Counting Crows

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

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 sensibility than any one set sound. Its artists might draw from the alt-rock tradition of intelligent guitar-pop, particularly early-'80s jangle-pop (Gin Blossoms, Barenaked Ladies, Goo Goo Dolls); acoustic folk-rock, especially the intimate, confessional poetry of the singer/songwriter tradition (Indigo Girls, Tori Amos, Jeff Buckley, Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, Jewel); the rootsy, easygoing rock & roll of the American trad rock movement (Sheryl Crow, Hootie & the Blowfish, Dave Matthews); or the moody, stylish electronics of trip-hop (Portishead), to name the most dominant influences. What ties adult alternative pop/rock together is a sense of maturity: it's essentially mainstream, pop/rock-based music of the '90s that appeals to a more refined, mellowed-out adult sensibility, intentionally or otherwise. The rock & rollers tended to be more laid-back, prizing songcraft and good vibes above visceral energy, and the others -- especially the singer/songwriters -- made music for thoughtful contemplation. At its worst, adult alternative pop/rock was a superficial approximation of the substance in its alt-rock inspirations -- often because of performers' assumptions about what constituted maturity. Anxious to make music that was pretty and likable, some artists wound up inoffensive to the point of blandness; others self-consciously tried to sound "deep," resulting in forced melancholia and heaps of overwrought, amateurish poetry. But at its best, the style gained significant exposure for artists who were ambitious, intellectual, and/or idiosyncratic, yet still accessible enough to meet the requirements of mainstream radio programmers who wanted more sophisticated music that wasn't loud or overly disturbing. [-] Hide

Massive Attack

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

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 music doesn't seem out of place at a dance club, it also works just as effectively outside of that environment, because of its pop accessibility and willingness to incorporate other styles of music. Those qualities put a more human face on alternative dance, as opposed to the more mechanized feel of much standard club/dance music; as a result, the performers are much more closely identified with their music, which often possesses a signature style, texture, or fusion of specific musical elements. Many alternative dance artists are British, owing to the greater prominence of the U.K.'s club and rave scenes in underground musical culture -- their creative fertility helped stimulate more musical experimentation. New Order was the first alternative dance group, pioneering the style with their 1982-83 recordings, which fused icy, gloomy post-punk with Kraftwerk-style synth-pop. In addition to alternative rock, alternative dance was most heavily influenced by synth-pop, acid house, and trip-hop; each of those movements helped spawn a corresponding cachet of alternative dance artists, and had a major impact on Britain's late-'80s Madchester scene, as well as the pop crossover success of several indie-oriented trip-hop artists during the '90s. [-] Hide

Phranc

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...

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 seem similar to contemporary folk songs, yet remain thematically unique. [-] Hide

Spiritualized

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

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, it's set apart from its antecedents by its absorption of contemporary electronic idioms, including sampling, although for the most part live instruments continue to define the sound. [-] Hide

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

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 most common), though they continued to be dominated by electric guitars and a lyrical perspective that reached for intelligence without outward pretension. These bands also tended to favor independent labels and low-budget touring, as much out of necessity as any dominant philosophical tenant, since nearly all of them were ignored by major labels, forcing them to find other avenues to present their music. While they were progenitors of the hardcore punk scene, Black Flag were also the primary trailblazers of the American underground scene, in effect creating an indie touring network through several years of relentless roadwork; the band’s label, SST, was also a crucial influence, releasing records by the Minutemen, the Meat Puppets, Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr., and other key bands who pushed the outsider’s aggression of punk into new and provocative directions. The Midwest proved to be a potent breeding ground for the American underground, with Minneapolis’s boozy but heartfelt the Replacements and Chicago’s brutally loud Big Black and Naked Raygun winning sizable cult followings, while Sonic Youth and the Swans were the rulers of a dissonant East Coast enclave, Texas’s nomadic psych-noise merchants the Butthole Surfers were leaving a trail of terror across the country, and Boston’s Mission of Burma proved both powerfully influential and prescient during their short lifespan. In the mid-'80s, the initial commercial breakthrough of R.E.M. (who were tangential members of the scene despite their presence on the semi-major label I.R.S.) at once gave the American underground new visibility and put the first chinks into the armor of the close-knit community. By the early '90s, the hard work and relative success of several important American underground bands ultimately proved to be the movement’s undoing; many of the movement’s major acts were wooed away by major labels (where most failed to find sizable audiences in the United States, though some fared better in Europe), and with the breakthrough of Nirvana at the end of 1991, the underground began to splinter, for the most part dividing into alternative rock (for the more commercially accessible bands) and indie rock (for their less compromising counterparts). [-] Hide

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Oasis

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

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 classic '60s records, they used vintage instruments and didn't deviate from classicist song structures. Oasis and Paul Weller kickstarted the movement in the early '90s with their albums Definitely Maybe and Wildwood. While Oasis deviated from the trad rock formula, there were legions of bands that used their devotion to classic rock as reason to shamelessly replicate '60s rock. Ocean Colour Scene, Cast, Northern Uproar, Embrace, and Kula Shaker all followed the same basic pattern and were tagged by the British press as "Noelrock," in tribute to Oasis' leader, Noel Gallagher. Weller allied himself with Ocean Colour Scene and became the granddad of trad rock, and the sound persevered into the late '90s.



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Lush

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

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 that they were creating the soundtrack to the lives of a new generation of British youth. And it was very definitely British youth they were aiming at; Britpop celebrated and commented on their lives, their culture, and their musical heritage, with little regard for whether that specificity would make them less accessible to American audiences. Britpop's youthful exuberance and desire for recognition were reactions not only against the shy, anti-star personas of the early-'90s shoegazer bands, but also the dourness of American grunge and the faceless producers behind the growing electronic-dance underground. Musically, Britpop drew from the Beatles, of course, but also from the pastoral sound of late-'60s Kinks, the mod movement (the Who, the Small Faces), '70s glam (David Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music), punk and new wave (the Jam, the Buzzcocks, Wire, Madness, XTC, Squeeze, Elvis Costello), and the alternative guitar-pop of the Smiths. All those artists were quintessentially British -- they crafted their images, lyrics, and sounds from a distinctly British frame of reference, which was why few of them became anything more than cult artists in the U.S. (and why Britpop functioned much the same way). Apart from those influences, Britpop had its most immediate roots in the Madchester scene, whose emphasis on good times and catchy tunes pointed the way around the shoegazer aesthetic. The Stone Roses' effortless pop hooks and rock-star attitude were the most important part of the foundation, but the true founding fathers of Britpop were Suede. Released in 1993, their self-titled debut became an unexpected smash with its fusion of glam-rock majesty and Smiths introspection. Suede opened the doors for even bigger breakthroughs in 1994 by Blur (Parklife) and Oasis (Definitely Maybe), who quickly became Britpop's two most popular superstars. With their success came a giddy explosion of similarly inspired bands; Elastica, Pulp, Supergrass, and the Boo Radleys were among the biggest. In 1996, Oasis became the only Britpop band to become genuine mainstream stars in the U.S. 1997 brought the first signals that the Britpop boom was beginning to run out of steam, namely Oasis' poorly reviewed third album and Blur's move toward American indie rock. Yet even after the movement's star began to fade, several individual bands kept going strong, and the less youth-oriented British trad rock movement kept its classicism alive. [-] Hide

The High Llamas

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

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 and horns, all the while virtually denying the very existence of grunge, electronica, and other concurrent musical movements. [-] Hide

Love Jones

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.

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. [-] Hide

The Replacements

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

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 bands on both sides of the Atlantic who absorbed the scene's key lessons of simplicity and honesty to stunning effect, resulting in music -- given the universal label of "twee pop" -- whose hallmarks included boy-girl harmonies, lovelorn lyrics, infectious melodies, and simple, unaffected performances. [-] Hide

Jason & the Scorchers

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.

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. [-] Hide

Mercury Rev

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

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 well as the loud, shimmering feedback of My Bloody Valentine. It is all tied together by a reliance on sonic texture, both in terms of instruments and vocals. [-] Hide

Sunny Day Real Estate

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

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 less macho, emo is a direct descendant of hardcore's preoccupations with authenticity and anti-commercialism; it grew out of the conviction that commercially oriented music was too artificial and calculated to express any genuine emotion. Because the emo ideal is authentic, deeply felt emotion that defies rational analysis, the style can be prone to excess in its quest for ever-bigger peaks and releases. But at its best, emo has a sweeping power that manages to be visceral, challenging, and intimate all at once. The groundwork for emo was laid by Hüsker Dü's 1984 landmark Zen Arcade, which made it possible for hardcore bands to tackle more personal subject matter and write more tuneful and technically demanding songs. Emo emerged in Washington, D.C. not long after, amidst the remnants of the hardcore scene that had produced Minor Threat and Bad Brains. The term "emo" (sometimes lengthened to "emocore") was initially used to describe hardcore bands who favored expressive vocals over the typical barking rants; the first true emo band was Rites of Spring, followed by ex-Minor Threat singer Ian MacKaye's short-lived Embrace. MacKaye's Dischord label became the center for D.C.'s growing emo scene, releasing work by Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, Nation of Ulysses, and MacKaye's collaboration with members of Rites of Spring, Fugazi. Fugazi became the definitive early emo band, crossing over to alternative rock listeners and getting press for their uncompromisingly anti-commercial attitudes. Aside from the Dischord stable, most early emo was deeply underground, recorded by extremely short-lived bands and released on vinyl in small quantities by small labels; some vocalists literally wept onstage during song climaxes, earning derision from hardcore purists. Fugazi notwithstanding, emo didn't really break out of obscurity until the mid-'90s emergence of Sunny Day Real Estate, whose early work defined the style in the minds of many. Tempering Fugazi's gnarled guitar webs with Seattle grunge, straight-up prog-rock, and crooned vocals, SDRE launched a thousand imitators who connected with their dramatic melodies and introspective mysticism. Some of this new generation connected equally with the wry, geeky introspection and catchy punk-pop of Weezer's Pinkerton album. While several artists continued to build on Fugazi's innovations (including Quicksand and Drive Like Jehu), most '90s emo bands borrowed from some combination of Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Weezer. Groups like the Promise Ring, the Get Up Kids, Braid, Texas Is the Reason, Jimmy Eat World, Joan of Arc, and Jets to Brazil earned substantial followings in the indie-rock world, making emo one of the more popular underground rock styles at the turn of the millennium. [-] Hide

Primus

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.

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. [-] Hide

Supersuckers

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

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, angry, menacing, and just flat-out ugly. Some of the first garage punk bands who appeared in the late '80s and early '90s (Mudhoney, the Supersuckers) signed with the Sub Pop label, whose early grunge bands shared some of the same influences and aesthetics (in fact, Mudhoney became one of the founders of grunge). Although garage punk never came close to hitting the mainstream, bands like New Bomb Turks and the Humpers helped maintain a cult audience for the style through the '90s. Additionally, several bands in the stoner-rock revival movement (Nebula, for instance) began crafting a slightly psychedelic variation on garage punk. [-] Hide

Alien Sex Fiend

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

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 epic soundscapes. Early on, its lyrics were usually introspective and intensely personal, but its poetic sensibilities soon led to a taste for literary romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and/or supernatural mysticism. Goth rock was generally not a critically acclaimed style, given its penchant for florid poetry, relentlessly mournful dirges, and melodramatic excess. However, it spawned a devoted, still-thriving subculture that kept its aesthetics alive long after the music's initial heyday had passed. The godfathers of goth-rock were British post-punkers Joy Division, whose bleak, remote, obsessively introspective music and lyrics laid the initial foundation for goth. But for all intents and purposes, the true birth of goth rock was "Bela Lugosi's Dead," the 1979 debut single by Bauhaus. Already chilly post-punk outfits like the Cure and Siouxsie & the Banshees became full-on goth bands around the same time, and their heavy, menacing makeup and dark clothes became an important part of their fans' expression. As goth rock's popularity spread among a certain segment of sensitive, alienated youth (first in the U.K., where most of its bands came from, then in the U.S.), its fashion sense grew more and more outlandish, and the original sound evolved somewhat. The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and the Mission UK incorporated more pop and alternative elements in their music, while the Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, and the American band Christian Death took a heavier, sometimes metal-influenced approach. By the end of the '80s, the original goth-rock movement had ceased to exist, but the music mutated into new forms and continued to influence many of rock's darker subgenres. During the '90s, the goth sound began to cross-pollinate with industrial music, producing hybrids that appealed to both sides, as well as the darkwave subgenre (which also incorporated '80s synth-pop and dream-pop). The latter half of the '90s also saw goth rock's influence cropping up all over heavy metal; a new breed of progressive black metal bands drew heavily from goth's sound and style, while some alternative metal bands also borrowed from goth rock's visual imagery (including Marilyn Manson, who -- despite countless news reports to the contrary -- is not a goth-rock artist). [-] Hide

Soundgarden

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

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 Nirvana. Nirvana was more melodic than their predecessors and they also had signature stop-start dynamics, which became a genre convention nearly as recognizable as fuzzy, distorted guitars. After Nirvana crossed over into the mainstream, grunge lost many of its independent and punk connections and became the most popular style of hard rock in the '90s. [-] Hide

The Magnetic Fields

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...

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 attitude and abrasive sonic approach. [-] Hide

Rocket from the Crypt

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

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 personal taste (though the labels do, after all, want to stay in business). It's very much rooted in the sound and sensibility of American underground and alternative rock of the '80s, albeit with a few differences that account for the changes in underground rock since then. In the sense that the term is most widely used, indie rock truly separated itself from alternative rock around the time that Nirvana hit the mainstream. Mainstream tastes gradually reshaped alternative into a new form of serious-minded hard rock, in the process making it more predictable and testosterone-driven. Indie rock was a reaction against that phenomenon; not all strains of alternative rock crossed over in Nirvana's wake, and not all of them wanted to, either. Yet while indie rock definitely shares the punk community's concerns about commercialism, it isn't as particular about whether bands remain independent or "sell out"; 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. There are almost as many reasons for that incompatibility as there are indie-rock bands, but following are some of the most common: the music may be too whimsical and innocent; too weird; too sensitive and melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, skronky and abrasive; wrapped in too many sheets of Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitar noise; too oblique and fractured in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles. Regardless of the specifics, it's rock made by and for outsiders -- much like alternative once was, except that thanks to its crossover, indie rock has a far greater wariness of excess testosterone. It's certainly not that indie rock is never visceral or powerful; it's just rarely -- if ever -- macho about it. As the '90s wore on, indie rock developed quite a few substyles and close cousins (indie pop, dream pop, noise-pop, lo-fi, math rock, post-rock, space rock, sadcore, and emo among them), all of which seemed poised to remain strictly underground phenomena. [-] Hide

Laibach

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

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 harsh and menacing, but its rage was subordinate to the intentionally mechanical, numbingly repetitive qualities of the music, which fit the lyrics' themes of alienation and dehumanization quite well. In the early '90s, Ministry and Nine Inch Nails took their variations on industrial to wider alt-rock and metal audiences, but a substantial number of industrial artists chose to remain underground. The first group of industrial bands -- England's Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire, and Germany's Einsturzende Neubauten -- were initially as much about beyond-edgy performance art as they were music. The second generation of industrial artists -- including Skinny Puppy, Front 242, and Nitzer Ebb -- added pummeling dance beats to their predecessors' confrontational sounds, for a substyle often referred to as electronic body music (centered around labels like Wax Trax). Meanwhile, bands like Ministry and KMFDM added metal-guitar riffs, which helped Ministry break through to a wider audience in the late '80s and early '90s; similarly, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor added more traditional song structures, and made his own persona the focal point, giving the music a rare human presence and becoming a star in the process. This more widely appealing strain of industrial continued to influence alternative metal throughout the '90s. Still, after industrial metal began to fade, a near-exclusively electronic form of industrial dance continued to thrive as an uncompromisingly underground style, with many artists coming from the U.S. and Germany. [-] Hide

Nitzer Ebb

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

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, with the latter usually carrying on the tradition of electronic body music. America's Cleopatra Records featured the most Industrial Dance acts, including Leætherstrip, Spahn Ranch, and Die Krupps. [-] Hide

Let's Active

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

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 only were there Southern-pop bands like R.E.M. and Let's Active, there were the Paisley Underground bands on the West Coast who were more psychedelic, and there were numerous bands scattered throughout the Midwest. In the late '80s, the sound fell out of favor, mainly because there were so many bands that sounded similar and were indistinguishable from each other. Though R.E.M. managed to cross over into the mainstream -- in fact, the band became one of the most popular rock bands in the world -- many of the groups (including Uncle Green and Miracle Legion) simply ran out of steam by the early '90s and disbanded. [-] Hide

Guided by Voices

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

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 rockers that recorded their material at home on four-track machines. Most of this music grew out of the American underground of the '80s, including bands like R.E.M., as well as a handful of British post-punk bands and New Zealand bands like the Chills and the Clean. Often, these lo-fi bands fluctuated from simple pop and rock songs to free-form song structures to pure noise and arty experimentalism. Even when the groups kept the songs relatively straightforward, the thin quality of the recordings, the layers of tape distortion and hiss, as well as the tendency toward abstract, obtuse lyrics made the music sound different and left of center. Initially, lo-fi recordings were traded on homemade tapes, but several indie labels -- most notably K Records, which was run by Calvin Johnson, who led the lo-fi band Beat Happening -- released albums on vinyl. Several groups in the late '80s, like Pussy Galore, Beat Happening, and Royal Trux earned small cult followings within the American underground. By 1992, groups like Sebadoh and Pavement had become popular cult acts in America and Britain with their willfully noisy, chaotic recordings. A few years later, Liz Phair and Beck helped break the lo-fi aesthetic into the mainstream, albeit in a more streamlined fashion. [-] Hide

Inspiral Carpets

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

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 collage, as evidenced by the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. The Roses were a traditional guitar-pop band, and their songs were straight-ahead pop tunes, bolstered by baggy beats; it was modernized '60s pop. Happy Mondays cut and pasted like rappers sampled, taking choruses from the Beatles and LaBelle and putting them into the context of darkly psychedelic dance. Despite their different approaches, both bands shared a love for acid-house music and culture, as well as the hometown of Manchester, England. As the group's popularity grew, the British press tagged the two groups -- as well as similarly-minded bands like the Charlatans [U.K.] and Inspiral Carpets -- "Madchester" after a Happy Mondays song. (It was also known as "baggy," since the bands wore baggy clothing). Madchester was enormously popular for several years in the U.K. before fading, largely because the Roses and the Mondays fell prey to laziness and drug abuse, respectively. The genre never made much impact in America outside of alternative circles, but Madchester's offspring -- bands like Oasis, Pulp, and Blur that were heavily influenced by the collision of contemporary and classic pop -- became international stars in the mid-'90s. [-] Hide

Gastr del Sol

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...

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 among indie rockers on collegiate campuses. [-] Hide

Suede

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

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 specifically on reviving the stylish excess of '70s glam -- bands including the Auteurs, Nancy Boy, Placebo, and Spacehog. The neo-glam phenomenon was largely confined to Britain, although Spacehog (not coincidentally the least androgynous of the bunch) did manage a small breakthrough with American audiences. [-] Hide

Echo & the Bunnymen

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

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 unabashedly copied the original artists' approaches. Some neo-psychedelia was explicitly druggy, while for others it was simply a logical complement to their bizarre lyrics or left-of-center outlooks. Neo-psychedelia has occasionally hit the pop mainstream -- Prince's mid-'80s work, for example, and some of Lenny Kravitz's retro-worshipping output in the '90s. But for the most part, it has been chiefly the domain of alternative and indie-rock bands. Neo-psychedelia first appeared on the British post-punk scene at the end of the '70s, with major figures including the Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen, and the Soft Boys. Aside from the early-'80s Paisley Underground movement and the Elephant 6 collective of the late '90s, most subsequent neo-psychedelia came from isolated eccentrics and revivalists, not cohesive scenes. Some of the biggest included the jangly, dreamy Australian band the Church; Nick Saloman's Bevis Frond, which mixed melodic songcraft with loud power-trio jamming; the droning, druggy haze of Spacemen 3; the quirky college rock of ex-Soft Boy Robyn Hitchcock; the utter weirdness of Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips; and the eclectic Britpop of Wales' Super Furry Animals. [-] Hide

Bailter Space

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.

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. [-] Hide

Modest Mouse

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

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 lie in the Velvet Underground's experiments with feedback, distortion, and drones. Its most recognizable forebears, however, are American alternative rock bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr., who wedded rock song structures to thick sheets of guitar distortion. The first proper noise pop band was the Jesus & Mary Chain, whose groundbreaking 1986 debut Psychocandy pretty much birthed the style. Yo La Tengo, perhaps the most prolific and long-lived noise-pop band, debuted around the same time. In the late '80s, noise pop was the chief inspiration for the British shoegazing movement, which made the lyrics more introspective and the melodies more fragile. All through the '90s, noise pop continued to enjoy an important and influential presence on the indie rock scene. [-] Hide

Thin White Rope

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

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 appearance. The paisley underground gained a dedicated following in the American underground during the mid-'80s, but their audience declined in the late '80s and the scene soon disappeared. [-] Hide

Jellyfish

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

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 the formula with contemporary twists, or simply re-create that formula to the best of their ability. The biggest Pop Underground artists -- Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, the Posies, Jellyfish, Material Issue, Jason Falkner, the Velvet Crush -- usually had extensive followings among alternative rock listeners, whether through their loud, crunchy guitars (Sweet in particular) or their intelligent, literate lyrics. However, there was also a substantial camp that remained content to record classic-style power-pop with no thought of appealing to collegiate audiences. These artists generally replicated the styles of original power-popsters like Badfinger, Big Star, and the Raspberries for the benefit of a small but rabid cult audience. [-] Hide

Sponge

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

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 angst-ridden, sober introspection typically associated with grunge became virtual requirements in the hands of post-grunge, which tended to view it as a path to artistic legitimacy. In its worst excesses, post-grunge took itself extremely seriously, and was highly self-conscious about its own significance; as a result, grunge's most personal aspects essentially became components of a formula for making grand musical statements. That wasn't universally true, of course, but post-grunge did help codify what was expected of mature, mainstream hard rockers for the rest of the '90s. And despite its alternative roots, post-grunge was definitely a mainstream, commercial style -- it was released on major labels, and its thick, distorted grunge guitars were given a polished, radio-ready production. Yet while much post-grunge is similar, it isn't identical; in addition to grunge, post-grunge bands might draw from early-'80s jangle pop, punk-pop, ska revival, alternative metal, or classic album rock. Plus, a few quirky post-grunge outfits succeeded because of their wiseass senses of humor, rather than the style's typically dour melancholy. After grunge's breakthrough, it didn't take long for post-grunge to appear; bands like Bush and Candlebox became huge successes just a couple years after Nirvana topped the charts at the beginning of 1992. After grunge's initial heyday had passed, post-grunge kept going strong, with a new wave of bands appearing in the mid- to late '90s; some were able to maintain their popularity from one album to the next, while others wound up as one-hit wonders. At the turn of the millennium, post-grunge was still a popular style, and Creed and Matchbox 20 were two of the biggest-selling rock bands in the U.S. [-] Hide

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

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, but didn't rock per se. Post-rock was hypnotic and often droning (especially the guitar-oriented bands), and the brighter-sounding groups were still cool and cerebral -- overall, the antithesis of rock's visceral power. In fact, post-rock was something of a reaction against rock, particularly the mainstream's co-opting of alternative rock; much post-rock was united by a sense that rock & roll had lost its capacity for real rebellion, that it would never break away from tired formulas or empty, macho posturing. Thus, post-rock rejected (or subverted) any elements it associated with rock tradition. It was far more concerned with pure sound and texture than melodic hooks or song structure; it was also usually instrumental, and if it did employ vocals, they were often incidental to the overall effect. The musical foundation for post-rock crystallized in 1991, with the release of two very different landmarks: Talk Talk's Laughing Stock and Slint's Spiderland. Laughing Stock was the culmination of Talk Talk's move away from synth-pop toward a moody, delicate fusion of ambient, jazz, and minimalist chamber music; Spiderland, meanwhile, was full of deliberate, bass-driven grooves, mumbled poetry, oblique structures, and extreme volume shifts. While those two albums would influence many future post-rock bands, the term itself didn't appear until critic Simon Reynolds coined it as a way to describe the Talk Talk-inspired ambient experiments of Bark Psychosis. The term was later applied to everything from unclassifiable iconoclasts (Gastr del Sol, Cul de Sac, Main) to more tuneful indie-rock experimenters like Stereolab, Laika, and the Sea and Cake (not to mention a raft of Slint imitators). Post-rock came into its own as a recognizable trend with the Chicago band Tortoise's second album, 1996's Millions Now Living Will Never Die, perhaps the farthest-reaching fusion of post-rock's myriad touchstones. Suddenly there was a way for critics to classify artists as diverse as Labradford, Trans Am, Ui, Flying Saucer Attack, Mogwai, Jim O'Rourke, and their predecessors (though most hated the label). Post-rock quickly became an accepted, challenging cousin of indie rock, centered around the Thrill Jockey, Kranky, Drag City, and Too Pure labels. Ironically, by the end of the decade, post-rock had itself acquired a reputation for sameness; some found the style's dispassionate intellectuality boring, while others felt that its formerly radical fusions had become predictable, partly because many artists were offering only slight variations on their original ideas. However, even as the backlash set in, a newer wave of bands (the Dirty Three, Rachel's, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Sigur Rós) gained wider recognition for their distinctive sounds, suggesting that the style wasn't exhausted after all. [-] Hide

The Cramps

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

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 Nixon became collegiate favorites, and the spirit of psychobilly continued in alternative music for years, as the 1990s' success of the Rev. Horton Heat illustrated. [-] Hide

Presidents of the United States of America

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.

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. [-] Hide

Rancid

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

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. Since hardcore mutated into speed metal in the late '80s, it wasn't surprising that these punk traditionalists were heavier than their initial influences, but that is partially what made the music appealing to a mass audience in America -- it was simpler and heavier, much like a faster, harder outgrowth of grunge rock. The first punk revivalists to break into the American mainstream were Green Day and the Offspring, and their success helped solidify cult followings for groups like Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, and Pansy Division, as well as bring the spotlight to neglected '80s punk bands like Bad Religion and underground punk genres like the third wave of ska revival. [-] Hide

Pansy Division

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

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 bands, like Team Dresch and God Is My Co-Pilot, make records that harken back to punk's glory days, fueled by the same hatred of society's conventions and mores. The difference is that where punk once promoted nihilism and destruction, most queercore records are driven by an overwhelming instinct for survival -- the music celebrates its outsider status, refusing to cave in to the so-called moral majority's myopic definitions of what is right and natural. "Alternative" in the truest sense of the word, queercore is punk at its purest, giving voice to the hopes and fears of those whom the powers-that-be would rather silence. [-] Hide

7 Year Bitch

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

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 empowerment -- from a radical, militant point of view. The similarly confrontational music favored raging, willfully amateurish blasts of noise, with only a rudimentary sense of melody or instrumental technique. Riot grrrl's abrasiveness served several purposes: it ensured that the anti-corporate music would never achieve alternative rock's crossover success (the label that released the highest percentage of riot grrrl records was called Kill Rock Stars); it defied stereotypes of women (and female musicians) as meek, overly sensitive, and lovelorn; and it found a powerful expressive tool in noise. To most riot grrrl bands, the simple act of picking up a guitar and bashing out a screeching racket was not only fun, but an act of liberation. To outsiders, the musical merits of riot grrrl could be highly variable, but to fans, what the movement represented was arguably even more important than the music. The riot grrrl movement was mostly centered in the Seattle/Olympia, Washington area; several exceptions included England's Huggy Bear, as well as several grungier groups like Babes in Toyland and L7, who fit the spirit of the style but were more tangentially related to its ideology. It was mostly rooted in punk's DIY ethos and tradition of protest, but in terms of direct inspirations, Joan Jett was lionized in many quarters of the movement for her simple, punky hard rock, confident sexuality, and independent business sense. Riot grrrl's emergence coincided with an explosion of female talent in other wings of alternative rock, and the term was frequently misapplied in media accounts of the phenomenon, which incorrectly labeled more accessible alt-rockers like Hole and PJ Harvey as riot grrrls. True riot grrrl bands -- Bratmobile, 7 Year Bitch, the queercore outfit Team Dresch, and the center of the riot grrrl universe, Kathleen Hanna's Bikini Kill -- never even approached popular acceptance. Since most bands weren't very prolific, the movement's initial flash of enthusiasm faded after a few years, but it continued to enjoy a lasting impact in indie culture, where the original bands helped inspire countless feminist zines and were still looked up to as icons and role models. Kathleen Hanna continued to record with several different projects, and scene veterans Sleater-Kinney became critically revered indie stars several years later, thanks to their ability to blend riot grrrl's passion and ideals with hookier songs and intricate instrumental technique. [-] Hide

Cat Power

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

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 Painters channel their pain and suffering into music that is hauntingly beautiful -- the perfect soundtrack for solitary late-night listening. [-] Hide

Cornelius

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

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 collision of sights and sounds, with trailblazing acts like Pizzicato 5 drawing on disparate influences ranging from the lush lounge-pop of Burt Bacharach to the rhythms and energy of urban hip-hop. In its purest form, shibuya-kei is classic Western pop refracted through the looking glass of modern Eastern society -- music cut up, pasted together, and spit out in new and exciting ways. Shibuya-kei is also pop music at its cutest: it's a view to a world where the sweetness and simplicity of the girl-group era never ended but simply evolved, never out of step with the times but always true to its roots as well -- the Lolita complex so pervasive throughout Japanese culture informs much of this music, and its youthful innocence is the key to much of its endearing charm. [-] Hide

Swervedriver

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

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 from the other. Most shoegaze groups worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with their early EPs and their first full-length album, Isn't Anything, but Dinosaur Jr., the Jesus & Mary Chain, and the Cocteau Twins were also major influences. Bands that followed -- most notably Ride, Lush, Chapterhouse, and the Boo Radleys -- added their own stylistic flourishes. Ride veered close to '60s psychedelia, while Lush alternated between straight pop and the dream pop of the Cocteau Twins. Almost none of the shoegazers were dynamic performers or interesting interviews, which prevented them from breaking through into the crucial U.S. market. In 1992 -- after the groups had dominated the British music press and indie charts for about three years -- the shoegaze groups were swept aside by the twin tides of American grunge and Suede, the band to initiate the wave of Britpop that ruled British music during the mid-'90s. Some shoegazers broke up within a few years (Chapterhouse, Ride), while other groups -- such as the Boo Radleys and Lush -- evolved with the times and were able to sustain careers into the late '90s. [-] Hide

Less Than Jake

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

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 also included bands that leaned more toward metal than ska -- was on its way to becoming part of the mainstream. [-] Hide

Skatenigs

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

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 as a soundtrack for fun. In keeping with the fiercely anti-corporate, anti-authoritarian attitudes of the fans, most skatepunk bands are signed to independent labels, and most prefer to keep it that way as a statement of principle. The exact sound of skatepunk has shifted over the years with punk itself, from hardcore in the '80s to revivalist punk-pop in the '90s; its manic energy also influenced a portion of the third-wave ska revival movement. The first true skatepunk band was Suicidal Tendencies, who helped pave the way for some skatepunk outfits to dabble in funk-metal as well. [-] Hide

Movietone

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.

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. [-] Hide

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

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

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 sometimes play second fiddle to the shimmering instrumental textures. Some space rock groups are explicitly drug-inspired, which makes sense given the typically narcotic effect of the style's foundation: washes of heavily reverbed guitar, minimal drumming, and gentle, languid vocals. Space rock's most obvious antecedent was, of course, prog-rock, but in its latter-day incarnation, it was also inspired by Krautrock, classical minimalism, and the noise-pop of the Jesus & Mary Chain. The first of the new space rock bands was Britain's drone-heavy, ultra-minimalist Spacemen 3, whose notorious "taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" credo subsequently influenced most of the like-minded bands in their wake. A few of the bands involved in Britain's shoegazer movement had ties to space rock, particularly the early work of the Verve, and the most experimental bands -- like My Bloody Valentine -- went on to influence the space rock revival. In 1991, Spacemen 3 split into two groups, Spectrum and Spiritualized; the latter took the opposite musical approach from its parent group, fleshing out the space rock sound into lush, caressing, orchestrated epics that made them arguably the style's most popular band. Most subsequent space rockers took either the minimalist or maximalist approach, occasionally mixing in elements of post-rock (Flying Saucer Attack, Godspeed You Black Emperor!) or indie pop (Quickspace). [-] Hide

No Doubt

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

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, the third wave of ska revivalists broke into the American mainstream, thanks to the success of fellow Californian punk revivalists Green Day and the Offspring. The first third wave band to break big was Rancid, but they were quickly followed by groups like No Doubt, Goldfinger, Sublime, and Dancehall Crashers; the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, who were one of the leading figures of the scene in the early '90s, just missed the commercial bandwagon. Most of the bands that followed Rancid into the charts emphasized metal over ska, but some -- like No Doubt -- drew from new wave pop roots as well, while Rancid themselves managed to stay true to both ska revival and punk. During 1996, the third wave of ska revival became one of the most popular forms of alternative music in the United States. [-] Hide

Beat Happening

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

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 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 bands on both sides of the Atlantic who absorbed the scene's key lessons of simplicity and honesty to stunning effect, resulting in music -- given the universal label of twee pop -- whose hallmarks included boy-girl harmonies, lovelorn lyrics, infectious melodies, and simple, unaffected performances. In the U.K., the hub of the twee-pop scene was for many years the now-legendary Sarah label, home of groups including the Field Mice, Heavenly, and the Orchids; upon Sarah's demise, its founders created a new label, Shinkansen. In the U.S., the twee-pop scene took root most notably in the Olympia, WA area, the home of K Records, a label owned and operated by Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson. [-] Hide