only visit his girlfriend at his convenience.

Charts: Pop #6

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EmoRoots and Influences:

Ian MacKaye’s bands Minor Threat, Embrace, and Fugazi – punk style with songs that focused on healthy lifestyles

Straight Edge movement – rejection of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, irresponsible sex, and, in many cases, eating meat

Songs eventually became nostalgic and confessionalMovement called “emotional hardcore,” then “emocore,” and finally, emo

Early Emo bands:EmbraceRites of SpringJawbreakerSunny day Real Estate

Later bands:Jimmy Eat WorldDashboard ConfessionalFall Out Boy

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Listening Guide“The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World (2001)Tempo: 160 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: 8-bar introduction, verses, and refrains, with a 16-bar instrumental in

the middleFeatures: Instrumentation is voice, guitar, percussion, bass guitar, drums,

and “synth emulator”Introduction has a guitar strumming on every half-beat and the bass softly

supporting the beatStrong backbeat in drums that enter at the beginning of the first verseEven beat subdivisionsSoft vocal responses repeat part of the text in some versesAbrupt ending after final refrain

Lyrics: The lyrics encourage listeners to feel all right about themselves and live as well as they can

Charts: Modern rock, #1, Hot 100, #5, British hits #26

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Jam BandsMusical term “jam” refers to musicians getting together to try things

out and play casuallyEarly and very long-lasting jam band – the Grateful Dead, concerts

casual without pre-controlled planning of song play lists or eventsPsychedelic influences include long improvisationsMusical styles including country, jazz, blues, folk, and Latin rhythms combined with rock

Phish – free-form concerts that combined folk, jazz, country, bluegrass, and pop music along with psychedelic improvisations

Dave Matthews Band – long improvisations in concerts, and music that combines folk, country, jazz, and pop with rock

Other jam bands:Yonder Mountain String BandString Cheese Incident

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Listening Guide“What Would You Say” by the Dave Matthews Band (1994)Tempo: 120 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar, but a few short sections have 3 beats per

barForm: Introduction has two 8-bar sections

Most verses have eight 4-beat barsThe 1st, 3rd, and 6th verses are followed by sections with four 3-beat bars and four 4-beat barsA 24-bar instrumental section is placed between the 5th and 6th verses

Features: Matthews’s voice follows the rhythms of the text, sometimes breaking with the beat patterns accompanying itEven beat subdivisionsStrong backbeat in drums through most of the recordingGroup vocals respond to Matthews’s lead vocal linesInstruments take turns playing solos during the improvisational instrumental sectionThe song ends with the question “What would you say?

Lyrics: The song reflects a self-consciously philosophical orientation toward life and death

Charts: Pop, #22

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Alternative CountryA variety of styles fall under categoryUncle Tupelo, formed in Illinois, 1990

Music combined country, blues, and mid-western post-punk by bands like Hüsker Dü

Some songs expressed a cynical attitude about lives going nowhere and drinking to kill the pain

Wilco, formed by members of Uncle Tupelo and also blended country, blues, and rock musicWilco later added electronic keyboards and played rhythm and blues and power pop with psychedelic influences

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Progressive RockDeveloped out of the progressive rock styles of the late sixties and the

seventies who used electronic instruments for special effects just as many avant-garde classical composers had

Radiohead, formed in Oxford, England, in 1989Each member plays many instruments and they switch from one to another for recordings and also in their concertsOne such instrument is the Ondes-Martenot, an electronic keyboard instrument with a bank of expression keys that affect tone quality and add microtonesSong themes of angst and alienation, much like a modern-day Pink FloydPolitical criticisms and anti-war statements in songs during the 2000s

Other Prog Rock bands:Mars VoltaMuseCoheed and Cambria

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Listening Guide“Karma Police” by Radiohead (1997)Tempo: 72 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: The recording has two parts:

The first is six 8-bar sections including an introduction followed by verses and refrainsThe second part has four 4-bar sections all with the same text and with repetitions at the end

Features: Strong backbeat in drumsAcoustic guitar and piano play a riff pattern with accompaniments that include electronic noisesAn analog synthesizer imitates a choir during the 2nd and 3rd verses and during the second part of the recordingThe second part of the recording is a step higher than the firstElectronic sound effects and static ending

Lyrics: “karma” refers to the sum of an individual’s past effects. The song conveys a sense that individuals find themselves in conditions that run afoul of the expectations of others contrasted against the possibility of losing oneself, or the karma

Charts: Pop, #14, British hits, #8

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Rap RockBy the nineties, rap vocals were popular and being used outside the

hip-hop cultureRed Hot Chili Peppers formed in 1983 in L.A. playing an alternative

mixture of funk, metal, and rock, then added rap vocals to thatRage Against the Machine formed in 1991 in L.A. playing a

combination of rap, thrash metal, and punk expressing anger at the industrialization of society and unfair treatment of field workers

Arrested Development formed in Atlanta in 1988 played a lighter combination of rock and rap music that used folk-related instruments such as banjo and harmonica

Outkast formed in 1992 in East Point, Georgia, updating hip-hop with a combination of soul and funk with energetic, fast rapped vocals

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Listening Guide“B.O.B.” (Bombs over Baghdad”) by Outkast (2000)Tempo: 156 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: After a 4-bar introduction, the sections that follow are 8 bars

each, most of which are pairedThe ending is extended with repetitions of 2-bar sections of text

Features: The rapped vocals are very fast and rhythmic, Dre is the first rapper, then Big Boi, and later both share the vocals

Electronic sounds and drums accompany the vocalsSteady backbeat in drumsEven beat subdivisions

Lyrics: The rappers express an ironic indifference toward the world and contemporary events, part detached, part amused, and part appalled

Charts: R&B, #69, British hits, #61

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Nu MetalBroad range of origins from earlier rock styles:

Powerful fuzztone riffs of heavy metal, speed metal, and thrashFunk and hip-hop rhythmsScreamed, shouted, or rapped vocalsInstruments often include turntables and synthesizers along with more

standard rock instrumentsDepth of extra low sounds created by the use of guitars and basses with

added low strings that standard guitars and basses cannot playNu Metal bands:

KornLimp BizkitKid RockIncubusSlipknot

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Listening Guide“Freak on a Leash” by Korn (1998)Tempo: 100 beats per minute, 4 beats per barForm: Mostly 8-bar sections, with 12 and 13 bar sections of nonsense

syllables, and “part of me” repetitions at the endFeatures: 8-bar instrumental introduction has melodic electronic sounds,

strong backbeat in drums, and bass playing uneven beat subdivisionsBass and drums play stop time, then strong backbeat during vocals, then

soft electronically affected vocal responses are addedRefrains are accompanied by distorted death-metal sounding guitar and

distorted electronic sound with an active bass line and drumsPop-sounding electronic riffs enter for the last 12 bars

Lyrics: An anguished soul cries out from an earthly hell marked by a sense of being controlled by unseen forces (the leash), and yet something in him resists his condition

Charts: Mainstream rock, top 10, Modern rock, top 10

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Discussion QuestionsIs Bill Cosby right in the quote that opens this chapter? Does

music really separate the generations? How do bands like Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, whose music is often popular with both the youngest and oldest rock fans, transcend the generation gap, or do they?

What young, new bands today play music that is likely to be enjoyed by many future generations?

Singer/songwriters of the seventies and beyond expressed very personal emotions and experiences in their songs. How do today’s singer/songwriters of various genres fit into that tradition?

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