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GRUNGE
Main Entry: grunge Pronunciation: 'gr&nj Function: noun Etymology: back-formation from grungy Date: 1965 1 : one that is grungy 2 : rock music incorporating elements of punk rock and heavy metal; also : the untidy working-class fashions typical of fans of grunge.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Grunge, rock music style of the early 1990s, characterized by a thick, abrasive, distorted guitar sound. Grunge evolved from punk in the Seattle, Washington, area and came to prominence with the chart success of the band Nirvana in 1991. Grunge is said to have originated as marriage between Seattle's hesher and punk scenes. Characteristic of most of these bands is punk rock drums and vocals, hesher hair and guitar, and working-class clothing that is rarely washed. Lyrics frequently confront such uncomfortable subjects as unpopularity, alienation from divorced parents, disease, the hypocrisy and allure of religion, heroin, and raw lust. Grunge may or may not be a useful term to describe a segment of youth delinquency, but with historical perspective, it is best used to describe a record company phenomenon. Grunge was a revolution, the revolution where punk rock was decisively injected into mainstream rock and roll.
Numerous culture makers embarrassed themselves in the rush to exploit the most vital white youth culture in years. Grunge "fashion"--the perennial flannel shirt/combat boots/ripped jeans uniform of suburban burnouts everywhere--was suddenly used as an exotic novelty by designers.
10. ALTERNATIVE
Main Entry: 1al·ter·na·tive Pronunciation: ol-'t&r-n&-tiv, al- Function: adjective Date: 1540 1 : ALTERNATE 1 2 : offering or expressing a choice <several alternative plans> 3 : different from the usual or conventional:as a : existing or functioning outside the established cultural, social, or economic system <alternative newspaper> <alternative lifestyles> b : of, or relating to, or being rock music that is regarded as an alternative to conventional rock and is typically influenced by punk rock, hard rock, hip-hop, or folk music - al·ter·na·tive·ly adverb - al·ter·na·tive·ness noun
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Nineties term for counterculture, often of a non-oppositional nature. Current use of "alternative" in the music and youth-culture world originated in the late '70s and early '80s, when it described the strain of post-punk music cultivated by a growing, informal network of college radio stations. The word "alternative" already had a meaning related to culture: commonly associated with the independent, oppositional press of the late hippie era, this counterculture label also came to denote any lifestyle outside the mainstream. As college-rock favorites like R.E.M. and U2 became chart and stadium fixtures in the second half of the '80s, successive waves of newer, rawer bands inherited the "alternative" mantle. However, Nirvana's meteoric rise to the top of the charts in 1991-92 disrupted the ecosystem: suddenly alternative was a musical category as lucrative as hip-hop or metal, as were its country-associated fashions. Record companies, radio, and MTV embraced the "new" form, the Lollapalooza tours enshrined it, and marketers used it as youth bait to sell everything from cars to soft drinks to movies. For those who wrangled with the question "what is alternative?" there was no satisfactory answer-the term was now in the public domain, and dissent from the mainstream was rewarded within a fragmenting mass culture. Alternative - at obvious variance with the mainstream, especially regarding music, lifestyle and clothing. Clothing and the extent of facial piercings are usually the most apparent manifestations of underlying alternative sentiments. But like every other term that may have once had meaning, the term "alternative" has been co-opted by mainstream commercial culture. It isn't easy to maintain a rebellion when you find yourself winning every battle. As the name for a musical genré, alternative is reserved for a type of college radio pop that typically breaks free of such rock and roll rules as the major/blues scales, the 4/4 rhyth, hi fidelity, and the need for rhyming lyrics. There is, however, plenty of "alternative" that is hard to distinguish from classic rock. These days much of the new rock and roll that mainstream rock stations play is stuff that would have been considered alternative only a year or two before.
Реферат опубликован: 7/06/2006