Alternative RockIndie Pop

History of Rock

Rock music originated as ‘Rock and Roll’ in the USA during the 1950s. It is heavily influenced rhythm & blues and country music. There is usually a group that is formed to play rock music. It is centered around the electric guitar. It also includes electric bass guitars and drums.

1950s. The Birth of Rock and Roll- This is a combination of electric blues, country and gospel. This time period would include singers like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley.

1960s. The Expansion of Boundaries in Rock. Rock music began to dominate the charts. However, it was not only the charts in the US that were being dominated; it was also the UK charts. The singers that were a part of this domination were The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

1970s. Rock Music becomes big business. The rock music in the 70s started to progress into hard rock and heavy metal. A couple of musicians from this time were David Bowie and Bruce Springteen.

1980s. TV and Technology Influence. MTV was launched in 1981. musicians began to make music videos to reach out to their audience.

1990s. Internet and Digital Music. The internet allowed the distribution of music legally and through peer to peer sharing.

What is Alternative Rock?

This is a genre of rock music that was known as ‘underground music’ throughout the 1980s. Alternative rock (alt-rock), however, is different from other kinds of rock music. Rock music is like pop music because the lyrics talk about romantic love and addresses a large variety of other themes. Whereas, alternative rock has a more nonchalant and defiant attitude and the lyrics are more transgressed. Something they do have in common however would be that they both have an emphasis on society and politics.

It became popular by the 1990s. Its sub genres are:

Indie Rock

Grunge

Indie Pop- this is what I will be focusing on in my magazine. (front page, contents page, double page spread).

Bands

Arctic Monkeys

The 1975

Mumford and Sons

Two Door Cinema Club

What is Indie Pop?

Indie pop is a genre of Alternative rock. It is a more

independent genre when compared to pop music.

It originated in the UK during the mid 1980s with Scottish

post punk roots.

Indie pop is different from the mainstream pop that we

hear today. It has a very electric sound and often has

elements from other styles including urban, dance, rock,

Latin and country. Although indie pop has a somewhat

similar sound to pop it is more melodic and does not have

the sound of the popular music today.

Audience

The audience for the genres of alternative rock and indie

pop are listened to by both males and females from the

ages of 16-24.

Rock magazines

Kerrang! Magazine

Kerrang! is a rock devoted magazinethat is based in the UK. PublishedJune 6th 1981.

The gender ratio for the readers ofKerrang! is 45.3% female and 54.7%male.

The ages for Kerrang! magazine’sreader profile is quite young with amedian age of 22.

You can tell that this magazine is foryoung people because along the topof it, they show that there are postersthat can be collected. Posters wouldtypically be found in a youngperson’s room where they are notsharing with anyone.

Rock Magazines

Rolling Stone

This is a music based biweekly magazine that also has emphasis on the popular culture and politics. It was founded in 1967 in San Fransisco.

The male audience for Rolling Stone magazine is 60.7% and has a female audience of 39.3%.

Rolling Stone magazine is mostly popular with older audiences who either work non professionally or professionally, is married (37.5%)/single (48.1%) and owned their own homes (56.7%)

Indie Magazines

NME

NME (New Musical Express) is a

weekly, British music journalism

magazine that was published

March 1952. It is widely

associated with rock, alternative

and indie music.

NME magazine targets a male

audience from the ages of 17-

30, with an average age of 25.

The readers for the magazine

are generally modern, young

and trendy who are also

dedicated to the magazine.

Links

Alternative Rock:

Arctic Monkeys- example of indie rock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6INdLUR2Jrc

Foo Fighters- example of grunge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3B0Vx_yQgo

Neutral Milk Hotel- example of indie pop (genre focus). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TudLjZ_4VhU&index=3&list=AL94UKMTqg-9Aa364Aa_03f_UCuP8B6-xr