Popular Music Studies: Alternative Rock

Week 2The Rise of US Alternative Rock

Early US Punk

• The Ramones

• The Stooges

New Wave

• Blondie

• Talking Heads

Hardcore

• ‘Punk begat hardcore as a means of staying underground’

• Scenes were at first closely linked to certain cities and locations

• California hardcore was important in establishing the sound

Black Flag

• Damaged (1982)

• My War (1984)

SST

• Started by Greg Ginn of Black Flag

• Home to a large number of hardcore and alternative bands

• Became the most important minor label in the US during the 80s.

D.C. Hardcore

• Minor Threat

• Bad Brains

Minnesota

• The Replacements• Hüsker Dü• First big indie band to sign to a major label –

Warner Bros, 1986• Hardcore bands who softened up and slowed

down, leading stylistically to ‘alt rock’• Showed that melody could have a key role in a

‘post-punk’ aesthetic

Minnesota

Aesthetics of Alt Rock

• ‘Like the punk and hardcore scenes, alternative music embraced punk’s return-to-simplicity aesthetic and its directness of expression.’

Aesthetics of Alt Rock

• DIY ethos

• Working initially with small, independent labels

• Rejection of fame and commercialism

Aesthetics of Alt Rock

• Lo-fi production• Formed on a core of guitar, bass and drums• Largely rejected synth sounds• Retained a relatively fast pace• Heavy guitar fuzz / distortion• Vocals often shouted, rough – delivery, rather

than strength or accuracy, most important

Sonic Youth

• “Noise rock”?• Formed in New York, 1982• Art music background• Well known for alternate tunings, extended

techniques, abrasive sounds

Sonic Youth

• By the late 80s, hardcore was a spent force

• Bands forming who had grown in the 80s, not 70s

• Happier to incorporate influences from a wider range of rock music

Dinosaur Jr.

• ‘Heavy guitars with hooks’

• Foregrounded technical lead guitar playing

• Apathy and powerlessness set against a powerful musical backdrop

Dinosaur Jr.

Pixies

Production

• Steve Albini• Big Black• Underground ethic• Stripped-back production style

LA post-hardcore…

The ‘Seattle Sound’

• Grunge• Was there really a ‘grunge’ sound?• Again, something which worked as a

marketing label…• The production of Jack Endino…• The sound of Sub Pop…

Mudhoney

• Superfuzz Bigmuff EP (1988)

Mudhoney

• Flagship band for Sub Pop• Low-key melodic ideas• Quiet-loud dynamic• Changes of time signature

Nirvana

Nirvana

• Bleach (Sub Pop, 1989)

• $606.17

Nirvana

• ‘Nevermind marks the coming of age of alternative rock and the death of some cherished and deep-seated beliefs about authenticity, selling out, and the artistic purity of the rock & roll underground.’

• ‘The beginning of one era… and the end of another.’

Nirvana

• Nevermind (DGC, 1991)

• Initial $65,000 budget

Nirvana

• In Utero (1993)• Produced by Steve Albini

• MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)

Kurt Cobain