90’s Rock
Musically, the early 90’s took a dramatic turn from the previous decade. Pop music took a step back from synthesizers, as if to say “just because we can, doesn’t mean we have to” and guitar solos were brought back to the forefront of the radio dial. I’m sure everyone had an “alternative rock” station, in Minneapolis we had two. The first was KEGE 93.7 The Edge, which was the corporate take on modern rock. The other was the more “underground” Rev105 (KREV 105.1, WREV 105.3, KCFE105.7), which was bought out in early 1997, much to the disappointment of fans (I still remember my friend Will smashing a bottle of Dr. Pepper on the floor of the cafeteria at school that day). Moving on:
The 90’s is by far my favorite popular musical decade, which says a lot for a guy who calls himself both a huge The Clash and Elvis Costello fan. I’ve always felt artists during the period created a perfect amalgamation of earlier American rock stars. It had the freshness of the 50’s, the pop sensibilities of the 60’s, the raw guitars of the 70’s and the marketing of the 1980’s. I didn’t have parents that listened to Zeplin or anything, so growing up I didn’t have a lot of elitist opinions about music until high school, but I knew what I liked.
The early 90’s brought us (technically after reaching popularity or greater popularity) Soundgarden, Faith No More, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and likely hundreds of other bands I won’t bother. There are a lot of hippie-wannabes who were born in the 80’s who want to go on and on about how influential the music of the 60’s and 70’s was. But they weren’t there, they’re just co-opting the music of what they believed was a more rebellious generation. They watched Woodstock ‘94 on MTV and ranted about selling out, then spent the whole next week pretending that they didn’t enjoy hearing Green Day play live. It’s like Lollaplooza didn’t even exist to this crowd. But I digress.
As the decade moved forward, it brought us pop-punk, ska, the return of folk and some decent electronic music. In the same vein that the Kraft corporation tries to shill dairy products by claiming they boost the consumption of vegetables (read: cheesy broccoli sucks), try some cheese: Get one American dollar, go here, put it on your iPod, get in the car, find a lonely stretch of open road, crank it up and try not to sing along to the chorus. Hated it? Then prove you don’t know most of the words to “Basket Case” or “Doll Parts.” No? Well, you at least know the 90’s media anthem that was the theme to Friends.
If you still have a good argument, know this: the 90’s was the last decade you could sell records and your video could be on MTV. The 90’s had more overdoses than the past, and less eyeliner than the future. Word.
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