- New styles from the 1980s underground
- Two early styles emerged during the early 1980s
- Heavy Metal
- Rap
- Grunge emerged from Seattle late in the late 1980s
- The common elements
- Roots in earlier styles
- Immensely popular and successful
- Image: representative of a disenfranchised segment of society
- Each style maintained its individual identity
- The rise of heavy metal
- Origin of the name is unclear
- Steppenwolf song lyric "Born to Be Wild": ". . . Heavy metal thunder. . ."
- Beat Writer William S. Burroughs used the term
- Journalists used it to describe Jimi Hendrix's music
- As described by Chas Chandler in the PBS documentary "History of Rock and Roll"
- ". . . His music sounds like heavy metal falling from the sky . . ."
- Stylistic features that were inspirational to metal musicians
- Iron Butterfly's song "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida" seen as an early precursor
- Most writers cite Black Sabbath as the originators of the style
- The heavy and gothic character of Sabbath's early music
- Driving riffs
- Dark themes
- Extended guitar solos
- The heavier side of Led Zeppelin's music
- Deep Purple
- Musical features similar to Black Sabbath's music
- Added aspects of classical music
- Bands with extravagant showmanship
- Metal emerged from British and Los Angeles underground scenes
- Heavy metal image
- "Headbanger" was a nickname for fans
- Allusion to unsophisticated character
- Blue-collar white audience
- Referring to primitive music
- Parodies of the heavy metal fan and music style:
- Wayne's World skits on Saturday Night Live and subsequent films
- Spinal Tap film
- Bevis and Butthead animated MTV series
- Bands presented an image of opposition to the status quo
- Show-biz glitziness
- Less mainstream and more on the tawdry strip-club side of glitz
- Rejection of commercial success
- Gesture of cultural defiance
- British heavy metal
- General characteristics of all British Heavy Metal bands in 1980s
- Guitar driven
- Emphasis on flashy soloing
- Heavy drumbeats
- An attempt to get back to an earlier style
- Ozzy Osborne quit Black Sabbath in 1977
- Went solo and released successful albums in 1980 and 1981
- The Blizzard of Ozz (uk7 p2, 1980)
- Diary of a Madman (uk14 p16, 1981)
- Worked with Randy Rhodes on guitar
- Black Sabbath replaced Ozzy with Ronnie James Dio on lead vocals
- Judas Priest
- Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1970
- First success in 1979 with their album Hell Bent for Leather (uk32, 1979)
- The follow-up, British Steel (uk4 p34, 1980) contained strong tracks
- "Breaking the Law" and
- "Living after Midnight"
- Iron Maiden
- Formed in England in 1976
- First success in England: the album Iron Maiden (uk4, 1980)
- America success began with The Number of the Beast (uk1 p33, 1982)
- Def Leppard
- First success was the 1981 album High 'n' Dry (uk26 p38, 1981)
- Following with Pyromania (uk18 p2, 1983) containing the track "Photograph"
- "Photograph" got heavy rotation on early MTV
- Mötorhead: 1970s band that influenced 1980s metal
- Formed by Lemmy Kilminster in the mid 1970s
- Incorporated several stylistic elements
- Guitar-dominated sound of British blues rock
- Punk tempos
- Biker culture
- Leather fashion
- Albums were successful only in England
- Mötorhead (uk43, 1977)
- Ace of Spades (uk4, 1980)
- Iron Fist (uk6, 1982)
- Los Angeles heavy metal
- Los Angeles had established itself as a place to succeed in the record industry
- Musicians migrated to Los Angeles during the 1970s
- Metal style guitar players were inspired by Van Halen's success
- Heavy Metal relies on guitaroften two lead guitarists in a band
- The Metal style sustained the influx of guitar players in Los Angeles
- Van Halen
- Personality clashes in the band between Eddie Van Halen and singer David Lee Roth
- Last album featuring Roth was 1984 (p2 ukl5, 1984)
- Sammy Hagar replaced Roth in 1985
- Released 5150 (p1 ukl6, 1986)
- Roth released a solo album in 1985
- Eat 'em and Smile (p4 uk28)
- Featured guitarist Steve Vai
- Quiet Riot
- Metal Health reached number one the top spot on the U.S. charts in 1983
- Contained the cover "Cum On and Feel the Noize"
- Hit for Slade in the 1970s
- Went to number five on the singles charts
- Motley Crüe
- Featuring singer Vince Neil
- Drummer Tommy Lee
- Several successful albums throughout the decade
- First successful album Shout at the Devil (p 17, 1983)
- Girls Girls Girls (p2 uk14, 1987)
- Dr. Feelgood (p1 uk4, 1989)
- "Shout at the Devil" exemplifies the Los Angeles Metal style:
- Kind of guitar-driven, pop oriented metal
- Vince Neil's singing is high, almost screaming
- Influence of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant
- Drumming is loud and assertive
- Uunison, sing-along vocals on the chorus suggest an anthem-like quality
- Band drops out late in the track to focus on the vocal hook
- Less virtuosic guitar playing than usual
- Guitar is still the focus of the instrumental bridge
- Ratt
- Their album Out of the Cellar (p7, 1984) was the first and biggest success
- Hit single "Round and Round" (p12)
- Twisted Sister
- From New York
- Led by singer Dee Snyder
- Their album Stay Hungry reached (p15 uk34, 1984)
- Hit single: "We're Not Gonna Take It" (p21)
- The rise of the metal mega-stars and hair bands
- Why metal bands were referred to as "hair bands"
- During the 1970s some bands had employed makeup and costumes to enhance their visual image
- Alice Cooper
- Kiss
- David Bowie
- Genesis
- A central factor of the English glam movement
- Many metal bands followed these models
- Wore makeup
- Outrageous clothes
- Heavily teased and sprayed hair
- Audience tended to be all male
- Ironic aspects of bands' images
- Feminine elements of makeup and teased hair
- Masculine on-stage mannerisms and gestures
- Music and lyrics portrayed distinctively macho attitude
- Bon Jovi
- New Jersey
- Led by singer Jon Bon Jovi
- Their album Slippery When Wet (p1 uk6, 1986) had several hit singles
- "You Give Love a Bad Name" (uk14) among them
- "Livin' on a Prayer" (p1 uk4) also on that album
- Next album, New Jersey (p1 uk1, 1988) had hit singles
- "Bad Medicine" (p1 ukl7)
- "I'll Be There for You" (uk18)
- The band moved toward a more mainstream pop style
- Continued success into 1990s
- Guns and Roses
- Led by Singer Axl Rose and lead guitarist Slash (Saul Hudson)
- Debut album Appetite for Destruction (p1 uk5, 1987)hit singles on that album
- "Welcome to the Jungle" (p1 uk4)
- "Sweet Child of Mine" (p7 uk4)
- The singles made them one of the most successful rock acts of 1988
- Simultaneously released two enormously successful albums in 1991
- Use Your Illusion I (p2 uk2)
- Use Your Illusion II (p1 uk1)
- Poison
- 1986 album Look What the Cat Dragged In hit number three in the United States
- Next album Open Up and Say . . . Aah! (p2 uk18, 1988) even more successful
- Contained the hit single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (p1 uk13)
- New stylistic approach called the "power ballad"
- Power ballad
- Heavy metal version of a slow song
- The singer displays his sensitive side
- Begins with a quiet expressive section
- Later in the song heavy guitars and drums enter
- Speed metal, thrash metal, and the hippie aesthetic
- Speed metal
- Fast tempos
- Virtuosic guitar passages
- Wide variety of textures
- Thrash metal
- Musicians' reaction to speed metal
- Speed metal focus considered too narrow
- Technical virtuosity was too demanding
- Thrash metal contained wider variety of textures
- Also a wider spectrum of tempos
- The hippie aesthetic in heavy metal virtuosity
- Blistering guitar solos are associated with heavy metal
- Critics considered such solos empty or self-indulgent
- Direct continuation of late 1960s and early 1970s sensibilities
- References to classical music models
- Extended forms
- Virtuosic solos
- Concept albums devoted to important issues
- Deep Purple's Richie Blackmore was influential
- His solo on "Highway Star"
- Eddie Van Halen
- His solo "Eruption"
- Two-hand tapping techniques heard on this track
- Cut from their first album
- Randy Rhoads
- Metallica
- More serious minded
- Focus on musicianship
- Their music referred to as "speed metal"
- Formed in Los Angeles, moved to San Francisco
- Influences:
- Black Sabbath
- Led Zeppelin
- Deep Purple
- Mötorhead
- Released a series of highly successful albums
- Master of Puppets (p29 uk41, 1986)
- breakthrough album : . . . And Justice for All (p6 uk4, 1988)
- Contains the track "One"
- "One" is representative example of the band's music
- Large-scale two-part form
- Begins quietly
- Gains intensity and speed in the second section
- The album Metallica (p1 ukl, 1991)
- Established them as one of the most important heavy metal bands
- Includes "Enter Sandman"
- Perhaps the most exceptional track in all of metal
- Megadeth
- Led by former Metallica guitarist-singer Dave Mustaine
- Important thrash metal band
- Album: Peace Sells . . . But Who's Buying? (1986)
- Album: Countdown to Extinction (p2 uk5, 1992)
- Album: Youthanasia (p4 uk6, 1994)
- Yngwie Malmsteen
- Swedish guitarist
- Virtuosic approach to metal guitar playing
- Employed traditional classical-music approach
- Played with several Los Angeles bands beginning in 1982
- Steeler
- Alcatrazz
- Rising Force
- 1984: Rising Force released its debut album
- The track "Dark Star" demonstrates Malmsteen' s technique
- Other notable late 1980s hair bands
- Warrant
- Album: Dirty Rotten Stinking Filthy Rich (p10, 1988)
- Album: Cherry Pie (p7, 1990)
- Winger
- Album: Winger (p21, 1988)
- Album: In the Heart of the Young (p15, 1990)
- Skid Row
- Featuring singer Sebastian Bach
- Album: Skid Row (p6 uk30, 1989)
- Album: Slave to the Grind (p1 uk5, 1991)
- Other thrash metal bands
- Anthrax (from New York)
- Album: Among the Living (p62 uk18, 1987)
- Slayer (from Los Angeles)
- Album: Reign in Blood (p94 uk47, 1986)
- The emergence of rap
- Hip-hop culture
- Origins in New York
- Two elements of hip-hop culture drew public's attention before rap:
- Graffiti as publicity
- Graffiti artists spray-painted their names on subway cars
- Their name would be "broadcast" by the cars on their regular route around the city
- Break dancing
- First practiced by black teens, and Hispanic teens soon afterward
- Elaborate acrobatic spins and movements on a piece of cardboard or plastic on the sidewalk
- The first hip-hop DJs
- Employed the Jamaican approach to providing sound systems for parties
- Parties were often in city parks
- MCs (master of ceremonies) commented on the music
- Also encouraged partygoers to dance and join in the festivities
- The first known DJ to use an MC for his activities was Kool Herc
- Pulled a truck up to a city power box and played loud music for the whole neighborhood
- His MC was Coke La Rock
- MCs developed into rappers
- Blended the MC role with black radio DJ between-song patter
- The mix concept
- Radio stations and dance clubs used two record turntables:
- One for the record being played
- The other for the next record to be cued up to play
- Early DJs used this approach to transition from one song to the next
- Kool Herc
- Grandmaster Flash
- Early DJs used this double turntable concept to create a new approach: break spinning
- Used two copies of the same record
- Played the same passages over and over between the turntables
- As the passage ended on one, it would be replayed on the other
- Purpose was to incite the dancers to greater excitement
- Created new music (in a sense) out of recorded "samples"
- This formed the aesthetic basis for rap
- Scratching
- Popularized by Grandmaster Flash
- The record is quickly and repeatedly rotated forward and reverse
- This creates a distinctive rhythm
- Afrika Bambaataa
- Incorporated obscure or unlikely tracks into his mixes
- Founded Zulu Nation in 1974
- Organization devoted to building brotherhood in the community
- De-emphasizing crime in urban New York City
- Kurtis Blow had a hit soon after with "The Breaks (Part I)" (r4, 1980)
- The first rap records
- Sugar Hill Records
- Based in Englewood, New Jersey
- Run by Joe and Sylvia Robinson
- Sylvia heard party guests chanting rhymes with instrumental sections of disco records
- Thought it might sell
- Assembled some young men who rapped over a rhythm track for Chic's "Good Times"
- Released "Rapper's Delight" (r4 p36, 1979)
- Focus became the rapping
- Instrumental mixing became the backdrop to the rapping
- DJs switched roles from leaders of live hip-hop entertainment to background accompanists
- Sugar Hill released a series of now "classic" old-school rap tracks by important rap pioneers
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" (r4 p62, 1982) is one of them
- Def Jam Records
- Formed by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin
- Released records by top rappers
- LL Cool J
- Beastie Boys
- Public Enemy
- Simmons formed Rush Entertainment management company
- Handled some of rap's top acts
- Run-DMC
- Kurtis Blow
- Jazzy Jeff and the fresh Prince
- Def Jam has been compared to Motown
- Simmons and Rubin ran the most impressive rap indie label of that time
- Like Motown, they intended to make rap crossover to white teen audience
- LL Cool J among their first successes
- In 1985 he made an appearance in the movie Krush Groove
- Hit rhythm and blues single "I Can't Live without My Radio" (r15)
- Album Radio (r6 p46, 1986) was successful for rhythm and blues and pop
- LL Cool J had better crossover success in 1987
- "1 Need Love" (r1 p14)
- Possibly the first rap ballad
- The album Bigger and Deffer crossed over successfully (r1 p3) on album charts
- Run-DMC: two rappers and a DJ
- "Run": Joseph Simmons (label owner Russell Simmons's younger brother)
- "DMC": Darryl McDaniels
- DJ "Jam Master Jay": Jason Mizell
- Some crossover success with the single "Rock Box" (r22, 1984)
- MTV played the video for the song
- Run-DMC liked to rap over instrumental breaks in rock records
- "Rock Box" is an example of this
- Run-DMC liked the opening drum beat from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way"
- Rick Rubin re-recorded the song's tracks with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
- The Run-DMC version featured both the rappers and the rockers
- "Walk This Way" (r5 p4, 1986) brought rap into the pop mainstream
- Run-DMC's first album, Run-DMC (r14 p53, 1984), is among the most influential early rap records
- Raising Hell (r1 p6, 1986) brought Run-DMC stardom
- Def Jam Records then produced Beastie Boysa band of white rappers
- Beastie Boys
- Single "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right to Party" was a successful crossover in 1987 (p7)
- Their album Licensed to Ill was the first pop number one rap record (r2)
- Among the first bands to take advantage of the new digital sampling technology
- Sampling became the mainstay of rappers to create backing tracks
- Lawsuits arose over obligations to pay for use of other artists' tracks
- They are required to pay for use of tracks
- Gangsta Rap
- Ice T (Tracy Morrow)
- Moved to Los Angeles as a child
- Became one of the most important west coast rappers
- His single "I'm Your Pusher" (r13, 1988) focused on urban problems
- Sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman"
- More angry and aggressive than earlier artists in the 1970s
- Album Power (r6 p35 1988) did well
- Greater crossover success in the 1990s
- O.G. Original Gangster (r9 p15, 1991)
- Home Invasion (r9 p 14, 1993)
- Boogie Down Productions (BDP)
- Focused on social and political criticism
- Led by KRS-One (Kris Parker)
- The band's first album: Criminal Minded (r73, 1987)
- Influenced many rappers
- Uncompromising and harsh depictions of urban life
- Two albums brought their greatest crossover success
- Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop (r7 p36, 1989)
- Edutainment (r9 p32, 1990)
- Public Enemy
- Combined elements of other groups
- Led by Chuck D and Flavor Flav
- One of the most influential groups in rap
- Rhythmic style of Run-DMC
- Political approach of BDP
- Chart success began in 1988
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (r1 p42)
- The single "Don't Believe the Hype" (r18) was on that album
- The band's single "Fight the Power" (r20, 1989) was popularized on film
- Featured in Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing
- Next album, Fear of a Black Planet (r3 p10, 1990) was a crossover hit
- Greatest crossover success with Apocalypse 91The Enemy Strikes Back (r1 p4, 1991)
- N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude)
- Los Angeles
- Even angrier approach to rap
- Band's 1989 album Straight Outta Compton (r9 p37) notable for negative reaction
- Record company, Ruthless, received a warning letter from the FBI
- Penchant for depicting dangerous urban life appealed strongly to white kids
- Next album EFIL4ZAGGIN hit number one on the pop album charts in 1991 (r2)
- Controversy over rap
- Is it music?
- Critics have argued that rap is not really "music"
- Many rappers don't play instruments or sing
- Offensive words
- Negative images portrayed in videos
- Focus on negative aspects of race and class distinctions
- A phenomenon present since 1955
- These issues also account for some of its attraction
- White rap fans are fascinated by the urban violence depicted in rap
- Contrast to the suburban environment
- Use of preexisting music has been a common facet of pop music since WWII
- Common aspects of rap and heavy metal
- They developed along parallel paths
- Both styles developed devoted followings on MTV
- Headbangers' Ball premiered in 1987
- Exclusively metal videos
- Yo! MTV Raps debuted in August 1988
- One of the most popular shows on MTV
- Both styles presented an "outsider" image
- They depended on class differences
- Both styles became emblematic of the lower end of the class spectrum
- Where the two styles differ
- While rap continued to develop throughout the 1990s
- Heavy metal faded out of favor with appearance of grunge
- Race issues must be figured into rap (not in heavy metal)
- Alternative rock from Seattle
- The connection to 1970s British punk
- British punk motivated by socioeconomic issues
- American punk was not based on those frustrations
- Many American guitar oriented post-punk bands emerged during the 1980s
- Alternative rock embraced the same return-to-basics approach as 1970s punk bands
- Reaction against "establishment" influence on music
- MTV appearancedriven bands
- Flashy and virtuosic solos of heavy metal
- Alt rockers dressed very casually
- Projected themselves as amateur instrumentalists
- Rejected the idea of recording for a major label
- Do-it-yourself aesthetic rejected the commercialism of popular music
- Nirvana
- Most important band in Seattle's grunge scene
- Played their first shows in Olympia, Washington
- Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Kurt Cobain
- Their music rejected the entire rock star apparatus
- Debut album Nevermind (p1 uk7) was released late 1991
- Single "Smells like Teen Spirit" (p6 uk7, 1991) was hugely successful
- Began the movement called alternative rock
- Began the movement called alternative rock
- In Utero (1993)
- Unplugged in New York (1994)
- Nirvana's career ended with Cobain's suicide in April 1994
- Hole
- Led by Courtney Love
- One of the most aggressive grunge bands
- Due to Love's combative image
- She married Kurt Cobain in 1992
- Released successful albums in early 1990s
- Pretty on the Inside (1991) drew favorable reviews
- Live Through This did well in the UK
- Celebrity Skin (1998) reached number nine in the United States
- Love co-starred with Woody Harrelson in the film The People vs. Larry Flynt
- Pearl Jam
- Also from Seattle
- Leader: singer Eddie Vedder
- Their sound was closer to heavy metal than other grunge bands
- Made for more radio airplay
- In contrast to their anti-commercial attitude
- Their early albums established them as a top act by mid-decade
- Ten (p2 uk18, 1992)
- VS (p1 uk2, 1993)
- Vitology (p1 uk6, 1994)
- Began a legal battle with Ticketmaster
- They believed the company was forcing higher ticket prices
- Made it difficult for their fans to afford to see their concerts
- Lost a court case against the ticket retailer
- They were heroes to the anti-establishment alt-rock community
- They had hit records at the end of the 1990s
- Album Yield (1998) hit number two on the U.S. charts
- Single with "Last Kiss" (p2 1999)
- "Last Kiss" was a cover of the 1964 splatter platter by J. Wilson and the Cavaliers
- Initially recorded for their fan club
- Soundgarden
- Formed in Seattle in the late 1980s
- Led by the vocals of Chris Cornell and the guitar playing of Kim Thayil
- Blend of earlier styles
- Heavy metal
- 1970s blues rock
- 1960s psychedelia
- Commercial success with Superunknown (p1 uk4, 1994)
- Alice in Chains
- Formed in Seattle by singer Layne Staley in the late 1980s
- Similar lyric approach to that of speed metal bands
- Dark lyrics dealing with drug addiction and death reflect speed metal influences
- Metallica
- Megadeth
- 1991 debut album, Facelift, was initially directed at metal fans
- Capitalized on Nirvana's success as a Seattle band
- Album Dirt reached number six in the U.S. charts
- 1994 EP Jar of Flies had an important distinction
- First EP to reach number one on Billboard's album chart
- Acoustically oriented
- 1995' s Alice in Chains debuted at number one in U.S.charts
- Foo Fighters
- Formed by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl
- First album, Foo Fighters, was a set of solo recordings he'd made
- Initial release on cassettes
- Reached number twenty-three on U.S. album charts (uk3)
- Released several more successful albums
- California alternative bands
- Green Day
- Formed in San Francisco
- Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong
- Hard driving and aggressive sound
- Clear stylistic influences of 1960s pop and 1970s punk
- First significant commercial success began in 1994
- Dookie (p2)
- 1995 album Insomniac (p2)
- The ballad "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is significant
- Demonstrates their softer side
- Played during the final episode of Seinfeld
- Faith No More
- Musical approach akin to irreverence of Frank Zappa
- Formed in San Francisco in 1982
- Bassist Billy Gould
- Keyboardist Roddy Bottum
- Drummer Mike Bordin
- Added Mike Patton on vocals in 1988
- Began successful releases in 1990
- The Real Thing (p11, 1990)
- Number nine single "Epic" contained on that album
- Angel Dust (p10, 1992)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Formed in 1983 in Hollywood
- Influenced by '70s funk and '70s punk
- Shown in playing style of the band's bassist, Flea
- 1985 album Freaky Styley produced by George Clinton
- 1989 covered Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" on Mother's Milk album
- First commercial success with BloodSugarSexMagik
- Produced by Rick Rubin
- Number three in 1991
- Subsequent hit albums
- One Hot Minute (p4, 1994)
- Californication (p3, 1999)
- Developed a reputation for innovative videos
- Stone Temple Pilots
- Formed in 1987 in San Diego
- Combined stylistic influences
- Seattle bands like Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam
- 1970s guitar-oriented mainstream rock
- First three albums reached the top five on the U.S. charts
- Core (1992)
- Purple (1994)
- Tiny Music (1996)
- Bands that returned to the 1960s and 1970s
- Smashing Pumpkins
- From Chicago
- Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Corgan
- Aspects of progressive rock, psychedelia, and early heavy metal.
- Important album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (p1 uk4, 1995)
- Oasis
- From England
- Too heavily influenced by the Beatles for their own good
- More success in England than in the states
- Important album: Definitely Maybenumber one in UK in 1994
- (What's the Story) Morning Gloryhit in UK and the states in 1995
- Blur
- More successful in UK than in United States
- Successful album: Parklife (uk1, 1994)
- Suede
- More popular in UK than in United States
- Successful album: Suede (uk1, 1993)
- Radiohead
- Pink Floyd's spacey atmospheric approach
- Bends (uk6, 1995)
- Kid A (2000) hit in the United States and UK
- The appeal of alternative music
- Possible reasons for acceptance of alternative music
- Rejection of the MTV emphasis on glamor
- Rejection of heavy metal virtuosity and self-indulgence
- The "return to basics" approach of punk had proven successful earlier
- Rock audiences require changes in the overall genre
- These bands and artists are too recent to know their true place in rock history.