Between the Grooves of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’
A track-by-track analysis of the most celebrated album of the 1990s: Nirvana’s Nevermind. From the hit that popularized grunge to a hidden cacophonous noise-fest.
nevermind nostalgia: the music of 1991
Contemporary Urbanity and Blackness in ‘New Jack City’
Hood films are a jarring eviction notice for traditional Civil Rights rhetoric and, possibly, leadership -- in other words, "What has the Civil Rights movement done for me lately?"
Rock ‘n’ Roll with Chinese Characteristics: Nirvana Behind the Great Wall
Like pretty much everywhere else in the pop music universe, China's developing rock scene changed after Nirvana. It's just that China's rockers didn't get the memo in 1991, nor would've known what to do with it, then.
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.
Michael Jackson’s ‘Dangerous’ and the Reinvention of Pop
Nirvana and company may have killed off ’80s rock. But if pop was dead, its “king” Michael Jackson successfully created alternatives.
How the New Jack Swing Movement Redefined an Era
New Jack Swing was the soundtrack for young Americans of the late 1980s and early 1990s in the same way that Motown was for young Americans of the 1960s.
Pearl Jam’s ‘Ten’ Was That Other Hugely Important Grunge Album from 1991
Released alongside Nirvana’s Nevermind, the importance of Pearl Jam's Ten has been somewhat overshadowed by that record. Pearl Jam were barely together for a year, but released a cohesive debut that would help define '90s alternative rock.
Ice Cube’s ‘Death Certificate’ Soundtracked the Rodney King Era
It was during the period between the Rodney King beating and subsequent court verdict that Ice Cube cut Death Certificate, a chilling glimpse into the anger and frustration South Central Los Angelinos were feeling.
My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ and the Un-Invention of Cock Rock
My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ offers a gender-bending sonic style that severs the entrenched connections between the electric guitar and masculine phallic power.
The Year Alternative Rock Went Massive and Defined a Decade
Musically 1991 will forever be remembered as the year alternative rock conquered the masses. We explore how alternative became the dominant form of rock music in the 1990s.
How Going Underground Kept Punk From “Breaking” in 1991
From pivotal, iconic venues in New York and California and the ubiquity of the house show, to the dramatic, intentional divorce from the highly lucrative hardcore/metal crossover scene, 1991 saw numerous DIY punk rock groups reinterpret a 14-year-old subculture with new and urgent relevance.