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Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

One of the branches of alternative rock that emerged after the genre's absorption into the mainstream, adult alternative pop/rock is a smooth, melodic, radio-friendly style that packaged alternative's mellower side for wider consumption. Commercial viability is usually an important part of adult alternative pop/rock, but artists don't always aim for it -- their individual approaches may simply turn out to be compatible with the style's sensibility. And adult alternative pop/rock is more of a... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Texas | Tracy Chapman | Freedy Johnston | Aimee Mann | The Cranberries | Sarah McLachlan | Barenaked Ladies | Tori Amos | Toad the Wet Sprocket | Counting Crows | Jeff Buckley | The Wallflowers | Suzanne Vega | Jewel | Sheryl Crow
Alternative Dance

Alternative Dance marries the underground sensibility and melodic song structure of alternative and indie rock with the electronic beats, synths and/or samples, and club orientation of post-disco dance music. While many pop-based alternative artists have experimented with dance and/or electronic music over the years, alternative dance goes a step beyond flirtation, drawing on club culture for inspiration and making it an indispensable part of the overall sound. Although alternative dance... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Primal Scream | Everything But the Girl | Big Audio Dynamite | Saint Etienne | The Stone Roses | Erasure | Happy Mondays | Massive Attack | The Shamen | New Order | Lords of Acid | The Beloved | Depeche Mode | Electronic | Pet Shop Boys
Alternative Folk

While contemporary folk often retains the gentleness of its more traditional parent, alternative folk combines acoustic sounds and a strong singer-songwriter bent with a more energetic, aggressive sound. Alternative folk's lyrics run the gamut from the protest music of Billy Bragg to the riot grrl feminism of Ani DiFranco to the story-based songs of Suzanne Vega and Victoria Williams; many other artists compose songs with intense emotional themes, while others settle on the quiet musings that...

Key Artists: Victoria Williams | Beth Orton | Suzanne Vega | Phranc | Ani DiFranco | Billy Bragg | Lucinda Williams | Tracy Chapman | Michelle Shocked | Dar Williams | John Wesley Harding | Luka Bloom
Ambient Pop

Ambient Pop combines elements of the two distinct styles which lend the blissed-out genre its name -- while the music possesses a shape and form common to conventional pop, its electronic textures and atmospheres mirror the hypnotic, meditative qualities of ambient. The mesmerizing lock-groove melodies of Krautrock are a clear influence as well, although ambient pop is typically much less abrasive. Essentially an extension of the dream pop that emerged in the wake of the shoegazer movement,... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Broadcast | The American Analog Set | The Hope Blister | Laika | Delerium | Spiritualized | Air | Stereolab | Bowery Electric | Godzuki | Flying Saucer Attack
American Underground

At the dawn of the 1980s, as the first wave of punk bands began to play themselves out and the burgeoning alternative rock scene became increasingly dominated by British post-punk groups and polished new wave acts, a number of American bands began making new music that was a deliberate reaction to these developments. While weaned on punk, the American underground bands tended to favor a broader musical palate (hard rock, psychedelia, roots rock, folk-rock, and country-rock influences were the... [+] Read More

British Trad Rock

During the '90s, shortly after Britpop became the sound of mainstream British rock, Trad Rock became one of the dominant subgenres of English music. As the name implies, trad rock is traditional rock & roll -- music that is unashamed of its debts to classic rock acts. In the case of British trad rock, the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Small Faces, and Traffic provided the foundation. All of the trad rockers were obsessed with keeping the music gritty and real -- to capture the vibe of the... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Reef | Ocean Colour Scene | Seahorses | Paul Weller | Dodgy | Gomez | Ian Brown | Hurricane #1 | Oasis | Cast | The Bluetones | Kula Shaker | The Charlatans UK | Travis
Britpop

The Beatles established a long-running British tradition of tuneful, guitar-driven pop bands, a tradition that was refreshed and updated every so often by new musical movements. Britpop, however, refers to the legion of '90s bands who drew more consciously from that tradition than ever before. Although the movement originated in the U.K. indie scene, Britpop was unabashedly commercial - its bands prized big, shiny, catchy hooks, as well as the glamour of mainstream pop stardom and the sense... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Lush | The Stone Roses | Suede | Blur | The Boo Radleys | Ocean Colour Scene | The Charlatans UK | Elastica | The Auteurs | Pulp | The La's | Manic Street Preachers | Oasis | Saint Etienne | The Verve
Chamber Pop

Drawing heavily from the lush, orchestrated work of performers including Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, and Lee Hazlewood, Chamber Pop arose largely as a reaction to the lo-fi aesthetic dominant throughout much of the 1990s alternative music community. Inspired in part by the lounge-music revival but with a complete absence of irony or kitsch, chamber pop placed a renewed emphasis on melody and production, as artists layered their baroque, ornate songs with richly textured orchestral strings... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Richard Davies | Archer Prewitt | Aluminum Group | Tindersticks | Rufus Wainwright | Belle & Sebastian | Eric Matthews | The High Llamas | The Divine Comedy
Cocktail

Cocktail Music is essentially a revival of kitschy '50s and '60s easy listening genres like exotica, space age pop, and lounge music. Cocktail bands like Combustible Edison emerged in the early '90s. They adapted the sound and style of lounge music, writing their own music and performing it affectionately, but with their tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Key Artists: Billy Strange | The Moog Cookbook | Friends of Dean Martinez | Love Jones | Combustible Edison
College Rock

In 1986, the British music weekly NME issued a cassette dubbed C-86, which included a number of bands -- McCarthy, the Wedding Present, Primal Scream, the Pastels, and the Bodines among them -- influenced in equal measure by the jangly guitar pop of the Smiths, the three-chord naivete of the Ramones, and the nostalgic sweetness of the girl group era. Also dubbed "anorak pop" and "shambling" by the British press, the C-86 movement was itself short-lived, but it influenced hordes of upcoming... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Pogues | Hüsker Dü | The Replacements | Peter Murphy | Midnight Oil | Indigo Girls | The Smiths | The La's | The Jesus and Mary Chain | The Mighty Lemon Drops | The Housemartins | New Order | Bob Mould | The Smithereens | Pixies
Cowpunk

A precursor to the alternative country-rock of the decade to follow, Cowpunk was a 1980s phenomenon incorporating the mood and texture of traditional country music with the energy and attitude of punk.

Key Artists: Dash Rip Rock | Meat Puppets | Jason & the Scorchers | Beat Farmers
Dream Pop

Dream Pop is an atmospheric subgenre of alternative rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody. Dream pop often features breathy vocals and processed, echo-laden guitars and synthesizers. Though the Cocteau Twins, with their indecipherable vocals and languid soundscapes, are frequently seen as the leaders of dream pop, the genre has more stylistic diversity than their slow, electronic textures. Dream pop also encompasses the post-Velvet Underground guitar rock of Galaxie 500, as... [+] Read More

Key Artists: His Name Is Alive | Mazzy Star | Spiritualized | Lush | Ride | My Bloody Valentine | Mercury Rev | The Boo Radleys | Luna | Red House Painters | Cocteau Twins | Galaxie 500
Emo

Originally an arty outgrowth of hardcore punk, emo became an important force in underground rock by the late '90s, appealing to modern-day punks and indie-rockers alike. Some emo leans toward the progressive side, full of complex guitar work, unorthodox song structures, arty noise, and extreme dynamic shifts; some emo is much closer to punk-pop, though it's a bit more intricate. Emo lyrics are deeply personal, usually either free-associative poetry or intimate confessionals. Though it's far... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Rites of Spring | Texas Is the Reason | The Nation of Ulysses | Sunny Day Real Estate | Fugazi | Jimmy Eat World | Cap'n Jazz | The Get Up Kids | Pedro the Lion | Braid | The Appleseed Cast | Weezer | The Promise Ring | At the Drive-In | Rainer Maria
Funk Metal

Funk Metal takes the loud guitars and riffs of heavy metal and melds them to the popping bass lines and syncopated rhythms of funk. Funk metal evolved in the mid-'80s when alternative bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone began playing the hybrid with a stronger funk underpinning than metal. The bands that followed relied more on metal than funk, though they retained the wild bass lines. Like heavy metal, the genre became a way to showcase instrumental prowess.

Key Artists: Fishbone | Faith No More | Sausage | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Primus | Sugar Ray
Garage Punk

Before the punk-pop wing of America's '90s punk revival hit the mainstream, a different breed of revivalist punk had been taking shape in the indie-rock underground. In general, garage punk wasn't nearly as melodic as punk-pop; instead, garage punk drew its inspiration chiefly from the Detroit proto-punk of the Stooges and the MC5. Attitude and noise were far more important to garage punk than catchy melodies, and the attitude was reflected in the sound of the music: dirty, grimy, sleazy,... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The A-Bones | Supersuckers | New Bomb Turks | The Humpers | Oblivians | Gaza Strippers | Mudhoney | The Psyclone Rangers | Impala | Mono Men | Hentchmen | Bantam Rooster | The Hellacopters
Goth Rock

Frequently misunderstood in its aesthetics and misapplied as a term, goth rock is an offshoot of post-punk that existed primarily during the early to mid-'80s. Its reputation as the darkest and gloomiest form of underground rock is largely deserved, though today that reputation stems more from the visual theatricality of its bands and black-clad followers. Sonically, goth rock took the cold synthesizers and processed guitars of post-punk and used them to construct foreboding, sorrowful, often... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Bauhaus | Tones on Tail | Alien Sex Fiend | The Cure | Peter Murphy | Gene Loves Jezebel | The Mission UK | Christian Death | Southern Death Cult | Fields of the Nephilim | The Sisters of Mercy
Grunge

Using the sludgy, murky sound of the Stooges and Black Sabbath as a foundation, Grunge was a hybrid of heavy metal and punk. Though the guitars were straight from early '70s metal, the aesthetic of grunge was far from metal. Both the lyrical approach and musical attack of grunge were adopted from punk, particularly the independent ideals of early '80s American hardcore. The first wave of grunge bands -- Green River, Mudhoney, Soundgarden -- were heavier than the second, which began with... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Stone Temple Pilots | Screaming Trees | Melvins | Alice in Chains | L7 | Pearl Jam | Paw | Green River | Nirvana | Mudhoney | Hole | Babes in Toyland | Soundgarden | Temple of the Dog | Candlebox
Indie Pop

Indie rock's more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free counterpart, Indie Pop reflects the underground's softer, sweeter side, with a greater emphasis on harmonies, arrangements, and songcraft. Encompassing everything from the lush orchestration of chamber pop to the primitive simplicity of twee pop, its focus is nevertheless more on the songs than on the sound, and although both indie pop and indie rock embrace the D.I.Y. spirit of punk, the former rejects punk's nihilistic...

Key Artists: Stereolab | The Pastels | The Apples in Stereo | Saint Etienne | Lois | Honeybunch | The Vaselines | The Spinanes | The Field Mice | Heavenly | Momus | Richard Davies | The Magnetic Fields | The High Llamas | The Cardigans
Indie Rock

Indie rock takes its name from "independent," which describes both the do-it-yourself attitudes of its bands and the small, lower-budget nature of the labels that release the music. The biggest indie labels might strike distribution deals with major corporate labels, but their decision-making processes remain autonomous. As such, indie rock is free to explore sounds, emotions, and lyrical subjects that don't appeal to large, mainstream audiences -- profit isn't as much of a concern as... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Ween | Unrest | Slint | Bettie Serveert | Eleventh Dream Day | Pavement | Sebadoh | The Wedding Present | Rocket from the Crypt | Royal Trux | Tsunami | Beat Happening | Dinosaur Jr. | (Smog) | Superchunk
Industrial

The most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music, industrial was initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments (tape music, musique concrète, white noise, synthesizers, sequencers, etc.) and punk provocation. As industrial evolved, its avant-garde influences became far less important than its pounding, relentless, jackhammer beats, which helped transform it into a darker alternative to the hedonism of mainstream dance music. Industrial's trademark sound was... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Coil | D.A.F. | Pailhead | Front 242 | KMFDM | Skinny Puppy | Ministry | Nitzer Ebb | My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult | Laibach | Sister Machine Gun | Throbbing Gristle | Nine Inch Nails | Clock DVA | Renegade Soundwave
Industrial Dance

During the 1980s, industrial music progressed from being an obscure, experimentalist style to a position where it was quite popular and straight-ahead for a growing audience unenthused by limp-wristed alternative music as well as cock rock and heavy metal. Early distinguished by the term "electronic body music," several artists, such as Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, and Ministry gained significant airplay in clubs. By the 1990s, industrial had split along a guitar/electronics divide,... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Nitzer Ebb | :wumpscut: | Front Line Assembly | Leæther Strip | Skinny Puppy | Ministry | Revolting Cocks | Spahn Ranch | MC 900 Ft. Jesus | Front 242
Jangle Pop

Jangle Pop was an American post-punk movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s. Sparked by the arrival of R.E.M., jangle pop also had some folk-rock overtones, but it was essentially a pop-based format. Jangle pop wasn't mainstream music -- the bands' lyrics were often deliberately cryptic and their sound was raw and amateurish, bearing all the signs of do-it-yourself productions. Jangle pop was a major force between 1984 and 1987 -- not... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Guadalcanal Diary | The Feelies | Tommy Keene | The Replacements | The Bangles | Game Theory | Robyn Hitchcock | The Soft Boys | Let's Active | Camper Van Beethoven | The Long Ryders | R.E.M.
Lo-Fi

During the late '80s and early '90s, lo fidelity became not only a description of the recording quality of a particular album, but it also became a genre onto itself. Throughout rock & roll's history, recordings were made cheaply and quickly, often on substandard equipment. In that sense, the earliest rock & roll records, most of the garage rock of the '60s, and much of the punk rock of the late '70s could be tagged as Lo-Fi. However, the term came to refer to a breed of underground indie... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Folk Implosion | The Olivia Tremor Control | Sebadoh | Bonnie "Prince" Billy | Portastatic | Beck | Guided by Voices | Grifters | The Apples in Stereo | Liz Phair | Pavement
Madchester

Madchester was the dominant force in British rock during the late '80s and early '90s. A fusion of acid-house dance rhythms and melodic pop, Madchester was distinguished by its loping beats, psychedelic flourishes, and hooky choruses. While the song structures were familiar, the arrangements and attitude were modern, and even the retro-pop touches -- namely the jangling guitars, swirling organs, and sharp pop sense -- functioned as postmodern collages. There were two approaches to this... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Stone Roses | Happy Mondays | The Charlatans UK | Flowered Up | The Farm | Inspiral Carpets
Math Rock

Math Rock is a relation to post-rock, a better known indie-rock style that shares similar aesthetics. Where post-rock has distinct jazz influences, math rock is the opposite side of the same coin -- it's dense and complex, filled with difficult time signatures and intertwining phrases. Also, the style is a little more rockist than post-rock, since it's usually played by small, guitar-led bands. Math rock peaked in the mid-'90s, when groups like Polvo and Chavez had small, dedicated followings...

Key Artists: Chavez | Slint | Gastr del Sol | U.S. Maple | Cul de Sac | Polvo | A Minor Forest | June of 44 | Rodan | Bastro | Dazzling Killmen
Neo-Glam

Neo-glam is not a term for '80s hair-metal bands, but rather an offshoot of Britpop that, like the Britpop movement itself, was ushered in by Suede. Suede set the style for neo-glam by taking the stomping rockers and sweeping ballads of glam-era David Bowie and combining them with Morrissey's introspective romanticism -- a fusion that was, naturally, heavy on male androgyny. The Britpop bands who followed Suede also looked to quintessentially British influences, but a small cadre concentrated... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Auteurs | Placebo | Spacehog | Suede | Menswear
Neo-Psychedelia

Neo-psychedelia covers a diverse array of artists from the end of the punk era to the present day, all of whom drew from the equally diverse original sounds of '60s psychedelia. Whether they played trippy psychedelic pop (à la the Beatles, early Pink Floyd, and countless others), jangly Byrds-influenced guitar rock, distortion-drenched free-form jams, or mind-bending sonic experiments, these groups looked to psychedelia as a wellspring of evocative, unusual sounds, and either updated or... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Rain Parade | The Flaming Lips | The Dukes of Stratosphear | Robyn Hitchcock | The Bevis Frond | Ghost | Echo & the Bunnymen | Mercury Rev | Lenny Kravitz | Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians | The Three O'Clock | The Olivia Tremor Control | Spacemen 3 | Super Furry Animals | Prince & the Revolution
New Zealand Rock

The contemporary pop music of New Zealand -- a.k.a. "kiwi rock" -- is literate and melodic, often distinguished by jangly guitars and quirky lyrics; key bands of the movement include Split Enz, the Clean, the Bats and the Chills.

Key Artists: Cakekitchen | Bailter Space | The Chills | Chris Knox | Tall Dwarfs
Noise Pop

A subgenre of alternative/indie rock, noise pop is just what it says -- pop music wrapped in barbed-wire kisses of feedback, dissonance, and abrasion. It occupies the halfway point between bubblegum and the avant-garde, a collision between conventional pop songcraft and the sonic assault of white noise. Noise pop often has a hazy, narcotic feel, as melodies drift through the swirling guitar textures. But it can also be bright and lively, or angular and challenging. Noise pop's earliest roots... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Quickspace | Spiritualized | Modest Mouse | Velocity Girl | Yo La Tengo | Lush | Mercury Rev | The Flaming Lips | Seely | The Jesus and Mary Chain | Archers of Loaf
Paisley Underground

The Paisley Underground was the most distinctive subgenre of jangle pop in the mid-'80s. Like jangle pop, the bands in the paisley underground revived the clean, chiming textures of folk rock, but they had a more psychedelic bent to their sound. Jangle-pop bands weren't necessarily revivalists -- they updated the ringing guitars and melodies of '60s guitar pop for the '80s -- but the paisley underground was determined to keep the sound of the '60s alive, through their music and their... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Rain Parade | The Bangles | The Three O'Clock | Thin White Rope | Dream Syndicate | The Long Ryders
Pop Underground

Pop Underground is power-pop that came after the original golden age of power-pop in the '70s and very early '80s. The main difference is time period, so Pop Underground is still distinguished by power-pop's hallmarks -- sweet British Invasion melodies and harmonies, ringing but muscular guitars. Yet because Pop Underground extends the life of a form whose most vital stages of development are past -- and a form that was already classicist to begin with, at that -- its artists either update... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Aimee Mann | They Might Be Giants | Fountains of Wayne | The Posies | Jellyfish | Tommy Keene | Sloan | Ben Folds Five | Matthew Sweet | The Super Friendz | Teenage Fanclub | Jason Falkner | The Grays | Michael Penn
Post-Grunge

Post-Grunge refers to the wave of bands who appeared shortly after Seattle grunge hit the mainstream. The major difference is that while the Seattle bands were firmly rooted in underground alternative rock of the '80s, post-grunge was influenced by what grunge became -- a wildly popular form of inward-looking, serious-minded hard rock. That meant many post-grunge groups imitated the sound and style of grunge, but not necessarily the individual idiosyncracies of its original artists. The... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Barenaked Ladies | Our Lady Peace | Seven Mary Three | Bush | Refreshments | Superdrag | Better Than Ezra | Silverchair | The Verve Pipe | Alanis Morissette | The Goo Goo Dolls | Sponge | Dishwalla | Presidents of the United States of America | Filter
Post-Rock

Post-rock was the dominant form of experimental rock during the '90s, a loose movement that drew from greatly varied influences and nearly always combined standard rock instrumentation with electronics. Post-rock brought together a host of mostly experimental genres -- Kraut-rock, ambient, prog-rock, space rock, math rock, tape music, minimalist classical, British IDM, jazz (both avant-garde and cool), and dub reggae, to name the most prevalent -- with results that were largely based in rock,... [+] Read More

Psychobilly

Psychobilly reared its ugly head during the early '80s, as the rockabilly revival was hitting its stride. Since the rockabilly revival was an underground movement, it wasn't surprising that some bands wedded rockabilly to another, bigger underground movement -- punk. Psychobilly took the basic form of rockabilly and played it with punk energy, adding in all manners of kitschy, tacky lyrical references and artwork. It never really broke into the mainstream, but acts like the Cramps and Mojo... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Reverend Horton Heat | Southern Culture on the Skids | Angry Johnny & The Killbillies | The Cramps | Gun Club
Punk-Pop

Punk-Pop is a post-grunge strand of alternative rock that combines power-pop melodies and chord changes with speedy punk tempos and loud guitars. Green Day and Weezer were the first bands to popularize this variation of alternative rock in 1994, though there were several groups to play this style before either group and there were many artists that followed their stylistic blueprint after their success.

Key Artists: Weezer | Rancid | The Muffs | Supergrass | Descendents | Presidents of the United States of America | blink-182 | Ash | Green Day | MxPx | The Lemonheads | The Offspring | Fastbacks
Punk Revival

During the early '90s -- nearly a full 20 years after punk happened -- the United States had its first punk rock hit albums and singles, as a wave of bands raised on '80s hardcore and '70s punk worked its way into the American mainstream. Essentially, Punk Revival bands were all traditionalists -- they kept alive the sounds and styles of groups like the Sex Pistols, the Stooges, the Jam, the Exploited, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, the Descendents, and countless other punk and hardcore bands.... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Green Day | Pennywise | Rancid | D Generation | CIV | Fluffy | Pansy Division | The Offspring | Mono Men | NOFX | Mr. T Experience | Screeching Weasel | Downset | The Humpers | Sick of It All
Queercore

Much as a new generation of gay men and women reclaimed the once-perjorative term "queer" as a badge of pride, honor, and identity, so too did gay punk bands defiantly christened their sexually charged music Queercore. What sets queercore apart from conventional punk is not its music -- which is typically intense, energetic, and raw -- but its lyrics, which explore themes of prejudice, oppression, and same-sex attraction with rare honesty and insight. The best and most provocative queercore... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Butchies | Team Dresch | God Is My Co-Pilot | Pansy Division
Riot Grrrl

Riot grrrl is a raw, incendiary brand of feminist punk that emerged from the early-'90s indie-rock scene and sparked a subculture that lasted well after the initial movement began to fade. Riot grrrl was a blend of personal catharsis and political activism, though most of the attention it drew was due to the latter. Many (but not all) riot grrrl lyrics addressed gender-related issues -- rape, domestic abuse, sexuality (including lesbianism), male dominance of the social hierarchy, female... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Frumpies | Team Dresch | Heavens to Betsy | Huggy Bear | Babes in Toyland | Bikini Kill | L7 | 7 Year Bitch | Bratmobile | Sleater-Kinney
Sadcore

Primarily an extension of alternative/independent rock, Sadcore is slow, fragile and gut-wrenching music made by and for the depressed. Themes of heartbreak, loss, and misery dominate the lyrics, and the music itself is resolutely downbeat -- the acoustic guitars that once defined '70s-era singer/songwriters certainly resurface here, but much of the music is far more dissonant and intense, conjuring much darker atmospheres and textures. Sadcore bands like American Music Club and Red House... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Red House Painters | American Music Club | Shannon Wright | Low | Cynthia Dall | (Smog) | Idaho | Julie Doiron | Elliott Smith | Pete Krebs | Cat Power | Ida | Mark Eitzel
Shibuya-Kei

The Japanese pop phenomenon known as Shibuya-Kei exploded forth from the ultra-trendy Shibuya shopping district of west Tokyo, an area home to some of the most fashionable and best-stocked record and clothing stores in the world. Shibuya-kei -- literally, "Shibuya style" -- was the name given to the like-minded pop musicians who emerged from this consumer culture, a group of young Japanese weaned on a steady and amazingly eclectic diet of Western pop exports; the result was an unprecedented... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Buffalo Daughter | Natural Calamity | Cornelius | Fantastic Plastic Machine | Takako Minekawa | Pizzicato Five | Cibo Matto | The Zoobombs | Yoshinori Sunahara | Kahimi Karie
Shoegaze

Shoegaze is a genre of late '80s and early '90s British indie rock, named after the bands' motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor while they played. But shoegaze wasn't about visuals -- it was about pure sound. The sound of the music was overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument was distinguishable... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Verve | My Bloody Valentine | Catherine Wheel | Lush | Slowdive | Swervedriver | Ride | Th' Faith Healers | The Boo Radleys
Ska-Punk

Most of the Third Wave of Ska Revival was based on Ska-Punk, a hybrid that took the 2-Tone movement of the early '80s as its starting point, and added the velocity and volume of hardcore punk for good measure. Throughout the late '80s, ska-punk was an underground phenomenon, with Fishbone being the only one of its practitioners to earn significant exposure. By the mid-'90s, ska-punk bands like Rancid had broken through into the alternative audience, and the Third Wave of Ska Revival -- which... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Rancid | Dance Hall Crashers | Operation Ivy | Sublime | Fishbone | Goldfinger | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones | Reel Big Fish | Less Than Jake
Skatepunk

Skatepunk was originally a derivative of hardcore punk, so named because of its popularity among skateboarders. It can be difficult for outsiders to pin down exactly what makes a particular band skatepunk, but there are a few strong tendencies. Skatepunk tends to be especially high-energy, even for the genre it comes from; that usually means even faster tempos and thrashier guitars. Skatepunk also tends to have a sense of humor, mostly of the smartass variety -- because, after all, it's used... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Suicidal Tendencies | Skatenigs | Sick of It All
Rex Rex
Slowcore

Slowcore is indeed famed for the snail's pace of the skeletal music -- melodies linger forever and rhythms lurch forward, all shrouded in thick, dank atmospherics. While closely intertwined with sadcore, which favors a similar sound, slowcore's concerns are far more musical than lyrical -- in fact, many slowcore bands are instrumental outfits, while those with vocalists typically employ much more opaque lyrics than their soul-baring sadcore counterparts.

Key Artists: Rex | Galaxie 500 | Movietone | Bedhead | Low | Codeine | American Music Club | Radar Bros. | Damon & Naomi
Space Rock

The term space rock was originally coined back in the '70s to describe the cosmic flights of bands like Pink Floyd and Hawkwind. Today, however, space rock refers to a new generation of alternative/indie bands that draw from psychedelic rock, ambient music, and -- more often than not -- experimental and avant-garde influences. Space rock is nearly always slow, hypnotic, and otherworldly; it typically favors lengthy, mind-bending sonic explorations over conventional song structures, and vocals... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Spiritualized Electric Mainline | Godspeed You! Black Emperor | Spacemen 3 | Quickspace | Flying Saucer Attack | Caustic Resin | Miss Bliss | The Verve | Lilys | Loop | Spiritualized
Third Wave Ska Revival

The Third Wave of Ska Revival emerged in the late '80s, when certain members of the American punk underground began returning to the sounds of British ska revival and infusing it with a hardcore punk attack. During the early '80s, this third wave continued to grow -- more bands continued to pop up across the country, but many of the most popular were based in California. As time wore on, the hardcore influences eventually mutated into heavy metal, much like hardcore punk itself. Eventually,... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Goldfinger | Reel Big Fish | Skankin' Pickle | The Aquabats | Less Than Jake | Rancid | The Suicide Machines | Save Ferris | Sublime | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones | No Doubt | Dance Hall Crashers | Operation Ivy
Twee Pop

Twee Pop is perhaps best likened to bubblegum indie rock -- it's music with a spirit of D.I.Y. defiance in the grand tradition of punk, but with a simplicity and innocence not seen or heard since the earliest days of rock & roll. Twee pop traces its origins to 1986, the year the British weekly NME issued a cassette dubbed C-86, which included a number of bands -- McCarthy, the Wedding Present, Primal Scream, the Pastels, and the Bodines among them -- influenced in equal measure by the jangly... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Heavenly | Wolfie | Shonen Knife | The Vaselines | Tiger Trap | The Field Mice | Cub | Belle & Sebastian | Talulah Gosh | Softies | Shop Assistants | Beat Happening | The Pastels
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