When did alternative die?
Mad Drama Teacher
1,985 Posts
Pt. 1I was rereading the Pavement vs Nirvana thread and Jeff argued that "alternative" died with Pavement's Wowee Zowee in 1995.Then I'm listening to a bunch of Built to Spill while reading it and thinking that some of their albums still sound good after that "threshold," as he put it.Robert Christgau seems to agree with Jeff that some of the "alternative" artists created albums in the latter part of the 90s that, as he puts it in a review for Built to Spill's Keep It Like a Secret, "grunge never un[/b]happened." That review's from 1999.I think Built to Spill's Perfect from Now On is a great album and that's 1997.Now, it's your turn to celebr(h)ate those post-95 "alternative" albums. Do you agree with Jeff and Christgau, or are you blissfully ignorant?Pt. 2 - Dinosaur, Jr. vs Built to SpillThe comparison between J Mascis and Doug Martsch seems reasonable. But why do I like Matsch's BtS albums so much more than Mascis's DJ albums even though the former seems to be a ripoff artist, at least on the guitar?I think it's strange that some people consider Dinosaur, Jr. part of the shoegazer scene.Who you got and why?
Comments
What's the frequency, Kenneth?
Just kidding.
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Was that a real line of clothing? I can see it coming down the runway now: The Eternal Autumn Collection...
You might be onto something, whether you know it or not.
lots of flannel, combat boots & ski hats
We all can agree that grunge was never a good look clothing-wise.
Upload photos of yourself in the reminiscent vestures of grunge.
INTIMATE GRUNGE
I'm flying the flannel til I die
LOL!
I think we're better off debating "funky soul jazz" vs. "jazzy funk"
If you know what I mean...
"alternative radio" and "modern rock radio" format stations grew dramatically from 1992 to about 1997, then slowly started dropping in #. By '98 the shift was on to the heavier format/crossover/catch-all format thing. they held on, slowly dropping stations till about 2002, but dramatically dropped off after that. now theres like 20 "alternative" stations in the country, all in smaller markets. (with a few exceptions where the market sustains it, like LA's indie 103). Any station calling itself "modern rock" today plays a lot of stuff that sounds nothing like the "alternative" of the early 90s.
(im going by this because its a good indicator - stations change format when they arent generating enough ad revenue, because they dont have enough listeners, etc)
also, what is some radio rock that works in the club nowadays?
In the 80s Rock went Stateside and it all went corporate hair with the likes of GnR, Crue, Leppard, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, then got "Harder"
IIRC, "Alternative" was the late 80s/early 90s backlash to this, a kind of punk to Hair Rock. I recall it being all about REM, Pavement and anything out of Seattle. The UK offered shoegazing. It was all some tortured-soul shit.
As far as I know, all other forms of "Rawk" died as mainstream moneymakers for the industry. By this time the grunge/tattoo flavour was the way to go. Fooeys, Green Day, Nickelback and what-have-you.
I can't ride for anything alternative, but I'll sing along with Motorhead, early/mid Maiden, a bit of Slayer, some "For Whom THe Bell Tolls", and ride for only the corniest Bon Jovi "Whooooa"-alongs
The wife on the other hand rolls firm for anything grungy and has talked me into seeing the Fooeys in Manchester this Summer. I know Grohl doesn't take himself too seriously and he did the Beatles film so maybe it'll be ok.
As far as I know, all other forms of "Rawk" died as mainstream moneymakers for the industry. By this time the grunge/tattoo flavour was the way to go. Fooeys, Green Day, Nickelback and what-have-you.