Alternative Rock/Grunge
British rock band led by Thom Yorke; One of the foremost bands in rock; Very progressive in lyricism and even grunge at times; Set the tone for bands to come to sing with lyrics “as it is”
Radiohead
Band that came to fame after Nirvana led by Dave Grohl; revolutionized the music industry and grunge
The Foo Fighters
Started the geek rock movement with the standard rock instrumentation, but references to nerd culture and style of dress
Weezer
Started 1987 by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and lead bassist Krist Novoselic; helped popularize the “grunge’ genre
Nirvana
American rock duo from Detroit, Michigan; Fit indie rock, but also represented a new wave of garage rock and pop/punk
The White Stripes
The “new wave” of rock and roll. Like hard rock and heavy metal, there is a formula of instrumentation: lead guitar, rhythm, vocals bass and drums. Rhythm section had a little more complexity with beats and bass line. Drum set used heavy tom drums sounds. Guitarists experimented with sound and adopted distortion as the “alternative” sound. Vocalists had a distinct timbre to their voice. More tuneful than heavy metal, but voices did not have to be clear, smooth tones.
Alternative Rock
Outlasted many of the grunge movement bands of the 1990s; “The most popular rock and roll band of the 90s”
Pearl Jam
One of the first bands to start a skate punk band movement - more melodic form of punk rock - revolves around skate culture
Blink 182
The same components as alternative rock, but a sub-sub genre; an image along with the distortion of sound. Cut up or ripped off shirts, jeans and clothing. Appearance was very casual and more “unkempt” than performers of the 50s.
Grunge
Irish rock band from Dublin; Considered to be one of the first alternative rock bands; Lyrics mix emotions of politics, religion, hope, progressiveness and spirituality
U2
Pop/punk/emo band from Newark, NJ; The successful misfits of their time with long tenure in an evolving genre within two decades
My Chemical Romance
The 90s and early 2000s had a revival of punk; different from grunge/mainstream alternative rock in the same way that punk was during the 70s and early 80s: anti establishment, against pop culture, did not adhere to what the “mainstream” wanted, but what should have been. Qualities of distortion, but not so untuneful.
Indie Rock
One of the most prominent bands of the 90s to promote and make industrial rock popular; Also credited with their ambient sound - soundscapes with the use of electronic music
Linkin Park
Title and concept first before music is written; One of the most influential bands of the 21st century; Reinvention of the genre with tuneful singing, cleaner instrumentation - not heavy
Coldplay
An image combined with a style of sound and playing. The look consisted of dark clothing, gothic “like” look, eye liner, lipstick, and even makeup. Spiked hair and colored hair was extremely popular at this time. Tattoos became a big thing and to show them off in performance. The sound was similar to punk with repeated rhythms and simplicity in guitar and bass.
Emo Rock