Alternative for the Masses, page 1
ALTERNATIVE
FOR THE MASSES
THE ’90s ALT-ROCK REVOLUTION
AN ORAL HISTORY
GREG PRATO
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CAST OF CHARACTERS
1.
SETTING THE STAGE
2.
JANE’S ADDICTION AND LOLLAPALOOZA
3.
NIRVANA AND NEVERMIND
4.
1991: THE YEAR PUNK BROKE
5.
ORIGINALITY
6.
BEYOND THE MUSIC
7.
THE SHADOW OF THE ’70s
8.
THE PRODUCERS
9.
SUBGENRES
10.
♀
11.
CATCHPHRASES AND BUZZWORDS
12.
SINGERS
13.
GUITAR
14.
RHYTHM SECTION
15.
MAJOR LABELS AND INDIE LABELS
16.
MTV’S 120 MINUTES AND ALTERNATIVE NATION
17.
OTHER WAYS OF SPREADING THE WORD
18.
LOLLAPALOOZA 1992—1995
19.
SECOND WAVERS
20.
DRUGS AND ADDICTION
21.
COBAIN’S DEATH
22.
DECLINE?
23.s
COULD IT HAPPEN AGAIN?
24.
TEST OF TIME
25.
HEADLINERS
26.
ARTISTS
27.
SONGS
28.
ALBUMS
SOURCES
GREG PRATO
INDEX
INTRODUCTION
It seems like most articles or documentaries about ’90s alt-rock would like to have you believe that Nirvana came out of nowhere in 1991, unleashed Nevermind, and suddenly the direction of mainstream rock and culture shifted. Heck, at the time I am writing this little old intro, Nirvana seems to be the most popular they’ve ever been, judging by the number of shirts featuring the band’s infamous smiley face logo being worn and their songs still heard not only on the radio but also played on social media platforms, blasted at sporting events, sung on talent-search TV programs, and the like.
But as a gentleman who was lucky enough to witness events unfold as they happened beginning in the late ’80s and continuing throughout the ’90s, I can honestly say that while Nirvana certainly played an enormous role in the great alt-rock uprising of the early ’90s, countless other artists helped set the stage for the massive success of Nevermind and, at the same time, offered music just as compelling, original, and great as that of Cobain and Co. Quite a few were just as (or nearly as) popular.
MTV and its specialty shows 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation (plus alt-rock-based magazines) certainly helped introduce me and most rock enthusiasts of the era to countless artists throughout the decade. Sadly, quite a few of those artists seem to have been overlooked, or, completely forgotten over time. However, I listened to many of these unsung artists and albums just as much as the better-known ones . . . and have continued to do so over the years.
Having already penned books focused solely on the great grunge bands (Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music and its follow-up, I Love Grunge: ‘Grunge Is Dead’ Outtakes, plus additional books that focused on specific grunge artists), I decided the time was right to shed some light on the outstanding non-grunge alt-rock bands of the same era that shared the airwaves and media space. So, as a disclaimer, I didn’t dig as deeply into some of the grungers of the period as you might expect in a book about ’90s rock, as I already told their stories back in 2009 and 2023 (in addition to the aforementioned books about specific artists).
As with many of my previous offerings, the decision to write this book arose from the belief that if there’s a musical artist or movement that I feel deserves more attention or credit, why not use the power of my noggin and laptop computer to pay tribute in literary form—and, in this case, to speak to many of the top contributors to ’90s alt-rock so we get the entire story straight from the horses’ mouths?
Hopefully this book will remind you of—in my humble opinion—rock’s last truly great movement. Or, better yet, introduces (or reintroduces) you to some truly exceptional artists, albums, and songs.
Here we go!
Greg Prato
P.S. Questions? Comments? Feel free to email me at gregprato@yahoo.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
John Agnello:
Producer/engineer (Dinosaur Jr., Mark Lanegan, The Breeders)
Steve Albini:
Producer (Nirvana, Bush, PJ Harvey)
Art Alexakis:
Everclear singer/guitarist
Fred Armisen:
Actor/comedian (Portlandia, Documentary Now!, Saturday Night Live), Trenchmouth drummer
Lori Barbero:
Babes in Toyland drummer
Lou Barlow:
Sebadoh singer/guitarist, Dinosaur Jr. bassist (1984–1989, 2005–present)
Miki Berenyi:
Lush singer/guitarist
Frank Black:
Pixies singer/guitarist and solo artist
Tracy Bonham:
Solo singer/violinist/pianist/guitarist
Gerald Casale:
Devo singer/bassist, music video director (Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Silverchair)
Les Claypool:
Primus singer/bassist
Dana Colley:
Morphine saxophonist
Evan Dando:
The Lemonheads singer/guitarist
Robert DeLeo:
Stone Temple Pilots bassist
Vinnie Dombroski:
Sponge singer
Tanya Donelly:
Belly/The Breeders/Throwing Muses singer/guitarist
Mike Edwards:
Jesus Jones singer/guitarist/keyboardist
Fat Mike:
NOFX singer/bassist
John Flansburgh:
They Might Be Giants singer/guitarist
Jimmy Flemion:
The Frogs singer/guitarist
Corey Glover:
Living Colour singer
Bill Gould:
Faith No More bassist
Page Hamilton:
Helmet singer/guitarist
Chris Haskett:
Rollins Band guitarist
The Reverend Horton Heat:
Singer/guitarist
Jennifer Herrema:
Royal Trux singer
Kristin Hersh:
Throwing Muses singer/guitarist
Darren Jessee:
Ben Folds Five drummer
Matt Johnson:
Jeff Buckley drummer
Mike Johnson:
Dinosaur Jr. bassist (1991–1997), Mark Lanegan multi-instrumentalist, solo artist
Al Jourgensen:
Ministry singer/guitarist
Kennedy:
MTV VJ, host of Alternative Nation
Cris Kirkwood:
Meat Puppets bassist
Mark Kohr:
Music video director (Green Day, No Doubt, Alanis Morissette)
Paul Q. Kolderie:
Producer (Dinosaur Jr., Radiohead, Hole, Morphine)
Eric Kretz:
Stone Temple Pilots drummer
Fergal Lawler:
The Cranberries drummer
Paul Leary:
Butthole Surfers guitarist, producer (Meat Puppets, Sublime, Daniel Johnston)
Vaden Todd Lewis:
Toadies singer/guitarist
Scott Lucas:
Local H singer/guitarist
Ian MacKaye:
Minor Threat singer, Fugazi singer/guitarist, co-owner of Dischord Records
Roger Joseph Manning Jr.:
Jellyfish multi-instrumentalist/singer
Dave Markey:
Director of 1991: The Year Punk Broke and music videos (Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, fIREHOSE)
Kevin Martin:
Candlebox singer
Moby:
Solo artist/DJ/remixer
Angelo Moore:
Fishbone singer/saxophonist
Bob Mould:
Hüsker Dü/Sugar singer/guitarist, solo artist
Johnette Napolitano:
Concrete Blonde singer/bassist
David Pajo:
Slint guitarist, Tortoise bassist
Richard Patrick:
Filter singer/guitarist, ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist
Mark Pellington:
Music video director (Pearl Jam, U2, Foo Fighters)
Jonn Penney:
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin singer
Jason Pettigrew:
Alternative Press magazine writer and editor
Matt Pinfield:
MTV VJ, host of 120 Minutes
Poe:
Solo artist
Lee Ranaldo:
Sonic Youth guitarist
Rudeboy Remington:
Urban Dance Squad rapper
Eddie “King” Roeser:
Urge Overkill singer/bassist
Gavin Rossdale:
Bush singer/guitarist
Danny Saber:
Black Grape multi-instrumentalist/producer, producer/remixer (Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, U2)
Joey Santiago:
Pixies guitarist
Fred Schneider:
The B-52s singer
Speech:
Arrested Development rapper
Rogers Stevens:
Blind Melon guitarist
Matt Sweeney:
Chavez singer/guitarist
Chad Taylor:
Live guitarist
Johnny Temple:
Girls Against Boys bassist
Mary Timony:
Helium singer/guitarist
Butch Vig:
Producer (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth), Garbage drummer
Mike Watt:
Minutemen/fIREHOSE singer/bassist, Porno for Pyros bassist, solo artist
Craig Wedren:
Shudder to Think singer/guitarist
Eric Wilson:
Sublime bassist
Naoko Yamano:
Shonen Knife singer/guitarist
All left to right. Row 1: Frank Black, Page Hamilton, Miki Berenyi; Row 2: Johnette Napolitano, Moby, Fred Armisen; Row 3: Ian MacKaye, Tanya Donelly, Angelo Moore; Row 4: Jennifer Herrema, Corey Glover, Matt Pinfield; Row 5: Craig Wedren, Art Alexakis, Mike Watt
1SETTING THE STAGE
“A change in the atmosphere”
R.E.M., 1987. Left to right: Michael Stipe, Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills. “There was no college radio for punk in the movement in the early days. It was R.E.M. that opened that up.”—Mike Watt Chris Carroll/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
The end of the ’80s and dawn of the ’90s seemed like quite a promising time for alternative rock. But how did we get there? Which locations contributed and/or had scenes? Let’s let those who witnessed it firsthand set the stage, shall we?
MIKE WATT (Minutemen/fIREHOSE singer/bassist, Porno for Pyros bassist, solo artist): It’s not beats per minute or even funny stage names, haircuts, and clothes. I really think the movement was about anti-arena rock. Because, helping the Stooges guys out for 126 months [Watt provided bass for a reunited Stooges from 2003 to 2016], I found out [that] in the ’60s there was a huge underground club scene, garage bands, and little labels.
FRED SCHNEIDER (The B-52s singer): I’m more of a funkster. When I was a kid, I was “Mr. Motown.” Then grew to like everything from the Velvet Underground to Yoko Ono. Hanging around in Athens [Georgia], we all had a lot of common likes that ran the gamut from Pérez Prado to Karlheinz Stockhausen. I’m pretty eclectic—I had stopped listening to the radio pretty much in the ’70s. But what I listened to was the Velvet Underground . . . and I still like my old ’60s stuff. And we got the singles for Devo and the Ramones and Patti Smith. And getting real popular in New York City—because I’m from New Jersey originally—it seemed like it was on its way. And [the B-52s] were pretty “punk” when we started out because we had attitude. People don’t realize that now, but I have a bit of punkiness at heart, still.
MOBY (solo artist/DJ/remixer): We can even go back to the ’70s and start with the Modern Lovers. The Modern Lovers invented alternative rock. It was the first time that oddball nerds with guitars started writing songs about oddball nerd issues. And that led to the Talking Heads—which were also the godfathers of modern alternative rock.
THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT (singer/guitarist): In the ’70s, at least in Texas—and it was probably this way in a lot of places—if you had a rock band and you played gigs, you could not play original music or they would not have you back. But they knew it was a catch-22—they knew to get a record deal and to have a future and career as a recording artist, you had to play your own original music. So, they’d let you play one song. Then new wave came in in the ’80s and the punk rock thing really obliterated that idea. And all of a sudden, all the clubs and the bands were more of their own music.
MIKE WATT: Starting with me, D. Boon, and Georgie [George Hurley], we graduated from San Pedro High in ’76 at just the right time. And we get into this scene. And those times—late ’70s/early ’80s—you could know almost all of the bands in the scene because of the fanzines. We had our own parallel world—the fanzines were kind of the fabric that connected us all. Because a lot of the more mersh [commercial] shit, they wanted this thing to die. They created this thing called “new wave,” which was actually something used for French films ten or fifteen years before that. There was some success—the Cars, the Knack. But how close were we, the Germs, and Screamers to the Knack? Even though it was the same town—Hollywood.
CRIS KIRKWOOD (Meat Puppets bassist): Our first tour that went out East was in ’82, and I met a lot of people that I still know on that tour. The first show we did east of Arizona was in Lawrence, Kansas; and we met this opening band that was all into stuff—they had smoke machines and were goofy, fun, young guys—called the Flaming Lips. And then I met [Hüsker Dü’s] Grant Hart on that tour—in extremely cold Minneapolis—and he took us to a hamburger shop that they don’t have in Arizona called White Castle. It was such a personal thing we were doing—the kind of art that we were making. I personally wasn’t trying to be like a . . . musician. It was incidental. I thought I was doing dentistry.
As it grew through the ’80s, there was something definitely bitchin’ going on. It wasn’t as widespread as, say, the generation before us—the hippies. But it was definitely underground, and it was healthy and alive. And it got to be this thing where we kept trying to push the bar a little higher every night, where it would be like, “Damn.” And some nights it wouldn’t quite get there, and we’d be like, “Okay. Next time.” We were saying what we wanted to say about what it is to be. And had people there to go along with that evening’s version of expression and creation.
BOB MOULD (Hüsker Dü/Sugar singer/guitarist, solo artist): Mid-tempo, super-pop catchy guitars with super-depressing lyrics. [Laughs] That’s sort of my specialty, I guess.
MOBY: And then in the ’80s, it splintered . . . but it was always very gentle. Modern rock and alternative rock in the ’80s was R.E.M., the Cure, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen. It was music by and for nerds who liked going for long walks and listening to sad songs. Or cuddling with their high school girlfriend on the couch, listening to New Order or the Cure.
EVAN DANDO (The Lemonheads singer/guitarist): The ’80s set it up—Mission of Burma, Sonic Youth, the Wipers. Without these ’70s and ’80s influences, we wouldn’t have had any ’90s worth speaking about. The Gun Club—all that stuff that was bubbling under the surface.
MIKE WATT: There was no college radio for punk in the movement in the early days. It was R.E.M. that opened that up. And this is what . . . ’83–’84? I know this because I’m working at SST [Records] and Greg Ginn’s got me calling radio stations up, trying to get [Black Flag’s] “Nervous Breakdown” onto college radio. Their playlists . . . it’s all Journey and shit! It’s all guys looking for jobs after college. D. Boon’s name for them was “corporate pawns.” So, they’re playing things that they expect the guys that are going to hire them will like. Then when R.E.M. opens it up, all of a sudden, every DJ has their own show; and they’ll play the most weird shit ever.
And talking to Kurt [Cobain], he wanted to be in the Germs! He talked to me about this kind of stuff, like, “I was born at the wrong time, Mike.” And I was like, “Well, you’re born when you’re born.” [Laughs] Any kind of thing is like that with the arts—“I wish I would have been there with Vincent van Gogh.” Y’know, Vincent ends up selling one painting [during his lifetime], right? And his paintings go for all the money now. It’s weird how you can see these parallels.
But R.E.M. really helped us with the college radio. I know, because I was calling up. Greg used to have me call up and he’d say, “Don’t let them know you’re in the Minutemen.” So, I came up with this name Spaceman. “Hey, it’s Spaceman! Would you play ‘Nervous Breakdown’?” “No. We’re playing Journey.” [Laughs]
LOU BARLOW (Sebadoh singer/guitarist, Dinosaur Jr. bassist [1984–1989, 2005–present]): Under R.E.M., there was a whole scene of bands that were not playing hard rock. This is starting in the early ’80s, really. There were a lot of bands that were influenced by ’60s garage rock that were happening, and then there was this whole post-punk scene that has been brewing since the late ’70s—Gang of Four, and into the Birthday Party, the Cure, Joy Division, Cocteau Twins.
But when I was a kid, for me to get ahold of [Motörhead’s] No Sleep ’til Hammersmith was equal to getting ahold of a New Order record. These two things existed at the same time for me. And then, really, post-hardcore—’83/’84/’85—that’s when the underground speed metal scene really started to happen. I was in a really cool space where I saw all these things happening, and I loved all of it.
College radio formed everything that I listened to. Everything that I discovered—into the early ’90s. I listened every day. It completely changed my life. And I found radio stations that were close to me and would send them tapes, call them up, and request shit. J Mascis had a college radio show when he was in high school! He played all these amazing UK hardcore records he was getting at the time—Discharge, GBH—on Sunday morning. I heard him as a DJ before I met him—WMUA, University of Massachusetts. The Replacements had a song called “Left of the Dial.”
