Looking at the popular music scene these days, I sometimes admittedly long for the nineties, and the days when edgier rock music with subversive lyrics and themes actually dominated the radio waves. It seemed to me that from maybe late 1991/early 1992 thru to at least early 1996, there were just a ton of great bands producing some incredible music. Some bands emerged onto the popular scene during this time (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine) , while others had been around for a while, but seemed to take it to a new level in the first half of the decade (the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, the Smashing Pumpkins, REM).
This, of course, is known as the music of the nineties. Yet, there came a point when it felt like this great musical era seemed to lose much of it's early momentum, long before it seemed to get buried - perhaps predictably, in hindsight - by the very same style of music genre and dance moves that it (apparently only temporarily) replaced. And in this article (see link below), an actually quite compelling case is made for the year 1996 as the year when the music and the bands that defined the nineties really began to take a back seat to what was soon coming.
To be sure, you could make arguments for earlier times. Some might suggest that the death of some iconic nineties musicians - particularly Kurt Cobain - went a long way towards killing the momentum. Certainly, it was the end of Nirvana. But the other major Seattle bands, as well as plenty of other alternative/grunge bands were still dominating the airwaves. So you could always counter that it did not really end, or even slow all that much, at that point.
I remember reading in an article somewhere where it was suggested that the rise in popularity of the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) helped to accelerate the collapse of the grunge cave, if you will. One of the books that I read about Pearl Jam, for example (I believe it was "Five Against One," although it's been so many years now since I read that, or any books on Pearl Jam, that there is no way for me to be certain at the moment) that the momentum of their rather incredible popularity really began to slow in the summer of 1995, which would also more or less coincide with the meteoric rise of the DMB. So maybe there is something to that.
Now, here's the irony of all of this. Indeed, if 1996 was the year of the decline of the music scene that defined the nineties, then it also coincided with that being what was, at the time, my very best year in indulging in that music.
Let me explain. In 1996, I enjoyed a great year in many ways. Somehow, I managed to travel (strictly within North America, admittedly) more than I ever had before, taking my first trip to the West Coast (San Francisco), to the Midwest (Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland), to Atlantic City and southern New Jersey, to Baltimore and York, Pennsylvania with my college while participating in Habitat for Humanity (something that I am still proud to have participated in, and look fondly back at) and two trips to Canada, for the first time in over four years. Plus, I went to some very memorable sports events, seeing Brazil versus the FIFA All-Stars at Giants Stadium, the Chicago Bulls late during that historically dominant season, the Dallas Cowboys against the Giants, the San Francisco 49ers at the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a number of other big games.
Yet, complimenting all of this was a year when I went to more concerts than ever before. That year, by chance, I saw some amazing shows and bands. It began with Ozzy Osbourne, with Korn and Life of Agony as the two opening bands. The Red Hot Chili Peppers at MSG in February, because the concert had been pushed back from December, when it was originally supposed to take place. That one wound up being televised on MTV, at least two different versions of it, although neither of those versions are actually complete. July proved to be a busy and historic month for me in terms of concerts, beginning with my first and only Lollapalooza show, at least back in the nineties, when it was still a summer tour. That was when I saw the Screaming Trees, the Ramones, and Soundgarden for the first time, and it also marked the last (or at least most recent time) that I saw Metallica. Later that month, I also saw KISS and The Who. The Scorpions and Alice Cooper in August, and then Rage Against the Machine later that month. The Smashing Pumpkins in mid-September, which like the RHCP, had been delayed from an earlier date. Pearl Jam at Randall's Island (where the earlier Lollapalooza show had been). Finally, The Stone Temple Pilots at MSG in November of 1996. I had been to some concerts prior to 1996, but it was this year when I began to feel like a seasoned veteran of rock concerts, if you will. That was when I began to feel like I had been to a lot of shows, and when I could legitimately say "I saw these guys in concert" when some of the still most popular bands came on the radio.
Clearly, I was enjoying finally getting a chance to see all of these great bands and musicians. Perhaps I got so carried away with it, that I did not entirely notice that, indeed, it seemed like the earlier momentum of the "alternative music" scene seemed to be losing steam. It was not immediately obvious. After all, the Smashing Pumpkins had recently (1995) produced their most iconic album, and it was a double album filled with great stuff, at that! Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, the Stone Temple Pilots, and Rage Against the Machine all came out with new albums. Alice in Chains had just released an album the year before, and they also released their unplugged album in 1996. Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were touring, promoting recent album releases. It seemed that the future was still bright, at least at first glance.
However, Pearl Jam's album was a deliberate attempt to change the band's sound and image, and to unplug much of the band's incredible popularity. The Red Hot Chili Peppers saw many react negatively to their 1995 album, "One Hot Minute," with many viewing it as a step down from previous releases. The Stone Temple Pilots would still have a few years, but it seems to me that they reached the peak of their popularity in 1996, and that they began to go on the decline, at least in terms of popularity, after that. Rage continued for some years, but I feel that the peak of their popularity was the mid-90's. The Smashing Pumpkins would never see the level of dominance that they enjoyed with their 1995 album, which obviously carried over basically through 1996 on the radio waves and with their supporting tour. Soundgarden would break up in 1997. Alice in Chains never officially disbanded, but they seemed to disappear for some time after the unplugged album. Metallica stayed popular, but they kept shifting their styles, which many felt discredited them and their credibility.
In short, the dominance of the "grunge" or "alternative" era of the nineties was more or less winding down. There were other bands of that era, like Bush, No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails, Oasis, and some other major bands of the time. Again, though, it felt like the whole scene began to get tangled up with the rising popularity of other music that began to dominate. Naively, I had assumed that soft pop, and particularly boy bands, were swept away for good with the rise of the alternative music scene. Sadly, that was not the case, as a new wave of boy and girl bands suddenly came on the scene. The Dave Matthews Band - which I like - also detracted a bit from the "alternative" scene, but at least they were good music. Many of the bands that rose in popularity were quite a bit less innovative and interesting. There were a ton of so-called "post-grunge" bands. There was also no more Lollapalooza, and Seattle seemed to settle down a bit, after an explosive musical scene. By the late nineties, it really felt like that particular music scene was basically fading away.
All of this was happening, and it would take a few years to fully realize the ramifications. After all, hindsight is 20-20. Now, I did sense some of this. I remember, as a Pearl Jam fan, being one of the few people who was quite excited with their upcoming album, "No Code," in 1996, which I actually bought while in Chicago, and remember listening to, specifically, during that first visit to Canada with a friend in October of 1996. It was hard not to notice how interest was waning, although on many levels, I felt (and still feel), that that particular album was quite interesting, even if it did constitute a new musical direction for the band, and marked a serious decline in their popularity. Yes, the crowd at Randall's Island had been wild and excited, as crowds are when they see Pearl Jam these days, as well. But already gone were the days of Pearl Jam's prominence on the radio waves across the country, and even across much of the world.
So perhaps, since I felt like I was enjoying the kind of year that I had long wanted, the fill extent of what now seems, in hindsight, a clear sign of a decline in the music that I identified with, it seems quite obvious now in retrospect. It was still a very good year for "alternative," and it was still very, very influential and strong. There were still many rock stations that were playing that stuff. But it seems clear now that there were a few less stations by '96 than their had been before. And unfortunately, that trend continued.
Still, I look at 1996 with great fondness. Personally, again, it was a banner year in many ways. It was the first year when I had a girlfriend for the entirety of the calendar year, from beginning to end. My social life was at an absolute peak. I traveled like never before, both in part because of luck, as well as making a point of it. I attended some amazing sports events. And yes, I went to just a ton of concerts, which kind of cemented my lifelong love of the music that had dominated that decade to that point. But all of this distracted me from the overall trend - now quite obvious - that this also marked a time when that music scene had reached it's peak, and was now clearly declining in popularity.
Attached is a link to an interesting article that does advocate 1996 as the year when "the bubble burst" for alternative music, which had pretty much dominated the 90's up to that point, ever since Nirvana broke huge with "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Weezer's album tanked, killing their momentum. Nor were they alone. Bush, Counting Crows, the Gin Blossoms and Sheryl Crow were selling a lot less albums, as were Pearl Jam, the Stone Temple Pilots, R.E.M., Soundgarden, all of who also found themselves losing ground to other bands and genres on the radio waves and MTV, as well as record sales. Other major nineties acts like Tori Amos, the Cranberries, and the Black Crows began to take a back seat, as well. And while I mentioned finally attending a Lollapalooza show, it was, ironically, the 1996 tour that more or less killed the momentum that it had. Many felt that Metallica was far too commercial, and also did not represent the spirit of what alternative music believed, being too focused on fostering a macho, misogynistic image. All of this contributed to what basically is often regarded these days as the "death" of nineties alternative and/or grunge.
And you know what? Maybe they had a point. Maybe I was just having too much fun, finally seeing the shows that I had long wanted to see (particularly Lollapalooza and Pearl Jam), that I was actually not seeing the larger trends, that the momentum for this whole scene was slowing down dramatically, and other music scenes and genres were stepping in to fill the vacuum. Interesting.
In any case, below is the link to this article. See if you agree:
1996: The Year The Alternative Bubble Burst Written By Al Shipley | September 13, 2021:
https://www.spin.com/2021/09/1996-alternative-bubble-burst/?fbclid=IwAR2LqjyJ0byms07yTXvFulRECCC8GSiPYUM-Ev0AVKsl4kRPXHLpOnzcmUU
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