post-grunge

The tradition & historical record

Post-grunge is a musical offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used derisively and indicated mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush, Candlebox, Collective Soul, Live, Foo Fighters, and Silverchair, that emulated the original sound of grunge. In the late 1990s, post-grunge became a more clearly defined style that combined the sound and aesthetic of grunge with more commercially accessible songwriting, rising to prominence that lasted into the 2000s. Bands such as Foo Fighters, Creed, Matchbox Twenty, 3 Doors Down, Puddle of Mudd, Nickelback, Seether, and Staind achieved mainstream success in this second wave. Some bands in this wave also had crossover with the alternative metal and nu metal genres. ¹

During the 1990s, a post-grunge sound emerged that emulated the attitudes and music of grunge, particularly its thick, distorted guitars, but with a less intense and less abrasive tone. Unlike many early grunge bands, post-grunge bands often worked through major record labels. Post-grunge music tends to be in mid-tempo and is noted for having "a polished, radio-ready production", oftentimes with pop song structures, and incorporated influences from other genres such as classic rock, pop rock, alternative metal, and nu metal. Tim Grierson of About.com wrote that musically, post-grunge bands "split the difference between plaintive ballads and aggressive rockers, resulting in songs that combine the two extremes into a sad-eyed, propulsive middle ground". On some occasions, post-grunge music features both an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar playing simultaneously. Post-grunge tends to have production quality that is more polished than grunge. Hence, Graham Hartmann of Metal Injection noted that the genre's second wave "had a vice grip on rock radio from the mid-to-late 2000s—arguably the last time a wave of rock experienced mainstream popularity." ¹

A "major rift" between grunge and post-grunge is in the lyrical substance of the music; grunge often expressed emotion through loose metaphors or third-person narratives, while post-grunge was known for being direct and blunt. While describing lyrics that are common in post-grunge, Sasha Geffen of Consequence of Sound wrote that post-grunge "plunged directly into the 'I.' " Geffen also wrote that most post-grunge songs that achieved mainstream success "call after a prospective or past companion in the first person". Post-grunge lyrics also tend to be about topics such as relationships, romance and drug addiction. ¹

Originally, post-grunge was a label that was meant to be almost pejorative, suggesting that mid-1990s bands labelled as post-grunge were simply musically derivative, or a cynical response to the "authentic" rock movement of grunge. When grunge became a mainstream genre through bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, record labels started signing bands with similar sonic identities, such as Bush, Candlebox and Collective Soul. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, post-grunge morphed via newer bands like Creed and Nickelback, becoming a more well-defined style that combined characteristics of grunge with a more commercially accessible sound. Grierson wrote that "bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were beloved partly because of their perceived integrity in avoiding the mainstream," whereas "Post-grunge, by comparison, seemed to exist in order to court that very audience." ¹

In the 2010s, the derogatory term "butt rock", which was previously applied to 1980s glam metal and hard rock bands such as Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Poison, gained traction when applied to many second-wave post-grunge artists. Notably, the term would be used to refer to the likes of Nickelback, Creed, Puddle of Mudd, Shinedown, Flyleaf and Hinder. Graham Hartmann of Metal Injection stated that the term "usually refers to the second wave of post-grunge music, where bands like Bush and Candlebox ultimately turned into Nickelback and Seether." Angelica Leicht of Houston Press said: "Butt-rock is that musical stank on your shoe that you can’t get off. It’s one part aggro noise, one part self-indulgent and whiny singer, and somehow a whole lot of douche." The origins of the term are debated, with some attributing it to the alleged radio slogan "Nothing but rock". The term "butt rock" is usually used by individuals critical of what they perceive to be derivative musicianship, overly clichéd or angsty lyrics, and over-reliance on raspy vocals (often described as imitations of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder). Eva Zhu of CBC said butt rock is "a style of music that manages to be as popular as it is hated." According to Erica Banas of WMMR, some consider butt rock to be rock music that is "watered down both musically and lyrically" in order to maximize radio airplay and mainstream success. She added: "Perhaps, Butt Rock is truly in the ear of the beholder. It might just be a derogatory term rock fans use on bands they don't like." Butt rock has also been referred to as a subgenre in itself, or a microgenre. A related term for second-wave post-grunge is "divorced dad rock". ¹

Even at the height of their popularity, after the release of Nevermind (1991) brought grunge to international attention, Nirvana experienced increasing problems, partly caused by Kurt Cobain's drug addiction and growing dissatisfaction with commercial success. In late 1992, Cobain was photographed in a T-shirt with 'Grunge is Dead' printed on its front at which point the genre's decline started to be widely discussed. Cobain's suicide in 1994, as well as Pearl Jam's touring problems, marked a decline for grunge that year. Problems of addiction for Layne Staley of Alice in Chains led to the band cancelling scheduled dates in 1995. Addiction and legal problems for Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots led to the band having touring problems, causing the band to tour their album Purple for only four months, and their follow up album Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop for only 6 weeks. ¹

As the original grunge movement began to fade, major record labels began signing and promoting bands emulating the genre in a more mainstream style, dubbed by some writers as "post-grunge". Though bands such as Bush and Candlebox have been categorized as grunge, both bands have also been categorized as post-grunge. Collective Soul and Live are two other bands categorized as post-grunge that emerged along with Bush and Candlebox. Bush, Candlebox, Collective Soul and Live all achieved mainstream success; Candlebox's self-titled album (1993) was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and, according to Nielsen SoundScan, sold at least 4,000,000 copies. Its song "Far Behind" peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Collective Soul's song "Shine" peaked at number 11 on the same chart and was certified gold by the RIAA in September 1994. ¹

The 1997 breakup of Soundgarden was seen by some as the end of the origin… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Post-grunge”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

post-grunge is music genre, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 8 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²