Early '90s Rock: Grunge, Alternative, Metal, Pop/Mainstream Rock and Punk
Come join me for a tour of rock music during the beginning of a decade where college campuses were the proving grounds for many up-and-coming bands. I was fortunate enough to be in college during most of the early '90s so this lens is also an ode to the music that was much of the soundtrack to my college life.
If this is nostalgia to you, drink it in. If early 90's college music is a new experience to you, hope you enjoy or at least learn a bit.
Rock on!
College Radio
Where I got my music -- WPGU; the University of Illinois' radio station
In my days at The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, my radio dial was always set to WPGU (standing for Parade Ground Units -- the original location of the station).
The on-air personalities (one of whom was a friend of mine) prided themselves in playing progressive rock, and were often left to their own devices to play anything from heavy metal to alternative to grunge to punk rock in the same day. WPGU-FM was once known, during the heyday of the alternative/grunge music genre in the 1990s, as "Modern Rock Radio, 107.1, The Planet". One of my roommates did the morning sports report on The Planet; she was the first woman whom I'd heard doing a sportscast; on the radio or otherwise.
These days, WPGU is known as 'True Alternative.'
The Heyday of Alternative/Grunge Rock
By 1992, bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana had burst into the higher eschelons of the music scene and were helping to catapult the rest of the grunge and alternative college bands into the spotlight as well. Mostly angst-filled, it appealed to many of us Gen-Xers, with lots of guitar feedback, fuzz and distortion, grunge rock spoke to the hopelessness of the status quo of society.Plus, I think it singlehandedly brought back plaid flannel shirts as a fashion statement. I have to admit, I had my share of oversize plaid flannel shirts.
Get Your Grunge Fashion On
Relive the glory days of grunge music in a flannel shirt, one of the most low-maintenance fashion statements ever.
Concert Memories -- The Gin Blossoms
The University of Illinois had a ticket lottery for the Gin Blossoms concert, and I ended up getting #4. My good friend, my roommate and her boyfriend and I ended up in the second row for a somewhat intimate show in one of the larger lecture halls on campus.
The Grunge/Alternative Scene of the Early 90's
Some of the big events from 1990 - 1995
- May 27, 1990 - The Stone Roses stage a legendary concert at Spike Island, Cheshire
- October 22,1990 - Pearl Jam, then named "Mookie Blaylock", play their first show as a band at the Off Ramp club in Seattle, Washington.
- August 27, 1991 - Pearl Jam releases their debut album, "Ten". While initially slow to sell, it became #2 on the Billboard charts within a year and has since become certified thirteen times Platinum in the United States
- Late 1991/Early 1992 - Nirvana's surprise hit single 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' propels their 1991 album, Nevermind, to the top of the Billboard charts.
- February 24, 1992 - Nirvana's Kurt Cobain marries Hole's Courtney Love.
- March 22, 1993 - Depeche Mode becomes the first alternative British band to achieve the number one in U.S.A. on the Billboard 200, with the album Songs of Faith and Devotion.
- January 25, 1994 - Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.
- August 1, 1994 - Nirvana play their final concert in Munich.
- April 8, 1994 - The body of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found. Cobain's death three days before, is legally declared to be suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Nirvana - Frontmen of Grunge Rock
Favorite Early '90s Music Memories
Tell about some of your favorite memories of early '90s music. What concerts did you love? What songs were your favorites, and what do you like about them? (Please keep all posts PG-rated, and no drug references please)
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Tim
Feb 5, 2012 @ 5:35 am | delete
- I really love this site. Brings me back to the good ol days. You should definitely do more lists a la therockczar.com or digitaldreamdoor.com
Keep on rockin!
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JoshK47
Jan 20, 2012 @ 2:37 pm | delete
- Some of my favorite music comes from the early 90's - the entire Ten album by Pearl Jam... the evolution of U2's sound... the Offspring. Great stuff. Blessed by a SquidAngel! :)
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GabStar
Nov 21, 2011 @ 12:29 pm | delete
- I loved the Gin Blossoms! Hey Jealousy is one of my favorite songs
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madhu2219
Nov 8, 2011 @ 5:24 am | delete
- outstanding article.. :)
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LubosLabik
Oct 17, 2011 @ 3:51 am | delete
- Good, honest, handmade and the most important real music. I've got all theirs albums.
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LubosLabik
Oct 17, 2011 @ 3:51 am | delete
- Good, honest, handmade and the most important real music. I've got all theirs albums.
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AnthonyAltorenna
Aug 27, 2011 @ 5:15 pm | delete
- After the hair bands of the 80's, the music of the newer bands from the 90's seemed to return to roots of rock. Nicely done!
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punkgrinder
Aug 26, 2011 @ 1:06 pm | delete
- My favorite memory of the 90s in the musical tsunami that was Nirvana and how they changed everything, great lens.
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Shadrosky
Jul 31, 2011 @ 9:16 pm | delete
- I remember first hearing U2's "Mysterious Ways" and RHCP's "Under The Bridge" by age 5 or 6...ironically didnt get into either band til my early 20's, now they're both favorites. Nice lens!
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Jimformation
Jul 27, 2011 @ 11:12 am | delete
- Too many to list. Great concerts by Alice In Chains who were opening for Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Edgefest.. so many more. Memories of listening to all these bands with good friends and singing at the tops of our lungs.
Good stuff
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Top Grunge & Alternative Songs of the Early 90's
The songs that topped the charts and rocked the airwaves
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creep | Radiohead | The Best of Radiohead | |
| Loser | Beck | Mellow Gold | |
| Black Hole Sun | Soundgarden | Superunknown | |
| Champagne Supernova | Oasis | (What's the Story) Morning Glory | |
| Wonderwall | Oasis | (What's the Story) Morning Glory | |
| Man On the Moon | R.E.M. | Automatic for the People | |
| Been Caught Stealing | Jane's Addiction | Ritual de lo Habitual | |
| Losing My Religion | R.E.M. | Out of Time | |
| Everybody Hurts | R.E.M. | Automatic for the People | |
| Fade Into You | Mazzy Star | So Tonight That I Might See | |
| Creep | Radiohead | The Best of Radiohead | |
| Plush | Stone Temple Pilots | Core | |
| Mr. Jones | Counting Crows | August and Everything After | |
| All Apologies | Nirvana | In Utero | |
| Runaway Train | Soul Asylum | Grave Dancers Union | |
| Interstate Love Song | Stone Temple Pilots | Thank You | |
| 1979 | Smashing Pumpkins | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | |
| Bullet With Butterfly Wings | Smashing Pumpkins | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | |
| Santa Monica | Everclear | Sparkle and Fade | |
| Seether | Veruca Salt | American Thighs | |
| Buddy Holly | Weezer | Weezer | |
| Fake Plastic Trees | Radiohead | The Bends | |
| Stupid Girl | Garbage | Garbage | |
| Enjoy the Silence | Depeche Mode | Violator (Remastered) [Bonus Track Version] | |
| Under the Bridge | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Blood Sugar Sex Magik | |
| All I Want | Toad the Wet Sprocket | Fear | |
| Machinehead | Bush | Sixteen Stone | |
| Little Miss Can't Be Wrong | Spin Doctors | Pocket Full of Kryptonite |
News from the World of Rock
Besides grunge and alternative, there was still a lot going on in the world of rock. Here are some of the big events of the early '90s.
- February 14,1990 - 50,000 fans watch The Rolling Stones play the first of 10 concerts at Tokyo's Korakuen Dome, the beginning of the Stones' first ever tour of Japan.
- April 7,1990 - Neil Young, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Guns N' Roses and Jackson Browne perform at Farm Aid IV in Indiana. John dedicates "Candle in the Wind" to AIDS patient Ryan White during his performance. White dies later that evening.
- November 24, 1991 - Both Kiss drummer Eric Carr and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died. Mercury was at home in London on November 24, due to AIDS complications. Rumors had been circulating that Mercury had AIDS, but the death comes as a shock to millions of fans and the music industry. The remaining members of Queen form the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the following year, a tribute concert is staged in Wembley Stadium. A sell-out crowd in attendance witness the three surviving members reuniting to play along with performances by the likes of David Bowie, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Metallica, Annie Lennox, and George Michael.
- June 1992 - "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses enters the world record books when it becomes the longest single, at 8 minutes, 57 seconds, to reach the US Top 20. The single's video has a budget of over US$1.5 million, becoming the most expensive at the time.
- May 31, 1993 - Oasis plays at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, UK supporting 18 Wheeler. Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who is in the audience, offers them their first recording contract after the show
- August 30, 1994 - Oasis release their debut album Definitely Maybe, it becomes the fastest selling debut album in the United Kingdom at the time until 2006 when it was beaten by the Arctic Monkeys' debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.
- August 22, 1995 - Rancid release their third studio album ...And Out Come the Wolves. Along with Green Day's Dookie and The Offspring's Smash (both released a year before), this album helped revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the mid-1990s, and becomes one of the best-selling independent records of all time. ...And Out Come the Wolves eventually goes platinum.
- October 2, 1995 - Oasis release their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. The album spawns several number one singles around the world and eventually becomes the third best-selling album in the UK ever.
Concert Memories - U2
At the last minute, I decided to splurge and see U2 on their Zoo TV tour at Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Good choice. They were amazing, and their stage show had a lot of cool visual candy like a funky stack of cars and some slick looking scrolling lyrics.
More '90s Rock -- Metal, Pop, Funk Metal
The Early '90s weren't just about grunge and alternative rock. While glam-rock acts like Motley Crue, Warrant, and Ratt's popularity has greatly declined, Guns 'N Roses kept their fan base with their double album Use Your Illusion I and II. Many other big rock acts continued to thrive; U2 released their seventh album Achtung Baby, considered by many of their fans to be their best album, and Metallica also released their most commercially successful album, 'Metallica' (also called 'The Black Album') which goes on to become one of the all-time best selling records. Rage Against the Machine's unique blend of metal, funk and rap garnered enough attention to get them a slot in 1993's Lollapalooza.
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enjoy the Silence | Depeche Mode | Violator (Remastered) [Bonus Track Version] | |
| Nothing Compares 2 U | Sinéad O'Connor | I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got | |
| Enter Sandman | Metallica | Metallica | |
| Killing In the Name | Rage Against the Machine | Rage Against the Machine | |
| November Rain | Guns N' Roses | Use Your Illusion I | |
| Hey Jealousy | Gin Blossoms | New Miserable Experience | |
| Found Out About You | Gin Blossoms | New Miserable Experience | |
| You Oughta Know | Alanis Morissette | Jagged Little Pill | |
| Man In the Box | Alice In Chains | Facelift | |
| Unbelievable | EMF | Cool '90s Hits | |
| Kool Thing | Sonic Youth | Goo | |
| Right Here Right Now | Jesus Jones | Doubt | |
| Break It Down Again | Tears for Fears | Elemental |
The Punk Revival
On the heels of grunge's commercial success, labels began to see punk as a potentially profitable genre again. 1994 saw the release of Green Day's album 'Dookie', 'Smash' by The Offspring, and 'Let's Go' by Rancid which, among others, ushered in the revival of punk rock, which continued through the next decade. While Blink-182's first album 'Cheshire Cat' didn't achieve commercial success, its influence has reverberated throughout the punk genre; with bands and fans alike.
Green Day wins Rolling Stone's 1995 Best New Band Award
Sound off
What's Your Favorite Early '90s Rock Song?
Vote for your favorite or if it's not on the list already, please add it.
'Mr. Jones' by the Counting Crows from the album August & Everything After
It's amazing the difference a year makes. Upon its more...1 point
'Better Man' by Pearl Jam from the album Ten
No Description AvailableTrack: 10: Deep,Track: 11: more...1 point
All I Wanna Do - The Very Best of Sheryl Crow
Despite the photographic presence of an acoustic guitar more...0 points
Champagne Supernova by Oasis from (What's The Story) Morning Glory
2008 reissue. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is more...0 points
Enter Sandman by Metallica
This cd single features 3 songs which are, enter s more...0 points
I'm a Rockin' Mom
by BunnyFabulous
I'm an appreciator of most all '90s rock, as well as much of the other type of popular music at the time. Basically, it was the soundtrack of my coll... more »
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