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101-499: Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester. The band released their debut EP, Pikul , in July 2005, and their debut album, Carnavas , on July 26, 2006. Their second album, Swoon , was released on April 14, 2009. Neck of the Woods ,
202-460: A box of six 7" vinyl records that included the additional track "Devil's Cup". On July 15, 2015, the band announced their next album, Better Nature . It was released on September 25, 2015. In 2017, they featured as the one-band soundtrack to Aisha Tyler 's feature film directorial debut, Axis . On June 28, 2018, Silversun Pickups posted a photo from a studio session, announcing they had broken ground on recording their fifth album. Butch Vig
303-484: A compilation album entitled The Singles Collection , comprising ten previously released songs as well as the new track "Cannibal", which was also the lead single. A video for the song aired in the middle of February, and the band appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show while performing in-store at Amoeba Music (Hollywood). The collection was released on February 25 and appeared in regular formats as well as
404-484: A confessional tone. Rites of Spring has been described as the first "emo" band. Former Minor Threat singer Ian MacKaye founded Dischord Records which became the center for the city's emo scene. Gothic rock developed out of late-1970s British post-punk . With a reputation as the "darkest and gloomiest form of underground rock", gothic rock uses a synthesizer-and-guitar based sound drawn from post-punk to construct "foreboding, sorrowful, often epic soundscapes", and
505-588: A cover of Joe Jackson 's " I'm the Man ", recorded for the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer and appearing in the trailer for its second season. Silversun Pickups' first two albums, Carnavas and Swoon , feature a shoegaze sound that employs multiple overdubs of heavy, distorted guitars; they are frequently compared to the styles of the Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine . 2012's Neck of
606-523: A cynical response to an "authentic" rock movement. Bush , Candlebox and Collective Soul were labelled almost pejoratively as post-grunge which, according to Tim Grierson of About.com , is "suggesting that rather than being a musical movement in their own right, they were just a calculated, cynical response to a legitimate stylistic shift in rock music." Post-grunge morphed during the late 1990s and 2000s as newer bands such as Foo Fighters , Matchbox Twenty , Creed and Nickelback emerged, becoming among
707-545: A flurry of British bands emerged that wished to "get rid of grunge" and "declare war on America", taking the public and native music press by storm. Dubbed " Britpop " by the media, and represented by Pulp , Blur , Suede , and Oasis , this movement was the British equivalent of the grunge explosion, in that the artists propelled alternative rock to the top of the charts in their home country. Britpop bands were influenced by and displayed reverence for British guitar music of
808-571: A headliner in 1998. In light of the festival's troubles that year, Spin said, "Lollapalooza is as comatose as alternative rock right now". Despite these changes in style however, alternative rock remained commercially viable into the start of the 21st century. During the latter half of the 1990s, grunge was supplanted by post-grunge . Many post-grunge bands lacked the underground roots of grunge and were largely influenced by what grunge had become, namely "a wildly popular form of inward-looking, serious-minded hard rock."; many post-grunge bands emulated
909-706: A late night new wave show entitled "Rock and Roll Alternative". " College rock " was used in the United States to describe the music during the 1980s due to its links to the college radio circuit and the tastes of college students. In the United Kingdom, dozens of small do it yourself record labels emerged as a result of the punk subculture . According to the founder of one of these labels, Cherry Red , NME and Sounds magazines published charts based on small record stores called "Alternative Charts". The first national chart based on distribution called
1010-420: A majority of groups that were signed to indie labels drew from a variety of rock and particularly 1960s rock influences. This represented a sharp break from the futuristic, hyper-rational post-punk years. "Alternative music is music that hasn't yet achieved a mainstream audience, Alternative isn't new wave any more, it's a disposition of mind. Alternative music is any kind of music that has the potential to reach
1111-401: A new wave of post-rock bands such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Rós emerged who further expanded the genre. In 1993, the Smashing Pumpkins' album Siamese Dream was a major commercial success. The strong influence of heavy metal and progressive rock on the album helped to legitimize alternative rock to mainstream radio programmers and close the gap between alternative rock and
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#17328011798301212-464: A number of genres, including Krautrock , progressive rock , and jazz . The genre subverts or rejects rock conventions, and often incorporates electronic music. While the name of the genre was coined by music journalist Simon Reynolds in 1994 referring to Hex by the London group Bark Psychosis , the style of the genre was solidified by the release of Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996) by
1313-552: A school exchange program. Aubert noticed Monninger sitting across the aisle from him, stealing alcohol from the drink cart. The pair formed Silversun Pickups in 2000, joined in the original lineup by guitarist Jack Kennedy and drummer Elvira Gonzalez. The band began playing in Los Angeles clubs, most often at Silverlake Lounge or nearby Spaceland , and became part of the Silver Lake music scene. The name Silversun Pickups
1414-502: A score of 64 out of 100 on Metacritic , based on 21 reviews. The album reached the seventh spot on the Billboard 200 with 43,000 copies sold in its first week, compared to "Carnavas", which peaked only at number 80 on the Billboard 200. As of May 2012, Swoon has sold 318,000 copies All songs written and composed by Silversun Pickups . Silversun Pickups Production Art Songs do eventually get change position in
1515-414: A straightforward mid-tempo sound, Aubert said: "Some songs are very quiet and delicate, [while] others are just [freaking] loud." The album was released on April 14, 2009, to positive reviews. It debuted at No. 7, selling approximately 43,000 copies in its first week. The first single released was " Panic Switch ", which aired on VH1 and MTV music video shows and radio stations worldwide. "Panic Switch"
1616-488: A wariness of its "macho" aesthetic. While indie rock artists share the punk rock distrust of commercialism, the genre does not entirely define itself against that, as "the general assumption is that it's virtually impossible to make indie rock's varying musical approaches compatible with mainstream tastes in the first place". Labels such as Matador Records , Merge Records , and Dischord , and indie rockers like Pavement , Superchunk , Fugazi , and Sleater-Kinney dominated
1717-568: A wider audience. It also has real strength, real quality, real excitement, and it has to be socially significant, as opposed to Whitney Houston, which is pablum." —Mark Josephson, Executive Director of the New Music Seminar speaking in 1988 Throughout the 1980s, alternative rock remained mainly an underground phenomenon. While on occasion a song would become a commercial hit, or albums would receive critical praise in mainstream publications like Rolling Stone , alternative rock in
1818-456: Is also featured in the video games Rock Band and Rocksmith . Silversun Pickups played the 2009 Voodoo Music Experience Festival over the Halloween weekend. In 2009, the band performed "Catch and Release", "Panic Switch", "Lazy Eye", "Well Thought Out Twinkles", "Growing Old Is Getting Old", and "Kissing Families" for MTV Unplugged . In early December 2009, the band was nominated in
1919-510: Is often difficult because of two conflicting applications of the word. Alternative can describe music that challenges the status quo and that is "fiercely iconoclastic, anticommercial, and antimainstream", and the term is also used in the music industry to denote "the choices available to consumers via record stores, radio, cable television, and the Internet." However alternative music has paradoxically become just as commercial and marketable as
2020-462: Is seen with a Fender Precision Bass in the video for "Well Thought Out Twinkles". Guanlao mainly played Ludwig Vistalites until around the Swoon era, when he switched to an acrylic C&C kit. He also uses Istanbul cymbals . Alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music , alt-rock or simply alternative ) is a category of rock music that evolved from
2121-505: Is the second full-length studio album by Los Angeles alternative rock band Silversun Pickups , released through Dangerbird Records on 14 April 2009. The name of the album comes from a line in the outro of the first track "There's No Secrets This Year." After completing their Carnavas/Pikul tour in Christmas 2007, the band took a break until February of the next year. They began recording in their own studio named The Dark. The album
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#17328011798302222-660: The Billboard 200 album chart. Soundgarden 's album Badmotorfinger , Alice in Chains ' Dirt and Stone Temple Pilots ' Core along with the Temple of the Dog album collaboration featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, were also among the 100 top-selling albums of 1992. The popular breakthrough of these grunge bands prompted Rolling Stone to nickname Seattle "the new Liverpool ". Major record labels signed most of
2323-697: The Rock Band series . Forza Horizon , released in 2012, features "Lazy Eye" as a track played on "Horizon Rocks", one of three in-game radio stations. The band finished a three-week tour opening for Wolfmother on December 9, 2006, and later toured with OK Go and Snow Patrol on their U.S. spring tour, which ended on April 10, 2007. They also played at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio , California, on April 27, 2007, as well as various concerts for modern rock -formatted radio stations in
2424-522: The Best New Artist category for the 52nd Grammy Awards . Their nomination drew some controversy, because the band was already moderately successful before the 2008-2009 nominating year, although this was mainly due to misunderstandings involving the selections of Best New Artist nominees. They supported Placebo on their Winter 2009 European tour. Upon the release of Swoon , they toured with Manchester Orchestra as main support. In spring 2010,
2525-504: The Billboard charts. Pearl Jam also continued to perform well commercially with its second album, Vs. (1993), which topped the Billboard charts by selling a record 950,378 copies in its first week of release. In 1993, the Smashing Pumpkins released their major breakthrough album, Siamese Dream —which debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 4 million copies by 1996, receiving multi-platinum certification by
2626-531: The Indie Chart was published in January 1980; it immediately succeeded in its aim to help these labels. At the time, the term indie was used literally to describe independently distributed records. By 1985, indie had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, rather than simply distribution status. The use of the term alternative to describe rock music originated around the mid-1980s; at
2727-631: The RIAA . In 1995, the band released their double album, Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness — which went on to sell 10 million copies in the US alone, certifying it as a Diamond record. With the decline of the Madchester scene and the unglamorousness of shoegazing, the tide of grunge from America dominated the British alternative scene and music press in the early 1990s. As a reaction,
2828-495: The hair metal that had dominated rock music at that time fell out of favor in the face of music that was authentic and culturally relevant. The breakthrough success of Nirvana led to the widespread popularization of alternative rock in the 1990s. It heralded a "new openness to alternative rock" among commercial radio stations, opening doors for heavier alternative bands in particular. In the wake of Nevermind , alternative rock "found itself dragged-kicking and screaming ... into
2929-494: The independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s with the likes of the grunge subgenre in the United States, and the Britpop and shoegaze subgenres in the United Kingdom and Ireland. During this period, many record labels were looking for "alternatives", as many corporate rock , hard rock , and glam metal acts from the 1980s were beginning to grow stale throughout
3030-503: The music industry . The emergence of Generation X as a cultural force in the 1990s also contributed greatly to the rise of alternative rock. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop. The term's original meaning was broader, referring to musicians influenced by the musical style or independent, DIY ethos of late-1970s punk rock . Traditionally, alternative rock varied in terms of its sound, social context, and regional roots. Throughout
3131-561: The "grunging of America" to the mass-marketing of punk rock, disco , and hip hop in previous years. As a result of the genre's popularity, a backlash against grunge developed in Seattle. Nirvana's follow-up album In Utero (1993) was an intentionally abrasive album that Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic described as a "wild aggressive sound, a true alternative record." Nevertheless, upon its release in September 1993 In Utero topped
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3232-553: The 1970s, which served as a progressive alternative to top 40 radio formats by featuring longer songs and giving DJs more freedom in song selection. According to one former DJ and promoter, "Somehow this term 'alternative' got rediscovered and heisted by college radio people during the 80s who applied it to new post-punk, indie, or underground-whatever music." At first the term referred to intentionally non-mainstream rock acts that were not influenced by "heavy metal ballads, rarefied new wave" and "high-energy dance anthems". Usage of
3333-479: The 1980s was primarily featured on independent record labels, fanzines and college radio stations. Alternative bands built underground followings by touring constantly and by regularly releasing low-budget albums. In the United States, new bands would form in the wake of previous bands, which created an extensive underground circuit filled with different scenes in various parts of the country. College radio formed an essential part of breaking new alternative music. In
3434-463: The 1980s, alternative bands generally played in small clubs, recorded for indie labels, and spread their popularity through word of mouth . As such, there is no set musical style for alternative rock as a whole, although in 1989 The New York Times asserted that the genre is "guitar music first of all, with guitars that blast out power chords, pick out chiming riffs, buzz with fuzztone and squeal in feedback." More often than in other rock styles since
3535-402: The 1980s, magazines and zines , college radio airplay , and word of mouth had increased the prominence and highlighted the diversity of alternative rock's distinct styles (and music scenes), such as noise pop , indie rock , grunge , and shoegaze . In September 1988, Billboard introduced "alternative" into their charting system to reflect the rise of the format across radio stations in
3636-752: The 2000s with multi-platinum acts such as Fall Out Boy , My Chemical Romance , Paramore and Panic! at the Disco . Bands such as the White Stripes and the Strokes found commercial success in the early 2000s, influencing an influx of new alternative rock bands that drew inspiration from garage rock , post-punk and new wave , establishing a revival of the genres. In the past, popular music tastes were largely dictated by music executives within large entertainment corporations. Record companies signed contracts with those entertainers who were thought to become
3737-473: The American indie scene for most of the 1990s. One of the main indie rock movements of the 1990s was lo-fi . The movement, which focused on the recording and distribution of music on low-quality cassette tapes , initially emerged in the 1980s. By 1992, Pavement, Guided by Voices and Sebadoh became popular lo-fi cult acts in the United States, while subsequently artists like Beck and Liz Phair brought
3838-512: The British indie scene through the end of the decade, as various bands drew from singer Morrissey 's English-centered lyrical topics and guitarist Johnny Marr 's jangly guitar-playing style. The C86 cassette, a 1986 NME premium featuring Primal Scream , the Wedding Present and others, was a major influence on the development of indie pop and the British indie scene as a whole. Other forms of alternative rock developed in
3939-723: The British music press at the end of the decade along with the Madchester scene. Performing for the most part in the Haçienda , a nightclub in Manchester owned by New Order and Factory Records , Madchester bands such as Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses mixed acid house dance rhythms with melodic guitar pop. The Amerindie of the early '80s became known as alternative or alt-rock, ascendant from Nirvana until 1996 or so but currently very unfashionable, never mind that
4040-586: The Chicago group Tortoise . Post-rock was the dominant form of experimental rock music in the 1990s and bands from the genre signed to such labels as Thrill Jockey , Kranky , Drag City , and Too Pure . A related genre, math rock , peaked in the mid-1990s. In comparison to post-rock, math rock relies on more complex time signatures and intertwining phrases. By the end of the decade a backlash had emerged against post-rock due to its "dispassionate intellectuality" and its perceived increasing predictability, but
4141-830: The Lollapalooza festival became the most successful tour in North America in July and August 1991. For Dave Grohl of Nirvana who attended the festival at an open-air amphitheater in Southern California , "it felt like something was happening, that was the beginning of it all". The tour helped change the mentalities in the music industry: "by that fall, radio and MTV and music had changed. I really think that if it weren't for Perry [Farrell], if it weren't for Lollapalooza , you and I wouldn't be having this conversation right now". The release of Nirvana's single " Smells Like Teen Spirit " in September 1991 "marked
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4242-625: The Replacements upended a number of underground scene conventions; Azerrad noted that "along with R.E.M., they were one of the few underground bands that mainstream people liked." By the late 1980s, the American alternative scene was dominated by styles ranging from quirky alternative pop ( They Might Be Giants and Camper Van Beethoven ), to noise rock ( Sonic Youth , Big Black , the Jesus Lizard ) and industrial rock ( Ministry , Nine Inch Nails). These sounds were in turn followed by
4343-522: The Story) Morning Glory? (1995), went on to become the third best-selling album in the UK's history. Long synonymous with alternative rock as a whole in the U.S., indie rock became a distinct form following the popular breakthrough of Nirvana. Indie rock was formulated as a rejection of alternative rock's absorption into the mainstream by artists who could not or refused to cross over, and
4444-591: The Top 40 and spawned a number of jangle pop followers. One of the many jangle pop scenes of the early 1980s, Los Angeles' Paisley Underground revived the sounds of the 1960s, incorporating psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and the guitar interplay of folk rock as well as punk and underground influences such as the Velvet Underground . American indie record labels SST Records , Twin/Tone Records , Touch and Go Records , and Dischord Records presided over
4545-463: The UK during the 1980s. the Jesus and Mary Chain 's sound combined the Velvet Underground's "melancholy noise" with Beach Boys pop melodies and Phil Spector 's " Wall of Sound " production, while New Order emerged from the demise of post-punk band Joy Division and experimented with disco and dance music . The Mary Chain, along with Dinosaur Jr. , C86 and the dream pop of Cocteau Twins , were
4646-577: The US by a more pop-oriented focus (marked by an equal emphasis on albums and singles, as well as greater openness to incorporating elements of dance and club culture) and a lyrical emphasis on specifically British concerns. As a result, few British alternative bands have achieved commercial success in the US. Since the 1980s, alternative rock has been played extensively on the radio in the UK, particularly by disc jockeys such as John Peel (who championed alternative music on BBC Radio 1 ), Richard Skinner , and Annie Nightingale . Artists with cult followings in
4747-626: The US received greater exposure through British national radio and the weekly music press, and many alternative bands had chart success there. Early American alternative bands such as the Dream Syndicate , the Bongos , 10,000 Maniacs , R.E.M. , the Feelies and Violent Femmes combined punk influences with folk music and mainstream music influences. R.E.M. was the most immediately successful; their debut album, Murmur (1983), entered
4848-611: The US throughout the year. They also toured the UK and Ireland while Carnavas was released there on May 28, 2007. The band opened for Foo Fighters in Edinburgh and Dublin . They also opened for the Kaiser Chiefs during their European tour. Carnavas peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 435,000 copies since its release. Silversun Pickups' second album, Swoon , includes 10 tracks, and instead of having
4949-517: The United States by stations like KROQ-FM in Los Angeles and WDRE-FM in New York, which were playing music from more underground , independent, and non-commercial rock artists. Initially, several alternative styles achieved minor mainstream notice and a few bands, such as R.E.M. and Jane's Addiction , were signed to major labels . Most alternative bands at the time, like the Smiths , one of
5050-481: The Velvet Underground , which influenced many alternative rock bands that would come after it. Eccentric and quirky figures of the 1960s, such as Syd Barrett have influence on alternative rock in general. The Dead Kennedys formed the independent record label Alternative Tentacles in 1979, releasing influential underground music such as the 1983 self-titled EP from the Butthole Surfers . By 1984,
5151-452: The Woods also started. On May 8, 2012, Silversun Pickups' third album Neck of the Woods was released. It opened near the top of the iTunes top 100 albums and moved into the number one spot the following day. Around the same time, the band announced that they would be playing a number of high-profile summer music festivals. On May 30, 2012, the video to "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)" was released and announced on Twitter. On July 24, 2012,
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#17328011798305252-491: The Woods and 2015's Better Nature largely lack their shoegaze influences, instead incorporating strong electronic elements. Aubert predominantly uses a 1994 Epiphone Sheraton II (Korean reissue), 1965 Gibson Non-Reverse Firebird , (unknown year) Gibson Reverse Firebird , Gibson SG Custom , and a Gibson Midtown Custom ; Ernie Ball strings; Yellow Dunlop picks ; (1990s) Fender Hot Rod DeVille amplifiers; Fractal Axe-FX II XL+. Monninger plays Gibson Thunderbirds and
5353-558: The advent of Boston 's Pixies and Los Angeles' Jane's Addiction. Around the same time, the grunge subgenre emerged in Seattle , Washington, initially referred to as "The Seattle Sound" until its rise to popularity in the early 1990s. Grunge featured a sludgy, murky guitar sound that syncretized heavy metal and punk rock. Promoted largely by Seattle indie label Sub Pop , grunge bands were noted for their thrift store fashion which favored flannel shirts and combat boots suited to
5454-475: The aesthetic to mainstream audiences. The period also saw alternative confessional female singer-songwriters. Besides the aforementioned Liz Phair, PJ Harvey fit into this sub group. In the mid-1990s, Sunny Day Real Estate defined the emo genre. Weezer 's album Pinkerton (1996) was also influential. Post-rock was established by Talk Talk 's Laughing Stock and Slint 's Spiderland albums, both released in 1991. Post-rock draws influence from
5555-480: The album, "Panic Switch" and "It's Nice to Know You Work Alone," have been released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero: World Tour as part of a track pack released on April 9. The song "Panic Switch" was also released along with "Sort Of" for the Rock Band series on March 2, 2010. "Panic Switch" was also included with the game Rocksmith . "There's No Secrets This Year" appears in racing game Dirt 2 and
5656-539: The alternative rock community" including Henry Rollins , Butthole Surfers , Ice-T , Nine Inch Nails , Siouxsie and the Banshees (as second headliners) and Jane's Addiction (as the headlining act). Covering for MTV the opening date of Lollapalooza in Phoenix in July 1991, Dave Kendall introduced the report saying the festival presented the "most diverse lineups of alternative rock". That summer, Farrell had coined
5757-437: The alternative/independent scene and dryly tore it apart." David Lowery , then frontman of Camper Van Beethoven, later recalled: "I remember first seeing that word applied to us... The nearest I could figure is that we seemed like a punk band, but we were playing pop music, so they made up this word alternative for those of us who do that." DJs and promoters during the 1980s claim the term originates from American FM radio of
5858-502: The band announced plans for a North American Tour beginning in September 2012. The tour took place on the West Coast, Midwest, and western Canada, with supporting acts including School of Seven Bells and Atlas Genius . In August 2012, Sarah Negahdari, singer and guitarist for The Happy Hollows, temporarily replaced Monninger for live performances while the latter was on maternity leave. On January 7, 2014, Silversun Pickups announced
5959-424: The band issued a 7" single titled " Toy Soldiers ", a cover of the 1989 Martika song. Like Widow's Weeds , the cover was produced by Butch Vig. On July 11, 2022, Silversun Pickups released "Scared Together", the first single from their sixth album, Physical Thrills , which was published on August 19. On August 5, 2022, the band released "Alone on a Hill", the second single from Physical Thrills . The track marked
6060-428: The band released two new singles: " David Lynch Has a Painting Made of Flies Eyes" and a cover of Low 's "Just Like Christmas". The former was a collaboration with Vig, under the moniker SSVU. In June 2023, the band issued a three-track EP entitled Acoustic Thrills , which contained acoustic versions of songs from Physical Thrills : "Scared Together", "Empty Nest", and "Alone on a Hill". The following month, they shared
6161-584: The band toured with Muse for their US tour. They toured North America again in summer 2010 with Against Me! and the Henry Clay People . Another tour took place with Australian rock band Birds of Tokyo in September 2010 and ended an 18-month set of shows in support of Swoon at Austin City Limits. The band released a three-song 10" vinyl single for Record Store Day 's "Back to Black Friday" event on November 25, 2011, titled " Seasick ". It
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#17328011798306262-466: The band's first-ever single to feature Monninger on sole lead vocals. "This song exposes a side I didn't know I had in me", Monninger said in a statement. "It felt freeing, especially with everything going on in the past couple of years. I'm grateful everyone gave me so much support during the recording process, as I am a bit timid when it comes to hearing the sound of my own voice. Bri just kept telling me to channel my inner Kate Bush ". In December 2022,
6363-407: The band's third album, came out on May 8, 2012. They issued their fourth album, Better Nature , on September 25, 2015. Their fifth album, Widow's Weeds , came out on June 7, 2019. Their sixth and most recent album, Physical Thrills , was released on August 19, 2022. Brian Aubert met Nikki Monninger in 1994 on a flight from Los Angeles to London . Both of them were headed to Cambridge for
6464-466: The band—playing a bit part in their music video for "Lazy Eye", in 2006. Gonzalez was replaced by drummer Christopher Guanlao, who had played in the band Crooner throughout the 1990s. Rather than recruit a new second guitarist, however, Aubert opted for keyboardist Joe Lester—formerly the bassist of Los Angeles band Pine Marten. The lineup of the band would remain unchanged thereafter. Silversun Pickups released their debut EP, Pikul , in 2005. It included
6565-467: The death of Layne Staley and the subsequent disbanding of Alice in Chains in 2002, and the disbanding of both the Cranberries and Stone Temple Pilots in 2003. Britpop also began fading after Oasis ' third album, Be Here Now (1997), was met with lackluster reviews. A signifier of alternative rock's changes was the hiatus of the Lollapalooza festival after an unsuccessful attempt to find
6666-459: The decisions were business people dealing with music as a product, and those bands who were not making the expected sales figures were then excluded from this system. Before the term alternative rock came into common usage around 1990, the sorts of music to which it refers were known by a variety of terms. In 1979, Terry Tolkin used the term Alternative Music to describe the groups he was writing about. In 1979 Dallas radio station KZEW had
6767-453: The early 2000s, when indie rock became the most common term in the US to describe modern pop and rock, the terms "indie rock" and "alternative rock" were often used interchangeably; while there are aspects which both genres have in common, "indie rock" was regarded as a British-based term, unlike the more American "alternative rock". The name "alternative rock" essentially serves as an umbrella term for underground music that has emerged in
6868-429: The formative influences for the shoegazing movement of the late 1980s. Named for the band members' tendency to stare at their feet and guitar effects pedals onstage rather than interact with the audience, shoegazing acts like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive created an overwhelmingly loud "wash of sound" that obscured vocals and melodies with long, droning riffs, distortion, and feedback. Shoegazing bands dominated
6969-430: The foundation for its large cult following. The key British alternative rock band to emerge during the 1980s was Manchester 's the Smiths . Music journalist Simon Reynolds singled out the Smiths and their American contemporaries R.E.M. as "the two most important alt-rock bands of the day", commenting that they "were eighties bands only in the sense of being against the eighties". The Smiths exerted an influence over
7070-457: The instigation of the grunge music phenomenon". Helped by constant airplay of the song's music video on MTV, their album Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week by Christmas 1991. Its success surprised the music industry. Nevermind not only popularized grunge, but also established "the cultural and commercial viability of alternative rock in general." Michael Azerrad asserted that Nevermind symbolized "a sea-change in rock music" in which
7171-422: The key British alternative rock bands during the 1980s, remained signed to independent labels and received relatively little attention from mainstream radio, television, or newspapers. With the breakthrough of Nirvana and the popularity of the grunge and Britpop movements in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream, and many alternative bands became successful. Emo found mainstream success in
7272-420: The local weather. Early grunge bands Soundgarden and Mudhoney found critical acclaim in the U.S. and UK, respectively. By the end of the decade, a number of alternative bands began to sign to major labels. While early major label signings Hüsker Dü and the Replacements had little success, acts who signed with majors in their wake such as R.E.M. and Jane's Addiction achieved gold and platinum records, setting
7373-408: The main stage at the 2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival . On March 7, 2012, Aubert confirmed via Twitter both the name of the album - Neck of the Woods - as well as the release date - May 8, 2012. Shortly afterward, the album artwork was posted to the band's Facebook account. On March 25, 2012, the first single from the new album, " Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings) ", was released. The pre-order for Neck of
7474-495: The mainstream rock, with record companies using the term "alternative" to market music to an audience that mainstream rock does not reach. Using a broad definition of the genre, Dave Thompson in his book Alternative Rock cites the formation of the Sex Pistols as well as the release of the albums Horses by Patti Smith and Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed as three key events that gave birth to alternative rock. Until
7575-559: The mainstream" and record companies, confused by the genre's success yet eager to capitalize on it, scrambled to sign bands. The New York Times declared in 1993, "Alternative rock doesn't seem so alternative anymore. Every major label has a handful of guitar-driven bands in shapeless shirts and threadbare jeans, bands with bad posture and good riffs who cultivate the oblique and the evasive, who conceal catchy tunes with noise and hide craftsmanship behind nonchalance." However, many alternative rock artists rejected success, for it conflicted with
7676-494: The mainstreaming of rock music, alternative rock lyrics tend to address topics of social concern, such as drug use, depression, suicide, and environmentalism . This approach to lyrics developed as a reflection of the social and economic strains in the United States and United Kingdom of the 1980s and early 1990s. Precursors to alternative rock existed in the 1960s with proto-punk . The origins of alternative rock can be traced back to The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) by
7777-509: The mid-1980s, college station KCPR in San Luis Obispo, California , described in a DJ handbook the tension between popular and "cutting edge" songs as played on "alternative radio". Although American alternative artists of the 1980s never generated spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on later alternative musicians and laid the groundwork for their success. On September 10, 1988, an Alternative Songs chart
7878-460: The more melodic, diverse music of college rock that emerged. Azerrad wrote, "Hüsker Dü played a huge role in convincing the underground that melody and punk rock weren't antithetical." The band also set an example by being the first group from the American indie scene to sign to a major record label, which helped establish college rock as "a viable commercial enterprise". By focusing on heartfelt songwriting and wordplay instead of political concerns,
7979-503: The most popular rock bands in the United States. At the same time Britpop began to decline, Radiohead achieved critical acclaim with its third album OK Computer (1997), and its follow-ups Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), which were in marked contrast with the traditionalism of Britpop. Radiohead, along with post-Britpop groups like Travis , Stereophonics and Coldplay , were major forces in British rock in subsequent years. Swoon (Silversun Pickups album) Swoon
8080-448: The most popular, and therefore who could generate the most sales. These bands were able to record their songs in expensive studios, and their works were then offered for sale through record store chains that were owned by the entertainment corporations, along with eventually selling the merchandise into big box retailers . Record companies worked with radio and television companies to get the most exposure for their artists. The people making
8181-443: The music is still there. — Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s (2000) By the start of the 1990s, the music industry was enticed by alternative rock's commercial possibilities and major labels had already signed Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dinosaur Jr. In early 1991, R.E.M. went mainstream worldwide with Out of Time while becoming a blueprint for many alternative bands. The first edition of
8282-569: The past, particularly movements and genres such as the British Invasion , glam rock , and punk rock . In 1995, the Britpop phenomenon culminated in a rivalry between its two chief groups, Oasis and Blur, symbolized by their release of competing singles “ Roll With It ” and “ Country House ” on the same day on 14 August 1995. Blur won " The Battle of Britpop ", but they were soon eclipsed in popularity by Oasis whose second album, (What's
8383-418: The prominent grunge bands in Seattle, while a second influx of bands moved to the city in hopes of success. At the same time, critics asserted that advertising was co-opting elements of grunge and turning it into a fad. Entertainment Weekly commented in a 1993 article, "There hasn't been this kind of exploitation of a subculture since the media discovered hippies in the '60s." The New York Times compared
8484-427: The rebellious, DIY ethic the genre had espoused before mainstream exposure and their ideas of artistic authenticity. Other grunge bands subsequently replicated Nirvana's success. Pearl Jam had released its debut album Ten a month before Nevermind in 1991, but album sales only picked up a year later. By the second half of 1992 Ten became a breakthrough success, being certified gold and reaching number two on
8585-555: The rhythm game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock . "It's Nice to Know You Work Alone" is also featured in the baseball game MLB 10: The Show . As with Carnavas , the album's packaging features the artwork of Darren Waterston , this time using his 2008 piece "St.Clair" as the basis for the cover art. The inside packing also features Waterston's pieces "Disembodiment" and "Reverberations." All paintings are from his collection entitled "The Flowering." Like Carnavas , Swoon received generally positive reviews from critics. It accumulated
8686-421: The shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging. Minneapolis bands Hüsker Dü and the Replacements were indicative of this shift. Both started out as punk rock bands, but soon diversified their sounds and became more melodic. Michael Azerrad asserted that Hüsker Dü was the key link between hardcore punk and
8787-665: The single "Kissing Families", which featured fellow Silver Lake artist Tanya Haden on cello. On July 25, 2006, Silversun Pickups released their debut full-length album Carnavas . Two of the album's four singles, " Lazy Eye " and " Well Thought Out Twinkles ", made the top 10 of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2007. "Lazy Eye" is also featured in the video games Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour , one of only 13 songs to be featured in both games. The songs "Melatonin" and "Well Thought Out Twinkles" are also available as downloadable content for
8888-479: The sound and style of grunge, "but not necessarily the individual idiosyncracies of its original artists." Post-grunge was a more commercially viable genre that tempered the distorted guitars of grunge with polished, radio-ready production. Originally, post-grunge was a label used almost pejoratively on bands that emerged when grunge was mainstream and emulated the grunge sound. The label suggested that bands labelled as post-grunge were simply musically derivative, or
8989-514: The stage for alternative's later breakthrough. Some bands such as Pixies had massive success overseas while they were ignored domestically. In the middle of the decade, Hüsker Dü's album Zen Arcade influenced other hardcore acts by tackling personal issues. Out of Washington, D.C.'s hardcore scene what was called "emocore" or, later, " emo " emerged and was noted for its lyrics which delved into emotional, very personal subject matter (vocalists sometimes cried) and added free association poetry and
9090-513: The subgenre's lyrics often address literary romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and supernatural mysticism. Bands of this subgenre took inspiration from two British post-punk groups, Siouxsie and the Banshees , and Joy Division . Bauhaus ' debut single " Bela Lugosi's Dead ", released in 1979, is considered to be the proper beginning of the gothic rock subgenre. The Cure 's "oppressively dispirited" albums including Pornography (1982) cemented that group's stature in that style and laid
9191-644: The term Alternative Nation . In December 1991, Spin magazine noted: "this year, for the first time, it became resoundingly clear that what has formerly been considered alternative rock —a college-centered marketing group with fairly lucrative, if limited, potential—has in fact moved into the mainstream." In the late 1990s, the definition again became more specific. In 1997, Neil Strauss of The New York Times defined alternative rock as "hard-edged rock distinguished by brittle, '70s-inspired guitar riffing and singers agonizing over their problems until they take on epic proportions." Defining music as alternative
9292-514: The term would broaden to include new wave , pop, punk rock , post-punk , and occasionally " college "/" indie " rock, all found on the American "commercial alternative" radio stations of the time such as Los Angeles' KROQ-FM . Journalist Jim Gerr wrote that Alternative also encompassed variants such as "rap, trash, metal and industrial". The bill of the first Lollapalooza , an itinerant festival in North America conceived by Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell , reunited "disparate elements of
9393-528: The time, the common music industry terms for cutting-edge music were new music and postmodern , respectively indicating freshness and a tendency to recontextualize sounds of the past. A similar term, alternative pop , emerged around 1985. In 1987, Spin magazine categorized college rock band Camper Van Beethoven as "alternative/indie", saying that their 1985 song "Where the Hell Is Bill" (from Telephone Free Landslide Victory ) "called out
9494-488: The type of rock played on American 1970s Album Oriented Rock radio. In the early 21st century, many alternative rock bands that experienced mainstream success struggled following the suicide of Nirvana 's Kurt Cobain in April 1994, Pearl Jam 's failed lawsuit against concert venue promoter Ticketmaster , Soundgarden 's break-up in 1997, the Smashing Pumpkins losing its original members in 2000, L7 's hiatus in 2001,
9595-405: The wake of punk rock since the mid-1980s. Throughout much of its history, alternative rock has been largely defined by its rejection of the commercialism of mainstream culture, although this could be contested since some of the major alternative artists have eventually achieved mainstream success or co-opted with the major labels from the 1990s onward (especially into the 2000s, and beyond). In
9696-400: Was " Panic Switch ". On April 6, the track "There's No Secrets This Year" was released as a single on various online music stores. The bonus track "Currency of Love" was released exclusively on iTunes with pre-orders in the U.S. and Canada, but was issued as a regular album track in other countries. The song "Ne Plus Ultra" was released as a B-Side on the single Panic Switch. Two tracks off of
9797-399: Was composed of three previously unreleased songs: "Seasick", "Broken Bottles", and "Ribbons and Detours". These were songs left over from the Swoon sessions, and were not put on their third studio album. The band also contributed a cover of Bob Dylan 's " Not Dark Yet " for the tribute album Chimes of Freedom . On February 7, 2012, it was announced that Silversun Pickups would be playing
9898-529: Was created by Billboard , listing the 40 most-played songs on alternative and modern rock radio stations in the US: the first number one was " Peek-a-Boo " by Siouxsie and the Banshees . By 1989, the genre had become popular enough that a package tour featuring New Order , Public Image Limited and the Sugarcubes toured the US arena circuit. Early on, British alternative rock was distinguished from that of
9999-418: Was derived from Silversun, a liquor store located across from Silverlake Lounge. One of the band's friends would often arrive at the store late at night to buy liquor, making a "Silversun pickup". In interviews, the band has said its name is more of "a state of mind". In 2002, both Kennedy and Gonzalez left the band. Kennedy would go on to focus on his eponymous solo project, while Gonzalez remained close with
10100-451: Was mentioned in the post, potentially indicating he would be producing the album. Later, they posted a photo to their social media platforms from the studio with Vig, confirming his involvement. On April 11, 2019, the band released the video for "It Doesn't Matter Why", the first single from the album Widow's Weeds , which was issued on June 7, 2019. The songs "Freakazoid" and "Don't Know Yet" were also released as singles. On June 10, 2020,
10201-446: Was produced by Dave Cooley, who had worked with the band on their first album, Carnavas . Recording was completed between July 2008 and February 2009. During the recording process the band laid down as many as 17 songs which were eventually cut down to 10 for the album. On February 17, the band posted a list of the songs expected to be on Swoon on their MySpace blog. The album was released on April 14, 2009. The first single released
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