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Alternative Rock - Popular Music In America - Lecture Notes | MUS 160, Study notes of History of Music

ALTERNATIVE ROCK Material Type: Notes; Professor: Kuhn; Class: Popular Music In America; Subject: Music; University: Pima Community College; Term: Fall 2011;

Typology: Study notes

2010/2011

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ALTERNATIVE ROCK
1) Discuss the meaning of this term.
The use of the term alternative to describe rock music originated around the mid-
1980s;[10] at the time, the common music industry terms for cutting-edge music were
new music and post modern, respectively indicating freshness and a tendency to
recontextualize sounds of the past.[1][11] Individuals who worked as DJs and
promoters during the 1980s claim the term originates from American FM radio of the
1970s, which served as a progressive alternative to top 40 rock music radio formats
by featuring longer songs and giving DJs more freedom in song selection. According
to one former DJ and promoter, "Somehow this term 'alternative' got rediscovered
and heisted by college radio people during the 80s who applied it to new post-punk,
indie, or underground-whatever music".[12] At first the term referred to intentionally
non–mainstream rock acts that were not influenced by "heavy metal ballads, rarefied
new wave" and "high-energy dance anthems".[13] Usage of the term would broaden
to include New Wave, pop, punk rock, post-punk, and occasionally "college"/"indie"
rock, all found on the American "commercial alternative" radio stations of the time
such as Los Angeles' KROQ-FM. The use of alternative gained further exposure due
to the success of Lollapalooza, for which festival founder and Jane's Addiction
frontman Perry Farrell coined the term Alternative Nation. In the late 1990s, the
definition again became more specific.[1] In 1997, Neil Strauss of The New York
Times defined alternative rock as "hard-edged rock distinguished by brittle, '70s-
inspired guitar riffing and singers agonizing over their problems until they take on
epic proportions".[13]
2) When did this music emerge and become popular?
Throughout the 1980s, alternative rock was mainly an underground phenomenon.
While on occasion a song would become a commercial hit or albums would receive
critical praise in mainstream publications like Rolling Stone, alternative rock in the
1980s was primarily relegated to independent record labels, fanzines, and college
radio stations. Alternative bands built underground followings by touring constantly
and regularly releasing low-budget albums. In the case of the United States, new
bands would form in the wake of previous bands, which created an extensive
underground circuit in America, filled with different scenes in various parts of the
country.[16] Although American alternative artists of the 1980s never generated
spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on later alternative
musicians and laid the groundwork for their success.[22] By 1989 the genre had
become popular enough that a package tour featuring New Order, Public Image
Limited and The Sugarcubes toured the United States arena circuit.[23]
In contrast, British alternative rock was distinguished from that of the United States
early on by a more pop-oriented focus (marked by an equal emphasis on albums and
singles, as well as greater openness to incorporating elements of dance and club
culture) and a lyrical emphasis on specifically British concerns. As a result, few
British alternative bands have achieved commercial success in the US.[24] Since the
1980s alternative rock has been played extensively on the radio in the UK,
particularly by disc jockeys such as John Peel (who championed alternative music on
BBC Radio 1), Richard Skinner, and Annie Nightingale. Artists that had cult
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ALTERNATIVE ROCK

  1. Discuss the meaning of this term. The use of the term alternative to describe rock music originated around the mid- 1980s;[10] at the time, the common music industry terms for cutting-edge music were new music and post modern, respectively indicating freshness and a tendency to recontextualize sounds of the past.[1][11] Individuals who worked as DJs and promoters during the 1980s claim the term originates from American FM radio of the 1970s, which served as a progressive alternative to top 40 rock music radio formats by featuring longer songs and giving DJs more freedom in song selection. According to one former DJ and promoter, "Somehow this term 'alternative' got rediscovered and heisted by college radio people during the 80s who applied it to new post-punk, indie, or underground-whatever music".[12] At first the term referred to intentionally non–mainstream rock acts that were not influenced by "heavy metal ballads, rarefied new wave" and "high-energy dance anthems".[13] Usage of the term would broaden to include New Wave, pop, punk rock, post-punk, and occasionally "college"/"indie" rock, all found on the American "commercial alternative" radio stations of the time such as Los Angeles' KROQ-FM. The use of alternative gained further exposure due to the success of Lollapalooza, for which festival founder and Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell coined the term Alternative Nation. In the late 1990s, the definition again became more specific.[1] In 1997, Neil Strauss of The New York Times defined alternative rock as "hard-edged rock distinguished by brittle, '70s- inspired guitar riffing and singers agonizing over their problems until they take on epic proportions".[13]
  2. When did this music emerge and become popular? Throughout the 1980s, alternative rock was mainly an underground phenomenon. While on occasion a song would become a commercial hit or albums would receive critical praise in mainstream publications like Rolling Stone, alternative rock in the 1980s was primarily relegated to independent record labels, fanzines, and college radio stations. Alternative bands built underground followings by touring constantly and regularly releasing low-budget albums. In the case of the United States, new bands would form in the wake of previous bands, which created an extensive underground circuit in America, filled with different scenes in various parts of the country.[16] Although American alternative artists of the 1980s never generated spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on later alternative musicians and laid the groundwork for their success.[22] By 1989 the genre had become popular enough that a package tour featuring New Order, Public Image Limited and The Sugarcubes toured the United States arena circuit.[23] In contrast, British alternative rock was distinguished from that of the United States early on by a more pop-oriented focus (marked by an equal emphasis on albums and singles, as well as greater openness to incorporating elements of dance and club culture) and a lyrical emphasis on specifically British concerns. As a result, few British alternative bands have achieved commercial success in the US.[24] Since the 1980s alternative rock has been played extensively on the radio in the UK, particularly by disc jockeys such as John Peel (who championed alternative music on BBC Radio 1), Richard Skinner, and Annie Nightingale. Artists that had cult

followings in the United States received greater exposure through British national radio and the weekly music press, and many alternative bands had chart success there. [25]

  1. What previous music styles influenced alternative? Alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from the independent music scene since the 1980s, such as grunge, Britpop, gothic rock, indie pop, and indie rock. These genres are unified by their collective debt to the style or ethos of punk rock, which laid the groundwork for alternative music in the 1970s.
  2. How do independent record labels fit in? Why did alternative bands prefer independent labels? many alternative rock artists are cult acts that have recorded with independent labels and have received the majority of their exposure through college radio airplay and word-of-mouth. Alternative bands built underground followings by touring constantly and regularly releasing low-budget albums. In the case of the United States, new bands would form in the wake of previous bands, which created an extensive underground circuit in America, filled with different scenes in various parts of the country.
  3. Describe the terms “college rock” and “indie rock”. College rock was used in the United States to describe the music during the 1980s due to its links to the college radio circuit and the tastes of college students. At the time, the term indie was used literally to describe independently distributed records. [8] By 1985, it had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, rather than simply distribution status.
  4. Briefly discuss the Seattle “grunge” scene. Identify important bands from that region and style characteristics of alternative bands like Nirvana, or some others of interest to you. Grunge was based around a sludgy, murky guitar sound that synthesized heavy metal and punk rock.[29] Largely based around the Seattle indie label Sub Pop, grunge bands were noted for their thrift store fashion which favored flannel shirts and combat boots suited to the local weather.[30] Early grunge bands Soundgarden and Mudhoney found critical acclaim in the U.S. and UK, respectively. The early grunge movement coalesced around Seattle independent record label Sub Pop in the late 1980s. Grunge became commercially successful in the first half of the 1990s, due mainly to the release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten.
  5. Briefly give an overview of the Lollapalooza festival. Who started it, and describe its importance in relation to alternative music and its audience.
  6. Discuss the unique relationship between alternative bands and the audience. WRITE IN ESSAY FORM ONLY. NO OUTLINES. CITE SOURCES 20-POINT PENALTY WITHOUT SOURCES