Rock and Roll in the 90's
Introduction
Rock music since its origin has remained in the hearts of the people, always-rocking people’s mood, and full of fun and entertainment. The era of the 90s was an important period in the history of rock music.
Those genres of Rock and sub-genres that dominated rock were as follows:
1) Grunge Rock
2) Alternative Rock
3) Britpop
4) Indie rock
5) Post Grunge
6) Nu Metal
Moreover, the popularization of MTV in 90’s helped Rock to give a worldwide impact. Rock also helped in the origination of some genres of pop music like the Rap Rock and Punk Pop (also know as Pop Punk). The era of 90’s was the time when Rock became international and recording companies and worldwide audience started taking interest into it.
One of the most important bands of this decade was Nirvana, an American Rock band formed by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and by bassist Krist Novoselic, in 1987. They were very famous in the early 90's. The band had a lot of drummers, but the most important was Dave Grohl, that nowadays is the leader of Foo Fighters.
Artists
1) CHRIS CORNELL: Chris Cornell was born on July 20, 1964. He proved to be one of the greatest lead singers and lyricist in the history of Rock. He started his career with the band ‘Soundgarden’ and then went over with the band ‘Audioslave’. All of his deeds in the 90’s impressed people mostly, moreover, he proved to be a youth icon. His voice was melodious, sweet, and admirable. He was also the founder of the band ‘Temple Of The Dog’. Some of most famous songs and albums were the ‘Room a Thousand Years Wide’, ‘Superknowns’, Down On The Upside’, etc. He even gave some of the most remarkable performances hidden inside between him without a band and his solo career touched new heights with the song entitled ‘Euphoria Morning’. His solo struggle continued from 1998 to 2000. Thereafter in the next decade, the 2000’s he joined the band ‘Audioslave’.
2) ADAM JONES: Adam Jones was born on January 15, 1965. He was placed at the ninth position among the top 100 Heavy Metal guitarists. He was one of the greatest guitarists the world has experienced until now. He was a three-time Grammy Award winner, best know with his works with the band ‘Tool’. Some well known albums are the ‘Never Breathe What You Can’t See’, ‘Sieg Howdy’, ‘Hostile, and Ambient Takeover. He used many techniques on his guitar to attract people towards his music like the alternately utilizing power chords, scratchy noise, off beat rhythm patterns and many more. Because of his cool attitude, great talent, and hard work, he is still famous in the present day rock music.
Artists
3) STEVE HARRIS: Stephen Percy Harris was born on March 12, 1956. He was the multi-talented star of the era of 90’s. He was well renowned for his bass skills. He was also a trained professional in playing keyboards and singing for the band. He was also a good football player and often stated that his first ambition in life was being a professional footballer. He used to play a specially painted bass guitar that was seen on every Iron Maiden’s album. This bass went under many color changes since its construction first from black to blue, and then to white. Some of their well-known tracks were the ‘Paschendale’ and ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’.
4) EDDIE VAN HALEN: Edward Lodewijk “Eddie” Van Halen was born on January 26, 1955. He was the brother of Alex Van Halen and contributed in formation of the band Van Halen. He was a Dutch-American guitarist, who revolutionized Hard Rock music in the 90’s. The All Music guide also remarked him as one of the world’s most talented and original guitarist of the 20th century. Though being a super star, he was also alcoholic; this was what ruined his career in 90’s. The rehabilitation had a very deep effect on to his music and his lifestyle, and in the 90’s their band Van Halen lost popularity. In the 90’s, he gained popularity and again came in the spot light. Some of his famous albums in the 90’s were ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’ and ‘Balance’.
Fashion Of The Rocking 90's
In present life, the word “fashion” means life for the youngsters and it was also the same for the people of the era of 90’s. The 90’s wasn’t such a long time ago, so some of its effects can still be seen on the present day.
Very often seen in the 90’s fashion were the jelly shoes. These are the shoes made up of PVC plastic and their material was very often infused with glitters. Though these were invented in the 80’s but in the late 90’s they made their presence feel and became popular World Wide. The Bell Bottom Jeans were some of the other fashions of the 90’s. Starting from Europe and then spreading off to America and coming into the spotlight and revolutionizing the world of fashion. Bell bottoms or boot cuts were also there in the 60’s and 70’s, but bell bottoms of 90’s were tight from the knees that made it special. Jeans have always remained in fashion in the 90’s. Holes in jeans became another popular fashion of the 90’s. Wearing baseball hats was fashionable in the 90’s and those, too, often had holes in them. Flannel shirts were another fashion of the 90’s. As the name suggests it is made up of Flannel, a soft woven fabric. The general appearance of the people of that decade was uncombed and was very difficult to tell between between the male and female. This was the Grunge Fashion of the 90’s. Belly button piercing, or naval piercing became a hit in the 1991; it attracted all young girls, women, and some teenage men. This led to the upcoming of the belly shirts, which exposed the belly, to expose the belly button. The list of fashion of the 90’s is far too big, some more of them were:
CATSUITS
HIGH-HEELED BOOTS
BLACK LEATHER JACKETS
PLATFORM SHOES
SLINKY FLOOR LENGTH DRESSES
SPIKY HAIRS
BLACK T-SHIRTS
SUNGLASSES
SKATER SHOES
During the 90’s many band members wore black clothing, long, and backcombed hair which were colored blue or red, and a large number of bracelets.
Using glitters near the eyes was common in those days.
Language
Here is a list of some words that were used commonly in the era of 90’s as slang or impatient language:
1) Dip’: To leave
2) All that and a Bag a chips: I am the best and then some
3) Back In The Days: At that Time…
4) Beans or Bones: Used for Money
5) Blood: Friend
6) Bounce: Let’s Leave
7) Chill Out: Take it Easy
8) Crib: Residence
9) Dope: Cool
10) Dude: An exclamation word, used for Hey Buddy!
11) Duh! : Didn’t you know that?
12) Tough nut: A tough Guy
13) I’m gone: I am going, bye.
14) It’s Cashed: I am gone
15) It’s go Time: It’s Time to fight
16) Jack: To steal
17) Mad: Far too good
18) OMG: Oh My God!
19) Piggy: A term used to describe a police officer
20) Psyche: Just kidding! :)
21) Shady: A term used for a person who pretends a lot.
22) TMI: Too much info
23) Talk to the Hand: I am not listening, talk to my hand, as my head is not listening
24) Wacked: Out of mind
25) What’s doin?: Another way of saying ‘What are you doing?’
26) Yo!: Hello
27) Yo yo homie Joe: Hello my friend, what is happening?
28) Sup!: What’s up?
29) M’kay: Yes, okay, alright
Impact On Todays Music
Past influences the present and present influences the future, indeed it is so with Rock Music, too. Time goes and passes by, but the 90’s rocked the rock. The most important impact of rock music of the 90’s was the upcoming of some new genres of music and even somehow the popularization and development of some other forms of music.
The genres of rock like the Alternative Rock, Grunge, and Indie Rock became widely famous and genres like Britpop, Post grunge and Nu metal came out from the existing forms of rock and are still revolutionizing the world of Rock. The other impact of the 90’s on the present day was the was the use of language, the language, used in the 90’s is still in use in the present day life and still rocking people with the fun, enjoyment and coolness hidden inside them, still influencing emails, sms texts through cell phones, and influencing people’s daily chat with each other.