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Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves fromclassic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Modern rock (also known asalternative radio) is arockformat commonly found on commercialradio; consisting primarily of thealternative rock genre.[1] Generally beginning withhardcore punk but referring especially to alternative rock music since the 1980s, the phrase "modern rock" is used in the US to differentiate the music fromclassic rock, which focuses on music recorded in the 1960s through to the early 1990s.
A few modern rock radio stations existed during the 1980s, such asKROQ-FM inLos Angeles,XETRA-FM inSan Diego, WHTG-FM (nowWKMK) on theJersey Shore,WLIR onLong Island,WFNX inBoston, andKQAK The Quake inSan Francisco.[1] Modern rock was solidified as a radio format in 1988 withBillboard's creation of theModern Rock Tracks chart. The chart was based on weighted reports from college radio stations and commercial stations such as those listed above.[2] The1988 episode of theVH1 showI Love the '80s discussedINXS,the Cure,Morrissey,Depeche Mode, andErasure as modern rock artists representative of that year. But it was the breakthrough success of thegrunge bandsNirvana andPearl Jam in 1991 that resulted in many American radio stations switching to the format.[1] Modern rock is considered by some to be a specific genre of alternative rock.[3]
The format has gone through two distinct periods, dividing the line from classic modern rock and the current alternative rock format used today. Up until grunge went mainstream, the format featured a wide variety of up-tempo danceable music from a diverse group of artists that were being played in rock discos and clubs.[2] This was a legacy fromnew wave music and theSecond British Invasion that immediately preceded it.[2] Of all the artists who had songs hit the top 30 in the first modern rock chart, only seven of them were American.[2] Between 1992 and 1994, most of the female, foreign and dance music had largely disappeared from the chart.[2] While the chart still featured a variety of alternative rock music, it was largely guitar rock created by male Americans.[2] By 1996, the modern rock chart was largely identical to the mainstream rock chart; it was therefore surveying what was then mainstream rock music.[2]
Modern, also called alternative...
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