159-530: Tribes are a British four-piece indie rock band, based in Camden Town , London, England, that formed in 2010. The group consists of former Operahouse members Johnny Lloyd (vocals and guitar), Dan White (guitar) and Jim Cratchley (bass), along with White's childhood friend, Miguel Demelo (drums). The band signed to Island Records in March 2011, and shortly after, released their first EP, We Were Children ,
318-736: A reverb heavy, pop –influenced sound. Marked by the Clean's 1981 debut single "Tally-Ho!" and 1982's Dunedin Double EP featuring the Chills , Sneaky Feelings , the Verlaines and the Stones , its guitars were often jangly and droning and vocals indistinct. The following years, the Dunedin sound spread to other New Zealand cities such as Christchurch or Auckland . The decade then saw
477-612: A 2009 article for the Guardian , journalist Peter Robinson cited the landfill indie movement as dead, blaming the Wombats , Scouting For Girls , and Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong by stating "If landfill indie had been a game of Buckaroo , those three sent the whole donkey's arse of radio-friendly mainstream guitar band monotony flying high into the air, legs flailing." There continued to be commercial successes in
636-752: A Life (2017) winning the Mercury Prize in 2018 and third album Blue Weekend (2021) being nominated. Writer Martin Young stated in a 2021 article for Dork that "It's impossible to truly state just how important Wolf Alice are. They are the catalyst for almost all the amazing bands you've read about in Dork over the last 5 years." Nirvana (band) Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington , in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic ,
795-491: A childhood birthday party a few years previously, and the pair eventually became good friends. In April 2011, Tribes released their first EP titled We Were Children . The music video for the song "We Were Children" was filmed in Camden Town , with the band performing a rooftop gig to onlookers and fans on the street below. The song was named "Hottest Record in the World" by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 14 April 2011. "Sappho",
954-616: A cover of Shocking Blue 's " Love Buzz ", in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop . They did their first interview with John Robb in Sounds , which made their release its single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach , with local producer Jack Endino . Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins,
1113-680: A deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy them out of their contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana's demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon , Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990. When Nirvana
1272-549: A descriptor in its own right, describing not only the bands on the tape but also bands who it influenced, often used alongside terms like "anorak pop" and "shambling". Some C86 bands found significant commercial success: the Soup Dragons went on to sell out Madison Square Garden ; Primal Scream were critically acclaimed, receiving the first ever Mercury Prize in 1992; the Wedding Present charted eighteen times in
1431-484: A final ceremony on May 31, 1999. In 1994, Grohl founded a new band, Foo Fighters . He and Novoselic decided against Novoselic joining. Grohl said it would have felt "really natural" for them to work together again, but would have been uncomfortable for the other band members and placed more pressure on Grohl. Novoselic turned his attention to political activism. Plans for a live Nirvana album, Verse Chorus Verse , were canceled as Novoselic and Grohl found assembling
1590-616: A fourth single in "In Bloom" by that point, Geffen/DGC opted not to heavily promote Incesticide , which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America the following February. In February 1993, Nirvana released "Puss" / "Oh, the Guilt" , a split single with the Jesus Lizard , on the independent label Touch & Go . For their third album, Nirvana chose producer Steve Albini , who had
1749-660: A full show at Brooklyn's St. Vitus Bar with Jett, Gordon, St. Vincent, J Mascis and John McCauley as guest vocalists. Grohl thanked Burckhard, Crover, Peters and Channing for their time in Nirvana. Everman also attended. At Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party in 2016, Novoselic and Grohl reunited to perform the David Bowie song " The Man Who Sold the World ", which Nirvana had covered in their MTV Unplugged performance. Beck accompanied them on acoustic guitar and vocals. In October 2018, Novoselic and Grohl reunited during
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#17327867180561908-561: A generation", although he had rejected such labeling during his lifetime. In 1992, Jon Pareles of The New York Times reported that Nirvana had made other alternative acts impatient for similar success: "Suddenly, all bets are off. No one has the inside track on which of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ornery, obstreperous, unkempt bands might next appeal to the mall-walking millions." Record company executives offered large advances and record deals to bands, and previous strategies of building audiences for alternative rock groups were replaced by
2067-464: A hail of alternately melodic and hard-charging songs". Cobain described Nirvana's initial sound as "a Gang of Four and Scratch Acid ripoff". When Nirvana recorded Bleach , Cobain felt he had to fit the expectations of the Sub Pop grunge sound to build a fanbase, and suppressed his arty and pop songwriting in favor of a more rock sound. Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad argued, "Ironically, it
2226-471: A key element of indie is the dichotomy between a "puritan ethos" and a "romantic one", with the former using austere ethics, and the latter being eccentric. This is best seen in the contrast between the indie music of United States and the United Kingdom in the 1990s, with British acts being flamboyant performers, while American acts used their lack of virtuosity as a mark of authenticity. Indie rock
2385-416: A musical approach, the indie rock movement encompassed a wide range of styles, from hard-edged, grunge-influenced bands, through do-it-yourself experimental bands like Pavement , to punk-folk singers such as Ani DiFranco . In his book DIY Style: Fashion, Music and Global Digital Cultures , Brent Luvaas described the genre as rooted in nostalgia, citing the influence of garage rock and psychedelic rock of
2544-767: A name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name like the Angry Samoans ." The band were initially sued by the British band Nirvana over the usage of the name, reaching an out-of-court settlement. Novoselic moved to Tacoma and Cobain to Olympia, Washington . They temporarily lost contact with Burckhard, and instead practiced with Dale Crover of the Melvins. Nirvana recorded its first demos in January 1988. In early 1988, Crover moved to San Francisco but recommended Dave Foster as his replacement on drums. Foster's tenure with Nirvana
2703-439: A nihilistic jerk half the time and other times I'm so vulnerable and sincere [.. The songs are] like a mixture of both of them. That's how most people my age are." Combined with their themes of abjection and alienation, Nirvana became hugely popular during their short tenure and are credited with bringing alternative rock to the mainstream. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that prior to Nirvana, "alternative music
2862-399: A post-grunge and hardcore on their breakthrough albums Word Gets Around (1997) and Performance and Cocktails (1999), before moving into more melodic territory with Just Enough Education to Perform (2001) and subsequent albums. Feeder , who were initially more influenced by American post-grunge, producing a hard rock sound that led to their breakthrough single " Buck Rogers " and
3021-614: A reputation as principled and opinionated in the American indie music scene. While some speculated that Nirvana chose Albini for his underground credentials, Cobain said they chose him for his "natural" recording style, without layers of studio trickery. Albini and Nirvana recorded the album in two weeks in Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota , that February for $ 25,000 . After its completion, stories ran in
3180-560: A result, the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning and began to refer to the new, commercially lighter form of music that was now achieving mainstream success. New York magazine writer Carl Swanson argued that even the term "sellout" lost its meaning as grunge made it possible for a niche movement, no matter how radical, to be co-opted by the mainstream, cementing the formation of an individualist, fragmented culture. In his book Popular Music: The Key Concepts , media academic Roy Shuker states that "Grunge represented
3339-400: A short time. Another project, this time featuring originals, was also attempted in late 1986. Bob McFadden was enlisted to play drums, but after a month this project also fell through. In early 1987, Cobain and Novoselic recruited drummer Aaron Burckhard . They practiced material from Cobain's Fecal Matter tape but started writing new material soon after forming. During its initial months,
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#17327867180563498-419: A song the lyrics are the least important subject. I can go through two or three different subjects in a song and the title can mean absolutely nothing at all". Cobain told Spin in 1993 that he "didn't give a flying f–k [ sic ]" what the lyrics on Bleach were about, figuring "Let's just scream negative lyrics, and as long as they're not sexist and don't get too embarrassing it'll be okay", while
3657-537: A special guest and the Kaiser Chiefs . They also played NME Awards 2012 Tour with Azealia Banks , Metronomy and headliners Two Door Cinema Club . They state their influences as Nirvana , Pixies , Pavement and R.E.M. Their debut album, Baby , was recorded at The Motor Museum in Liverpool and released on 16 January 2012. On 10 June 2012, Tribes took part in a charity festival, Chazzstock, which
3816-523: A style and more a categorization, it describes an early 1990s trend of acts who followed in the traditions of early electronic music (composers of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop ), krautrock and synth-pop . Progenitors of the genre were English bands Disco Inferno , Stereolab , and Space . Most musicians in the genre can be found on independent labels like Warp , Morr Music , Sub Pop or Ghostly International . Space rock took
3975-714: A style indebted to '60s-70s bands like the Velvet Underground and the Ramones , the band's intention musically was to sound like "a band from the past that took a time trip into the future to make their record." The album peaked at number thirty-three in the United States, staying in the charts for two additional years and debuted at number two on the UK albums chart . When the Strokes made their commercial debut,
4134-470: A suit to dissolve Nirvana LLC, and an injunction was issued preventing the release of any new Nirvana material until the case was resolved. Love contended that Cobain was Nirvana, that Grohl and Novoselic were sidemen, and that she had signed the partnership agreement originally under bad advice. Grohl and Novoselic countersued, asking the court to remove Love from the partnership and to replace her with another representative of Cobain's estate. The day before
4293-570: A way and then be totally extreme punk rock and then do real wimpy pop songs." When Cobain heard the Pixies ' 1988 album Surfer Rosa after recording Bleach , he felt it had the sound he wanted to achieve but had been too intimidated to try. The Pixies' subsequent popularity encouraged Cobain to follow his instincts as a songwriter. Like the Pixies, Nirvana moved between "spare bass-and-drum grooves and shrill bursts of screaming guitar and vocals". Near
4452-515: Is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels , by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced. The sound of indie rock has its origins in the New Zealand Dunedin sound of the Chills , Sneaky Feelings , Tall Dwarfs ,
4611-541: Is among the bestselling singles of all time, having sold 8 million copies. Since their breakup, Nirvana have continued to receive acclaim. In 2003, they were selected as one of the inductees of the Mojo Hall of Fame 100 . The band also received a nomination in 2004 from the UK Music Hall of Fame for the title of "Greatest Artist of the 1990s". Rolling Stone placed Nirvana at number 27 on their list of
4770-482: Is noted for having a relatively high proportion of female artists compared with preceding rock genres, a tendency exemplified by the development of the feminist-informed riot grrrl music of acts like Bikini Kill , Bratmobile , 7 Year Bitch , Team Dresch and Huggy Bear . However, Cortney Harding pointed out that this sense of equality is not reflected in the number of women running indie labels. The BBC documentary Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie pinpoints
4929-487: The Billboard album charts, and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, "Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base." The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide. Nirvana's sudden success
Tribes (band) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5088-617: The Billboard 200 . Nirvana have been awarded one diamond, three multiplatinum, seven platinum and two gold- certified albums in the United States by the RIAA, and four multiplatinum, four platinum, two gold and one silver-certified albums in the UK by the BPI . Nevermind , their most successful album, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums ever. Their most successful song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit",
5247-522: The Billboard 200 . In 2004, Rolling Stone named Nirvana among the 100 greatest artists of all time . Its members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in 2014. Singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic met while attending Aberdeen High School in Washington state. The pair became friends while frequenting the practice space of
5406-563: The Chicago Tribune and Newsweek that quoted sources claiming DGC considered the album "unreleasable". Fans became concerned that Nirvana's creative vision might be compromised by their label. While the stories about DGC shelving the album were untrue, the band was unhappy with certain aspects of Albini's mixes; they thought the bass levels were too low, and Cobain felt that " Heart-Shaped Box " and " All Apologies " did not sound "perfect". The longtime R.E.M. producer Scott Litt
5565-601: The Live at the Paramount show, and of In Utero in September 2013, which included the Live and Loud show. In 2012, Grohl, Novoselic, and Smear joined Paul McCartney at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief . The performance featured the premiere of a new song written by the four, "Cut Me Some Slack". A studio recording was released on the soundtrack to Sound City , a documentary film by Grohl. On July 19, 2013,
5724-515: The 1996 Grammy Awards . Nirvana is one of the best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. During its three years as a mainstream act, Nirvana received an American Music Award , Brit Award , and Grammy Award , as well as seven MTV Video Music Awards and two NME Awards . It achieved five number-one hits on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and four number-one albums on
5883-605: The Best Alternative Video and Best New Artist categories. DGC had hoped to have a new Nirvana album ready for a late 1992 holiday season; instead, it released the compilation album Incesticide in December 1992. A joint venture between DGC and Sub Pop, Incesticide collected various rare Nirvana recordings and was intended to provide the material for a better price and higher quality than bootlegs . As Nevermind had been out for 15 months and had yielded
6042-558: The Billboard 200 chart, becoming the band's highest-charting album in the United States. In August 2017, AM was certified platinum by the RIAA for combined sales and album-equivalent units over of a million units in the United States. As of the 14th of April 2023 every track from the album was certified silver or higher by the BPI with "Mad Sounds" being the last to be certified. When
6201-557: The Library of Congress added Nevermind to the National Recording Registry , which collects "culturally, historically or aesthetically important" sound recordings from the 20th century. In 2011, four of Nirvana's songs appeared on Rolling Stone ' s updated list of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ", with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ranking the highest at number 9. Three of the band's albums were ranked on
6360-685: The Melvins . Cobain wanted to form a band with Novoselic, but Novoselic did not respond for a long period. Cobain gave him a demo tape of his project Fecal Matter . Three years after the two first met, Novoselic notified Cobain that he had finally listened to the Fecal Matter demo and suggested they start a group. Their first band, the Sellouts, was a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band. The project featured Novoselic on guitar and vocals, Cobain on drums, and Steve Newman on bass but only lasted
6519-513: The Seattle grunge scene, releasing its first album, Bleach , for the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. They developed a sound that relied on dynamic contrasts, often between quiet verses and loud, heavy choruses. After signing to the major label DGC Records in 1991, Nirvana found unexpected mainstream success with " Smells Like Teen Spirit ", the first single from its landmark second album Nevermind (1991). A cultural phenomenon of
Tribes (band) - Misplaced Pages Continue
6678-473: The Thames Valley . During the 1990s, the mainstream success of grunge and Britpop , two movements influenced by indie rock, brought increased attention to the genre and saw record labels use their independent status as a marketing tactic. This led to a split within indie rock: one side conforming to mainstream radio; the other becoming increasingly experimental. By this point, "indie rock" referred to
6837-452: The psychedelic rock , ambient music influence of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind and incorporated them into an indie rock context. The style began with Spacemen 3 in the 1980s, with later groups including Spiritualized , Flying Saucer Attack , Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Quickspace . As Britpop waned towards the end of the decade, post-Britpop took hold within the UK's indie rock scene. From about 1997, as dissatisfaction grew with
6996-411: The " 100 Greatest Artists of All Time " in 2004, and at number 30 on their updated list in 2011. In 2003, the magazine's senior editor David Fricke picked Kurt Cobain as the 12th best guitarist of all time. Rolling Stone later ranked Cobain as the 45th greatest singer in 2008 and 73rd greatest guitarist of all time in 2011. VH1 ranked Nirvana as the 42nd greatest artists of rock and roll in 1998,
7155-473: The " slacker " stereotype, and as a defining anthem of 90s indie rock. With the rise of Britpop , many of Britain's earlier indie rock bands fell into obscurity. Fronted by Blur , Oasis , Pulp and Suede , the bands in the movement were advertised as being underground artists, as a means to compete commercially with the United States' grunge scene. While Britpop was stylistically indebted to indie rock and began as an offshoot of it, Britpop bands abandoned
7314-532: The 1960s in progenitors the Stone Roses and the Smiths , in addition to a lyrical preoccupation with literature. In this same vein, Matthew Bannister defined indie rock as "small groups of white men playing guitars, influenced by punks and 1960s white pop/rock, within a broader discourse and practice of (degrees of) independence from mainstream musical values." According to anthropologist Wendy Fonarow ,
7473-412: The 1975 's merger of indie rock and mainstream pop began gaining commercial attraction in the early 2010s, it was controversial; they received the award for "Worst Band" at the 2014 NME Awards , but by 2017 received "Best Live Band" at the same award show. Alternative Press writer Yasmine Summan stated that "If you could summarize 2013 and 2014 in one album for indie and alternative fans, it would be
7632-519: The 1975's self-titled release ". In an article for the Guardian accrediting the 1975 as the band to "usher indie into the mainstream", writer Mark Beaumont compared vocalist Matty Healy's influence on the genre to that of Libertines vocalist Pete Doherty , and Pitchfork listed them as one of the most influential artists in music since 1995. In the 1975's wake, a number of other indie pop artist gained popularity. Some critics termed this phenomenon "Healywave", which notably included: Pale Waves ,
7791-547: The 1980s closed, both Sonic Youth and the Pixies signed to major labels. In the late 1980s, the indie rock subgenre shoegaze emerged, as a continuation of the wall of sound production being used by groups like the Jesus and Mary Chain. The genre merged this with influences from Dinosaur Jr. and the Cocteau Twins , to create a dark and droning style so cacophonous that instruments were often indistinguishable. The genre
7950-430: The 1980s punk rock of Mudhoney , and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath . The money for the recording sessions for Bleach , listed as $ 606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman , who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they "wanted to make him feel more at home in
8109-448: The 1990s". In 2011, the magazine also added "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on its list of "The All-TIME 100 Songs", and "Heart-Shaped Box" on its list of "The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos". Pitchfork ranked Nevermind and In Utero as the sixth and thirteenth greatest albums of the 1990s, describing the band as " the greatest and most legendary band of the 1990s." Nirvana was announced in their first year of eligibility as being part of
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#17327867180568268-444: The 1990s, Nevermind was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and is credited for ending the dominance of hair metal . Characterized by a punk aesthetic, Nirvana's fusion of pop melodies with noise , combined with its themes of abjection and social alienation , brought them global popularity. Following extensive tours and the 1992 compilation album Incesticide and EP Hormoaning ,
8427-570: The 2010s Arcade Fire 's The Suburbs (2010), the Black Keys's Turn Blue (2014), Kings of Leon's Walls (2016), the Killers's Wonderful Wonderful (2017), which reached number one on the Billboard charts in the United States and the official chart in the United Kingdom, with Arcade Fire's album winning a Grammy for Album of The Year in 2011. Other indie rock acts like Florence and
8586-772: The 2014 class of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on December 17, 2013. The induction ceremony was held April 10, 2014, in Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center . As the accolade was only applied to Cobain, Novoselic and Grohl, former drummer Chad Channing was not included in the induction and was informed of his omission by text message. Channing attended the ceremony, where Grohl publicly thanked him for his contributions and noted that he had written some of Nirvana's most recognized drum parts. In 2023, Nirvana (represented by Novoselic, Grohl, and Smear) were awarded
8745-460: The 7th greatest hard rock artists in 2000, and the 14th greatest artists of all time in 2010. Nirvana's contributions to music have also received recognition. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted two of Nirvana's recordings, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "All Apologies", into its list of " The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll ". The museum also ranked Nevermind number 10 on its "The Definitive 200 Albums of All Time" list in 2007. In 2005,
8904-457: The Aces , Joan , Fickle Friends and No Rome . Of this group, Pale Waves were particularly commercially prominent, with their debut album My Mind Makes Noises peaking at number eight on the UK albums chart, Who Am I? (2021) at number three and Unwanted (2022) at number four. At around the same time Wolf Alice became a prominent force in the scene, with their second album Visions of
9063-859: The Apples in Stereo , Beulah , Circulatory System , Elf Power , the Minders , Neutral Milk Hotel , of Montreal and the Olivia Tremor Control – merged indie rock with psychedelic pop . Gimme Indie Rock author Andrew Earles stated that the collective, namely Neutral Milk Hotel on On Avery Island (1996), "helped keep the genre artistically relevant while other bands defected and other underground styles rose to prominence". Indie electronic or indietronica covers rock-based artists who share an affinity for electronic music, using samplers, synthesizers, drum machines, and computer programs. Less
9222-658: The Clash , the Kinks , the Smiths and the Jam , the band's style of tinny, high register, sometimes acoustic, guitar parts topped by lyrics of British parochial pleasures in the vocalists' authentic English accents became widely imitated. The Fratellis , the Kooks , and the View were three such acts to gain significant commercial success, although the most prominent post-Libertines band
9381-414: The Clean and the Verlaines , and early 1980s college rock radio stations who would frequently play jangle pop bands like the Smiths and R.E.M. . The genre solidified itself during the mid–1980s with NME ' s C86 cassette in the United Kingdom and the underground success of Sonic Youth , Dinosaur Jr. and Unrest in the United States. During the decade, indie rock bands like Sonic Youth,
9540-632: The Cribs , Bloc Party , Kaiser Chiefs and the Others . However, the Libertines , who formed in 1997, stood as the UK's counterpoint to the Strokes, being described by AllMusic as "one of the U.K.'s most influential 21st century acts" and the Independent stating that "the Libertines wanted to be an important band, but they could not have predicted the impact they would have". Influenced by
9699-574: The DoubleHappys and Straitjacket Fits . Knox later formed another short-lived punk band called Toy Love , and after it broke up, he went on to start the influential band Tall Dwarfs , who were an integral influence on the emergence of home-recorded lo-fi indie . The punk-inspired aspects of the scene were often inspired by opposition to Robert Muldoon and his government, which prompted satire or outright criticism. The scene saw bands take influence from punk rock, but strip away its aggression for
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#17327867180569858-485: The Head (2002) went multi-platinum , establishing them as one of the most popular acts in the world by the time of their third album X&Y (2005). Snow Patrol's " Chasing Cars " (from their 2006 album Eyes Open ) is the most widely played song of the 21st century on UK radio. The mainstream attention which indie rock garnered in the 2000s began with the Strokes and their 2001 debut album Is This It . Playing
10017-488: The Hunters Club and Scum Pups . In the early 1990s, the Seattle grunge scene, and its most visible acts, Nirvana , Pearl Jam , Soundgarden and Alice in Chains , broke into the mainstream. The monumental success of these bands, particularly Nirvana, brought increased attention to the indie rock scene, which initiated a shift in which the indie rock descriptor became displaced by the term alternative rock . As
10176-478: The Machine , the Decemberists and LCD Soundsystem gained number one singles in the United States during the decade, with Vampire Weekend , Florence and the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Bon Iver , the Killers and the Postal Service gaining platinum selling records. Vampire Weekend's third studio album Modern Vampires of the City (2013) received the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2014, with Consequence writer Tyler Clark stating that in 2019 it
10335-499: The Pixies and Radiohead all released albums on major labels and subgenres like slowcore , Midwest emo , slacker rock and space rock began. By this time, "indie" had evolved to refer to bands whose music was released on independent record labels, in addition to the record labels themselves. As the decade progressed many individual local scenes developed their own distinct takes on the genre: baggy in Manchester ; grebo in Stourbridge and Leicester ; and shoegaze in London and
10494-442: The Promise Ring and Cap'n Jazz distanced emo from its hardcore roots and allowed the genre to develop a much more realised scene than its first wave. This style of emo broke into mainstream culture in the early 2000s, with the platinum-selling success of Jimmy Eat World 's Bleed American (2001) and Dashboard Confessional 's The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2001). One particularly notable scene during this wave
10653-427: The Replacements releasing albums on majors in the middle of the decade. While these albums did not see the same success as R.E.M., and major labels soon lost interest in the scene, they did have a large impact on younger bands. In the following years, Sonic Youth , Dinosaur Jr. and Unrest began to release music on independent labels indebted to these bands, and soon too picked up the categorisation of indie rock. As
10812-473: The Smiths. The Madchester movement burgeoned by 1989, with the success of the Happy Mondays second album Bummed and the Stone Roses ' self-titled debut , which became the most influential work in the scene. In the following years, addition high profile acts included the Charlatans , 808 State and the Inspiral Carpets . The Madchester scene's distinct combination of indie rock and dance music became termed indie dance by critics, or more specifically
10971-462: The Top 40; however many bands in its twenty-two track runtime also fell into obscurity. In the United States, the popularity of R.E.M. allowed those disliking of hardcore punk 's aggression to become a part of the underground music scene. This empowered an array of musicians, particularly those in what would become the post-hardcore scene as led by the Minutemen . Furthermore, major labels began to pursue underground bands, with both Hüsker Dü and
11130-499: The Tribes first gig of 2013 they introduced a fifth member to the band on keyboard. On 7 November 2013, the band announced on their Facebook page that they were splitting up after four years together. In May 2020, the band announced a one-off reunion charity gig, originally scheduled for 19 December 2020. On 23 March 2023, the band released the song "Hard Pill", which was included on their third studio album, Rabbit Head , released on 18 August 2023. Indie rock Indie rock
11289-429: The UK with their first five albums. As of June 2019, AM has spent 300 weeks in the top 100 of the UK Albums Chart . The album also peaked at number one in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Croatia, Slovenia, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Portugal, and reached top ten positions in several other countries. In the United States, the album sold 42,000 copies in its first week, and debuted at number six on
11448-463: The US top 40 and was nominated for a Grammy Award), Bright Eyes (who in 2004 had two singles at the top of the Billboard magazine Hot 100 Single Sales ) and Death Cab for Cutie (whose 2005 album Plans debuted at number four in the US, remaining on the Billboard charts for nearly one year and achieving platinum status and a Grammy nomination). This new commercial breakthrough and the widespread use of
11607-528: The US, and the Smiths , from the UK, who Matthew Bannister states were the earliest indie rock groups. These bands' influence was showcased quickly seen in the formation of Let's Active , the Housemartins and the La's . By this time, the term "indie rock" had begun to be used to describe the bands who produced music on independent record labels, rather than simply the record labels themselves. This made it
11766-538: The United Kingdom, NME released the C86 compilation cassette, which consisted of tracks by groups including Primal Scream , the Pastels and the Wedding Present . Intended to showcase the UK's current independent music scene, the album was made up of groups combining elements of jangle pop, post-punk and Phil Spector indebted Walls of Sound . In 2006, Bob Stanley called it "the beginning of indie music". C86 became
11925-460: The United Kingdom. Unused tickets for Nirvana concerts sold for inflated prices on the used market. The inflation was triggered by the manager of Brixton Academy , who lied on BBC Radio 1 that fans were purchasing tickets as a "piece of history", in an effort to retain the money he stood to lose from ticket refunds. A public vigil for Cobain was held on April 10, 1994, at a park at Seattle Center , drawing approximately 7,000 mourners, followed by
12084-477: The United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years, with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders . For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as the second guitarist. In November, Nirvana recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged . Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston , they broke convention for
12243-694: The White Stripes , the Vines , and the Hives . These groups were christened by parts of the media as the "The" bands, and dubbed "the saviours of rock 'n' roll", prompting Rolling Stone magazine to declare on its September 2002 cover, "Rock is Back!" The success of the Strokes revitalised the then-dying underground post-Britpop scene in the United Kingdom with groups who took the band's influence and experimented with their sound. This first wave of UK acts included Franz Ferdinand , Kasabian , Maxïmo Park ,
12402-577: The Wonder Stuff and Ned's Atomic Dustbin , "grebo" was broadly defined, and was used more as a name for the Stourbridge scene than as a genre label. However, the bands quickly gained attention: Pop Will Eat Itself's 1989 singles " Wise Up! Sucker " and " Can U Dig It? " both entered the UK Top 40 and Stourbridge briefly became a tourist attraction for young indie rock fans. The seminal albums from
12561-452: The Word magazine. A 2020 Vice article cited Johnny Borrell , vocalist of Razorlight , as the "one man who defined, embodied and lived Landfill Indie" due his forming of a "spectacularly middle-of-the-road" band despite his close proximity to the Libertines' "desperate kinetic energy, mythologised love-hate dynamic and vision of a dilapidated Britain animated by romance and narcotics". In
12720-456: The album Echo Park (2001). After the death of their drummer Jon Lee , they moved to a more reflective and introspective mode on Comfort in Sound (2002), their most commercially successful album to that point, which spawned a series of hit singles. The most commercially successful band in the millennium were Coldplay , whose first two albums Parachutes (2000) and A Rush of Blood to
12879-550: The artists have been extremely diverse, including punk , psychedelia , post-punk and country . The lo-fi , experimental and art rock sound of the Velvet Underground as well as late '70s punk and post-punk bands such as the Fall , Buzzcocks , Wire , Television and Joy Division would be influential to the genre. Allmusic identifies indie rock as including a number of "varying musical approaches [not] compatible with mainstream tastes". Linked by an ethos more than
13038-454: The banal and pedestrian with a unique slant". Cobain came up with the basic components of each song, usually writing them on an acoustic guitar, as well as the singing style and the lyrics. He emphasized that Novoselic and Grohl had a large part in deciding the lengths and parts of songs, and that he did not like to be considered the sole songwriter. Cobain usually wrote lyrics for songs minutes before recording them. Cobain said, "When I write
13197-590: The band closed the summer by playing Reading and Leeds Festivals , Freedom Festival , Jersey Live and Bestival and a set at Latitude festival. The band was the main support to The Kooks on the UK leg of their Autumn tour, and for the European leg of the Kaiser Chiefs tour in November 2011. In between, they headlined their own 9 date UK tour. The band played XFM's Winter Wonderland 2011 gig at Brixton Academy on 15 December alongside We Are Augustines , Ben Howard , Miles Kane , The Maccabees , The Horrors ,
13356-521: The band released its highly anticipated third studio album, In Utero (1993). The album topped both the US and UK album charts, and was acclaimed by critics. Nirvana disbanded following Cobain's suicide in April 1994. Further releases have been overseen by Novoselic, Grohl, and Cobain's widow, Courtney Love . The live album MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) won Best Alternative Music Performance at
13515-783: The band reunited, initially for a one-off charity gig. In 2023 they announced their third studio album, Rabbit Head . After Lloyd, White and Cratchley's former band Operahouse split up in 2009, the three members formed Tribes with an aim to creating a much heavier, grungier sound than that of their former band, who were more of an experimental math-rock/indie outfit (the rest of the Operahouse lineup also going on to find success, with guitarist Alex Robertshaw joining alternative act Everything Everything , and drummer Ben Niblett joining LULS). They enlisted White's childhood friend Miguel Demelo, originally from South Africa, to drum for them. White grew up near Demelo, having tried to steal his wallet at
13674-437: The band to a whole new plane, visually as well as musically", noting, "Although Dave is a merciless basher, his parts are also distinctly musical—it wouldn't be difficult to figure out what song he was playing even without the rest of the music". Until early 1992, the band had performed live in concert pitch . They began tuning down either a half step or full step as well as concert pitch. Sometimes all three tunings would be in
13833-513: The band went through a series of names, including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss and Ted Ed Fred. The band played under the name Nirvana for the first time on March 19, 1988, at Community World Theater, Tacoma, Washington, together with the bands Lush and Vampire Lezbos. This concert's flyer, designed by Kurt Cobain, also mentioned all of the previous band names: "Nirvana (also known as... Skid Row, Ted Ed Fred, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss)". The group settled on Nirvana because, according to Cobain, "I wanted
13992-450: The band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing , before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock , and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X . Despite a short mainstream career spanning only three years, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture. In the late 1980s, Nirvana established itself as part of
14151-399: The band worked through a variety of songs. Some, such as " In Bloom " and "Breed", had been in Nirvana's repertoire for years, while others, including " On a Plain " and "Stay Away", lacked finished lyrics until midway through the recording process. After the recording sessions were completed, Vig and the band set out to mix the album. However, the recording sessions had run behind schedule and
14310-550: The band". Prior to the album's release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Bleach was released in June 1989, and became a favorite of college radio stations. Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, but canceled the last few dates and returned to Washington state due to increasing differences with Everman. No one told Everman he was fired; Everman later said he had quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it
14469-413: The best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 million records. With more than 28 million RIAA -certified units, they are also one of the bestselling music artists in the United States . They have achieved 10 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, including five number-ones. Two of their studio albums and two of their live albums have reached the top spot on
14628-452: The box set, Sliver: The Best of the Box , was released in late 2005. In April 2006, Love sold 25 percent of her stake in the Nirvana song catalog to Primary Wave , for an estimated at $ 50 million . Love sought to assure Nirvana's fanbase that the music would not simply be licensed to the highest bidder: "We are going to remain very tasteful and true to the spirit of Nirvana while taking
14787-652: The case was set to go to trial in October 2002, Love, Novoselic, and Grohl announced that they had reached a settlement. The next month, the best-of compilation Nirvana was released, featuring the previously unreleased track " You Know You're Right ", the last song Nirvana recorded. It debuted at number three on the Billboard album chart. The box set, With the Lights Out , was released in November 2004. The release contained early Cobain demos, rough rehearsal recordings, and live tracks. An album of selected tracks from
14946-596: The closing night of the 1992 Reading Festival in England. Cobain programmed the performance lineup. Nirvana's performance at Reading is often regarded as one of the most memorable of their career. A few days later, Nirvana performed at the MTV Video Music Awards ; despite the network's refusal to let the band play the new song " Rape Me ", Cobain strummed and sang the first few bars of the song before breaking into " Lithium ". The band received awards for
15105-524: The coining of the term "indie" to the 1977 self-publication of the Spiral Scratch EP by Manchester punk rock band the Buzzcocks , on their Ind ependent record label New Hormones . This inspired a DIY punk movement where bands like Swell Maps , 'O' Level , Television Personalities and Desperate Bicycles followed suit in pressing and distributing their own records. Distribution
15264-755: The concept of Cool Britannia and Britpop as a movement began to dissolve, emerging bands began to avoid the Britpop label while still producing music derived from it. After the decline of Britpop they began to gain more critical and popular attention. The Verve 's album Urban Hymns (1997) was a worldwide hit and their commercial peak before they broke up in 1999, while Radiohead – although having achieved moderate recognition with The Bends in 1995 – achieved near-universal critical acclaim with their experimental third album OK Computer (1997), and its follow-ups Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001). Stereophonics , used elements of
15423-485: The covers of magazines like NME and Melody Maker . Grebo bands were distinct from prior indie rock groups not only because of their broad influences, but their subversion of the twee or unhappy moods of most other bands in the genre, and their pursuit of a heavier sound and aesthetic. The scene came to include the stylistically similar bands of nearby Leicester: the Bomb Party , Gaye Bykers on Acid , Crazyhead ,
15582-471: The development of indie rock's sound. According to Audioculture , one of the earliest Dunedin Sound band was Chris Knox 's band the Enemy , which emerged as a post-punk group, whose members also included Alec Bathgate . Although the group was only around for a short time, their shows impressed the teenage musicians that came to see them, including a young Shayne Carter , who went on to form Bored Games ,
15741-445: The distinctive 'protest' element of British-based independent music" Music journalist John Harris has suggested that Britpop began when Blur's fourth single " Popscene " and Suede's debut " The Drowners " were released around the same time in the spring of 1992. He stated, "[I]f Britpop started anywhere, it was the deluge of acclaim that greeted Suede's first records: all of them audacious, successful and very, very British." Suede were
15900-645: The dominant sound was a style of indie rock that was heavily indebted to punk and Nirvana's album Bleach album, while also occasionally making use of drum machines . Gigwise writer Steven Kline described the style as "filthy guitars, filthier hair and t-shirts only a mother would wash". Prominent fraggle acts included Senseless Things , Mega City Four and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine . Spin writer Charles Aaron described Pavement and Guided by Voices as "the two bands that came to exemplify indie rock in this period, and still define
16059-448: The end of his life, Cobain said the band had become bored of the "limited" formula, but expressed doubt that they were skilled enough to try other dynamics. Cobain's rhythm guitar style, which relied on power chords , low-note riffs, and a loose left-handed technique, featured the key components to the band's songs. Cobain would often initially play a song's verse riff in a clean tone, then double it with distorted guitars when he repeated
16218-707: The finale of the Cal Jam festival at Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino County, California , joined by Jett and John McCauley on vocals. In January 2020, Novoselic and Grohl reunited for a performance at a benefit for the Art of Elysium at the Hollywood Palladium , joined by Beck, St Vincent, and Grohl's daughter Violet. In September 2021, the BBC documentary When Nirvana Came to Britain
16377-667: The first UK punk single " New Rose " by the Damned In Australia , the Saints had their first punk release outside the US, " (I'm) Stranded ," on their own "Fatal Records" label. This was followed by the Go-Betweens releasing ' Lee Remick ' a few months later. Dunedin produced the independent record label Flying Nun Records , whose artists defined the Dunedin sound , which would be particularly influential on
16536-446: The first of the new crop of guitar-orientated bands to be embraced by the UK music media as Britain's answer to Seattle's grunge sound. Their debut album Suede for the fastest-selling debut album in the UK. Sunny Day Real Estate 's debut album, Diary (1994), began a new wave of the emo genre, by incorporating elements of it into their indie rock sound. Sunny Day Real Estate and other second wave emo bands, including Piebald ,
16695-816: The first single from their debut album, was made available for download on 11 July 2011. Tribes received widespread press prior to the release of Baby, particularly from various indie blogs. The band performed a session at the BBC Maida Vale studios as part of the BBC Introducing project in July 2011. Tribes played Underage Festival and Field Day Festival in Victoria Park, London in August 2011, as well as Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo . In addition,
16854-498: The following years the Jesus and Mary Chain and Flying Nun Records bands like the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience morphed the genre into a slower, darker and more hypnotic style. The number of college radio stations in the US decreased significantly following NPR 's lobbying against noncommercial station during the 1980s. In turn, the name "college rock" fell into disfavour, soon being replaced by "indie". In
17013-705: The full 1993 show at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles and the 1994 show at the Seattle Centre Arena . Nirvana's musical style has been mainly described as grunge , alternative rock , and punk rock . They have also been labeled as hard rock . Characterized by their punk aesthetic, Nirvana often fused pop melodies with noise . Billboard described their work as a "genius blend of Kurt Cobain's raspy voice and gnashing guitars, Dave Grohl's relentless drumming and Krist Novoselic's uniting bass-work that connected with fans in
17172-501: The genre's earlier anti-establishment politics and instead brought it into the mainstream, with bands like Blur and Pulp even signing to major labels. In her essay Labouring the Point? The Politics of Britain in "New Britain" , politician and academic Rupa Huq states that Britpop "began as an offshoot of the independent British music scene but arguably ended up killing it, as a convergence took place between indie and mainstream, removing
17331-472: The genre, with Bandcamp Daily writer Robert Rubsam, calling them the "fountainhead for all that would come". The first wave of bands in the genre included Red House Painters , Codeine , Bedhead , Ida and Low . The genre originated from around the United States, with no geographic focus, and very little interaction between its artists. A younger subset of grebo bands emerged around 1991, who were in turn labelled "fraggle" bands. During this movement,
17490-495: The group played with McCartney again during the encore of his Safeco Field "Out There" concert in Seattle, the first time Nirvana members had performed together in their hometown in over 15 years. In 2014, Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . At the induction ceremony, Novoselic, Grohl and Smear performed a four-song set with guest vocalists Joan Jett , Kim Gordon , St. Vincent and Lorde . Novoselic, Grohl and Smear then performed
17649-420: The growing popularity of college radio stations, primarily in the United States, who would play independent artists of various genres, including alternative rock , new wave , post-hardcore and post-punk . The bands broadcast on these station became dubbed " college rock " by fans, another term which lacked any stylistic implication. The most prominent college rock bands were jangle pop groups R.E.M. , from
17808-609: The last 13 years, including a 35-week run peaking at number 49 in 2016–2017. Furthermore, it was the UK's most streamed pre-2010 song, until it was surpassed in late 2018, and continued to be purchased for download hundreds of times a week by 2017. In March 2018, the song reached the milestone of staying in the Top 100 of the UK Singles Chart for 200 weeks. The impact of the Strokes, the Libertines and Bloc Party led to significant major label interest in indie rock artists, which
17967-686: The late 1980s. Defined by its merger of C86 indie rock, dance music and Hedonist rave culture, particularly its emphasis on the use of psychedelic drugs, the scene was centred in Manchester . The scene was based around the Haçienda nightclub, which opened in May 1982 as an initiative of Factory Records . For the first few years of its life, the club played predominantly club-oriented pop music and hosted performances by artists including New Order , Cabaret Voltaire , Culture Club , Thompson Twins and
18126-521: The live album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah became the third consecutive Nirvana release to debut at the top of the Billboard album chart. In 1997, Novoselic, Grohl and Love formed the limited liability company Nirvana LLC to oversee Nirvana projects. A 45-track box set of Nirvana rarities was scheduled for release in October 2001. However, shortly before the release date, Love filed
18285-460: The lyrics to Nevermind were taken from two years of poetry he had accumulated, which he cut up and chose lines he preferred from. In comparison, Cobain stated that the lyrics to In Utero were "more focused, they're almost built on themes". Cobain did not write in a linear fashion, instead relying on juxtapositions of contradictory images to convey emotions and ideas. Often in his lyrics, Cobain would present an idea then reject it; he said, "I'm such
18444-508: The magazine's 2012 list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ", with Nevermind placing the highest at number 17. The same three Nirvana albums were also placed on Rolling Stone 's 2011 list of "The 100 Best Albums of the Nineties", with Nevermind ranking the highest at number 1, making it the greatest album of the decade. Time included Nevermind on its list of "The All-TIME 100 Albums" in 2006, labeling it "the finest album of
18603-502: The mainstreaming of the North American indie rock ethic and style of the 1980s", going on to explain that a band's status as independent became "As much a marketing device as [indie rock and alternative rock were an] identifiable 'sound'". In the wake of this increased attention, indie rock experienced a split: accessible bands who catered to the now-popular alternative rock radio; and bands who continued to experiment, advancing in
18762-451: The majority of the music. Grohl and Novoselic did not object, but when Cobain wanted the agreement to be retroactive to the release of Nevermind , the disagreements came close to breaking up the band. After a week of tension, Cobain received a retroactive share of 75 percent of the royalties. Bad feelings about the situation remained within the group afterward. Amid rumors that the band was disbanding due to Cobain's health, Nirvana headlined
18921-464: The material so soon after Cobain's death emotionally overwhelming. Instead, in November 1994, DGC released the MTV Unplugged performance as MTV Unplugged in New York . It debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and earned Nirvana a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album . It was followed by Nirvana's first full-length VHS live video, Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! . In 1996,
19080-558: The music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single " Sliver " with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters . Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana's seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl , whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, "We knew in two minutes that he
19239-474: The music to places it has never been before." Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! , was re-released on DVD in 2006, followed by the full version of MTV Unplugged in New York on DVD in 2007. In November 2009, Nirvana's performance at the 1992 Reading Festival was released on CD and DVD as Live at Reading , alongside a deluxe 20th-anniversary edition of Bleach. DGC released a number of 20th-anniversary deluxe packages of Nevermind in September 2011, which included
19398-440: The music video on MTV . As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson 's Dangerous at number one on
19557-526: The musical style rather than ties to the independent music scene. In the 2000s, indie rock reentered the mainstream through the garage rock and post-punk revival and the influence of the Strokes and the Libertines . This success was exacerbated in the middle of the decade by Bloc Party , the Arctic Monkeys and the Killers and indie rock proliferated into the landfill indie movement. The term indie rock, which comes from "independent", describes
19716-472: The only genre at the time which was defined by the methods by which the music was distributed rather than the sound of said music. Journalist Steve Taylor also cited the bands involved in the Paisley Underground scene as early indie groups. However, this jangly style became increasingly mainstream as the decade progressed leading subsequent indie rock bands to abandon this style. Instead, in
19875-408: The opportunity to achieve mainstream popularity quickly. Michael Azerrad argued in his Nirvana biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana (1993) that Nevermind marked an epochal generational shift in music similar to the rock-and-roll explosion in the 1950s and the end of the baby boomer generation's dominance of the musical landscape. Azerrad wrote, " Nevermind came along at exactly
20034-456: The part. In some verses, the guitar would be absent to allow the drums and bass guitar to support the vocals, or it would only play sparse melodies like the two-note pattern used in "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Cobain rarely played standard guitar solos, opting to play variations of the song's melody as single-note lines. Cobain's solos were mostly blues-based and discordant, which music writer Jon Chappell described as "almost an iconoclastic parody of
20193-535: The public perception of "rock music" was based in post-grunge , nu metal and rap rock , putting their throwback style of garage rock as a stark contrast to the mainstream. The band's immediate influence allowed fellow classic rock influenced New York bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs , Interpol and TV on the Radio to gain mainstream attention. The Strokes were accompanied in this commercial breakthrough by
20352-485: The resulting mixes were deemed unsatisfactory. Slayer mixer Andy Wallace was brought in to create the final mix. After the album's release, members of Nirvana expressed dissatisfaction with the polished sound the mixer had given Nevermind . Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind , the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth's Goo . However, the first single " Smells Like Teen Spirit " quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of
20511-417: The right time. This was music by, for, and about a whole new group of young people who had been overlooked, ignored, or condescended to." Fugazi frontman Guy Picciotto said "It was like our record could have been a hobo pissing in the forest for the amount of impact it had ... It felt like we were playing ukuleles all of a sudden because of the disparity of the impact of what they did." Nirvana are one of
20670-530: The same show. By the summer of that year, the band had settled on the half step down tuning ( E♭ ). Cobain said, "We play so hard we can't tune our guitars fast enough". The band made a habit of destroying its equipment after shows. Novoselic said he and Cobain created the "shtick" in order to get off the stage sooner. Cobain stated it began as an expression of his frustration with previous drummer Channing making mistakes and dropping out entirely during performances. Everett True said in 1989, "Nirvana songs treat
20829-590: The scene were released between 1989 and 1993: the Wonder Stuff's Hup and Never Loved Elvis ; Ned's Atomic Dustbin's God Fodder and Are You Normal? ; and Pop Will Eat Itself's This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This! and The Looks or the Lifestyle? . In this period, the scene's bands became fixtures, sometimes headliners, at Reading Festival , sold millions of albums and were frequently featured on
20988-566: The show by choosing not to play their best known songs. Instead, they performed several covers, and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs. In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Their final concert took place in Munich , Germany, on March 1. In Rome, on the morning of March 4, Cobain's wife, Courtney Love , found Cobain unconscious in their hotel room and he
21147-431: The small and relatively low-budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved. Although distribution deals are often struck with major corporate companies, these labels and the bands they host have attempted to retain their autonomy, leaving them free to explore sounds, emotions and subjects of limited appeal to large, mainstream audiences. The influences and styles of
21306-466: The subgenre baggy . Madchester and baggy's most infamous moment was the 27 May 1990 Spike Island concert headlined by the Stone Roses. With an attendance of around 28,000 and lasting twelve hours, it was the first event of its size and kind to be hosted by an independent act. In Stourbridge , a scene of indie bands who took influence from electronic , punk, folk and hip-hop music emerged, dubbed grebo by critics. Fronted by Pop Will Eat Itself ,
21465-539: The term in many people's minds". Both bands made use of a Lo-fi production style which romanticised their D.I.Y. ethos. Pavement's 1992 album Slanted and Enchanted , was one of the defining albums of the slacker rock subgenre. Rolling Stone called the album "the quintessential indie rock album", placing it on the magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time . In the North Carolina Research Triangle , an indie rock scene
21624-681: The term indie to other forms of popular culture, led a number of commentators to suggest that indie rock had ceased to be a meaningful term. Additionally, a second wave of bands emerged in the United States that managed to gain international recognition as a result of the movement included the Black Keys , Kings of Leon , the Shins , the Bravery , Spoon , the Hold Steady , and the National . The most commercially successful band of this wave
21783-596: The title track from which eventually being made Zane Lowe 's "Hottest Record in the World" on BBC Radio 1 . The band have received praise from publications such as NME , The Fly , Clash and Artrocker , as well as supporting the likes of Mystery Jets , The Kooks , Kaiser Chiefs , Kasabian , Funeral Party , Mona , Pixies and The Rolling Stones during their existence. The band released their debut album, Baby, on 16 January 2012, and quickly followed it up with second album Wish To Scream on 20 May 2013. The band announced their split in November 2013. In 2020,
21942-460: The traditional instrumental break", a quality typified by the note-for-note replication of the lead melody in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the atonal solo for "Breed". The band had no formal musical training; Cobain said: "I have no concept of knowing how to be a musician at all whatsoever... I couldn't even pass Guitar 101." Grohl's drumming "took Nirvana's sound to a new level of intensity". Azerrad stated that Grohl's "powerful drumming propelled
22101-559: The underground. According to AllMusic , it was during this split that "indie rock" solidified itself as a term for the style of music played by these underground artists, while the mainstream indie rock-influenced bands became termed alternative rock. Slowcore developed in the United States as a direct counterpoint to the rapid growth of grunge. Although loosely defined, slowcore generally includes slow tempos, minimalist instrumentals and sad lyrics. Galaxie 500 , particularly their second album On Fire (1989), were heavy influences on
22260-467: Was Las Vegas' the Killers . Formed in 2001, after hearing Is This It , the band scrapped the majority of their prior material to rewrite it under the Strokes' influence. The band's debut single " Mr. Brightside " spent 260 non-consecutive weeks, or five years, on the UK Singles Chart as of April 2021, the most out of any song, and As of 2017 , it had charted on the UK Singles Chart in 11 of
22419-551: Was Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys . One of the earliest groups to owe their initial commercial success to the use of Internet social networking , the Arctic Monkeys had two No. 1 singles, and their album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) became the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history. In this success, legacy indie bands soon entered the mainstream, including Modest Mouse (whose 2004 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News reached
22578-602: Was a rocky one; during a stint in jail, he was replaced by Burckhard, who again departed after telling Cobain he was too hungover to practice one day. Foster would rejoin the band, but after Cobain and Novoselic were introduced to drummer Chad Channing , the band would permanently dismiss him (although not before Foster witnessed the group play live without him). Channing continued to jam with Cobain and Novoselic; however, by Channing's account, "They never actually said 'okay, you're in. ' " Channing played his first show with Nirvana in late May 1988. Nirvana released its first single,
22737-949: Was a steady seller, and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label's lack of promotion and distribution. In late 1989, Nirvana recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk . In an interview with Robb, Cobain said the band's music was changing: "The early songs were really angry... But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings." In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin . Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing's drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana demos with Vig began to circulate in
22896-446: Was being spearheaded by groups enfranched Merge Records like Superchunk , Archers of Loaf and Polvo . describing a growing scene of indie-rock bands who were influenced by hardcore punk and post-punk. At the time, publications such as Entertainment Weekly took to calling the college town of Chapel Hill the "next Seattle". Superchunk's single " Slack Motherfucker " has also been credited by Columbia magazine with popularizing
23055-453: Was called in to remix the two songs, with Cobain adding more instrumentation and backing vocals. In Utero topped the American and British album charts. Time critic Christopher John Farley wrote in his review, "Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn't gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana." In Utero went on to sell more than five million copies in
23214-627: Was consigned to specialty sections of record stores, and major labels considered it to be, at the very most, a tax write-off". Following the release of Nevermind , "nothing was ever quite the same, for better and for worse". While other alternative bands had achieved hits, Nirvana "broke down the doors forever", according to Erlewine; the breakthrough "didn't eliminate the underground", but rather "just gave it more exposure". Erlewine also wrote that Nirvana "popularized so-called ' Generation X ' and ' slacker ' culture". Following Cobain's death, numerous headlines referred to Nirvana's frontman as "the voice of
23373-401: Was credited for popularizing alternative rock and ending the dominance of hair metal . Citing exhaustion, Nirvana did not undertake another American tour in support of Nevermind , and made only a handful of performances later that year. In March 1992, Cobain sought to reorganize the group's songwriting royalties (which to this point had been split equally) to better represent that he wrote
23532-457: Was further improved with the establishment of 'The Cartel', an association of companies like Red Rhino and Rough Trade Records who would take the releases from these small labels and get them into record shops nationwide. Independent record labels would also be integral to the early years of punk rock musical distribution, as seen with Beserkley Records in the US, who put out The Modern Lovers debut album, and Stiff Records who released
23691-530: Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, Novoselic thanked Silver during his speech for "introducing them to the music industry properly". After signing, the band began recording its first major label album, Nevermind . The group was offered a number of producers, but held out for Vig. Rather than record at Vig's Madison studio as they had in 1990, production shifted to Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles , California. For two months,
23850-554: Was persuaded to enter drug rehabilitation . After less than a week, he left the facility without informing anyone, then returned to Seattle. One week later, on April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound at his home in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of the city. Cobain's death drew international attention and became a topic of public fascination and debate. Within hours, stocks ran low of Nirvana records in stores, and Nirvana sales rose dramatically in
24009-542: Was pioneered by My Bloody Valentine on their early EPs and debut album Isn't Anything . The band's style influenced a wave of bands in London and the Thames Valley area including Chapterhouse , Moose and Lush . This scene was collectively termed "the Scene That Celebrates Itself" by Melody Maker's Steve Sutherland in 1990. Madchester was another style and scene that originated in
24168-459: Was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nevermind, featuring interviews with Grohl and Novoselic. That month, a 30th-anniversary edition of Nevermind was announced, containing 70 previously unreleased live tracks from four concerts and a Blu-ray of Live in Amsterdam . For the 30th anniversary of In Utero , DGC reissued the album in several formats on October 27, 2023, which included
24327-588: Was rushed to the hospital. Cobain had reacted to a combination of prescribed rohypnol and alcohol. The rest of the tour was canceled. On April 6, 1994, it was made public that Nirvana withdrew from their planned appearance at the Lollapalooza 94 tour due to Cobain's ongoing health problems, with reports even surfacing that they had broken up. In the weeks following his hospitalization in Rome, Cobain's heroin addiction resurfaced. Following an intervention , he
24486-430: Was set up after one of the band's close friends Charles Haddon killed himself. They were joined by The Vaccines, The Horrors and many others. Tribes finished recording their second studio album, Wish to Scream , in Los Angeles, which was released on 30 May 2013. Tribes announced a string of headline slots on a tour UK tour in 2013, being supported on the first leg of this tour by unsigned Sheffield band Blue Lip Feel. At
24645-512: Was still "an indie rock standard bearer in the wider world of music". Arctic Monkeys' fifth album AM (2013) was one of the biggest indie rock albums of the decade, charting at number one on the UK Albums Chart , having sold 157,329 copies, thus becoming the second fastest-selling album of the year. With the debut of AM on the chart, Arctic Monkeys also broke a record, becoming the first independent-label band to debut at number one in
24804-512: Was the Midwest emo bands of the latter half of the decade, who incorporated the jangly guitar tones of earlier indie rock and elements of math rock to create the distinctive style of groups like American Football . The popularity of emo, also allowed a number of "not-quite-indie-not-quite-emo" bands like Death Cab For Cutie , Modest Mouse and Karate to gain significant attention. The loosely defined Elephant 6 collective – which included
24963-424: Was the restrictions of the Sub Pop sound that helped the band find its musical identity." Azerrad stated that by acknowledging that they had grown up listening to Black Sabbath and Aerosmith , they had been able to move on from their derivative early sound. Nirvana used dynamic shifts that went from quiet to loud. Cobain sought to mix heavy and pop musical sounds, saying, "I wanted to be totally Led Zeppelin in
25122-468: Was the right drummer." Grohl told Q : "I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, 'What? That 's Nirvana? Are you kidding?' Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks... I was like, 'What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You're kidding me'." Disenchanted with Sub Pop, and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana sought
25281-556: Was then exacerbated by the success of the Arctic Monkeys. In the years following Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not there was a proliferation of bands such as the Rifles , the Pigeon Detectives and Milburn , who created a more formulaic derivative of the earlier acts. By the end of the decade, critics had taken to referring to this wave of acts as "landfill indie", a description coined by Andrew Harrison of
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