What Music Occurred After the Grunge Movement?
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It’s been nearly 25 years since grunge music took the world by storm. But what came after? In this blog post, we take a look at some of the music that followed in the wake of grunge.
The Grunge Movement
The grunge movement was a musical genre and subculture that emerged in the mid-1980s. Grunge music was created by bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. The grunge movement was characterized by its DIY ethic, its focus on personal and emotional expression, and its rejection of the mainstream music industry.
What is grunge?
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock and a subculture that emerged during the mid-1980s in the Pacific Northwest U.S. state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle’s independent record label Sub Pop and the region’s underground music scene. By the early 1990s its popularity had spread, with grunge bands appearing in California, then emerging in other parts of the United States and in Australia, building strong followings and signing major record deals.
Grunge was commercially successful in the early to mid-1990s, with Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind bringing mainstream popularity to alternative rock. Nintendo’s consoles were also popular among grunge fans in this period; Super Nintendo Entertainment System games such as Super Mario World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past were commonly played by band members and shown in music videos. Sega’s 16-bit Genesis console also had a large following among grunge fans due to its library of edgy games such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2, Mortal Kombat, EA Sports’ NHL ’94, and others.
The grunge movement’s impact
Though commonly associated with a specific Seattle-based sound, grunge was an eclectic rock genre that emerged in the late 1980s and reached its peak in the early 1990s. Grunge music was marked by its raw, angsty sound and themes of dissatisfaction and disaffection. The genre became hugely popular in the wake of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind, which introduced grunge to a mainstream audience.
following Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994, grunge began to lose its momentum, and by the end of the decade, many of its key players had disbanded or moved on to other projects. In the years since, grunge has been celebrated as one of the most influential rock genres of all time, responsible for revitalizing American rock music in the early 1990s.
Post-Grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock and hard rock that emerged in the late 1990s, following the success of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The genre is generally characterized by a focus on melody and hooks, as well as a return to more traditional song structures.
What is post-grunge?
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock and hard rock that emerged in the mid-1990s, being influenced by grunge music. It generally takes the grunge sound and amplifies it while adding influences from other genres, resulting in a sound similar to that of alternative rock.
The genre was initially most popular in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, but quickly spread to other parts of the US. It reached its mainstream peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s with bands such as Creed, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Fuel, Matchbox Twenty, Lifehouse, Default, Daughtry, Seether and Evanescence.
The rise of post-grunge
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a new wave of bands emerged that blended the sounds of grunge with a more radio-friendly pop sensibility. These “post-grunge” bands found widespread success on commercial radio and MTV, opening the door for similar acts in the following years.
Whereas grunge had been an underground phenomenon in the early ’90s, post-grunge was immediately accessible to a wide audience. Bands like Bush, Foo Fighters, and Creed released albums that topped the Billboard charts and received heavy rotation on MTV and radio stations across the country.
The success of post-grunge signaled a shift in the landscape of rock music. No longer were alternative and mainstream rock two separate genres; instead, they had merged into a single entity. This new breed of rock would come to dominate the airwaves for much of the next decade.
Nu Metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of rock music that combines elementsof heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, and grunge. Nu metal bands have drawn elements and influences from a variety of musical styles. Nu metal is a form of alternative metal that emerged in the mid-1990s.
What is nu metal?
Nu metal, also known as nü-metal and aggro-metal,is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk and grunge. Nu metal bands have drawn elements and influences from a variety of musical styles, including multiple subgenres of heavy metal. Nu metal rarely features guitar solos; the genre is heavily syncopated and based on guitar riffs. Many nu metal guitarists use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to play a heavier sound. DJs are occasionally featured in nu metal to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic backgrounds. Vocal styles in nu metal include singing, rapping and growling. Nu metal is one of the key genres of the new wave of American heavy metal.
Nu metal became popular in the late 1990s with bands and artists such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Kid Rock and Papa Roach. Nu metal’s popularity continued during the early 2000s with bands such as Papa Roach, Staind and Linkin Park. The success of Linkin Park’s 2000 hybrid meaning album Hybrid Theory is often seen as a turning point for the genre; its release coincided with a skyrocket in popularity for the genre. In 2001, at the second annual Grammy Awards show,Limbs won Best Metal Performance for their song “Insect icon”. In 2002 Limb Bizkit’s album Results May Vary debuted at number one on Billboard 200 chart in United States selling over 239 thousands copies in its first week of release making it one of best selling debut weeks by any band since 1991 when Nielsen SoundScan started collecting data . Slipknot’s album Iowa also debuted at number two on Billboard 200 chart selling over 235 thousand copies 112 thousand copies more than what was sold by Limbs . Staind’s album Break The Cycle debuted at number one on Billboard 200 chart selling over 650 thousand copies making it best selling debut week for any rock album since 1998 when Nielsen SoundScan started collecting data .
The rise of nu metal
Nu metal (also called nü-metal and sometimes stylized as nü-metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music that mixes elements of conventional heavy metal with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, and grunge. Nu metal bands have drawn elements and influences from a variety of musical styles, including multiple genres of heavy metal. Nu metal rarely features guitar solos; the genre is heavily syncopated and based on guitar riffs. Many nu metal guitarists use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to play a heavier sound. DJs are sometimes featured in nu metal to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic backgrounds. Vocal styles in nu metal include singing, rapping, screaming and growling. Nu metal is one of the key genres of the new wave of American heavy metal.
Nu metal became popular in the late 1990s with bands and artists such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind, and Kid Rock all releasing multi-platinum or diamond albums. Nu metals commercial peak came with the release of several albums in 2000: Adema’s self-titled debut album peaked at number 57 on Billboard 200; Coal Chamber’s Chamber Music debuted at number 155; Mudvayne’s L.D. 50 entered at number 133; Slipknot’s Iowa climbed to number 32; Taproot’s Gift entered at number 74; and Papa Roach’s Infest broke into the top 10 at number 5. In 2001, Evanescence’s Fallen topped the Billboard 200 chart for seven weeks; it has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory was also a critical success upon release; it topped many album charts worldwide and was eventually certified diamond by the RIAA for sales exceeding 11 million copies in the United States. The success of these releases was followed by a string of successful albums from several other nu metal bands: Godsmack’s Faceless (2003), Hoobastank’s The Reason (2003), Papa Roach’s Getting Away with Murder (2004), Breaking Benjamin’s Phobia (2006), Atreyu’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor (2007), Avenged Sevenfold’s Avenged Sevenfold (2007), Slipknot’s All Hope Is Gone (2008) and Drowning Pool’s Resilience (2013).
Emo
The emo subculture began in the 1990s with its roots in the punk rock and indie rock of the 1980s. Emo fashion is characterized by tight jeans, skinny jeans, hoodies, flannel shirts, and Converse sneakers. The emo subculture is often associated with the music of bands such as My Chemical Romance, Dashboard Confessional, and Fall Out Boy.
What is emo?
Emo is a term that is short for “emotional hardcore” or “emotional punk.” It is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the mid-1980s. Emo punk is characterized by its confessional lyrics and melodic, angular guitar riffs.
The emo subculture is typically associated with youthful angst and a DIY (do it yourself) ethic. An emo kid might wear tight black jeans and t-shirts withpunk rock bands’ logos, drink coffee, and listen to Elliot Smith and Dashboard Confessional.
Emo music first gained mainstream popularity in the early 2000s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, and Blink 182. However, the roots of emo go back to the 1980s with bands such as Rites of Spring, Embrace, and Moss Icon.
The rise of emo
The mid-1990s saw the rise of a new type of punk rock band that mixed the power chord sound of hardcore with highly personal, often confessional lyrics. This new style of music became known as emo (short for “emotional”), and it was spearheaded by a number of bands from the Washington, D.C., area, including Fugazi, Rites of Spring, and Jawbox. Emo quickly spread from the nation’s capital to other cities with thriving punk scenes, such as Chicago and Seattle. By the end of the 1990s, a number of commercially successful emo bands had emerged, including Blink-182, Green Day, and Weezer.
The early 2000s saw a backlash against emo music, as many critics and fans alike felt that the sound had become too polished and pop-oriented. Nevertheless, a number of popular emo bands—including Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, and Fall Out Boy—emerged during this period. In the mid-2000s, a new wave of emo bands began to emerge—such as My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco—that blended elements of punk rock and goth rock with synthesizers and theatrical touches.
Indie Rock
In the wake of grunge’s popularity and Nirvana’s success in the early 1990s, many bands who were influenced by Nirvana and other grunge bands emerged. These bands were generally labelled as “indie rock”, a genre that encompasses a wide variety of styles. Some of the most popular indie rock bands of the 1990s and early 2000s include the Pixies, Pavement, Weezer, and Beck.
What is indie rock?
Indie rock is a genre of popular music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock or indie rock. In the 1980s, the use of the term “indie” began to shift from its reference to recording companies to describe the style of music produced on punk and post-punk labels. During the 1990s, grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke through to mainstream success.
The rise of indie rock
The Seattle grunge movement of the early 1990s paved the way for a new generation of music, known as indie rock. Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that emerged in the 1990s. It is characterized by an independent DIY punk ethic and a distinctive sound.
Grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam rose to mainstream success in the 1991, opening the door for other alternative acts. Many grunge bands broke up or went on hiatus in the mid-1990s, leading to a decline in mainstream interest in the genre. However, indie rock remained popular among underground music fans.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, indie rock experienced a resurgence in popularity, thanks in part to the success of acts such as The Strokes and The White Stripes. Indie rock has continued to evolve since then, incorporating elements from other genres such as electronica, folk and country.
