The 5: Modern Musical Movements

The musical landscape of the last 20 years has been tumultuous. In that time the entire music industry has been upended thanks to the dawn of the digital age. Throughout the years trends have started, fads have crashed and burned and movements have begun. Below are 5 points in time, 5 collections of artists, and 5 state of minds that created an explosion of musical creativity.

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• 1990’s East Coast Rap.  Acts: Notorious BIG, Wu Tang, Nas.  From the late 80’s into the very early 90’s, West Coast hip hop dominated the genre. NWA and Snoop Dogg were huge breakout stars, becoming the faces of rap music. Then in 1993, Wu-Tang’s Enter the 36 Chambers came out, putting the East coast hip hop scene on the map. In 1994 both Notorious BIG’s Ready to Die and Nas’s Illmatic were released, both recognized as two of the greatest hop hop albums to have ever been made. What followed was a torrential downpour of east coast rap – Queens’ Mobb Deep, nearly every member of Wu Tang releasing a solo album, a young Jay Z, Harlem’s Big L, everyone in New York was getting a piece. Public Enemy preceded all these acts, but when 1993 hit – everything changed for the east coast. Unfortunately it wouldn’t last since by the end of the decade, southern hip hop became huge and catapulted hip hop into top 40.
• 1990’s Britpop.  Acts: Oasis, Blur, Pulp.  While the United States was in the middle of an East coast West Coast rap war, the UK was losing its mind over the emergence of what would eventually be termed Britpop. Blur had formed in the late 80’s but didn’t make a dent until they released their instant classic album Parklife in 1994. It sold huge in the UK right around the same time Oasis released their first album, Definitely Maybe which at the time was the fastest selling album in the country’s history.Both Oasis and Blur eventually came to feud with each other, which was fueled by the British tabloids. Blur never had the crossover US success that Oasis did, who had huge hits with Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. Pulp also gained commercial success during this Britpop time, even though they’d been together since 1978. Two of their albums released during the mid 90’s had multiple charting hits.
• Late 90’s – Third Wave Ska.  Acts: Reel Big Fish, Rancid, Mighty Might Bosstones.  In the mid to late 90’s there was a sudden and miraculous resurgence of ska in the United States. Ska’s been around since the 50’s, it was a precursor to reggae and was very popular in the UK for a long time. Yet thanks to a few bands in California who were heavily influenced by reggae and classic ska, the genre blew up bigger than it ever was.  Ska punk acts like Operation Ivy/Rancid, Sublime, and No Doubt all were playing ska in some way in their music. Other bands like Reel Big Fish and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones were full on ska bands who the record companies grabbed and pushed hard. Regardless, everyone lost their mind their for a little while, though you’ll never forget how that one friend of yours finally was able to join a band as the trumpet player.
• 2000’s Garage Rock Revival.  Acts: The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives.  Originally called a “post-punk” movement, music journalists eventually agreed on calling the early 2000’s the Garage Rock Revival. Most notably Detroit and New York City contributed to this revival, with international bands like the Hive and the Vines being lumped in for good measure. The Strokes and White Stripes first popped at this time – specifically in 2001, where both bands along with the Hives had albums break.  With Rage Against the Machine broken up, there was a plethora of bro and rap rock filling the charts, the stripped down sounds of these new bands gave a breath of fresh air to a stagnant scene. The future seemed bright for rock and roll during this resurgence, but it didn’t last for long.
• Here and Now – EDM.  Acts: Skrillex, Deadmau5, Avicii.   Dance music has been around for a long time, and it’s always had its audience. In the last 5 years or so, a movement has been happening where the dance music that was in clubs has come blasting into the mainstream and Top 40. The influence of Dub Step can be heard in giant crossover acts like Miley Cyrus,Taylor Swift and Rihanna.  Guys like Skrillex, Deadmau5 and Avicii, who were club DJs just making music have become massive millionaires in the last few years, the DJ has become king. There’s no hotter genre of music right now, at this point we may be at peak EDM. The Electric Zoo festivals rival anything rock can put together and they’re only getting bigger.

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Wu Tang:

Biggie:

Nas:

Blur:

Oasis:

Pulp:

Mighty Might Bosstones:

Reel Big Fish:

Rancid:

The White Stripes:

The Strokes:

The Hives:

Avicii

Skrillex:

Deadmau5: