How 90's Rock Shaped the Rock Genre

Rock music has been a fixture of American, and global culture, for close to a hundred years now. The timeline begins in the early to mid 1900s and extends throughout the century well into today's world. From the blues to psychedelic rock to glam rock, the genre tended to develop because of polarities in different musical subgenres and scenes. 

Many decades shifted the course of rock music as a genre and music history in general, but perhaps none other than the 90s can claim that it forcefully upended any past notions of what rock was and turned it into a whole new experience on the way. Here is how the 90s rock forever changed rock n' roll music!

In the Beginning

Rock music began as a slow transition from the blues genre sometime in the 40s to the 60s. Blues musicians in the United Kingdom and in the Southern United States made beautiful, heartbreaking music utilizing a certain chord progression and stringed instruments. An entire scene began to develop around the more popular blues players, such as Muddy Waters and B.B. King. This scene attracted those sort of people who lived on the fringe of regular 50s society. The blues grew in scale and community and eventually, as always, newcomers stepped in and began to experiment. These experimentations eventually led to what we now know was rock n' roll.

The Next Steps

The music industry began to form as a result of this popularization of fringe, creative songs and albums. This industry was made up of labels, promoters, club owners and not to forget, the actual musicians. As a new era dawned in the 60s and 70s, rock began to really catch on and gain popularity among the masses. Bigger arenas and stadiums were built and/or used to host rock bands such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more.

As the 80s dawned, rock transformed into a more tour, album and radio driven genre with bands putting on the theatrics in concerts and writing catchy songs to get radio time. Glam rock and stadiums became big in the 80s with bands like KISS, Journey and more. Then, came the 90s when alternative, grunge rock and independent labels and magazines began to change everything.

The Main Event

The 90s dawned a new era. Young teens who grew up watching the core soul of rock n' roll get co-opted by big money groups become totally different and fit for the mainstream rather than cut back to raw emotion and energy. A few key musicians and music related entities did not like this and worked together to bring back the soul of rock music. 

A gigantic music festival started called Lollapalooza wherein up and coming acts, of typically alternative nature, were invited to play on a stage in a large area where ticket holders could experience and enjoy the grungy electric guitar sounds and distortion pedals through really loud speakers. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and more came hot onto the scene with their grudges against authority and untamed guitar and drum melodies. Independent labels started to form in order to give more freedom and support to acts like those who wanted to keep playing music their way instead of appealing to the mainstream. Luckily for them, their sound really did become mainstream as the 90s marched along. Everyone was wearing combat boots, flannels and messy hair while they listened to grunge or alternative rock. It became such a movement that the radio stations gave in and played what the people wanted to hear. It was official: 90s grunge had become mainstream.

The Results

As a result of grunge and alt rock becoming mainstream, these bands irrevocably changed global culture forever. It became cool for people to buck against authority and wear whatever they felt like wearing. This sentiment bled from radio into television, movies and pretty much all other parts of culture! What started as a fringe movement truly changed rock as a genre forever.