1990s

Britpop

Within the UK, the Britpop movement began which incorporated Britishness and everything great about being British. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and to the UK's own shoegaze music scene. Artists such as Blur, Oasis, Suede, Pulp etc were all a part of the Britpop movement.

Introduction

The 1990s witnessed the rise of diverse music trends, including grunge, hip-hop, pop, electronic music, pop punk, and R&B. Grunge and alternative rock bands like Within America, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam challenged the dominance of pop music and brought a raw and angst-filled sound to the mainstream. Nirvana not only did Cobain bring grunge and punk rock into the mainstream, but he also promoted inclusivity in a historically chauvinistic genre, and inspired a generation of listeners as an anti-rock. Aditonally, the 90s was the decade for 'girl power' with bands such as TLC and The Spice Girls took to media to storm with being major influences. In the UK, Spice Girls, British pop group whose infectious dance songs dominated the global charts in the late 1990s. They cultivated a playful sex appeal under the banner of “Girl Power” to create a feminist alternative to the boy bands of the day.

Culturally the 90s brought forth an extraordinary blend of iconic fashion, cultural shifts, and technological advancements. It was an era that witnessed the rise of grunge music and bubblegum pop, the birth of the internet, and a flourishing of memorable TV shows and rom-coms. Additionally, within the music industry, there was a famous feud between two upcoming bands. Blur moved the release date of their single Country House to the very same day that Oasis issued their single Roll With It, a challenge was thrown down. It was perfect for the press: the rough, working class, no-nonsense Northerners versus the pretentious, university-educated, hipster Southerners.

Lyrical Analysis

Tupac's lyrics

Tupac’s music was groundbreaking in addressing issues that made many comfortable Americans feel uncomfortable, and for all the right reasons. His music has the ability to question the privilege and power that White Americans automatically have, and that in itself is very uncomfortable. One of my favorite Tupac songs is 'Keep Ya Head Up' released in 1993. A feminist anthem that holds important lyrics about the advantages some men take from women. Additionally, the chorus is sampled from the Five Steps 'O-o-h Child'. With the chorus going "ooh child things are gonna get easier" connoting the possibilities ina curwl world, women can have freedom.

“And since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman, and our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women?”

There really wasn’t anyone better to get the message to fellow Black youth than 2Pac. His sensitivity and intellect made other Black men strive to be better and paved the way for Black women to be celebrated in not only hip-hop culture but society. In today's society, we still have a way to go with equality among genders, but we can give thanks to the rapper for getting the conversation started.

https://umusic.co.nz/originals/classic-hip-hop/10-2pac-lyrics-that-still-remain-powerful-today/

Female RnB artists were rising, such as Ms Lauryn

Hill is credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularising melodic rap, redefining hip hop, and helping neo-soul reach mainstream popularity.Hill had melded so many cornerstone genres of Black music into one cohesive whole. R&B, reggae, hip-hop and soul all came together form an album that was immediately adored critically and commercially. ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ was the first album by a solo female rapper to debut at No. 1 in the US.

The Rise of Hip-Hop music

It was the era of vibrant contrast, creative fusions between genres, and a delicate waltz between counterculture and the mainstream. On the one hand, grunge: a movement of the disillusioned and cynical, best represented by the angst-ridden howls of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

Hip-hop was a rising genre in the late 1980s to the 1990s with artists such as Tupac, Jay-Z, Snoop Dog etc taking the 90s by storm with new music material. The lyrics of Hip-hop believe that people can take control of their lives through self-knowledge and self-expression. Knowledge influences style and technique and connects its artists under a collective hip-hop umbrella. Hip-Hop has been raising awareness for youth black lives and the discrimination that they face. Racial discrimination has been present for centuries and its now through technology that people are spreading awreness and their views, such as within music.

Detroit rapper and activist Royce da 5'9'' said that amid this void, hip-hop artists in the '80s "pushed the envelope in terms of exercising their First Amendment right" and became "the voice of the streets."

"It was that voice that America couldn't control ... it was that voice of the streets that they didn't know what the next line is gonna be and that scared them," he told ABC News.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hip-hop-standing-black-lives-decades-15-songs/story?id=71195591

Nirvana's Darkest Track

One of Nirvana's darkest songs would be 'Polly' which was released in 1991 on their Nevermind album. Its disturbing story follows the “Polly” is the story of an unidentified 14-year-old girl who was attending a concert in Tacoma, Washington in June of 1987 when she was kidnapped by serial rapist and kidnapper. Cobain sings from the perspective of the perpetrator, where he says in the chorus "Let me clip your dirty wings" which its connotations are disturbing to its listeners.

The meaning states that he was trapping her so she could not escape. Cobain was a supporter for fmale rights as well as his, outspoken and ongoing support of the LGBTQ community in an era that largely threw the then-controversial issue of “gay rights” by the wayside, particularly in the wake of panic surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

https://gomag.com/article/men-love-remembering-kurt-cobain-feminist-lgbtq-ally-ahead-time/

Grunge Music

Additionally within the 90s, the genre grunge became popular. It became popular due to releases such as Nirvana's album 'Nevermind', Nirvana is the main band that developed the genre wit the msics style as well as the baggy fashion. It was a rejection of the excesses of the 1980s and the glossy, image-driven world of mainstream music. Grunge lyrics are typically dark, nihilistic, wretched, angst-filled and anguished, often addressing themes such as social alienation, self-doubt, abuse, assault, neglect, betrayal, social isolation/emotional isolation, psychological trauma, and a desire for freedom.

Following on from the punk movement in the 70s, Grunge fuses elements of punk rock and heavy metal, but without punk's structure and speed. The genre featured the distorted electric guitar sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other.

Harmonic Analysis

influences

At various times in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the genre has seen revivals. Doo-wop was a precursor to many of the Afro-American musical styles seen today. An evolution of jazz and blues, doo-wop also influenced many of the major Rock and Roll groups that defined the later decades of the 20th century. Doo-wop is iconic for it’s swing-like beats and use the off-beat to keep time. Doo-wop laid the foundation for many musical innovations, for example, R&B.

Popular chord progressions for R &B One of the most its recognizable major-key R&B chord progressions is C – E – G – B – D (Cmaj9) into B – Eb – Gb – A (Bmin7). One of the '90s most popular R&B tracks would be TLC's 'Waterfalls' which was released in 1994.

The track follows the chord progression I-V-bVII-IV (C-G-Bb-F), this chord progression came about in the '90s as it was the foundation of this major hit song. The song is very funky with classic jazz instruments such as the trumpet and harmonic lyrics from all three singers, as they harmonize the chorus which is significant to the Doo-Wop progression.

Doo-wop

Singers and songwriter schema is vi–IV–I–V or I–V–vi–IV, and it was common in the 1990s. singer/songwriter music. It can also be understood in its relative minor: i–VI–III–VII. A common variation is IV–I–V–vi. Like the 1950s doo-wop, this is a four-chord cyclical progression. In the 1950s, doo-wop consisted of a style of rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll vocal music popular in the 1950s and '60s. The structure of doo-wop music generally featured a tenor lead vocalist singing the melody of the song with a trio or quartet singing background harmony. It has been around for some time and can be found in a variety of musical styles but it became increasingly common beginning in the mid-1990s with singer/songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, and Joan Osborne.

https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/chapter/4-chord-schemas/#:~:text=The%20singer%2Fsongwriter%20schema%20is,pop%20music%20(since%202010).

Doo-Wop Chord Progression on Guitar

Cobain Chords

Kurt Cobain spoke about his instrumentation skills in a rare interview with German journalist Edgar Klüsener in 1993, footage at the time 2:07 “I have no desire to become any better of a guitar player,” Kurt said in the footage at the time 2:07 “I have no concept of knowing how to be a musician at all, whatsoever. I don't know the name of the chords to play, I don't know how to do major or minor chords on a guitar. I couldn't even pass Guitar 101. Everyone knows more than I do."

Cobain chords refer to a specific type of chord voicing and progression commonly found in Kurt Cobain’s songwriting. These chords often exhibit dissonance, unconventional voicings, and raw, emotional quality. Cobain’s guitar playing style was known for its raw power and the ability to evoke intense emotions through simple yet effective chord progressions.

https://breakthroughguitar.com/what-is-a-cobain-chord/

Guitar

One of the most famous grunge bands, that identified grunge music would be the American group Nirvana. Kurt Cobain was the leading frontman, as well as the guitarist who was able to make unusual sounds. His style of playing and the chord progressions that he incorporated into his work, relied on using power chords. Within this link, it incorporated "the shape is transposable all around the neck of the guitar and is made up of just three notes. Kurt often used his third finger to barre across the fifth and octave notes but you can use your third and fourth fingers if you prefer to".

https://guitar.com/lessons/beginner/five-minutes-play-guitar-like-kurt-cobain/#

Instruments

Guitars that are used by Johnny Greenwood

Fender Telecaster Plus Tobacco Burst

Greenwood first used this guitar in 1995 "He used the stock Lace Sensor pickups, had a killswitch installed, and made special rewiring modifications. The killswitch is only engaged when pressed down, so it can produce a kind of stutter effect, which he used in solos on ‘Airbag’, ‘Paranoid Android’, and ‘Electioneering’ in the studio versions".

Besides Greenwood's love towards Telecasters, the article goes deeper to explain the transitions that greenwood performs to change the moods of each song that he performs. "the only guitar that has endured the career of Jonny is his Starcaster, which he bought in 1995. He normally plays this for the more mellow songs, as the Tele is better suited to his more aggressive live style of playing. He infamously uses it with a cello bow on ‘The Pyramid Song’, and also uses it for live performances of ‘Street Spirit’".

https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/gear-rundown-jonny-greenwood/

Guitar

The Telecaster was important in the evolution of country, electric blues, funk, rock and roll, and other forms of popular music. Its solid construction lets guitarists play loudly as a lead instrument, with long sustain if desired. Johhny Greenwood from Radio was favored by telecasters.

Within Paranoid Android, the beginning starts with acoustic guitar, leading with choruses with psychedelic effects from Greenwood's guitar. "The Small Stone V2 pedal is the main effect during the verse of "Paranoid Android." Also, he used a rack-mounted Mutronics Mutator for studio recording, which gives the end solo its distinctive sound". Through their music, listeners would hear the influence they have followed with psychedelic music, which was created in the 60s onwards. Through the experimentation of guitars that Greenwood performs.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/complete_guide_to_radiohead_paranoid_android-51403#:~:text=Jonny%20Greenwood's%20gear%20in%201997,end%20solo%20its%20distinctive%20sound.

Infleunces

He has cited Paul McCartney, Geezer Butler, John Entwistle, and Gene Simmons as the fundamental influences of his bass playing. Novoselic's brother Robert introduced him to his friend Kurt Cobain, who had noticed loud music coming from upstairs in the Novoselic household.

Bass

Nirvana's bassist, Krist Novoselic is known for his love of the Gibson Ripper bass, a guitar made in the 1970s. He owned three of them during his Nirvana days and still enjoys playing that particular model today. The band's influences came from the punk background in the 1970s, Nevermind re-invigorated sensitivity to mainstream rock. According to Cobain, the sound of the album was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and Melvins.

Within the band's iconic '90s hit 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', the song is a rebellious anthem and this article explains how important Novoselic's role as the bassist, "Novoselic’s distinctive touch on the bass was always in its right place. Although both Cobain and Grohl play some of the most memorable lines from ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, Novoselic’s way of holding down the rhythm section in the verses brings a foreboding atmosphere to the procession of morose Gen-Z anti-establishment rhetoric". As the bass is an important rhythm function and there is a mellow section in the verse where the bass is more leading and heard,

Reflection

What to improve on next time?

Next time, to perfect the ending would make the song finish on a loud and high closure would leave the song on an energetic finish. But overall we learned the song fairly quickly, from practicing at home before we came to rehearse.

'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus

For our 1990s decade, we chose to cover Teenage Dirtbag, which was released in the year 2000 but follows the qualities of a 1990s pop-punk hit from a teenage rom-com movie. This song is upbeat and was enjoyable to learn as a group. Even the song gave off a laid-back persona, but it was really important to get the drums and bass tight and in sync. I liked the bassline, it was key for me to keep in line with Charlie's bass drum as well as him keeping in time with my bassline and not overcomplicating the rhythm pattern. It's my role to help give cues for the singers to break into the chorus. There were a lot of things to think about during this song to make it on point and we chose to perform this song in our end-of-term performance.

'Gravity' by Charlie's Angels

We set the challenge for our 90s creative cover, to create our piece of music. Emily S, we quickly on board with the idea of creating an alternative rock song, and we all enjoyed performing rock material as a group.

She was proactive with getting the chords and style of the song down on the piano and then told the rest of us the chords for us to create different instrumental lines. Our teacher was also on board with this creation and thought it would be interesting the listen to 'Linken Park', especially to Ollie, and make the guitar not so much rhythmic but following power chords and for me following root notes. I like this song and Emily's lyrics are powerful and emotional, which makes it personal to sing and tell the listeners.

What to improve on next time?

Next time, we perform this song I don't think we have much to improve on, as it's our original we can make it out own, but also respect the style of the 90s. But we like how it has turned out and continue to practice so it feels familiar.

Influential Musicians of the 1990s and Comparison

In this clip from an interview, Katy Perry her influence from Alanis Morissette's album "Jagged Little Pill"

Morissette's hit 'Oughta Know' was a female anthem in the '90s and is still influential to this day. She quoted in an interview 'For women sometimes, we're told we can't be angry; we can't be sad and we can't be…17 other feelings. You can't be anything. So just sublimate it all. Just squish it all down,' Alanis said on Watch What Happens Live in December. 'But I think I was really just devastated when I wrote that and it's a lot easier to siphon that through anger sometimes.'

Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian and American singer and songwriter. She is known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting. Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two dance-pop albums. Her work led the way for rock female artists to emerge into the mainstream media.

"Morissette is widely credited for helping to open the floodgates, ushering in a generation of mainstream female artists who sang about love very differently from Mariah Carey and Céline Dion. She paved the way for Fiona Apple, Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne, and Pink, many of whom cite her as a direct influence". This article explains why it is important for women to express their interests in rock and that it's not just for men to sing.

https://macleans.ca/culture/alanis-into-the-hall-of-fame/#:~:text=But%20Morissette%20is%20widely%20credited,her%20as%20a%20direct%20influence.

The comparison between the two artists, Alanis Morissette’s music provides her fans with both a feminist perspective and lessons for living. As a young adult, she used music to uncover and resist the numerous challenges she faced as a female in a patriarchal business and sexist society.

Not only did Cobain bring grunge and punk rock into the mainstream, but he also promoted inclusivity in a historically chauvinistic genre and inspired a generation of listeners as an anti-rock rock star. Therefore both of them share the similarity of standing up for what's right and creating anthems for young people to look up to and replicate.

The differences would be the impact of Nirvana on such a large scale compared to Alanis Morissette, as well as their styles of music differ, as Nirvana creates gloomy melancholic stories compared to Morisette who incorporates more of a pop rock artist with a "layered rock-influenced sound. Her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill established her as one of alternative rock's foremost female vocalists of the 1990s." as described within this article

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alanis-Morissette

Kurt Cobain

A comparison between Alanis and Kurt Cobain would be them standing up for human rights. Kurt Cobain created a nation with his music and the grunge genre, through the clothing and aesthetic of the music he created. During the time, "When Nirvana released their debut album, Bleach, in the summer of 1989, the consensus in the country was that being gay was not only immoral but the only cause of the AIDS epidemic - aided strongly by the early, dubious acronym "GRID" which stood for “gay-related immune deficiency” and was later abandoned when doctors realized heterosexuals could also be infected.

As a response to homophobia in the 1980s, he was publicly proud that Nirvana had played at a gay rights benefit concert that was held to oppose Oregon's 1992 Ballot Measure 9, which would have directed Oregon schools to teach that homosexuality was "abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse".

https://www.advocate.com/music/2019/4/05/kurt-cobains-1993-advocate-cover-story-im-gay-spirit#toggle-gdpr

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