There’s nothing that makes me feel more like I’m reenacting the Pepe Silvia scene from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia than trying to make sense of rock subgenres.
Here are three of the best ones that emerged from the 90s, and don’t even try to talk to me about microgenres right now.
“Indie Rock”
If you’ve ever listened to rock music or tried to have a conversation with someone who does, you’ve probably heard the old argument about indie rock at some point. “Indie is not a genre!” complains the Tinder date who’s seen The National in concert eight times and probably has a Bon Iver tattoo. Well, sorry to disappoint, but it is now.
In the mid-1980s, indie rock was simply a descriptor for music released on independent labels. The term originated in the U.K. DIY scene that evolved in the 70s. Bands like the Buzzcocks and Television Personalities gave way to the Smiths and R.E.M. in the 80s. Across the pond, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. were gaining ground at this time. Then the 90s hit, and indie rock started becoming a sound. This is where the arguments start to form.
The more indie rock became a genre, the more it became divorced from itself. Music critics drew attention to a split happening between indie’s underground origins and mainstream success. The fledgling genre was cracking down the middle. On one side were bands who continued to make music independently. On the other were those who had their songs played on the radio.
The 2000s gave us The Strokes, The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, The White Stripes, The Killers, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Vampire Weekend, and so many, many others. Without the divisiveness of indie rock as a genre, would we even have LCD Soundsystem, The Postal Service, or Wolf Alice?
Industrial Metal
Weirdly enough, industrial metal is a tame subgenre in comparison to the indie rock argument. In the 1980s, the electronic-experimental industrial genre began to merge with heavy metal, which took influences from psych-rock and blues. This unique melding of genres gave birth to industrial metal, which gained much more ground in the 90s. There’s a great little band that started around this time, you’ve probably never heard of them, they’re called Nine Inch Nails.
Early bands like Killing Joke, which was primarily post-punk, started blending electronic sound with heavy guitar riffs. The 80s produced Godflesh, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and Nine Inch Nails, who eventually found mainstream success in the next decade. Later, Nailbomb, Meathook Seed, Stabbing Westward, Rammstein, Static-X, and more formed out of the industrial metal boom of the 90s.
Like many rock subgenres, industrial metal has its own various and convoluted microgenres. In short, industrial and heavy metal begat industrial metal, which begat industrial thrash, industrial death metal, industrial black metal, progressive industrial metal, coldwave (punk and acid wave elements), and cyber metal (electronic and dance influences). And there are probably way more.
Post-Britpop
Britpop was the genre of the moment for the U.K. in the 90s, and sometimes it feels like they’re still clinging to it by their fingernails. But what happened when the Battle of Britpop was over, when Blur and Oasis moved on, and a new wave of rock bands were forming?
Post-Britpop emerged from the void left by Blur and Oasis in the 2000s. They were still going then, with Blur lasting until 2003 and Oasis until 2009. But the hype was dying down, and a new generation was entering the arena. Post-Britpop was the answer to the question: “What would it sound like if we took Britpop and removed almost all of the British stuff?”
With greater influence from alternative rock in the U.S. and indie rock emerging as a distinct genre, Post-Britpop became more experimental and less about the British experience. Radiohead and The Verve grew out of the 90s, but they gained more ground with Post-Britpop at the helm. Meanwhile, Stereophonics, Catatonia, and Manic Street Preachers were experimenting with more post-grunge and hardcore elements. With Britpop as a cultural movement in decline, there was more room for messing around with style and influences.
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The post 3 of the Best Rock Subgenres to Come Out of the 1990s (And Yes, I Included the Divisive One) appeared first on VICE.
