Slim Pictures
Analysis: Music's Greatest Era, Alternative 1989-1996
by Scott Markus
Alternative Music, Television & Chicago in the 1990's Without much doubt television is the most powerful medium of to day. It was television that gave Richard M. Nixon renewed political life during the Checker Speech in the 1950's and it was television that lead to his defeat against John F. Kennedy in the 1960's. With television present actors and other entertainers could work their entire lives and gain only moderate popularity on the stage and in radio, while another entertainer could gain stardom overnight with a single successful television spot. This is possibly the most brief and unencompassing summation of the significance of television ever written, but this is enough to make one think that if something is going to be a mass success, television needs to be a major part of this equation. The proceeding pages will how the last singular and massive wave, or trend, of high quality music was able to establish itself with very little assistance of the television. It was also this reluctance to fully utilize television that helped lead to the short life span that this musical art form, alternative rock, experienced. The year was 1991 and there was quite the change on the
horizon. Soon words like "grunge," "alternative,"
and "Vedder" were going to take their part as a chapter of pop
culture history. There was also going to be a man who would stand as the
biggest symbol of musical greatness since Jimi Hendrix. Though Seattle is credited with giving birth to the new genre of music, there is no question that without Chicago's contributions that it would have lasted for a far shorter time. There were basically three groups that served as the ambassadors of alternative rock (in the early '90's referred to as grunge). Those bands are Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Nirvana was from Seattle, while both Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins were from Chicago. Liz Phair was another Chicago musician who "arrived" on the grunge scene early on to the delight of music critics across the country. I am telling this story of alternative music and Chicago and television not as an impartial observer, but rather as someone who was "living the life." This was a time that excluded pop divas attitudes like those of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston; this was a time when the lyrics were more important than the dollar signs to both the fans and the bands. After all, these bands that were now in the center of attention all had histories of being known as "garage bands." Speaking as someone who was in the middle of it all, there were only two places that someone in Chicago could really find alternative music. One was the incumbent supplier of "what's hot in music" while the other was Chicago's very own WKQX Q101. Something that few people expected was that Q101 was winning. The parallels between the most popular music of the 1990's and of the 1970's was astounding. Kurt Cobain himself cited Led Zeppelin as being one of his major musical influences. Probably most notable is the actual lyrical content. Just as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young sang about the errors of the National Guard in handling the Kent State protest ("This summer I hear the calling, four dead in Ohio") Filter sang about the on-air televised suicide of the governor of Pennsylvania ("They think that your early ending was all wrong, for most part they're right, but look how they all got strong"). Music became political again. It was evident from the lyrics of "Black Steel" by Tricky ("I got a letter from the government the other day, they wanted me for the army or whatever, picture me giving a damn, I said, Never.'") to the newly created Tibetan Freedom concert. Something else that was similar was that artists at the time were not known for their music videos. Other than the music itself much of the time the only time someone had exposure to an artist was through their record (now CD) cover, or at live concert events. In the 1980's many starts were made largely due to their technically elaborate (for the time) music videos. That's not to say that the music stars of the '80's were untalented, but without the music video and MTV the success of artists like Peter Gabriel and Michael Jackson, who seemed to always have the most technologically and aesthetically advanced videos, would've probably sold far less albums. Whereas a prominent 1980's "music video artist" might be identified as the artist who turned into a werewolf, or the guy who danced through an LA parking garage wearing all leather (Michael Jackson, "Thriller," and "Bad"). An alternative artist in the '90's was more likely to be recognized as having the painting of the "Turtle Man" on the cover of their latest album (Throwing Copper, Live). Often, the pictures inside the booklet were the only visuals listeners would have to put alongside the audio. Still, the image of Kurt Cobain saluting the photographer for the breakthrough 1991 album Nevermind with a raised middle finger is the thought that comes to mind quickest when thinking of the man who most people consider the creator of grunge. Just like anyone can picture the cover of Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and the picture of the Hindenburg on fire on Led Zeppelin's album cover, everyone forty years from now will still remember the cartoon-ish drawing of a nuclear explosion on Green Day's debut cover for Dookie. Fans of '70's and '90's music will also be quick to point out the similarities of the Dookie album cover and that of Janis Joplin's 1968 album Cheap Thrills. With many of the top alternative artists initially turning away from MTV and the genre of music video all together the only time a band could be seen performing was in person. Concert going, which had never really died, did turn a new page with thanks to televisions' absence and abundance. With the birth of the sister station to the 24-hour sports station ESPN, ESPN2 brought nontraditional alternative sports into the limelight. In addition to snowboarding, bungee freestyle, and street luge, sports like skate boarding, roller blading, and BMX biking now had a venue. Alternative music met alternative sports for the first time during the annual national H.O.R.D.E. tours where bands would play on stage while sporting events would be held at the opposite end of the venue at the same time. Q101 struck gold again with two annual concerts. Q101's Jamboree is a summer concert featuring several different alternative music acts at the outdoor World Music Theater (now the Tweeter Center), while Twisted Christmas is the winter indoor version held at Chicago's United Center. Twisted Christmas was actually the venue where female alternative rocker Fionna Apple performed live for the first time in her career. There were two other main concerts that captured national attention from year to year. The Beastie Boys first created the Tibetan Freedom concert in an effort to raise awareness and money for the people of Tibet who are struggling under political oppression. Lollapalooza featured Kurt Cobain's "better half" Courtney Love and her "pop punk" band Hole. Of the five annual concerts mentioned here, the only two that still exist are the only two that are sponsored by Q101. Despite the disadvantage of not having a visual stimulus to go along with the programming that Q101 offered, the station made up for it with actual nightly radio shows, and one explosive radio personality. The prime time for all of these nightly programs was from six to midnight through the week, and there just happened to by one DJ on the air at that time; Robert Chase. Pass 10 cars on any given road in the Chicago area and the voice of "In your face" Robert Chase was coming out of nine of them. Q101 made music and entertainment fully interactive, which television, at the time, was unable to do. Each night at eight o'clock there was the "Cage Match." During this event two new alternative songs would be aired and the listening public would vote on which song was better. The winner would go on to compete the following night against a new "challenger." There was also the "Top nine at nine." Throughout the course of the day people would call in to request songs. Each request was recorded and by the end of the day Q101 would air the top nine most requested songs of the day in reverse order. At the time television did not entire know how to incorporate something like this into a show. All of the music video countdowns at the time were based on the Billboard charts or the amount of radio play different songs got nationwide. However, but the late '90's, MTV caught up with a show called "Total Request Live (or "TRL")," which is now the signature show on the network. Plus, host, Carson Daily, is the most recognizable personality from MTV. The third nightly program that Q101 featured was a nightly half-hour block of Pearl Jam. Music fans were more than a little proud of Pearl Jam, whose lead singer, Eddie Vedder, was at native of North suburban Evanston. Pearl Jam released their first album, Ten, in 1991 the same year that Nirvana released Nevermind. There was also the nationally syndicated weekend radio show out of California "Modern Rock Live." Nightly guests would include the most popular alternative musicians of the time. It served as a barometer for what was going on in the alternative world. It became an obvious precursor of the impending doom of alternative rock when it was cancelled for "Love Line" during 1995. Despite much of alternative music choosing venues other than television and video as creative outlets, MTV still had some fight left. Without any doubt, MTV was still the source to find what was trendy and in style at the moment. In this aspect, alternative rock was only hurting itself my not taking better advantage of it, yet there is still some speculation as to how well alternative music would play on television, even cable. According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Even after Nevermind, Nirvana's music was too raw for many listeners." MTV would occasionally host live concert events at interesting locations. The Presidents of the United States of America playing in front of Mount Rushmore and Bush playing on a makeshift stage ten feet away from crashing waves on the Pacific coast. Without a question though, the greatest thing that MTV offered fans was a chance to watch their favorite singers in an intimate setting and in a small location. "Unplugged" was a series that highlighted musicians that ranged from LL Cool J to Eric Clapton. A 1994 performance by Nirvana on "Unplugged" is often viewed as their best television performance. That performance was later released as a CD. "Unplugged" went into hibernation for a time and then reappeared on MTV's sister station, VH1 under the name "Storytellers." The "MTV Music Video Awards" started in the mid-1980's as another unimportant and meaningless award show. From the beginning though, it was the performances that caught the attention rather than the awards. It started with Madonna rolling around on the stage in a short white wedding dress, and eventually evolved into a duet of "Keep on Rockin' in a Free World" with Neil Young and Eddie Vedder. As the "keeper of cool" MTV was on top of the alternative scene even before anyone, including themselves, knew what it was. The category "Best Alternative Video" started in 1991. In that contest Jane's Addiction beat "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones. One of the most pop songs ever written was called "alternative" by MTV. 1991 was a year in transition though. At the time none of the major alternative music players had really presented themselves. Nominees in 1991 included artists like The Divinyls, Bon Jovi, C & C Music Factory, Gerardo, Amy Grant, Paula Abdul, and a still innocent looking Janet Jackson. By 1992 alternative music was abundant, but not well received by the television viewing audience. In the category of Best Male Video there were no alternative songs represented except for "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Smells like Nirvana," a song that makes fun of the classic Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Also, the Video of the Year honors went to Van Halen rather than Nirvana. Watching MTV's "Video Music Award" from year-to-year really solidified the uphill battle that alternative music faced. In 1993 there were no alternative music nominees for the male or female video categories. For Best Video there was only one alternative nominee, Pearl Jam. It was Pearl Jam who won the honor with the video for "Jeremy." Finally by 1994 and 1995 alternative music was turning heads. Nirvana won for Best Alternative Video in 1994 while in 1995 the awards were totally dominated by alternative music. The Smashing Pumpkins won for Best Video (beating Alanis Morssette and Foo Fighters), Beck won for Best Male Video, and Alanis Morissette beat out Bjork for best Female Video. The Foo Fighters won for Best Group Video, Bush was awarded the Viewers Choice Award, and Breakthrough Performance was given to The Smashing Pumpkins who beat out Bjork, Garbage, Radiohead, and the Foo Fighters. This was 1995 and by the time the television audience was able to catch up with alternative music, the wave had already gone through its crescendo. Though alternative music was still around, the atmosphere was a far cry from what it was. In 1997 something happened that would alter the trends in music for the next several years to come; the Spice Girls exploded onto the scene. The crazy of dance groups is still going on today, five years later. The best video went to dance singer Jamiroquai over other alternative nominees Beck, No Doubt, and Nine Inch Nails. The descent downhill after there was great. In 1998 and 1999 four of the five videos nominated for Video of the Year were either Dance or R&B. In '98 The Backstreet Boys won Best Group Video over Radiohead and Garbage while the Viewers Choice went to Puff Daddy. Change again was in the air. Finally, in 1999 of the eight nominees for either Best Male or Female Video, seven were either rap or R&B. This was also the first year since 1990 where there was no category for Alternative Music. In the hey day, however, MTV's Chicago answer to Robert Chase and the "Top Nine at Nine" was "120 Minutes" hosted by Matt Pinfield and "Alternative Nation" hosted by Kennedy. On these shows MTV aired what few alternative videos existed, but even then, being a commercial network, they had to choose which videos would play well to a commercial audience. Tori Amos, from 1992 to date, has recorded and released 17 music videos, but none of them have ever seen heavy rotation on MTV or VH1 despite the fact that her music constantly gains critical praise. However, her "shooting from the hip" style on confronting mature material, like sexual abuse, is ultimately not heard with ease by the general public. Somewhat forced from the television air waves despite the backing of a major label, Atlantic Records, the dedicated fans of Amos have to wait for the occasional concert tour to see their favorite singer. However, there were a number of bands that saw the potential of music video and were savvy enough to take full advantage of it. Most of those bands did quite well and are still around today probably due to their music video television exposure. One of the first alternative bands to be nominated for an MTV Music Video Award was the Red Hot Chili Peppers when their video for "Give it Away Now" lost to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1992. In the past nine years the California-based and Anthony Kiedis-fronted Chili Peppers released over a dozen videos. Almost all of which gained heavy rotation in MTV's lineup, and even "Love Roller Coaster" was used in a pioneer movie-making effort by MTV, "Beavis and Butthead Do America." Most likely due to their successful use of the music video form the Chili Peppers are still very popular, scoring number one hits as recently as a few months ago. Similar stories can be pinned on Hole, Live, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Alanis Morissette. Through two videos from the album Throwing Copper released in 1994, the public was able to see two very different sides to this Pennsylvania-originated group. Their first single and video exemplified the range their band possesses, a "dynamic of fraught pop that occasionally expands into full-blown rock mode, complete with lyrics that strike an idealistic tone." With a very rock-oriented first song, the second video was of a more sensitive style and tone. It was about a mother and real life friend of theirs who died while giving birth. Over the next two years, this album sold over six million copies. There were few grunge icons to rival San Francisco born Love Michelle Harrison. How many singer/song writers also spent time at Portland strippers who made habits of reading Whitman and the French surrealist works of Baudelaire? Later renamed, Courtney Love, her band was named Hole after the hole that Medea had ripped in her soul by Euripides. Despite her own successes, including an Oscar nomination, she is unfortunately best known as being the two year wife of Kurt Cobain. Hole's 1994 release, Live Through This contained a number of video-spawning songs including "Doll Parts" and "Violent." "Circus Magazine" likened Love's style to, "the hoarse, primal yells of Patti Smith. The long awaited second album, Celebrity Skin, appeared in 1998; long after grunge had died. Had Love refrained from the video world like her husband had, perhaps her evolution past the grunge era would to have been possible. According to "Circus Magazine" in late '98, "It seems she's evolved from her erratic grunge icon to uber pop-vixen." Lastly, two of the more important bands in the alternative era were able to take advantage of all that video had to offer. MTV directly said, "Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails revealed the darker side of rock with their mind-blowing video "Closer," which was even more non-traditional because of its techno influences." Coincidentally, Reznor and Tori Amos recorded many of songs out of his house, which was also the site of the Manson Family murder of Sharon Tate. Coming onto the scene in 1989 with "Head Like a Hole," videos like "Hurt" and "Closer" did truly define the music it supported. Later in the '90s Nine Inch Nails brought unprecedented production value to alternative music video with the Tim Burton-esque "Perfect Drug" video. A classily done video, it could only be matched by "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins, which was heavily influenced my Lumiere's "From Paris to the Moon." What was probably the last great benefactor of the pure emotion-driven, lyric-filled alternative rock genre that was also able to play to a commercially available audience was Alanis Morissette. Her first single "You Oughta Know" featured members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and David Grohl from Foo Fighters by way of Nirvana. She easily escaped the alternative genre before it swallowed dozens of other bands. When all was said and done, the 1995 release of her third album, Jagged Little Pill, garnered 16 million units sold in America alone, and 26 million internationally. Despite the seemingly endless amount of success stories that are contributed at least partly to television, some of the greatest alternative names ever chose to forget about what MTV had to offer. Television usually equals success in music, but the opposite is far from the truth in the alternative and grunge era. This is quite possibly the last time something like this could happen. Without any question whatsoever, the two biggest groups of the era were Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Between the two them, over four dozen singles were released, but only a total of eight videos were released. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam became the anti-establishment Bob Dylan figure of the '90's.when he only recorded three videos and then went on a crusade against TicketMaster. Their claim was that TicketMaster over priced tickets and held a monopoly. Band members testified in front of the United States Department of Justice. Antitrust charges were investigated but no action was taken. With the two biggest names in rock giving MTV the back of their hand and still thriving, other bands followed suit. Babes in Toyland, Hagfish, The Toadies, Tricky, and Cake each had hugely popular songs in the Chicago area, but a music video was never seen. Unfortunately for them, they went down as being "one hit wonders." In retrospect, it's hard to say if they would've been able to further their musical careers if they had cut videos and thus appeared most familiar to possible album buyers. There are also artists like Sublime and Liz Phair who were staples in alternative rock early on despite not releasing music videos. In the years following the death of alternative they began releasing videos. The first successes of Sublime's "Date Rape" pales in comparison to the many singles (with video support) that came from 40 Ounces to Freedom. The Connecticut born and Chicago raised Phair has released a number for videos in recent years, but her videos are encountering the same fate as those released by Tori Amos. Yes, it is true that there is a musical world outside of MTV and VH1. "Saturday Night Live" remained on the forefront of musical trends. Since 1974 "SNL" has serviced the tastes of American popular music. Their late night time slot has also proved to be favorable for production all types of musical styles. During the 1991-92 season the changing of the guards was evident, as bands like Color Me Badd and Hammer were featured as was Nirvana and Pearl Jam. In the 1993-94 season alternative music was arguably at its peak. "SNL" featured both Nirvana and Pearl Jam again, but included The Smashing Pumpkins, Blind Melon, and Stone Temple Pilots. On August 13 and 14, 1994 the musical event of the decade took place, and it took place on Live Pay-Per-View direct from upstate New York. It was the 25-year anniversary of the original two-day Woodstock celebration of peace, love, and music. After the live Pay-Per-View audience was able to watch the event, much of the event was replayed on MTV. Though Nine Inch Nails turned a lot of heads during their set, it was Green Day who stole the show when a massive fun-spirited mud fight broke out in the audience and on stage. Green Day ended up being a band that constantly reminded the audience that the punk of yesteryear inspired the alternative music of the '90's almost completely. One band that seemed destined to headline the even was noticeably absent. Nirvana was never to take the stage to play before the 300,000 fans in attendance. In the end Woodstock II ended up being alternative music's "one last hurrah." Eventually the wildly popular underground music of Chicago, Seattle, and Pennsylvania grunge garage bands went mainstream. Asks one MTV rock columnist, "If Beavis and Butt-Head had made fun of it, could there be any more evidence that alternative rock had gone entirely mainstream?" Soon bands that had struggled for previous decades were now making money and had to face the possibility of being called "sellouts." Even Nirvana in 1991 left out some of the catchier songs so Nevermind wouldn't sound like a sellout. Eventually, there was still a backlash against the music, the bands, and the angst-ridden, anti-establishment, and often anti-social fans. Much like the backlash against the Students for a Democratic Society (or SDS) during the tumultuous 1960's and their vocal political power. At times, it seemed their might be a revolution in the making, but nothing formed. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana write in response to a Rolling Stone article about Pearl Jam, "In regards to the revolution, is a complete ruse." To close out the end of an era Steve Dahl never hosted as "Alternative Demolition Night" at Comisky Park as he did to Disco to symbolize the death of the trend, but something like that wasn't needed. The world knew alternative music had run its course. What it really came down to was not that alternative rock had nothing more to say, but rather other music was utilizing television to a much better extent. Sheryl Crow entered the music scene in the early 1990's with an album of pure pop. Tuesday Night Music Club, her first commercially available album also spawned five music videos to establish herself as an artist who has arrived. Her subsequent album, Sheryl Crow, marked a departure from pop to rock. Her most recent album The Globe Sessions further maintained her status as a modern rock artist as she furthered herself to include more blues-y songs. The most important players in the history of Rock n' Roll, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones, all sat up and invited her in their circle. At one point during a concert Crow referred to herself as "The alternative to the alternative." Not to mention Clapton, starting with his huge hit "Tears in Heaven," was catapulted back into the rock spotlight. Since "Tears in Heaven," and a wildly popular MTV "Unplugged" session Clapton has been releasing albums and tour almost constantly. In addition to the rebirth of rock and a small growing of blues popularity, the Hip Hop and rap genres of music came into their own at this time. Much of this can be attributed to Michael Jackson and his music videos, which, for a time seemed to only break budget records that were set by his previous album. Most notable was "Scream," a sci-fi adventure in space that featured a duet with sister Janet. If the genre really wanted to explode, new talent was needed, and new talent was found. "Enter the Wu-Tang" by the Wu-Tang Clan entered the US charts at number 41, but only rose. Much of is was due to their elaborate and computer enhanced music videos. Of the few alternative songs that also had accompanying music videos, most of them were simple and raw. Several, like Radiohead's "Creep," looked more like spare concert footage. Quickly, hip hop, R&B, and rap videos contained head turning special effects and cameo appearances by celebrities that gained the attention of the general public. As music video budgets starting surpassing the million dollar mark anything became possible. In addition to technology leaving the "grass-roots" style of grunge in the dark, the rock world also suffered some hard personal losses. Just four months before Woodstock II was to take place Kurt Cobain, after suffering medically for much of his life and after battling a difficult heroin addiction, killed himself. After being in pain from stomach difficulties for much of his life, Cobain found that the only substance to give him relief was not the prescription medication, but illegal narcotics. After realizing that he had become addicted, Cobian started and eventually lost a battle to get himself off of drugs. Like musical the greats before him; Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain was dead at 27. Cobain's suicide not was addressed to Buddha, but reached out to his fans and family. Parts of his final writing include, "Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years… On our last three tours, I've had a much better appreciation for all the people I've known personally and as fans of our music, but I still can't get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad… Why don't you just enjoy it? I don't know!" From the discovery of his body three days after hie death to the funeral, to getting the reactions of his fans from Seattle to New York, "MTV News" did the job they set out to do; report what's important in the music world. This was the biggest story that anchors Tabitha Soren and Kurt Loder could ever fear to report. In the following months Krist Novoselic, the one time bass player for Nirvana made occasional statements to an alternative music online newsgroup. The self-described "little bass player who can't" went on to write, "There is too much pain. I'm over the daily "grief waves" but still go through feelings of confusion, anger, regrets, missing him and a lot of times a feeling of beautiful loving feelings for my friend." Now, fully in the digital age television news mixed with countless other online sources to bring us intimate sources of information on a 24-hour per day basis. Cobain's uncle even related his memories of an early teenage Cobain to a small online newsletter. His rationale was, "posting on this forum will be more fitting to what Kurt might have approved of: in essence, a smaller and more intimate group to talk to. It is hoped that this type of posting will preserve the dignity of Kurt." Unfortunately, the alternative rock world would soon lose more lives. Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon died at the age of 28 of a heroine overdose. It is probably due to his extremely popular video for "No Rain" which featured a girl dancing in a meadow while wearing a bumblebee costume, which has lead to their long-term successes. The final blow to alternative rock came after The Smashing Pumpkins released their most successful album, Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness when their touring keyboard player, Jonathan Melvoin, died of a heroine overdose in 1996. Soon after, their Joliet-born drummer, Jimmy Chamberlain, was kicked off the group due to his continued drug use. The band would never be the same. Alternative rock was on the ground floor in the late '80s with bands like Nine Inch Nails, The Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Mudhoney, but the real alternative era pretty much ran from late 1991 up to 1996. The Spice Girls appeared in late 1996/early 1997, and the popularity of all girl, or all boy bands has only continued to soar. The popularity of this music has already outlasted the alternative era. The main difference is that the dance craze, which is now inspiring Latin music as well, is much more media friendly. There is little dispute that the songs of the early and mid-1990's was more meaningful and more artistic, but there is also little doubt that the music and artists of today are much more open to marketing. The downfall of alternative music was most likely inevitable, but had the major players all embraced television in the manner the Red Hot Chili Peppers had, there is little doubt that it would've stayed around longer. However, I think it is a real tribute to the quality of the art to think that it accomplished as much as it did without taking full advantage of television. Bibliography: |
Go Back to the main Reviews Page here