by Ignacio Brown

Created on: December 30, 2009

Neil Strauss defined alternative music as “hard-edged rock distinguished by brittle, 70's-inspired guitar riffing and singers agonizing over their problems until they take on epic proportions.” (New York Times, 2 March 1997). Alternative rock has evolved quickly through the decades providing a very complex yet startling library of musicians and musical genres.

To provide a detailed overview is definitely a herculean task. But I would like to provide a concise overview of mainstream 90’s alternative rock music by dividing it into four categories. The first category is the breakout of Seattle-Grunge acts like Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The second would be the Pop-Punk giants Greenday and the Offspring. The third category would be Britpop bands such as Oasis and Blur with a little information on Suede and Radiohead. The fourth category; which would not be covered here are mainstream icons such as Better Than Ezra, Foo Fighters, No Doubt, Third Eye Blind and Alanis Morisette to name a few.

I would list down influential bands in these three categories and some detail on their achievements and role during the 90’s alternative music scene.

Bursting forth into the Mainstream: The Tales of the Seattle-Grunge Rockers.

Most would cite Nirvana and Pearl Jam for pushing forward what we would know today as alternative rock on the airwaves. But there were many bands that were stairways for Nirvana and Pearl Jam to climb upon in achieving such feats. One good band that paved the way for them were none other than Soundgarden.

Soundgarden was formed in 1984, in Seattle, Washington by Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron joined the band as their permanent drummer in 1986. The band’s major break however came in 1994 with Superunknown. The album was a success. Songs such as “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun” went on to win awards, the album itself was nominated for a Grammy and has been certified five times platinum in the States.

Nirvana broke onto the scene in 1991, with their second album Nevermind. Their hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” went on to reach number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a defining element in pushing Nevermind to be a cult hit from 1991-1992. Nevermind went on to beat Michael Jackson’s Dangerous for the top spot on the Billboard charts in 1992. Other famous songs that were birthed out of that album were “Come as You Are”, “Lithium”

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