Friday, December 9 2011
Yuck: Yuck (Deluxe Edition)
The shoegazing Brits re-release their excellent February debut album along with a bonus EP; a nice addition for fans, a must-have for the uninitiated.
Tuesday, October 18 2011
WATERS: Out in the Light
This isn't the banjo folk of Port O'Brien. On this project, frontman Vans Pierszalowski plugs in and sets sail with a harder-hitting sound.
Tuesday, October 4 2011
Was Grunge the Last American Musical Revolution?
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. In revisiting the grunge genre which altered the musical landscape two decades ago, the question arises: was this our last musical revolution?
Friday, September 30 2011
The Year Alternative Went Massive and Defined a Decade
Above all else, musically 1991 will forever be remembered as the year alterna-rock conquered the masses. PopMatters explores how alternative became the dominant form of rock music in the '90s.
Thursday, September 29 2011
Id N’ Ego Killed the Pop Metal Star… and the Alternative Rocker, Too
Grunge didn't kill pop metal, it merely succeeded it as the genre of choice as part of a logical progression. To understand the emergence of alt-rock, we need to examine why the tide turned against a wave of music that had once been so popular.
Tuesday, September 27 2011
Smells Like MTV: Music Video and the Rise of Grunge
MTV’s central role in delivering grunge to a national audience in the early 1990s demonstrated the network’s power as a creator and definer of culture, and the reaction of many of grunge’s iconic figures against the video medium revealed the gulf between principle and reality.
Monday, September 26 2011
Between the Grooves of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’
Our stable of writers undertakes a track-by-track analysis of the most celebrated album of the last 20 years, from the surprise hit that brought grunge to the masses, to the hidden cacophonous noise-fest that may not even be included on your copy of the record.
Thursday, June 9 2011
The 10 Best Nirvana Songs Ever
Now nearly 20 years after Nevermind first conquered the mainstream, PopMatters looks at the ten best songs by alternative rock’s definitive and most important band.
Friday, April 1 2011
Pearl Jam: Vs. (Expanded Edition) / Vitalogy (Expanded Edition)
Pearl Jam's second and third albums document an era when the biggest band in the world could still sell millions of records while challenging expectations of what populist rock music was supposed to be.
Friday, October 15 2010
Soundgarden: Telephantasm
Brimming with potent performances and remarkable riffs, the deluxe edition of the new compilation by the reformed grunge greats stands as one of the best band retrospectives of the year.
