Rock 'n' Roll History Blog

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Epilogue: This video for the Southern California band Sublime’s song “What I Got” spotlights the band’s raw energy, wry sense of humor, and general lust for life. The band’s founder, Bradley Nowell (1968-1996), brought a creativity and vibrant energy to Sublime, which mixed elements of ska, punk, hip hop and good old-fashioned acoustic music in their songs.

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Lecture 21: Sarah McLachlan’s lyrical and haunting “Building a Mystery,” off of her enormously successful multi-platinum album Surfacing (1997), was but one indicator of a revival of strong women in rock. McLachlan, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, wrote a lot of extraordinary and memorable music in the 1990s, and was one of the key organizers of the Lilith Fair tours from 1997 to 1999. She has continued to record studio albums to this day, releasing one every 3 or 4 years. While none of them have been as commercially successful as Surfacing, she remains a widely respected female voice in the world of rock today.

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Lecture 21: Here is Dave Grohl’s band after Nirvana, Foo Fighters, in the hilarious video for their 1995 song “Everlong.” Later released on their 1997 album The Colour and the Shape. The Foo Fighters developed a reputation for their use of satire and humor in their videos. The band is still going incredibly strong today with the release of their album Sonic Highways in November 2014. There is also a fascinating documentary series of the same name by Grohl, made for HBO, about the band traveling to studios that have played a vital role in the creation of different types of American music.

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Lecture 21: Nirvana bassist and co-founder Krist Novoselic remembers Kurt Cobain, circa 2008. He gives a different take on the tormented musician than one usually hears. Check it out!

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Lecture 21: This one goes out to those of you who were young in the 1990s and remember the Boy Band Craze! “I Want it That Way” by Backstreet Boys was a huge hit off of their ‘99 album Millennium. Here the boys get downright soulful at the… airport??? Along with ‘N Sync and 98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys played a major role in the Boy Band sensation late in the decade.

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Lecture 21:  The Smashing Pumpkins from Chicago, one of the most innovative bands of the 1990s, perform the score for one of the best music videos of the decade, “1979” (1995). Lead singer Billy Corgan is definitely a renaissance man, with a hand in just about everything from poetry to promoting professional wrestling (one of his lifelong passions). This video draws parallels between the youthful restlessness of the 1970s and the 1990s. 

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Lecture 21: Rap metal politicos Rage Against the Machine, a band from Los Angeles, performs the 1996 song “Bulls on Parade,” during the band’s ’96 “Free Tibet” concert. The combination of Tom Morello on guitar and Zach de la Rocha formed a powerhouse sound that was hard to top. The band, which officially disbanded in 2000, has reunited repeatedly, and they’re heirs to the political hardcore rock sound pioneered by The Clash.  

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Lecture 21: Funk rockers The Red Hot Chili Peppers from Los Angeles perform “Give It Away” off of their 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. With the combination of lead singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea front and center, the band scored a number of hits throughout the decade, helped define the sound of the era, and remain active in rock music.

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Lecture 21: Britpop sensation Oasis, the biggest band of that subgenre, performs their 1995 hit “Wonderwall.” Alas, the band was torn asunder by a bitter feud between the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel. This was definitely the band’s Golden Age, although both Gallagher brothers remain active in music today. 

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Lecture 21: What is RiotGrrrl? Watch this video and find out. It’s a great short explanation of the spirit behind the feminist music movement that was Riot Grrrl in the 1990s. While it was mainly centered in Washington, D.C., and in Washington state, the movement spread rapidly across America in the first half of the decade.

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Lecture: Riot Grrrl was an important women’s punk music movement in the 1990s. It marked the resurgence of feminism among young American women and their male supporters. In these interviews, various Riot Grrrl participants look back on the sexism and double standards often perpetuated by media coverage.

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Lecture 21: Here’s a 1997 MTV interviewer with Lilith Fairfounder Sarah McLachlan, the famed Canadian vocalist who was reallyhitting it big with the release of her hugely successful album Surfacing. As MTV host Kurt Loder pointed out, Surfacing entered the Billboard chart at an impressive No.2

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Lecture 21: Pearl Jam versus Ticketmaster. In the mid-1990s, the band challenged the fees that Ticketmaster charged fans to see Pearl Jam shows. This ultimately resulted in a boycott of the powerful ticket sales and distribution company by the band. They felt that Ticketmaster jacked prices up too high for fans.

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Lecture 21: The original NBC news report on Kurt Cobain’s suicide.Cobain used a shotgun to kill himself on April 5, 1994, and his body was found three days later.

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Lecture 21: Seattle’s grunge sensation Pearl Jam, fronted by Eddie Vedder, perform "Black" from their debut album,Ten (1991). Pearl Jam is still active, and enjoys a robust following. Next to Nirvana, they are the most successful Seattle scene alt-rock grunge band of the 1990s.

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Lecture 21: Seattle’s Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box” (1991) is a key early grunge song featured on the band’s acclaimed Facelift album. The band was founded in 1987 in Seattle, Washington. Sadly, lead singer and co-songwriter Layne Staley would become another one of rock’s drug addiction fatalities when he died in early April of 2002. Bassist Mike Starr also succumbed to a drug overdose in 2011. The band remains one of the leading lights of the Seattle Scene, and heavily influenced the grunge sound of the 1990s.

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Lecture 21: Soundgarden, one of the early Seattle scene bands (formed in 1984), is featured here in their cult video favourite “Black Hole Sun” (1994), one of the most memorable videos of the 1990s, and one that has received a great deal of acclaim over the years.