Editing Alternative rock (section)

== 1990s: Mainstream success ==
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| quote = In the 1990s, a great deal of music which had been considered underground, punk, or just plain weird in the 1980s could suddenly be found in the mainstream; playing on commercial television, on the radio, in shopping centres and sporting arenas. By the decade's end, alternative music was both triumphant and meaningless. Its stars played to massive crowds and its music was used to sell cars on television. It had integrated itself completely into the media spectacle, and could no longer reasonably claim to be offering an alternative to it.
| source = Craig Schuftan of ''[[ABC Online]]'' (November 13, 2014) [https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/archived/intothemusic/nineties-rock-an-alternative-history/5888302]
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[[File:Nirvana_around_1992.jpg|thumb|left|[[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s [[Kurt Cobain]] (right) and [[Krist Novoselic]] (left) performing at the ''[[MTV Video Music Awards]]'' in 1992]]
[[File:Dolores O'Riordan, The Cranberries, Bospop, 2016.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Dolores O'Riordan]], lead singer of [[the Cranberries]], performing in 2016]]
By the start of the 1990s, the music industry was enticed by alternative rock's commercial possibilities and major labels had already signed Jane's Addiction, [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] and Dinosaur Jr.{{sfn|Azerrad|1994|p=160}} In early 1991, R.E.M. went mainstream worldwide with ''[[Out of Time (album)|Out of Time]]'' while becoming a blueprint for many alternative bands.<ref name="American alt-rock"/>

The first edition of the Lollapalooza festival became the most successful tour in North America in July and August 1991. For [[Dave Grohl]] of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] who attended the festival at an open-air amphitheater in [[Southern California]], "it felt like something was happening, that was the beginning of it all". The tour helped change the mentalities in the music industry: "by that fall, radio and [[MTV]] and music had changed. I really think that if it weren't for Perry [Farrell], if it weren't for ''Lollapalooza'', you and I wouldn't be having this conversation right now".<ref>{{cite web|first=Brent|last=DiCrescenzo|url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/music/dave-grohl-of-foo-fighters-extended-interview-lollapalooza-2011|title=Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters Extended interview Lollapalooza 2011|work=Time Out|date=July 28, 2011|access-date=July 3, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220063927/https://www.timeout.com/chicago/music/dave-grohl-of-foo-fighters-extended-interview-lollapalooza-2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{quote box
| quote = The Amerindie of the early '80s became known as alternative or alt-rock, ascendant from [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] until 1996 or so but currently very unfashionable, never mind that the music is still there.
| source = — ''[[Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s]]'' (2000) <ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=2000|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/intro.php|title=CG 90s: Introduction|website=robertchristgau.com|access-date=April 13, 2019|archive-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413155756/https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/intro.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
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The release of Nirvana's single "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" in September 1991 "marked the instigation of the grunge music phenomenon". Helped by constant airplay of the song's music video on MTV, their album ''[[Nevermind]]'' was selling 400,000 copies a week by Christmas 1991.{{sfn|Lyons|2004|p=120}} Its success surprised the music industry. ''Nevermind'' not only popularized grunge, but also established "the cultural and commercial viability of alternative rock in general."<ref>{{cite web | author=Olsen, Eric | title=10 years later, Cobain lives on in his music | publisher=[[Today.com]].com | url=https://www.today.com/popculture/10-years-later-cobain-lives-his-music-wbna4652653 | date=April 9, 2004 | access-date=July 25, 2007 | archive-date=March 23, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323224116/http://www.today.com/popculture/10-years-later-cobain-lives-his-music-wbna4652653 | url-status=live }}</ref> Michael Azerrad asserted that ''Nevermind'' symbolized "a sea-change in rock music" in which the [[glam metal|hair metal]] that had dominated rock music at that time fell out of favor in the face of music that was authentic and culturally relevant.{{sfn|Azerrad|1994|pp=229–230}} The breakthrough success of Nirvana led to the widespread popularization of alternative rock in the 1990s. It heralded a "new openness to alternative rock" among commercial radio stations, opening doors for heavier alternative bands in particular.<ref>Rosen, Craig. "Some See 'New Openness' Following Nirvana Success". ''Billboard''. January 25, 1992.</ref> In the wake of ''Nevermind'', alternative rock "found itself dragged-kicking and screaming&nbsp;... into the mainstream" and record companies, confused by the genre's success yet eager to capitalize on it, scrambled to sign bands.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Browne, David |date=August 21, 1992 |title=Turn That @#!% Down! |magazine=EW.com |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311492,00.html |access-date=April 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516121917/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C311492%2C00.html |archive-date=May 16, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' declared in 1993, "Alternative rock doesn't seem so alternative anymore. Every major label has a handful of guitar-driven bands in shapeless shirts and threadbare jeans, bands with bad posture and good riffs who cultivate the oblique and the evasive, who conceal catchy tunes with noise and hide craftsmanship behind nonchalance."<ref>{{cite news | author=Pareles, Jon | date=February 28, 1993 | title=Great Riffs. Big Bucks. New Hopes? | newspaper=NYTimes.com | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/28/arts/pop-view-great-riffs-big-bucks-new-hopes.html | access-date=July 19, 2009 | archive-date=May 10, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510101732/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/28/arts/pop-view-great-riffs-big-bucks-new-hopes.html | url-status=live }}</ref> However, many alternative rock artists rejected success, for it conflicted with the rebellious, [[DIY ethic]] the genre had espoused before mainstream exposure and their ideas of artistic authenticity.<ref name="decade">Considine, J.D. "The Decade of Living Dangerously". ''[[Guitar World]]''. March 1999</ref><!-- Please do not replace Dolores O'Riorden's photo with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. There is not enough room on this page to include photos of everyone, and I am trying to be inclusive of international artists. Thank you! --> Craig Schuftan of ''[[ABC Online]]'' assessed, "On the one hand, [alternative rock's entry into the mainstream] gave rise to a resilient and resourceful underground, and on the other, to a hunger for pop justice, for a future world where good music could be popular, and popular music could be good. Thus, when underground music finally broke through to the mainstream in 1991, the event was either denounced as a gigantic sellout or celebrated as a revolution, sometimes both at the same time. It was an intellectual balancing act that could only pulled off with the help of that staple of '90s pop life—postmodern irony."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-13 |title=An alternative history of ‘90s rock |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/archived/intothemusic/nineties-rock-an-alternative-history/5888302 |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=ABC Radio National |language=en-AU}}</ref>

=== Grunge ===
{{Main|Grunge}}
[[File:Oasis Noel and Liam WF.jpg|alt=Two-thirds body shot of a singer wearing a coat with wide lapels; a guitar player is in the background. Both have short, blond hair.|thumb|[[Liam Gallagher|Liam]] and [[Noel Gallagher]] of [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] performing in September 2005]]
[[File:Billy Corgan with The Smashing Pumpkins 2008-02-18.jpg|thumb|[[Billy Corgan]] of [[the Smashing Pumpkins]] performing in February 2008]]
Other grunge bands subsequently replicated Nirvana's success. [[Pearl Jam]] had released its debut album ''[[Ten (Pearl Jam album)|Ten]]'' a month before ''Nevermind'' in 1991, but album sales only picked up a year later.<ref>{{cite web|title=Smackdown: Pearl Jam vs. Nirvana|url=http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/2011/sep/20/smackdown-grunge-turns-20/|publisher=Soundcheck|access-date=June 20, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223053056/http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/2011/sep/20/smackdown-grunge-turns-20/|archive-date=February 23, 2013}}</ref> By the second half of 1992 ''Ten'' became a breakthrough success, being certified gold and reaching number two on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.<ref>Pearlman, Nina. "Black Days". ''[[Guitar World]]''. December 2002.</ref> [[Soundgarden]]'s album ''[[Badmotorfinger]]'', [[Alice in Chains]]' ''[[Dirt (Alice in Chains album)|Dirt]]'' and [[Stone Temple Pilots]]' ''[[Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)|Core]]'' along with the ''[[Temple of the Dog (album)|Temple of the Dog]]'' album collaboration featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, were also among the 100 top-selling albums of 1992.{{sfn|Lyons|2004|p=136}} The popular breakthrough of these grunge bands prompted ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' to nickname Seattle "the new [[Liverpool]]".<ref name="success NYT"/> Major record labels signed most of the prominent grunge bands in Seattle, while a second influx of bands moved to the city in hopes of success.{{sfn|Azerrad|2001|pp=452–453}} At the same time, critics asserted that advertising was co-opting elements of grunge and turning it into a fad. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' commented in a 1993 article, "There hasn't been this kind of exploitation of a subculture since the media discovered hippies in the '60s."<ref>{{cite magazine | date=April 2, 1993 | title=Smells Like Big Bucks | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] | url=https://ew.com/article/1993/04/02/smells-big-bucks/ | access-date=July 25, 2007 | author=Kobel, Peter | archive-date=October 14, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014023338/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,306055,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' compared the "grunging of America" to the mass-marketing of punk rock, [[disco]], and [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] in previous years. As a result of the genre's popularity, a backlash against grunge developed in Seattle.<ref name="success NYT" />

Nirvana's follow-up album ''[[In Utero (album)|In Utero]]'' (1993) was an intentionally abrasive album that Nirvana bassist [[Krist Novoselic]] described as a "wild aggressive sound, a true alternative record."<ref>DeRogatis, Jim. ''Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's''. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. p. 18. {{ISBN|978-0-306-81271-2}}.</ref> Nevertheless, upon its release in September 1993 ''In Utero'' topped the ''Billboard'' charts.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 8, 1993 |title=In Numero Uno |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308282,00.html |access-date=September 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004211114/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C308282%2C00.html |archive-date=October 4, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Pearl Jam also continued to perform well commercially with its second album, ''[[Vs. (Pearl Jam album)|Vs.]]'' (1993), which topped the ''Billboard'' charts by selling a record 950,378 copies in its first week of release.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/1993/11/19/pearls-jam/ | title=Pearl's Jam | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] | date=November 19, 1993 | access-date=August 29, 2007 | author=Hajari, Nisid | archive-date=October 14, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014195855/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308749,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> In 1993, [[the Smashing Pumpkins]] released their major breakthrough album, ''[[Siamese Dream]]''—which debuted at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold over 4&nbsp;million copies by 1996, receiving multi-platinum certification by the [[RIAA]]. The strong influence of [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and progressive rock on the album helped to legitimize alternative rock to mainstream radio programmers and close the gap between alternative rock and the type of rock played on American 1970s [[Album Oriented Rock]] radio.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/smashing-pumpkins-mn0000036521|title=The Smashing Pumpkins – Biography, Albums, Streaming Links|website=AllMusic|access-date=December 31, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214123920/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/smashing-pumpkins-mn0000036521|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1995, the band released their double album, ''[[Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness]]—''which went on to sell 10&nbsp;million copies in the US alone, certifying it as a Diamond record.<ref name=":0" />

=== Britpop ===
{{Main|Britpop}}

With the decline of the Madchester scene and the unglamorousness of shoegazing, the tide of grunge from America dominated the British alternative scene and music press in the early 1990s.<ref name="British alt-rock"/> As a reaction, a flurry of British bands emerged that wished to "get rid of grunge" and "declare war on America", taking the public and native music press by storm.<ref>{{cite web|last=Youngs |first=Ian |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4144458.stm |title=Looking back at the birth of Britpop |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322180006/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4144458.stm |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |url-status=live |website=BBC News |date=August 15, 2005|access-date=July 19, 2009}}</ref> Dubbed "[[Britpop]]" by the media, and represented by [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]], [[Blur (band)|Blur]], [[Suede (band)|Suede]], and [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], this movement was the British equivalent of the grunge explosion, in that the artists propelled alternative rock to the top of the charts in their home country.<ref name="British alt-rock"/>

Britpop bands were influenced by and displayed reverence for British guitar music of the past, particularly movements and genres such as the [[British Invasion]], [[glam rock]], and [[punk rock]].{{sfn|Harris|2004|p=202}} In 1995, the Britpop phenomenon culminated in a rivalry between its two chief groups, Oasis and Blur, symbolized by their release of competing singles "[[Roll with It (Oasis song)|Roll With It]]" and "[[Country House (song)|Country House]]" on the same day on 14 August 1995. Blur won "[[The Battle of Britpop]]", but they were soon eclipsed in popularity by Oasis, whose second album, ''[[(What's the Story) Morning Glory?]]'' (1995),{{sfn|Harris|2004|p=xvii}} went on to become the third best-selling album in the UK's history.<ref>{{cite news | date=November 16, 2006 | title=Queen head all-time sales chart | work=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6151050.stm | access-date=January 3, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204064437/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6151050.stm | archive-date=February 4, 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Indie rock ===
[[File:Pavement, the band, in Tokyo.jpg|thumb|[[Indie rock]] band [[Pavement (band)|Pavement]] in 1993]]
{{Main|Indie rock}}
Long synonymous with alternative rock as a whole in the U.S., [[indie rock]] became a distinct form following the popular breakthrough of Nirvana.<ref name="allmusic indie rock" /> Indie rock was formulated as a rejection of alternative rock's absorption into the mainstream by artists who could not or refused to cross over, and a wariness of its "macho" aesthetic. While indie rock artists share the punk rock distrust of commercialism, the genre does not entirely define itself against that, as "the general assumption is that it's virtually impossible to make indie rock's varying musical approaches compatible with mainstream tastes in the first place".<ref name="allmusic indie rock">{{cite web | url={{AllMusic|class=style|id=indie-rock-ma0000004453|pure_url=yes}} | title=Indie Rock | access-date=August 2, 2009 | website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

Labels such as [[Matador Records]], [[Merge Records]], and [[Dischord Records|Dischord]], and indie rockers like [[Pavement (band)|Pavement]], [[Superchunk]], [[Fugazi (band)|Fugazi]], and [[Sleater-Kinney]] dominated the American [[Indie music scene|indie scene]] for most of the 1990s.{{sfn|Azerrad|2001|pp=495–497}} One of the main indie rock movements of the 1990s was [[slacker rock|lo-fi]]. The movement, which focused on the recording and distribution of music on low-quality [[cassette tapes]], initially emerged in the 1980s. By 1992, Pavement, [[Guided by Voices]] and [[Sebadoh]] became popular lo-fi cult acts in the United States, while subsequently artists like [[Beck]] and [[Liz Phair]] brought the aesthetic to mainstream audiences.<ref name="allmusic lofi">{{cite web | url={{AllMusic|class=style|id=lo-fi-ma0000002701|pure_url=yes}} | title=Lo-Fi | access-date=August 2, 2009 | website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> The period also saw alternative confessional female singer-songwriters. Besides the aforementioned Liz Phair, [[PJ Harvey]] fit into this sub group.<ref>Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=pj harvey|bio=true}} "PJ Harvey Biography"]. Billboard.com. Retrieved July 20, 2012.</ref>

In the mid-1990s, [[Sunny Day Real Estate]] defined the [[emo]] genre. [[Weezer]]'s album ''[[Pinkerton (album)|Pinkerton]]'' (1996) was also influential.<ref name="Allmusicemo" />

=== Post-rock ===
{{Main|Post-rock}}
[[Post-rock]] was established by [[Talk Talk]]'s ''[[Laughing Stock]]'' and [[Slint]]'s ''[[Spiderland]]'' albums, both released in 1991.<ref name="allmusic postrock" /> Post-rock draws influence from a number of genres, including [[Krautrock]], [[progressive rock]], and [[jazz]]. The genre subverts or rejects rock conventions, and often incorporates electronic music.<ref name="allmusic postrock" /> While the name of the genre was coined by music journalist Simon Reynolds in 1994 referring to ''[[Hex (Bark Psychosis album)|Hex]]'' by the London group [[Bark Psychosis]],<ref name="Mojo">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5803|title=Bark Psychosis: ''Hex''|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=March 1994|access-date=July 8, 2008|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|archive-date=September 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916165517/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5803|url-status=live}}</ref> the style of the genre was solidified by the release of ''[[Millions Now Living Will Never Die]]'' (1996) by the Chicago group [[Tortoise (band)|Tortoise]].<ref name="allmusic postrock" /> Post-rock was the dominant form of experimental rock music in the 1990s and bands from the genre signed to such labels as [[Thrill Jockey]], [[Kranky (record label)|Kranky]], [[Drag City (record label)|Drag City]], and [[Too Pure]].<ref name="allmusic postrock">{{cite web | url={{AllMusic|class=style|id=post-rock-ma0000002790|pure_url=yes}} | title=Post-Rock | access-date=July 28, 2009 | website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

A related genre, [[math rock]], peaked in the mid-1990s. In comparison to post-rock, math rock relies on more complex [[time signatures]] and intertwining phrases.<ref name="allmusic mathrock">{{cite web | url={{AllMusic|class=style|id=math-rock-ma0000012250|pure_url=yes}} | title=Math Rock | access-date=August 6, 2009 | website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> By the end of the decade a backlash had emerged against post-rock due to its "dispassionate intellectuality" and its perceived increasing predictability, but a new wave of post-rock bands such as [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]] and [[Sigur Rós]] emerged who further expanded the genre.<ref name="allmusic postrock" />