The 90s Part Two?

Is anyone else noticing a huge wave of 90s bands making a major comeback?

I really wish I could find this quote so I can dissect it more accurately. I believe it was D'arcy Wretzky formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins in an interview that was conducted very shortly after SP had reformed, so maybe four years ago? Anyways, she was talking about how mainstream music in the mid 2000s had regressed into a very 1980s-inspired state, and that soon everyone would be doing a 90s thing. I took it with a grain of salt for a few reasons: (1) she sounded like a coke head in the interview, or at least like she was high on something if not coke, and (2) at the time I wasn't paying much attention to what mainstream music was doing to really have an opinion. I still can't really comment on whether or not the mid 00s were anything like the 80s, but I have noticed a serious 90s revival thing going on.

Both 2009 and 2010 were huge years for big names in punk revival and grunge. A ton of big players either reformed or released a new album for the first time in a long time. Or bands that have been around forever finally released a descent album during this period.

In the grunge revival it's a little difficult to say exactly what really came first, but from my perspective it was when Alice in Chains adopted William Duvall as their new singer and then released the critically acclaimed Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009. It's an incredible feat for many reasons. First, grunge was pretty much assumed to have died along with Kurt Cobain in 1994. Second, both reunion albums and albums featuring a new lead singer typically blow. It was amazing to see the masses simultaneously embracing grunge again, embracing Alice in Chains again, and welcoming Duvall so warmly. The album has since been certified gold, something that's unheard of in the file-sharing age of music, and also received two Grammy nominations for "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View" in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Nirvana put out a previously unreleased live recording from 1992 and also reissued their debut album Bleach. Soundgarden reunited for a show under the name Nudedragons, and has since released a greatest hits album an two new singles with a full length anticipated for later this year. Pearl Jam reissued a big chunk of their catalog and also released the new album Backspacer in 2009. The Stone Temple Pilots also reformed and released a self-titled album in 2010, though they were always more of "Grunge Lite" band. That disgusting toilet known as Courtney Love reformed Hole with a new lineup and released Nobody's Daughter, but nobody cared or noticed. And while I'm not an authoritative source on Melvins, I do know their sludgy tunes inspired the genre and I'm told their album The Bride Screamed Murder was their first good album after a string of okay albums.

In punk revival revival (cute, I know) the majority of these bands were continuing to make music since the 90s, but I don't think anyone really cared until Blink-182 announced their return during the 2009 Grammy Awards. Since then, the pop punk world has come alive. NOFX released their first good album yet, and it only took them 25 years to do it! Their album Coaster finally displayed some descent musicmanship with significantly toned down toilet humor. Anti-Flag proved they weren't posers when the left their major label and released the in-your-face punker The People or the Gun. Rancid signed to Epitaph and finally released Let the Dominoes Fall, an album they'd been teasing for far too long. Alkaline Trio and New Found Glory also signed to Epitaph and released their "back to our roots" albums. And Bad Religion released another Bad Religion album. Seriously, how do they get away with releasing album after album without incorporating any diversity what-so-ever?

I'm not sure how long this 90s trend will last, but as a 90s kid myself, I hope it lasts for a little while. I'm rather enjoying rediscovering all these bands I used to love.