Timeline of alternative rock
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
This is a timeline of alternative rock, from its beginnings in the 1970s to the present.
1976 - 1977 - 1978 - 1979 - 1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - See also
[edit]
1976
- Events
- Rodney Bingenheimer, the DJ for the popular Los Angeles modern rock station KROQ has aired a midnight show Rodney on the ROQ.
[edit]
1977
- Newly formed bands
- The Feelies
- Joy Division (as Warsaw)
[edit]
1978
- Newly formed bands
- Events
- Manchester journalist and nightclub manager Tony Wilson founds Factory Records
[edit]
1979
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- Simple Minds - Life in a Day
- Simple Minds - Real to Real Cacophony
- Events
- Touch and Go founded
[edit]
1980
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles
- The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
- Simple Minds - Empires and Dance
- Events
[edit]
1981
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- Simple Minds - Sister Feelings Call
- Simple Minds - Sons and Fascination
[edit]
1982
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- R.E.M. - Chronic Town
- Simple Minds - New Gold Dream
- Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
[edit]
1983
- Newly formed bands
- American Music Club
- Camper Van Beethoven
- Dinosaur Jr.
- Green River - considered to be the first ever grunge band
- The Flaming Lips
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Soul Asylum
- They Might Be Giants
- Throwing Muses
- Disbandments
- Bauhaus
- Albums
- R.E.M. - Murmur
- Events
- WFNX, one of the first commercial stations to play alternative rock, begins broadcasting.
[edit]
1984
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- Guadalcanal Diary - Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man
- Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
- R.E.M. - Reckoning
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Replacements - Let It Be
- Simple Minds - Sparkle in the Rain
- The Smiths - The Smiths
- Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground
- Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
[edit]
1985
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- Butthole Surfers - Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac
- Dinosaur Jr. - Dinosaur
- Green River - Come on Down
- Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
- Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun
- R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Freaky Styley
- Simple Minds - Once Upon a Time
- The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
- Events
- The Feelies reunite.
[edit]
1986
- Newly formed bands
- The Afghan Whigs
- Galaxie 500
- The La's
- Manic Street Preachers (as Betty Blue)
- Pixies
- Primus
- The Sugarcubes
- Albums
- Butthole Surfers - Rembrandt Pussyhorse
- The Feelies - The Good Earths
- Guadalcanal Diary - Jamboree
- R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
- The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
- Sonic Youth - EVOL
- Violent Femmes - Blind Leading the Naked
[edit]
1987
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Hüsker Dü
- The Smiths
- Albums
- Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
- Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
- Guadalcanal Diary - 2X4
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
- Pixies - Come on Pilgrim
- Primal Scream - Sonic Flower Groove
- R.E.M. - Document
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
- Simple Minds - In the City of Light
- The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
- Sonic Youth - Sister
[edit]
1988
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Green River
- Albums
- Butthole Surfers - Hairway to Steven
- Dinosaur Jr. - Bug
- The Feelies - Only Life
- Glass Eye - Bent By Nature
- The Happy Mondays - Bummed
- Morrissey - Viva Hate
- My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
- R.E.M. - Green
- Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
- Pixies - Surfer Rosa
- Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
- Soundgarden - Ultramega OK
- Events
- Mother Love Bone and Mudhoney form from members of Green River after they break up.
- Sub Pop begins the Sup Pop Singles Club
[edit]
1989
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Guadalcanal Diary
- Albums
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic
- Glass Eye - Hello Young Lovers
- Guadalcanal Diary - Flip-Flop
- Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
- Nirvana - Bleach
- Pixies - Doolittle
- Primal Scream - Primal Scream
- Simple Minds - Street Fighting Years
- Soundgarden - Louder Than Love
- The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk
- Violent Femmes - 3
[edit]
1990
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Camper Van Beethoven
- Glass Eye
- Mother Love Bone
- Albums
- Alice in Chains - Facelift
- The Breeders - Pod
- Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
- The Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
- Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
- The La's - The La's
- Morrissey - Bona Drag
- Mother Love Bone - Apple
- Pixies - Bossanova
- Sonic Youth - Goo
- Events
- Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone is found dead.
- The first ever KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert airs for the first time.
[edit]
1991
- Disbandments
- Galaxie 500
- Jane's Addiction
- The Replacements
- Albums
- Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind
- The Feelies - Time for a Witness
- The Jesus Lizard - Goat
- Morrissey - Kill Uncle
- My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
- Nirvana - Nevermind (breakthrough)
- Pearl Jam - Ten (breakthrough)
- Pixies - Trompe le Monde
- Primal Scream - Screamadelica
- Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese
- R.E.M. - Out of Time
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (breakthrough)
- School of Fish - School of Fish
- Simple Minds - Real Life
- Slint - Spiderland
- The Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
- Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
- Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
- The Violent Femmes - Why Do Birds Sing?
- Events
- Nirvana releases Nevermind, popularizing grunge in the mainstream, especially due to the hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
- Temple of the Dog, made up of members of Soundgarden and the newly formed Pearl Jam, releases their first and only album as a tribute to Andrew Wood.
- The first ever Lollapalooza takes place.
- The term riot grrrl is coined by Alison Wolfe of Bratmobile.
[edit]
1992
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- The Feelies
- The Happy Mondays
- Pixies
- The Sugarcubes
- Albums
- Alice in Chains - Dirt
- Alice in Chains - Sap
- Blind Melon - Blind Melon (breakthrough)
- PJ Harvey - Dry
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead
- The Jesus Lizard - Liar
- Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists
- Morrissey - Your Arsenal
- Nine Inch Nails - Broken
- Nirvana - Incesticide
- Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
- R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
- Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
- Sonic Youth - Dirty
- Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's Union
- Stone Temple Pilots - Core (breakthrough)
- Ween - Pure Guava
- Events
- The grunge speak hoax appears in the November 15 issue of The New York Times.
- Trent Reznor founds Nothing Records.
- The movie Singles is released.
- The movie 1991 - The Year Punk Broke is released.
[edit]
1993
- Newly formed bands
- Albums
- The Breeders - Last Splash (breakthrough)
- Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon
- Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been
- The Flaming Lips - Transmissions from the Satellite Heart
- PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
- Manic Street Preachers - Gold Against the Soul
- Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
- Morrissey - Beethoven was Deaf
- Nirvana - In Utero
- Pearl Jam - Vs.
- Porno for Pyros - Porno for Pyros
- Primus - Pork Soda
- Radiohead - Pablo Honey
- The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (breakthrough)
- Suede - Suede
- Events
- The first ever KROQ Weenie Roast concert airs for the first time.
- Nirvana plays MTV Unplugged in New York on November 18.
- Mazzy Star has some success with the single "Fade Into You", becoming the biggest hit for dream pop in the mainstream.
[edit]
1994
- Newly formed bands
- The Foo Fighters
- Disbandments
- Nirvana
- Albums
- Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
- Beck - Mellow Gold (breakthrough)
- Blur - Parklife
- Bush - Sixteen Stone (breakthrough)
- Dinosaur Jr. - Withour a Second
- Hole - Live Through This (breakthrough)
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Stoned & Dethroned
- Live - Throwing Copper
- Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
- Meat Puppets - Too High to Die
- Morrissey - Vauxhall and I
- Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (most commercially successful album)
- Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
- Oasis - Definitely Maybe
- Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
- Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
- Primal Scream - Give Out But Don't Give up
- Pulp - His 'n' Hers
- R.E.M - Monster
- Soundgarden - Superunknown
- The Stone Roses - Second Coming
- Stone Temple Pilots - Purple
- Suede - Dog Man Star
- Toadies - Rubberneck (breakthrough)
- Ween - Chocolate and Cheese
- Weezer - The Blue Album
- Events
- Kurt Cobain of Nirvana dies on April 5th, found April 8th.
- Kristen Pfaff of Hole dies on June 16.
- Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" becomes a hit single; some cite it as the last major hit of the grunge era.
- Beck's "Loser" becomes a hit single.
- The Offspring releases Smash, becoming one of the best selling albums from an independent record label of all time. Along with the release of Green Day's Dookie, it repopularizes punk rock in the mainstream.
- The term post-rock is coined by Simon Reynolds to describe the music of the likes of Stereolab and Disco Inferno
[edit]
1995
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- American Music Club
- Meat Puppets
- Albums
- Alice in Chains - Alice in Chains
- Better Than Ezra - Deluxe
- Dishwalla - Pet Your Friends (breakthrough)
- Elastica - Elastica
- The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic
- Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters
- Garbage - Garbage (breakthrough)
- PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
- Mad Season - Above
- Matthew Good Band - Last of the Ghetto Astronauts
- Morrissey - Southpaw Grammar
- Morrissey - World of Morrissey
- Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
- Pavement - Wowee Zowee
- Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl
- Pulp - Different Class
- Radiohead - The Bends
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - One Hot Minute
- The Rentals - Return Of (The Rentals)
- Silverchair - Frogstomp (breakthrough)
- Simple Minds - Good News from the Next World
- The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
- Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
- Events
- Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon is found dead on October 21.
- Ska becomes popular, with bands such as No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Sublime seeing commercial success.
- Folk Implosion has a hit single with "Natural One".
- Mad Season, a band made up of members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and the Screaming Trees, forms and breaks up in the same year.
- Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers disappears
- The "Battle of Britpop" between Blur and Oasis
[edit]
1996
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Screaming Trees
- The Pogues
- The Stone Roses
- Albums
- Beck - Odelay
- Better Than Ezra - Friction, Baby
- Butthole Surfers - Electriclarryland (breakthrough)
- Local H - As Good as Dead (breakthrough)
- Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go
- Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar (breakthrough)
- Nirvana - From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
- Pearl Jam - No Code
- Porno for Pyros Good God's Urge
- R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
- Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
- Soundgarden - Down on the Upside (final album)
- Weezer - Pinkerton
- Events
- Jonathan Melvoin of The Smashing Pumpkins dies on July 12.
- Alice in Chains makes their last appearance on MTV Unplugged.
- Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar is released, becoming industrial music's most successful album.
- Hype!, a documentary about the grunge scene of the early 1990s, is released.
[edit]
1997
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Porno for Pyros
- Soundgarden - believed by many to signal the end of grunge's mainstream success.
- Throwing Muses
- Albums
- A - How Ace Are Buildings
- Dinosaur Jr. - Hand It Over
- Everclear - So Much for the Afterglow
- Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
- Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
- Morrissey - Maladjusted
- Pavement - Brighten the Corners
- Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
- Primus - Brown Album
- Radiohead - OK Computer
- Suede - Coming Up
- Events
- Jane's Addiction reunites; later that year, they disband again.
- On haitus while Scott Weiland is in rehab, members of The Stone Temple Pilots form Talkshow; the new band lasts for only a short time.
[edit]
1998
- Albums
- Beck - Mutations
- Better Than Ezra - How Does Your Garden Grow?
- Jerry Cantrell - Boggy Depot
- Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
- Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
- Simple Minds - Néapolis
- Pearl Jam - Yield
- R.E.M. - Up
- The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
- Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves
- Soul Coughing - El Oso (final album)
- Events
- For the first year since it began, Lollapalooza does not take place, and goes on hiatus for 6 years.
[edit]
1999
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Blind Melon - after years of struggling to continue on without Shannon Hoon.
- The Jesus Lizard
- The Jesus and Mary Chain
- Luscious Jackson
- Pavement
- The Verve
- Albums
- A - A vs. Monkey Kong
- Beck - Midnite Vultures
- The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
- Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left to Lose
- Guadalcanal Diary - Live at Your Birthday Party
- Matthew Good Band - Beautiful Midnight
- Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
- Pavement - Terror Twilight
- Primus - Antipop
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
- Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
- The Rentals - Seven More Minutes
- The Stone Temple Pilots - No. 4
- Suede - Head Music
- The White Stripes - The White Stripes
- Events
- John Baker Saunders of Mad Season dies.
- Despite rumors of disbanding, The Stone Temple Pilots return to recording.
- The No WTO Combo attempts to play at the WTO Meeting of 1999, but are unable to do so due to conflicts with the police.
[edit]
2000
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- Letters to Cleo
- Rage Against the Machine
- The Rentals
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Soul Coughing
- Albums
- Elastica - The Menace
- No WTO Combo - Live From the Battle in Seattle
- Pearl Jam - Binaural
- A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms
- Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
- Radiohead - Kid A
- The Smashing Pumpkins - MACHINA/The Machines of God
- The Smashing Pumpkins - MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (final album)
- The White Stripes - De Stijl
- Events
- The Smashing Pumpkins have their last concert on December 2.
- The Smashing Pumpkins release MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music for free to music downloaders on the internet.
- The Meat Puppets reunite.
[edit]
2001
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- The Afghan Whigs
- Elastica
- Toadies
- Albums
- Bayside, Brand New, The Reunion Show, Taking Back Sunday - From Brooklyn With Love
- Bayside - Long Stories Short
- Better Than Ezra - Closer
- Matthew Good Band - The Audio of Being
- Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy
- R.E.M. - Reveal
- Radiohead - Amnesiac
- The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
- Simple Minds - Neon Lights
- Weezer - The Green Album
- The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
- Events
- The Matthew Good Band breaks up. Good continues as a solo artist.
[edit]
2002
- Disbandments
- Hole
- Albums
- A - Hi-Fi Serious
- Audioslave - Audioslave
- Beck - Sea Change
- The Breeders - Title TK (final album)
- Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
- The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
- Foo Fighters - One by One
- Hot Hot Heat - Make Up the Breakdown
- Manic Street Preachers - Forever Delayed
- Nirvana - Nirvana
- Pearl Jam - Riot Act
- Primal Scream - Evil Heat
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
- Simple Minds - Cry
- Simple Minds - Our Secrets Are the Same
- Sonic Youth - Murray Street
- Weezer - Maladroit
- Events
- Layne Staley of Alice in Chains dies on April 5, the 8th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.
- Jane's Addiction reunites again.
- Nirvana's "You Know You're Right", a previously unreleased song, becomes a hit single.
[edit]
2003
- Albums
- A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
- Blur - Think Tank
- Jane's Addiction - Strays
- Matthew Good - Avalanche
- Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
- The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
- The White Stripes - Elephant
- Events
- The first Lollapalooza in 6 years takes place.
[edit]
2004
- Newly formed bands
- Disbandments
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- Albums
- A Perfect Circle - eMOTIVe
- Bayside - Sirens and Condolences
- The Cure - The Cure
- Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand
- Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News
- Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood
- Matthew Good - White Light Rock & Roll Review
- Morrissey - You Are the Quarry
- Nirvana - With the Lights Out
- The Pixies - Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies
- R.E.M. - Around the Sun
- Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
- TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
- Events
- The Pixies reunite and release a new single entitled "Bam Thwok".
- Lollapalooza is cancelled due to low ticket sales.
[edit]
2005
- Albums
- A - Teen Dance Ordinance
- Audioslave - Out of Exile
- Beck - Guero
- Better Than Ezra - Before the Robots
- The Dead 60s - The Dead 60s
- Jimmy Chamberlin Complex - Life Begins Again
- Billy Corgan - TheFutureEmbrace
- Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
- Garbage - Bleed Like Me
- Gorillaz - Demon Days
- Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
- Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
- Louis XIV - Best Little Secrets Are Kept
- New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call
- Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
- Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
- Weezer - Make Believe
- The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
[edit]
See also
| Alternative rock |
| Britpop - College rock - Dream pop - Gothic rock - Grunge - Indie - Jam band - Madchester - New Wave - Twee |
| Bands - History |

