Chapter Outline

Conclusion: 1900s and beyond

• History repeats itself
• 1990s rock and it's relationship to the past
1. Many aspects of 1990s rock return from previous periods
• Dance music
• Teen idols
• Singer-songwriters
• Roots rock
• Rhythm and blues
2. Music industry factors are also involved
• Technology
• Record companies
• Cable television
• Radio stations
• The rise of classic rock
• Teens and college-age interest in rock from previous decades
1. Discovery of styles through availability of older recordings
• Parents' record collections
• Radio stations playing "classic rock" formatted programming
• Television
• Films
2. Marketing of older styles on CDs
3. Advantages of the CD format over earlier recording technology
• CDs can't wear out (given proper care and handling)
• Fidelity is higher than any other commercial recordings
• Instant access to any song (no re-winding of tape)
4. CD format was helpful to record companies
• They could re-release music originally recorded on vinyl and earn new profits
• When production cost came down the prices were kept high—greater profits for labels
• Special features added to re-issue sales-"digital re—mastering" and "bonus tracks"
• Elaborate box set collections appealed to aficionados
• Classic rock on FM radio
1. Classic rock radio began in Detroit
• Through efforts of radio consultant Fred Jacobs
• Similar to Lee Abrams's efforts to establish stricter AOR format in the 1970s
• First classic rock station was in Lansing, Michigan, in 1985
• Format generated re-release sales for record labels
2. Drawback: new artists had difficulty competing with classic rock
• VH-1 and the rise of the rockumentary
1. Debuted in 1985
• Focus was on baby boomers' tastes in music styles
• Struggled for the first decade
2. The "pop-up video"
• Introduced in 1996
• Clever or humorous factoids printed on screen during videos
• Quickly became popular for their "educational" value
3. Behind the Music and Legends
• Quasi-historical series introduced in 1997
• Biographical approach to musicians and bands
• Format of the shows: rise from rags to riches
• Included scandal or disaster in the subject's life or career
4. VH-1 established itself as an informative approach to rock music
• The Beatles documentary series Beatles Anthology
1. Aired on ABC in 1995
• Hugely successful and critically acclaimed
• Generated renewed interest in the Beatles and their impact on music
2. Included two new songs written by John Lennon and recorded by surviving ex-Beatles
• "Free as a Bird" (p6 uk2, 1995)
• "Real Love" (p11 uk4, 1996)
3. Two important documentaries on rock music appeared in 1995
• Time-Life series (produced by Quincy Jones), A History of Rock and Roll
• PBS series, Rock & Roll
• PBS series sponsored in part by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in Cleveland, Ohio, September 1995
• Older groups and artists as rock's elder statesmen
1. Beatles Anthology CDs were extremely successful in 1995 and 1996
• Anthology 1 (p 1 uk2, 1995)
• Anthology 2 (p2 uk1, 1996)
• Anthology 3 (p1 uk4, 1996)
• Paul McCartney released Flaming Pie (p2 uk2, 1997)
2. Rolling Stones had big albums in the 1990s
• Voodoo Lounge (p2 uk1, 1994)
• Bridges to Babylon (p3 uk6, 1997)
3. Eric Clapton released one of the decade's biggest-selling albums
• Unplugged (p1 uk2, 1992)
• Recorded performance on MTV's MTV Unplugged series
• Featured the tender ballad "Tears in Heaven" (p2 uk5)
• Written for his young son who had been killed in a freak accident
4. The Eagles reunited and released Hell Freezes Over (p1 uk28, 1994)
5. Peter Gabriel released Us (p2 uk2, 1992)
6. Santana released Supernatural (p1 uk1, 1999
• The album's hit single: "Smooth" (p1)
• Sung by Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20
7. Sting released two successful albums in the 1990s
• Ten Summoner's Tales (p2 uk2, 1993)
• Mercury Falling (p5 uk4, 1996)
8. Rick-Rubin produced Tom Petty's Wildflowers (p8 uk36, 1994)
9. Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits (p1 uk1, 1995)
10. U2 released Zooropa (1993) and Pop (1997)
11. Bands and artists regrouped and toured
• Chicago
• Yes
• Yes
• Foreigner
• Styx
• Peter Frampton
• Kansas
12. Steely Dan reunited after a twenty-year hiatus
• Released the album Two against Nature
• Won the 2000 Grammy for Best Album
• Continuation of new traditionalism
• New artists appeared who embraced classic rock styles and sound
1. Faithful to the performance techniques
• Cleaner guitar sounds
• Folk-rock influences
• Strummed acoustic guitar
• Electric twelve-string jingle-jangle
2. Songs had strong pop sensibility
• Less anger or rebellion than alt rock
• Replaced punk attitude with catchy vocal hooks
• Sheryl Crow
1. Based in of Los Angeles
2. Vocal style derived from Roger McGuinn and Tom Petty
3. Country-rock accompaniment
4. 1993 album Tuesday Night Music Club (p3), contained the hit singles
• "All I Want To Do" (P2 uk5)
• "Strong Enough" (p5 uk33)
5. Album Sheryl Crow (p6 uk5, 1996) featured the hit single "If It Makes You Happy" (p 10 uk9)
6. The Globe Sessions (p5 uk2, 1998) also highly successful
• Hootie and the Blowfish
1. Columbia, South Carolina
2. Good-time, roots-rock style
• Soulful gospel-influenced vocals by Darius Rucker
• Strummed acoustic guitar
• Drums
• Bass
• 1970s-oriented electric guitar
3. Debut album: Cracked Rear View (p1 uk12, 1994) had three hit singles
• "Hold My Hand" (p10)
• "Let Her Cry" (p9)
• "Only Wanna Be with You" (p6)
4. The group had two more hit albums
• Fairweather Johnson (p1 uk9, 1996)
• Musical Chairs (p4 uk15, 1998)
• Counting Crows
1. From the San Francisco area
2. Led by songwriter and lead vocalist Adam Duritz
3. Duritz's vocal style similar to earlier artists
• Van Morrison
• Bob Seger
• Tom Petty
• Arrangements use vintage piano and organ sounds
• 1970s-sounding guitar distortion
4. 1993 album August & Everything After (p4 uk16, 1993)—contained the hit singles
• "Mr. Jones" (p2 uk28); references Dylan in the lyrics
• "Round Here" (p7)
5. Album Recovering the Satellites topped the charts in (p1 uk4, 1996)—contained two hit singles
• "Angels of Silence" (p3)
• "A Long December" (p5)
• Wallflowers
1. Influenced by Tom Petty and Bob Dylan
• 1970s-style guitar and keyboard sounds
• George Harrison-style slide lead guitar
• Lead singer and songwriter—Jakob Dylan—is Bob Dylan's son
2. Debut album Bringing Down the House (p4, 1996) featured three hit singles
• "One Headlight" (p1),
• "6th Avenue Heartache" (p10)
• "The Difference" (p3)
• Jamming bands
• Reputations developed out of live shows
1. Large underground culture in the United States supported by various factions
• Clubs usually in college towns
• Independent record labels
• Relatively large numbers of fans
2. Embraced the "return-to-roots" attitude
3. Focus on highly developed improvisation skills
4. Inspiration from the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers
• Phish
1. Formed in Vermont
2. Recorded many studio albums
3. Many influences
• Jazz
• Country
• Rhythm and blues
• Classical
• Even some jug-band elements at times
4. 1995 live album, A Live One (p 18), gives the best idea of their live shows
• Widespread Panic
1. Based in Athens, Georgia
2. Similarity to Phish inspirations
3. More blues-oriented than Phish
4. Album Til the Medicine Takes (p68, 1999) exemplifies their studio work
• Spin Doctors
1. From the New York area
2. Spin Doctors made their reputation on their live shows
3. Actually had a hit album
4. Pocketful of Kryptonite hit number three in 1991 (uk2)
• Blues Traveler was also a popular jam band from New York
• Dave Mathews Band
1. From Virginia
2. Similar sound to Hootie and the Blowfish
3. Instrumental prowess of Phish and Widespread panic
4. Had some album success
• Under the Table and Dreaming (p11, 1994)
• Crash (P2, 1996)
• Album Before These Crowded Streets (p1, 1998) demonstrated sense of stylistic adventure
• Matchbox 20
1. Led by singer Rob Thomas (who sang on Santana's 1999 hit, "Smooth")
2. Merged stylistic inspirations
• 1960s and 1970s guitar-driven roots rock
• Harder driving sounds of alt rock
• Elemental energy of punk
• Beatles-inspired songwriting approaches
3. Had several successful releases
• Debut album: You or Someone Like You (p5 uk50, 1996) had popular rock radio singles
• "3 a.m."
• "Push"
• "Back 2 Good" (p24)
• "Real World" (p38)
• The album Mad Season (p3 uk31, 2000) was also a hit for them
• Third Eye Blind
1. From San Francisco
2. Successful singles on the album Third Eye Blind (p25, 1997)
• "How It's Going to Be" (p9)
• "Semi-Charmed Life" (p4 uk33)
• Return to Motown approach
• Boyz II Men
1. Signed to Motown in early 1990s
2. Highly crafted harmony-vocal arrangements show earlier influences
• The Drifters or
• The Temptations
• Solo passages by the group members
3. Brill Building model: depended on others for songwriting
4. Influenced by two Boston vocal groups developed by songwriter-producer Maurice Starr
• New Edition
• New Kids on the Block
5. The debut album Cooleyhighharmony (p3 r1, 1991) had three crossover hit singles
• "Uhh Ahh" (p16 r1)
• "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" (p2 r1)
• "Motownphilly" (p3 r4)
6. "End of the Road" (1992) began to work with producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmunds
• Topped pop and rhythm and blues charts
• Recorded for the Eddie Murphy movie Boomerang
7. Second album II (p1 r1, 1994) had hit singles
• "I'll Make Love to You" (p1 r1)
• "Water Runs Dry" (p2 r4)
• "On Bended Knee" (p 1 r2)
8. Their style influenced later groups:
• 'N Sync
• Backstreet Boys
• LaFace Records
1. Formed by two songwriter-producers
• Kenneth Edmunds (nickname "Babyface")
• Antonio "L.A." Reid
2. Babyface had hits as a solo artist
• 1989 album Tender Lover (p14 r1)
• "It's No Crime" (p7 r1)
• "Tender Lover" (p14 r1)
• "Whip Appeal" (p6 r2)
• "My Kinda Girl" (p30 r3)
3. LaFace Records signed Singer Toni Braxton who had several hits
• "Give You My Heart" (p29 r2, 1992) was a duet with Babyface
• "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" (p33 r2, 1992)
4. Babyface also worked with top established artists
• Eric Clapton
• Celene Dion
• Whitney Houston
• Mariah Carey
• Professional singers
• Whitney Houston
1. Performed songs written by professional songwriters
2. Highly successful career beginning in the 1980s
• "Saving All My Love for You" (p1 r1, 1985)
• "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (p1 r2, 1987)
• "All the Man That I Need" (p1 r1, 1990)
• The Dolly Parton song "I Will Always Love You" (p1 r1, 1992)
• "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (p1 r1, 1995) written and produced by Babyface
• Featured in the film Waiting to Exhale
• Babyface wrote Houston's hit "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (p1 r1, 1990)
• Soundtrack to her film The Bodyguard (1992) sold nearly twenty million copies
• Mariah Carey
1. Tremendously successful series of hit records through the 1990s
• "Vision of Love" (1990)
• "Love Takes Time" (p1 r1, 1990)
• "Emotions" (p1 r1, 1991)
• "Hero" (p1 r5, 1993)
• "Fantasy" (p1 r1, 1995)
• "One Sweet Day," with Boyz II Men (p1 r2, 1995)
• "Always Be My Baby" (p1 r1, 1996)
2. Carey's albums were also among the best-selling of the decade
• The album Mariah Carey hit the top of the pop charts (r3)
• Music Box (p1 r1, 1993)
• Daydream (p1 r1, 1995)
• The Houston-Carey vocal style
1. Showcase of technical dexterity
2. Complicated vocal ornamentation
3. Broad expressive range
4. The standard approach to adult ballads in the 1990s
• Teen idols
• Return of the "Made for pre-teen girls" stars
1. Pop music has often had artists that were marketed to pre-teen girl audience
• Fabian
• Frankie Avalon
• Monkees
2. Millionaire Lou Pearlman formed two male vocal groups modeled after Boyz II Men
• Marketed to pre-teen girls
• Stylistic influences of the music aligned with rhythm and blues
• Backstreet Boys
1. Early success in Europe
2. Heavy investment into marketing them in the United States
• The album Backstreet Boys (p4, 1997) had successful singles
• "Quit Playing Games (With my Heart)" (p2)
• "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (p4)
3. Next two albums were successful
• Millennium (pl, 1999)
• Black & Blue (p1, 2000)
• 'N Sync
1. Also the product of Lou Pearlman's artist development concept
2. Direct competitors with Backstreet Boys
3. Two members were alumni of TV show The New Mickey Mouse Club
• JC Chasez
• Justin Timberlake
4. New group's first album, 'N Sync (p2, 1998), did well
5. Hit single "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" (p8)
6. The second album No Strings Attached (pl, 2000) successful with three hit singles
• "Bye Bye Bye" (p4)
• "It's Gonna Be Me" (p1)
• "This I Promise You" (p5)
• Common characteristics between Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync
1. Modeled after style established by Boyz II Men
2. Songs and production provided by Max Martin
• Swedish songwriter and producer
• Wrote and produced songs for many others during the 1990s
• Britney Spears
• Celine Dion
• Bryan Adams
• Bon Jovi
• The Spice Girls.
1. Credited Madonna as an important influence
2. Formed in the UK in 1993
3. Answered ad placed by a manager forming a singing group
4. Organized themselves with Annie Lennox's manager Simon Fuller
5. Fun-loving image
• Catchy music
• Distinctive good looks
• European dance music beat
6. "Girlpower" image suggested that they were in charge
7. Teamed with professional songwriters
• Matt Rowe
• Richard Stannard
• Shared writing credits on some songs
8. UK success in early 1990s
• 1996 the debut album, Spice
• The single "Say You'll Be There"
9. Each Spice Girl had a special name
• Ginger Spice
• Baby Spice
• Scary Spice
• Posh Spice
• Sporty Spice
10. Capitalized on fame with product endorsements
11. Success in American charts in 1997 with albums and singles
• Spice (1997)
• Single "2 Become 1" (p4)
• "Say You'll Be There"
• "Wannabe" (p1)
• Album Spiceworld (p3, 1997) was released with their feature film Spiceworld
12. They had split up by 2000
• Britney Spears
1. Also worked on The New Mickey Mouse Club
2. Inspired by Madonna's control over her image
• Mixture of sexual aggressiveness with playful innocence
• Her songs attracted the girls
• Her suggestive dancing attracted the boys
3. Series of hugely successful releases
• Debut album . . . Baby One More Time, was produced by Max Martin
• A second hit "You Drive Me Crazy" (p 10)
• Second album, Oops . . . I Did It Again (p1, 2000)
• Christina Aguilera
1. Also from the TV show The New Mickey Mouse Club
2. Early hits began in 1999
• "Genie in a Bottle" (p1)
• "What a Girl Wants" (p1)
3. Blatantly sexy image
4. Common stylistic characteristics of Spears and Aguilera
• Skilled and versatile vocalists
• Both drew inspiration from earlier female rhythm and blues singers
• Mariah Carey
• Whitney Houston
• Female singer-songwriters
• New trend focuses on artists who deal with women's issues
1. Influences are earlier female songwriters
• Carole King
• Joni Mitchell
• Carly Simon
• Kate Bush
• Tracy Chapman
2. Styles range from quiet and contemplative to angry and aggressive
• Tori Amos
1. One of the most talented and innovative songwriters of her generation
2. Grew up in Baltimore relocated to Los Angeles
3. Studied at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory
• Her debut, Little Earthquakes (p54 uk14, 1991) shows classical training
• Use of harmony and melody
• "Crucify" provides a good example of her early style
• "Me and a Gun" is about a rape encounter
4. Amos released more successful recordings during the 1990s
• Amos released Under the Pink (p12 uk1) in 1994
• Boys for Pele (p2 uk2)
• Indigo Girls
1. Atlanta-based
2. Duet singing over acoustic guitar accompaniment
• Amy Rar
• Emily Saliers
3. Several stylistic influences
• Aggressive rock style
• Gentler folk-influenced style
• Feminist topics
• Environmental topics
• Other social causes
4. Chart success with their 1994 album, Swamp Ophelia (p9 uk66, 1994)
• Liz Phair
1. Chicago based
2. First album, Exile in Guyville (1993), is a response to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street
3. Remained something of an underground sensation
• Ani Difranco
1. New York based
2. Released her music on her own indie label, Righteous Babe
3. 1995 album, Not a Pretty Girl, was critically acclaimed
4. The album Little Plastic Castle (1998) reached number twenty-two
• Sarah McLachlan
1. From Nova Scotia
2. Moderate chart success in 1993 with Fumbling toward Ecstasy (p50, 1993)
3. 1995 album, Not a Pretty Girl, was critically acclaimed
4. Her single "I Will Remember You" (1995) was somewhat successful
5. 1997 album release Surfacing (p2) broke into the pop mainstream
6. Strong hit singles
• "Building a Mystery" (p13)
• "Adia" (p3 uk18)
• "Angel" (p4)
7. Song styles cover a variety of approaches
• Often gentle, and even quite delicate
• Sometimes using conventional rock instrumentation of guitar bass and drums
• Also uses synthesizers and electronic percussion
8. An important organizer of the Lilith Fair music festival for female songwriters
• Alanis Morissette
1. Also from Canada
2. Important female singer-songwriter
3. First album was huge hit: Jagged Little Pill (p1 uk1, 1995) with important hits
• "Ironic" (p4 uk11)
• "You Learn" (p6)
• "You Oughta Know"
4. 1998 album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (p1 uk3) solidified her career
• The irony that connects female teen idols to female singer-songwriters
1. Appealed to the same general audience: teenage girls
2. Singer-songwriters also appeal to college-age women
3. Their songs often dealt with the experiences and concerns of adult women
4. Positive and negative images of female teen idols:
5. Making themselves into sexual objects
6. Retained control of their careers and provided a positive feminine image
7. Women and their music were playing a central role in popular music
• Electronic dance music
• Dance music has always been a part of pop music
1. 1960s dance craze
2. 1970s disco
3. 1980s dance music moved to MTV videos
4. During the 1980s dance-oriented culture moved back into club scenes
• Dance music moved to England
1. DJs provided real-time augmentation of songs for dancing
2. UK charts had dance music hits during the early 1990s
3. 1990s dance music was created electronically—renamed "techno"
• The DJ approach to preserving the disco experience
1. The disco style died out in the 1980s
2. DJs became clever at reusing older records and European dance records
• Using two turntables and re-playing sections of songs
• Incorporating variable speed players to match tempos of different songs
• DJs became more important to the dance experience
• The Paradise Garage in New York
1. Larry Levan was a popular DJ in this club
• Developed elaborate light shows
• Very skilled at sequencing songs together
• Brought attention to the importance of the DJ
• The Warehouse in Chicago
1. Hired Fred Knuckles as DJ
2. Knuckles had worked with Levan and introduced Levan's techniques to Chicago
3. The style became known as "house"
4. Records were mixed together
5. Electronic synthesizers and drum machines were also used
6. The goal: create an evening worth of fresh-sounding music from pre-existing tracks
7. Combinations of many sources were employed for impact on the dance floor
• New tracks from synthesizers and drum machines
• Mixtures of album tracks
• Sound effects
8. Chicago radio stations began playing recordings of these spontaneous mixes
9. The sound was based on actual instruments
• Detroit House music
1. The Belleville Three: Aspiring DJs
• Juan Atkins
• Derrick May
• Kevin Saunderson
2. Blended Kraftwerk recordings with Parliament-Funkadelic
3. Based the sound on purely electronic devices:
• Synthesizers
• Drum machines
• Digital sequencers
• The rise of the UK rave scene
1. British DJs began to play American dance music from the underground scene
2. Rave parties grew in size
3. Also incorporated into the rave party was the drug Ecstasy
• Trippy music
• Altered consciousness
• Communal sensibilities
4. British musicians began creating their own versions of dance music
• Rave music artists
1. Orbital: "The Chime" (uk17)
2. American musician Moby hit with "Go" (uk10, 1991)
3. Prodigy: "Everybody in the Place" (uk2. 1992)
4. Shut Up and Dance: "Raving I'm Raving" (uk2, 1992)
5. SL2: "On a Ragga Trip" (uk2, 1992)
6. British DJs transplanted the styles to the United States
• New York/New Jersey area
• San Francisco
• Los Angeles
• Electronic dance music in the United States
1. Popularity of the style grew in local scenes
2. Major labels began to invest in the style
• Success driven by album sales in the states
• Success in England was driven by singles
• MTV aired innovative videos
3. Important dance albums were released
• Fatboy Slim: Better living through Chemistry
• Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole (p14 uk1, 1997)
• Prodigy: The Fat of the Land (1997)
4. Moby became an important figure
• 1999 album Play (p38 uk1, 1999)
• All tracks were exploited for TV or film
• Licensed for commercials
• Movie soundtracks
• The "live" problem
1. EDM (Electronic Dance Music) had similar problems to bands
• The music is meant to be experienced in a live situation
• DJs respond to the audience and change their sets from night to night
• Music often created by near-anonymous producers using various names
• Developments in rap
• Styles of rap multiplied rapidly during the 1990s
1. Concepts present in popular music were integrated into rap recordings
2. Artists strived to establish their own distinctive style and audience
3. Topics covered a wide spectrum:
• Some rap was about conflict
• Some was about peace
• Some rap was about partying
• Some artists were philosophical
4. Rap accompaniment tracks could have could have a variety of styles
• Musically aggressive
• Laid back
• One continuous texture
• Quick edits and disruptions
• The continuation of gangsta rap
1. Rivalry between southern California and New York
• Death Row Records on the West Coast
• Bad Boy Records on the East Coast
2. Death Row owned by Suge Knight
3. Knight signed former N.W.A. member Dr. Dre
4. 1993 album, The Chronic (p3 r1, 1993) was an important album
• Track "Ain't Nothin' but a G Thang" (p2 r1) is an example of the style
• Snoop Doggy Dogg raps on the track
• Two samples drawn from late '70s soul music are used on the track
• 1976 track by Kid Dynamite: "Uphill (Peace of Mind)"
• 1979 track by Leon Haywood: "I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You"
• The vocals work against the accompanying rhythmic groove
• Sophisticated rhythms and phrase groupings
• Snoop Doggy Dogg
1. Snoop also signed with Death Row
2. Had two extremely successful releases
• Doggystyle (p1 r1 uk38, 1993)
• The Doggfather (p1 r1 uk15, 1996)
• Style was gangsta
• Projected a relaxed, ultra-hip image
3. One of the style's most popular celebrities
4. Became one of rap's most successful artists
• Tupac Shakur
1. Directly involved in a feud with the New York label Bad Boy
2. Albums topped the charts
• Me against the World (u1 r1, 1995)
• All Eyez on Me (p1 r1 uk33, 1996)
3. September 1996: killed in Las Vegas in drive-by shooting
• Cypress Hill
1. West coast rappers
2. Latin-flavored hip-hop
• Black Sunday (p1 r1 uk13, 1993) sampled Black Sabbath
• Advocated smoking pot
• East coast rap
1. P. Diddy and Notorious B.I.G.
2. Sean Combs performed under the name Puff Daddy (later changed to P. Diddy)
3. Formed his own record label, Bad Boy Records
4. Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) had early crossover success for the label
• Ready to Die (p15 1995)
• Life after Death: topped charts in 1997
5. B.I.G. was killed in Los Angeles
6. Puff Daddy recorded the concept album No Way Out (p1 r1 uk10, 1997)
• The single "I'll Be Missing You" (p1 r1 uk1, 1997)
• Samples from the Police's "Every Breath You Take"
• Focuses attention on the gangsta rap feud
7. Puff Daddy (now P. Diddy) recorded Forever (p2 r 1 uk9, 1999)
8. Other Bad Boy artists who gained recognition:
• Faith Evans
• Total
• 112
9. Gangsta is recognized as dangerous music by dangerous people
10. This makes it all the more attractive to rebellious teens
• Wu Tang Clan
1. A group of New York DJs
2. Released albums that contained nine DJs' work
3. Intention was to spin off on solo careers
• RZA
• Genius/GZA
• Ol' Dirty Bastard
• Method Man
• Raekwon the Chef
• Ghostface Killah
• U-God
• Inspectah Deck
• Masta Killah
4. The albums released were successful hits
• Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) (p41 r8, 1993)
• Wu Tang Forever (p1 r1 uk1, 1997)
5. Artists went on to successful solo careers
• Will Smith
1. Began his career under the name Fresh Prince in Philadelphia
• Worked with DJ Jazzy Jeff
• More family friendly than other rappers
2. Released highly successful albums beginning in 1988
• He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (p4 r5, 1988)
• Hit from the album: "Nightmare on My Street" (p 15 r9)
• "Parents Just Don't Understand" (p12 r10)
3. Album Homebase (p12 r5, 1991) featured the hit single "Summertime" (p4 r1)
4. Smith established himself as an actor on television and film
• TV sitcom: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
• Film: Independence Day (1996)
• Men in Black (1997)
5. Released solo albums under his own name
• Big Willie Style (p8 r9) contained a good example of his upbeat approach
• "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It" (p1 r6)
• Album Willenium (p5 r8 1999) included film theme "Wild Wild West" (p1 r3)
6. Smith won Grammy Awards in 1997 and 1998 for best rap solo performance
• Eminem (Marshall Mathers)
1. The anti-Will Smith
2. From Detroit—won freestyle rap contest in Los Angeles
3. Dr. Dre produced first album: The Slim Shady LP (p2 r1 uk12, 1999)
• Adopted the persona of Slim Shady, expressing his deepest emotional pain and hostility
• Lead single from the album, "My Name Is" (p36), exemplifies Eminem's aggression
• Widespread controversy: violent content of his lyrics
4. The Marshall Mathers LP (p1 r1 uk1, 2000) focus on problems of his own life
• Storm of public and private controversy
• Negative reference to his wife in "Kim"
• Mother filed a defamation of character suit against him
5. Negative reaction to Eminem's music made him more successful
• Fusion of rap with rock
• Rage against the Machine
1. Inspiration from Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Rapped lyrics instead of singing
• Funk grooves and heavy metal riffs
• Focus on political causes
2. First Album: Rage against the Machine (p45 uk17, 1992)
• Zach de la Rocha on vocals
• Tom Morello on guitar using several styles of playing
• Blend of metal, blues-rock, and jazz
• Electric guitar imitates the sound of DJ scratching
3. Album Evil Empire (p1 uk4, 1996) established them as an important rap-rock band
4. The Battle of Los Angeles (p 1 uk23, 1999) was also successful
5. De la Rocha left
• Remaining members formed Audioslave
• Added Soundgarden's Chris Cornell on lead vocals
• Korn
1. From Bakersfield, California
2. Trademark sound: electric seven-string guitar
• Additional string for lower notes
• Guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer
• Guitarist Brian "Head" Welch
• Heavy low-end distortion
• Screamed or rapped vocals
• Intense anxious-sounding style
3. Successful releases:
• The band's first album, Korn (1994)
• Life Is Peachy (p3 uk32, 1996)
• Follow the Leader (p1 uk5, 1998)
• Limp Bizkit
1. Formed in Florida
• Use of the seven-string guitar
• More screaming in the vocals
• Led by vocalist Fred Durst
• Guitarist Wes Borland
2. Early successful releases include
• Three Dollar Bill Y'all (p22, 1997)
• Significant Other (p 1 uk26, 1999)
3. Considerable air time on MTV late in the decade
• System of a Down
1. Los Angeles
2. Commitment to political and social issues
3. Blended in the heavy, gothic tones of Korn and Limp Bizkit
4. Albums were produced by Rick Rubin
• System of a Down (1998)
• Toxicity (p1 uk13, 2001)
• Kid Rock
1. From Detroit
2. Employed a wide range of styles
• Sounds drawn from traditional blues-rock
• Grooves are more rock oriented
• Vocals both rapped and sung
• Flair for a pop hook
• Lyrics are playful and even comical
3. Album Devil without a Cause (p4, 1998) exemplifies his style
• Nine Inch Nails
1. San Francisco-based composer Trent Reznor
2. Writes and performs the music himself
3. Style often called "industrial"
• Rhythmic grooves sound like they're made by large factory machines
• Result of looping and synthesizer programming
• Music is moody with frequent shifts in atmosphere
• Lyrics explore the grotesque darker side of the psyche
4. Influences found in British bands of the mid 1970s
• Throbbing Gristle
• Cabaret Voltaire
5. Notable album: The Downward Spiral (p2 uk9, 1994)
• Brought the style into the mainstream
• Recorded in the house where the Charles Manson murders took place
• Marilyn Manson
1. Emerged from Florida
2. Inspiration from Alice Cooper
• The name of the band and the male lead singer
• Stage names that combined a female celebrity and a serial killer
• Keyboardist is Madonna Wayne Gacy
3. Shock-rocker goal: to outrage conservative middle America
• Dressed outrageously
• Albums included vulgar and satanic content
• Misbehaved proudly and unabashedly
• Similar to gangsta rappers
4. First commercial success with Antichrist Superstar (p3, 1996)
5. Mechanical Animals (p1 uk8, 1998) even more successful
• Independent labels in the 1990s
• The indie scene continued
1. Circuit of clubs and bars (often in college towns)
2. College radio stations
3. Independent record labels
4. Chronicled by the College Music Journal magazine (CMJ)
5. Bands maintained a do-it-yourself aesthetic
• Rejection of major label production machinery
• Bands take care of business themselves
• Lo-fi approach: recording on inexpensive equipment
• Little mainstream attention
• Small number of sales
• Maintained creative control of their material
6. 1980s bands were the inspiration
• REM
• Hüsker Dü
• Sonic Youth
7. Critics appreciated indie labels
• Purer and more direct style of rock music
• Uncorrupted by concerns about marketing and audience demographics
• Small labels each developed a distinctive stylistic sound
• Fans discovered new artists who were on the same label
8. Culturally, indie rock was off the beaten path
• College radio stations also played indie rock
• CMJ tracked airplay as Billboard did for mainstream pop
9. New York-based Matador dominated the market
10. Other important labels:
• Merge in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Sub Pop in Seattle
• K Records in Olympia, Washington
• Kill Rock Stars Records
• Sonic Youth
1. Led by guitarist Thurston Moore
2. The band's Daydream Nation (uk99, 1988) an example of the style
3. The song "Teen Age Riot" best fits the style
4. They were on a major label
5. Still respected for maintaining creative control of their music
• Important indie bands in the 1990s:
1. Yo La Tengo
• New Jersey
• 1993 album Painful is representative of the lo-fi indie style
2. Pavement
• Stockton, California
• Slanted and Enchanted (uk72, 1992) is an indie-rock classic
3. Guided by Voices
• Ohio
• Released Bee Thousand (1994)
• Lo-fi approach to 1960s British Invasion styles
• Beck
1. From Los Angeles
2. First release, "Loser," was on indie label Bongload in 1993
3. Signed with Geffen Records—a major label
4. Negotiated a special deal allowing him to also release records on indie labels
5. Indie releases:
• Stereopathic Soul Manure (l994) on Flipside
• One Foot in the Grave (1995) on K Records
6. Geffen releases:
• Mellow Gold (p13 uk41, 1994)
• Odelay (p16 uk18, 1996)
7. Beck incorporates his lo-fi approach into a wide array of concepts
• Hip-hop
• Country rock
• 70s soul
• Even classical music
• Keen sense for pop hooks
• Many contrasting styles often appear within the same song
• Accurately reproduces earlier styles
• Samples and rapid shifts created by editing
8. Continued to enjoy success
• Mutations (p13 uk24, 1998) and
• Midnite Vultures (p34 uk 19, 1999)
• Conclusion
• Resurgence of interest in older styles
1. The 1990s music industry re-sold albums to previous owners
2. New younger fans also bought vintage albums
• Rap eclipsed the hip-hop style
1. New developments solidify rap as a separate category
2. Rap and electronic dance have not driven rock out of the marketplace
• Country music in the 1990s
1. The top-selling 1990s album was Shania Twain's Come On Over (1997)
2. Garth Brooks was tremendously popular in the first half of the 1990s
• Technology in the digital age
1. Technology allows elaborate enhancement of the indie artist Do-It-Yourself approach
• Digital recording systems
• Internet and website exposure
• iPod compilations make entire music libraries portable
• Satellite radio and style-oriented programming
2. Artists are now able to produce and distribute their own music
• Recording technology allows professional quality in one's home
• Internet allows for bands to sell CDs from their website
• Can bypass record labels entirely
3. Disadvantage
• Getting "discovered" by potential fans
• Internet is too vast to find anything
4. New fans and new artists
• A new trend is for people to find "undiscovered" artists
• Listeners are excited about bands they themselves have discovered
5. Time will tell if technology advances have similar impact as radio or TV did on popular music