Grunge, Pop-Punk, and Alternative: The 90s Music Triumvirate

Ask someone what comes to mind when you say "90s music", and odds are you'll get 8 or 9 "Nirvana"s for every 10 people. It's no surprise, really, since Nirvana was considered the epitome of the Grunge music movement. They were the group to open up the big old can of teenage angst. But even though Grunge was a genre unique to the 90s, we all know that there were at least 2 other genres that soared in popularity during our favorite decade. Alternative rock and Pop-punk music both dominated the airwaves (that weren't packed full of teen-pop like the Backstreet Boys and N*Sync) throughout the 90s. And although both genres continue to crop up in contemporary bands, Gen Y members know that the heyday of both occurred before Y2K.



Grunge: angst, distortion, and dynamics

Nirvana
Come as you are

Of course everyone knows that the big band of the 90s was Nirvana. The brooding, flannel-clad nonconformists took the airwaves and discontent teenage hearts by storm. Their surprising rise to fame has only been surpassed by their overwhelming influence on music since their unfortunate end with Kurt Cobain's death. Despite the band's relatively short lifespan, they still managed to record 3 studio albums of material, with 10 other releases of EPs, Live records and compilations. For their 3 studio releases, Nirvana had a whopping 20 singles, which goes to show just how popular they had become by the early 90s. Though it may have pissed Kurt off to know that Nirvana had become such a big name in the music industry, their songs are still in regular circulation and they are often cited as a significant influence on contemporary bands.

Check them out:

• Smells Like Teen Spirit
• Come As You Are
• Polly
• Lithium
• In Bloom
• About a Girl
• The Man Who Sold the World

Other 90s Grunge bands include: Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden

Pop-Punk: fast, melodic brattiness

blink-182
What's my age again?

Along with Green Day and the Offspring, blink-182 headed the 90s genre of Pop-punk, giving snotty teens that weren't pissed off something to blast from their boom boxes and car stereos. Pop-punk was all fun and power chords with the occasional incoherence and allusion to masturbation (or entire song about it, see: Longview by Green Day). Although it didn't take root right away, by 1997 pop-punk had caught on thanks to Green Day's Dookie, the Offspring's Smash, and blink-182's Dude Ranch. blink-182 was known for their melodic toilet humor and catchy adolescent anthems, releasing 3 more albums before a hiatus in 2005, and returning in early 2009. Though Pop-punk doesn't hold a title as instantly recognizable and influential as Grunge and Nirvana did, this genre did have a very large appeal to the teens of the 90s and 2000s, and has spawned a contemporary wave of bands following in its footsteps.

Check them out:

• Dammit (blink-182)
• What's My Age Again? (blink 182)
• Feeling This (blink-182)
• When I Come Around (Green Day)
• Church On Sunday (Green Day)
• I Choose (the Offspring)
• Want You Bad (the Offspring)

Other 90s Pop-punk bands include: Rancid, the Descendents, Less than Jake

Alternative: post-80s grab bag of rock

"Alternative" is really a blanket term for music since the late 80s that doesn't fit exactly into one specific genre or another. As such, there are a shitload of "Alternative" bands out there today, with such different types of music that it is nearly impossible to pick a defining band like Nirvana is to Grunge. At its inception, Alternative was known as "College Rock", since bands of the genre were widely played on college radio stations as a reflection of college students' musical tastes. Scores, if not hundreds of bands like the Strokes, 3 Doors Down, Barenaked Ladies, Matchbox 20, the Gin Blossoms, and Oasis encompass the Alternative genre. With the advent of Grunge, windows opened for Alternative bands and their popularity soared, still lasting to this day. One of the most popular and recognizable Alternative bands is R.E.M., especially among Generation Xers, but by now anyone could name an Alternative band that they have in their ipod/iphone/mp3 player library.

Check it out:

• Hey Jealousy (Gin Blossoms)
• (What's the Story) Morning Glory (Oasis)
• Ain't That Unusual (Goo Goo Dolls)
• Kryptonite (3 Doors Down)
• Pinch Me (Barenaked Ladies)
• Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind)
• Creep - Radiohead

Other 90s Alternative bands include: Tonic, Counting Crows, Toad the Wet Sprocket

90s music is a huge subject to talk about, go out and search for some artists outside of your 90s favorites. Regardless of your favorite genre, you'll find dozens of songs and artists to add to your library!
Look around Amazon.com and you'll find items like Non Stop '90s Rock,
or put your favorite songs and artists into Pandora and find new music as you listen!