Module 5

R.E.M.

REM: Document

In the 1980s, an underground scene of various punk, hardcore, and alternative bands emerged and contributed to the evolution of rock. R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 and began playing a nationwide circuit of small clubs throughout the United States. In 1987, the band released their fifth album Document. The breakthrough album reached the Top Ten on the pop album charts and launched R.E.M. into the mainstream. First known as college rock, alternative rock reflected the growing diversity of rock styles, typically those that developed in the underground. With their signature alternative sound, R.E.M. helped to pave the way for future alternative rock bands to cross over in the 1990s.

Nirvana

In 1987, Nirvana formed in Aberdeen, Washington with founding members Krist Novoselic and Kurt Cobain. The following year, the band signed the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop Records. Their debut album was made for just over six hundred dollars and sold thirty-five thousand units, enough for the band to sign with the major record label DGC. Their sophomore album Nevermind was released by DGC in 1991, and the following year became the number one album, eventually selling over ten million copies and propelling the grunge rock movement into a nationwide phenomenon. The album’s hit song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” features many of the characteristics of the “Seattle sound.”

Watch me at the original location of Sub Pop Records in Seattle, Washington in 2016.

Watch Nirvana's iconic video "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Observe the characteristics of the grunge style.

Nirvana: Nevermind

The grunge phenomenon reflected Generation X, a new generation of youths typically characterized as the kids of the baby boomers born between 1965 and 1980. Generation X was generalized as one with a bleak future and no real direction, with much of the blame falling on the baby boomer parents who had propelled the counter-culture of the 1960s. Grunge represented a rebellion against mainstream culture, which included mainstream rock. While bands like Motley Crüe and Poison filled arenas and sang about partying and girls, underground bands sang with a seemingly more realistic point of view on life, addressing darker issues including depression and suicide. With the overwhelming success of Nirvana, grunge quickly became the mainstream, attesting to the growing complexities of youth culture in the 1990s.

Alanis Morissette

Alanis_Morissette: Jagged Little Pill

In 1995, Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette released the definitive alternative rock album Jagged Little Pill. The album set new precedents for the female alternative rock artist, becoming the best-selling debut album by a female artist and the best-selling album of the entire decade. The album featured direct lyrics reflecting very personal themes from Morissette’s life. The single “You Oughta Know” was censored for the MTV video, due to sexually explicit lyrics. From the opening track “All I Really Want,” Jagged Little Pill features the definitive characteristics of the alternative rock sound in the 1990s.

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