All Apologies Edition Part 2

Summary

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Episode: All Apologies Edition Part 2
Release Date: May 30, 2025
Host: Chris Molanphy, Slate Podcasts

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Introduction

In this compelling installment of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy delves deep into the intricate evolution of alternative rock following the seismic impact of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. From the diversification of the genre to the emergence of pop punk and the eventual blending of alternative sounds with mainstream pop, Molanphy offers a comprehensive exploration of the mid-90s to late-90s music landscape. This summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn throughout the episode.

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Post-Grunge Era and Diversification of Alternative Rock

Following Kurt Cobain's untimely death in 1994, the alternative rock scene underwent significant changes. Molanphy highlights how alternative rock began to branch out, embracing a wider array of sounds and styles. Blind Melon's "Reverie (No Rain)" exemplifies this trend with its jam band-esque vibe and memorable music video, achieving a top 20 spot on the Hot 100 ([00:11]).

Molanphy discusses bands like Crash Test Dummies, whose offbeat ballad "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" topped the modern rock chart in March 1994 and reached number four on the Hot 100, showcasing the genre's expanding reach ([01:50]).

Notable Quote:

"The alt pop song with humming." – Chris Molanphy ([01:50])

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Rise of Pop Punk: Green Day and The Offspring

The mid-90s marked the commercial breakthrough of pop punk, spurred by bands like Green Day and The Offspring. Green Day's Dookie album, released in 1994, featured hits like "Longview" and "Basket Case," both dominating the modern rock charts and solidifying pop punk's place in mainstream music. Molanphy notes that Green Day's success, culminating in Dookie going quadruple platinum by the end of 1994, was pivotal in proving pop punk's commercial viability ([15:37]).

Similarly, The Offspring's Smash album broke records as the best-selling indie album of all time, propelled by singles like "Come Out and Play" and "Self-Esteem" ([18:44]). These bands not only achieved massive sales but also influenced the musical direction of alternative radio.

Notable Quote:

"The twin forces of Green Day and The Offspring made '94 the year pop punk broke." – Chris Molanphy ([18:29])

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Mainstream Success of Alternative Bands

As alternative rock gained prominence, established bands like R.E.M. and The Cranberries adapted their sounds to stay relevant. R.E.M.'s Monster album, released in 1994, incorporated distorted guitars, leading to their fastest-breaking hits like "What's the Frequency?" ([07:56]).

The Cranberries shifted from their ethereal indie pop roots to a grungier sound with hits like "Zombie," which spent six weeks atop the Modern Rock chart ([07:46]).

Molanphy also touches on Lisa Loeb's breakout single "Stay," highlighting how it bridged alternative and pop music by reaching number seven on the modern rock chart and topping the Hot 100 ([13:21]).

Notable Quote:

"Alt rock was now just pop for misfits." – Chris Molanphy ([14:01])

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International Influence: Bush, Silverchair, and Spacehog

The influence of American grunge extended beyond its borders, with international bands like Bush from London and Silverchair from Australia achieving significant success in the U.S. Bush emulated classic grunge sounds, scoring three number one hits between 1995 and 1996 ([27:25]). Silverchair's "Tomorrow" became a massive hit in 1995, showcasing the global appeal of the grunge aesthetic ([32:48]).

British band Spacehog blended glam rock with grungy guitars, securing a modern rock number two hit with "The Strutting" in 1996 ([33:23]).

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Transition to Faux Alternative: Late 90s Pop Influence

By the late 90s, alternative rock began to lose its distinct identity as it fused more with mainstream pop sounds. Bands like Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox 20 epitomized this blend. The Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" spent five weeks at number one on the Modern Rock chart and dominated radio airplay, including adult contemporary stations ([36:36]).

Matchbox 20's Yourself or Someone Like You album, featuring hits like "Push" and "3AM," became a stealth blockbuster, reflecting the era's glossy post-grunge aesthetic ([39:33]).

Notable Quote:

"The wall between pop and alternative had become ever more porous." – Chris Molanphy ([36:36])

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Nu Metal and Rap Rock Influence

The late 90s also saw the rise of nu metal and rap rock, with bands like Limp Bizkit, Creed, and Kid Rock dominating the charts. Creed's Human Clay album, led by hits like "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open," exemplified the genre's success, selling 10 million copies and becoming one of the decade's best-selling albums ([45:41]).

Molanphy discusses how these genres reflected a shift towards more aggressive and commercially viable sounds within alternative radio ([32:57]).

Notable Quote:

"Creed blanketed the rock charts with the singles from their 1997 debut album My Own Prison." – Chris Molanphy ([45:41])

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Decline of Female Dominance in Alternative Radio

Despite the early successes of female-led acts like Alanis Morissette, whose Jagged Little Pill became one of the decade's top-selling albums, the late 90s marked a decline in female representation on alternative radio. Molanphy attributes this shift to the rise of male-dominated genres like ska punk and post-grunge, which began to overshadow the contributions of female artists ([27:25]).

Alanis Morissette's success paved the way for artists like Fiona Apple and Garbage, but maintaining female presence became increasingly challenging as the genre leaned towards "bro-centric" bands ([29:06]).

Notable Quote:

"It also opened up both alt rock and even pop radio to another wave of intrepid women rockers." – Chris Molanphy ([29:06])

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Evolution of Alternative Airplay and Gender Representation

By 2013, a significant gender disparity emerged in alternative airplay, with male-dominated bands consistently topping the charts. However, recent years have seen a resurgence of female artists on the alternative charts, such as Lana Del Rey, Paramore, Elle King, and Billie Eilish. This shift suggests a gradual rebalancing of gender representation within the genre ([51:43]).

Molanphy reflects on Nirvana's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, emphasizing the inclusion of female guest vocalists as a hopeful sign for the genre's future ([51:43]).

Notable Quote:

"If alternative rock has a future, that future will keep evolving, will be more female, and will not look like the past." – Chris Molanphy ([51:43])

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Conclusion

All Apologies Edition Part 2 offers a thorough examination of alternative rock's trajectory from the mid-90s to the late 90s and beyond. Chris Molanphy adeptly traces the genre's diversification, commercial successes, and the challenges it faced in maintaining its distinct identity amidst evolving musical trends. The episode underscores the cyclical nature of music genres and the enduring impact of pivotal bands and shifts within the industry.

As alternative rock continues to evolve, the lessons from this era highlight the importance of adaptability and inclusivity in sustaining a genre's relevance and vibrancy.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Alt rock was now just pop for misfits." – Chris Molanphy ([14:01])

• "The twin forces of Green Day and The Offspring made '94 the year pop punk broke." – Chris Molanphy ([18:29])

• "The wall between pop and alternative had become ever more porous." – Chris Molanphy ([36:36])

• "If alternative rock has a future, that future will keep evolving, will be more female, and will not look like the past." – Chris Molanphy ([51:43])

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Production Credits:
Written, Edited, and Narrated by: Chris Molanphy
Producers: Olivia Briley and Kevin Bendis
Supervising Producer: Joel Meyer
Slate's Editor-in-Chief: Hilary Fry

Subscribe:
Listen to Hit Parade on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of pop chart history from Slate magazine about the hits from coast to coast. I'm Chris Melanfy, chart analyst, pop critic and writer of Slate's why Is this Song Number One series. On our last episode, we walked through the birth of alternative rock and the start of the grunge era. From the breakthroughs of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam to the explosion by Nirvana that turned grunge into mainstream rock, we're now in 1994. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has passed into the afterlife, and a wave of post grunge is about to take over Billboard's modern rock chart and the radio as alt rock becomes America's parallel universe. Top 40. Even before Kurt Cobain passed, alternative rock was diversifying and getting quirkier. Some modern rock chart toppers that showed how far alternative nation had expanded included Blind Melon's sweet jam band esque Reverie no Rain, whose video starring the B girl made the song a smash top 20 on the Hot 101 at Modern Rock in late 1993.

[B]

And I don't understand why I sleep all day Then I start to complain.

[A]

There'S no Beck's impossible to categorize Loser. An accidental generational anthem whose lyrics were packed with in jokes and touches of folk, Americana, grunge and hip hop. It topped the modern rock chart near the start of 1994 and even went pop, cracking the top 10 on the Hot 100. And perhaps quirkiest of all, the Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, fronted by bass baritone vocalist Brad Roberts. Mmm mmm mmm mmm. Their ballad containing weird stories of misunderstood children was an improbable blockbuster. It topped the modern rock chart in March of 94, reached number four on the Hot 100 and sent their CD God shuffled his feet into the top 10 on the album chart, where it went double platinum. Seriously, the alt pop song with humming. But the dominant forms of post Cobain altroc made themselves known immediately after his passing. The first new modern rock one after Cobain's death was from the York, Pennsylvania band I mentioned at the top of our show live. They scored their first chart topper with the exceedingly earnest, lyrically inscrutable Selling the Drama, which sounded like a cross between vintage REM And Erzat's Soundgarden.

[B]

Now it won't be Scar like that. Scar like that.

[A]

Produced by former Talking Heads, multi instrumentalist Jerry Harrison, Live's 1994 album Throwing Copper, spent the next year spinning off hits, their singles, selling the drama I Alone and lightning crashes were generically effective radio friendly forms. Terms of pseudo grunge Throwing Copper wound up topping the Billboard 200 in May 1995, one year after release, by which point it had generated four top 10 modern rock hits and sold4.4 million copies. It would eventually sell 8 million. In his 2025 Stereogum column, the alternative number ones Tom Bryan called Live Quote the first true post grunge band, using the soul rending intensity and guitar fuzz overdrive of the Seattle bands to make vague and mushy big gesture arena rock, unquote. Other bands who channeled the jangle of REM through the brooding of Nirvana to top the modern rock chart included Arizona power pop band the Gin Blossoms.

[B]

Well, I've heard about nights out with Squill I find out about you I found out about you.

[A]

Santa Barbara's mildly alternative toad the Wet Sprocket, who were named after a throwaway joke in an old Monty Python sketch, but were much less arch than their.

[B]

Name when will he fall down Jump out Gotta get outta here into the.

[A]

Tour all this time and Boston based punk rockers turned teenybopper grunge band the Lemonheads, lead singer Evan Dando became an alt rock crush object after their Sonny into youo Arms reached number one on the modern rock chart.

[B]

I know a place where I can go while I'm al.

[A]

Ironically, while these milder bands were watering down grunge into jangle pop, several UN grungy bands were turning up the guitars and scoring some of their biggest hits. Morrissey, former frontman of the Smiths, shifted his gloomy glam just a bit in the grungy guitar direction. On 1994's the More youe Ignore Me Me the closer I get. He scored his final modern rock number one.

[B]

The more you ignore me the closer I get. You're wasting your time.

[A]

Or Irish band the Cranberries, their sound took a major right turn on their 1993 debut album. They had worked with one of the Smiths former producers to generate dreamy, ethereal Smith style indie pop. But on their 1994 sophomore album no need to Argue, the Cranberries cranked up the grunge on the lead single Zombie and spent six weeks at number one on the Modern Rock chart. Even R.E.M themselves nodded in grunge's direction. On their 1991 album out of Time and 1992's Automatic for the People, R.E.M had experimented with baroque instruments like mandolin and lush orchestrations. But on 1994's Monster, led by the elliptical single what's the Frequency? Kenneth Rem reached for distorted guitars and were rewarded with the fastest breaking hits of their career. Both Monster and Kenneth debuted at number one on the album chart and the modern rock chart, respectively. In September 1994, six years after launching the modern rock chart, Billboard expanded the chart from 30 to 40 positions. This seemingly technical move was an acknowledgment that the genre that started with small college stations and just a handful of commercial alternative stations was now the hottest format on the radio. And the expansion to 40 songs alluded to what was now obvious alternative rock was a parallel universe. Top 40 bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, the Gin Blossoms and Collective Soul were in heavy rotation not only at alternative stations but even pop radio. Top 40 stations like New York's Z100 or Houston's KRBE would play Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men hits back to back with the latest from Pearl Jam or even Soundgarden. Yes, the Seattle band's spooky, psychedelic but catchy 1994 single Black Hole sun made the top 10 on mainstream top 40 playlists.

[B]

Black Hole sun, won't you come wash away the rain?

[A]

Black Hole sun In the pages of Billboard, in stories about the radio industry, the magazine acknowledged this shift on the airwaves, quoting program directors who didn't see alt rock as incongruous with the hit parade. Quote, a lot of what's termed alternative music now is just pop with an edge, a KRBE programmer said. Another Atlanta program director said plainly, modern rock is pop. It's just new pop. In the summer of 94, there was even an actual pop chart, number one from the world of independent rock, albeit the gentler side. Lisa Loeb, a folk rock guitarist in cat's eye glasses, was unsigned to a label when actor Ethan Hawke discovered her and invited her to contribute a song to the Gen X romantic comedy he was starring in, Reality Bytes, released as a single from the Reality Bites soundtrack. Loeb's conversational ballad Stay, I Missed you'd reached number seven on the modern rock chart and the summit of the Hot 100 in August of 94.

[B]

Lover's in love and the others run away Lover is crying cause the other won't stay Some of us have a really weeping for the other.

[A]

Lisa Loeb's Stay was the only song that could be loosely termed 90s alt rock to top the big pop chart. But again, it didn't really matter when the modern rock chart and alternative radio stations were filled with such catchy music, a listener craving pop hooks in 1994 or 95 could tune to a Top 40 station for the latest from TLC or Ace of Bass like Don't Turn.

[B]

Around cause you're gonna see my heart breaking. Don't turn Around.

[A]

Then flip to the local alt rock station for Veruca Salt, Urge, Overkill, or even Liz Fairy. Functionally, this was all pop music. Accessible, youthful, sometimes even danceable. Alt rock was now just pop for misfits. And speaking of misfits, you gotta keep them separated. We'll be back momentarily. Punk had been at the root of alternative rock all along. Though Nirvana were tagged grunge, Kurt Cobain could more accurately have been described as a hardcore punk fan. Some of his favorite groups included such post hardcore and noise rock bands as the Melvins, Flipper, Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. And Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl earned his stripes in the same Washington D.C. hardcore scene that spawned Fugazi.

[B]

I Am a Patient Boy.

[A]

After Nirvana's breakthrough, bands that Kurt Cobain worshiped like the Melvins and the Jesus Lizard were signed to major label deals, despite those labels not really knowing what to do with them. In retrospect, it was a stretch to believe that noise rock and post hardcore were going to become platinum selling genres even at that peak 90s alternative rock moment. But that didn't mean punk in general had no commercial potential. You could argue that even more than Pearl Jam or Soundgarden, the act that benefited most from Nirvana's breakthrough wasn't a grunge band at all, but a straight up punk band from Northern California. Green Day, whom we discussed in our prior Hit Parade episode on the history of pop punk and emo, had been a part of the Bay Area underground punk scene for nearly half a decade by the time Nirvana broke releasing catchy thrashy albums on the small Berkeley punk label Lookout Records. When the trio of guitarist and vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirt and drummer Trey Cool signed to Warner Music and issued their major label debut Dookie in 1994, they proved pop punk's commercial potential almost immediately. The bass heavy, fiendishly catchy Longview, an ode to suburban ennui, topped Billboard's Modern Rock chart in June of 94. This won the band a slot on that year's Lollapalooza touring festival and the summer's most hyped mega concert, Woodstock 94. Not to be confused with the more aggro, ultimately disastrous Woodstock 99. The week after their muddy, mayhem filled Woodstock set, Green Day were back atop the modern rock chart with an even catchier song than Longview, the caffeinated, classically punk Basket Case.

[B]

Sometimes I Give Myself Back.

[A]

Basket Case stayed at number one for more than a month. Two weeks after Woodstock 94, the Dookie album had broken into the top ten and gone platinum. It would be quadruple platinum by the end of 94, on its way to eventual sales of 10 million copies. Green Day's rapid success could be seen as a fluke, but the near simultaneous success of a second punk band who, unlike Green Day, had remained on an independent label, made it seem more like a trend. The Offspring, a punk foursome from Orange County, California, led by vocalist and molecular biologist Dexter Holland, recorded for the celebrated punk indie label Epitaph Records. When Come out and Play, Parentheses Keep Em Separated broke onto the modern rock chart in the early summer of 94. It was the only song on the chart without major label distribution. Six weeks later, Come out and Play was number one, and their album Smash was platinum. And it kept spinning off catchy pop punk hits. Self Esteem was a SoCal punk anthem with quintessentially sardonic Gen X lyrics about one's inability to succeed with the opposite sex. By the time it cracked the top 10 on both the modern and album rock charts, the Offspring's album was triple platinum. Now certified for US sales of 6 million and global sales of 11 million, Smash remains the best selling indie album of all time. The twin forces of Green Day and The Offspring made 94 the year pop punk broke. By early 95, when Green Day were back on top of the rock charts with the crunchy When I come around, even Top 40 radio was on board. When I Come around made the top 10 on Billboard's Radio Songs chart, drawing about as much pop airplay as then current hits by Boyz II Men, Sheryl Crow and tlc. Meanwhile, as the first wave of American grunge bands continued to ply their trade and moved closer to the center of pop on hits like Alice in Chains range no Excuses, non American acts started imitating and adapting the US grunge aesthetic. For example, Bush, a London band led by vocalist pinup Gavin Rossdale, scored few major hits in their UK homeland but were a sensation in America. By faithfully emulating what you might call classic grunge, they scored three modern rock number ones in 1995 and 96. Like the brooding Come down around the same time, Silver Chair, a trio of Australian teenagers, scored big with their album Frog Stomp. Recorded when they were all just 15 years old, the boy band of grunge Silverchair took their lead single Tomorrow to number one in America on both the mainstream rock and modern rock charts in the summer of 95. Billboard later ranked Tomorrow the top modern rock song of the year. And though they were closer to 70s British rock like T. Rex, David Bowie or Queen, British foursome Space Hog infused their glam rock with very 90s sounding grungy guitars on hits like the Strutting in the Meantime, a modern rock number two in 1996. Back on this side of the Atlantic, the top selling albums of both 1995 and 96 were mainstream friendly versions of what was formerly considered alternative music. In 95 the Crown went to Hootie and the Blowfish and their jangle rock blockbuster Cracked Rear View, which spent eight weeks atop the album chart and was certified for a staggering 12 million in sales in 1995 alone. As we discussed two years ago in our Hootie and Darius Rucker episode of Hit Parade, the Blowfish were in essence direct descendants of R.E.M. a college rock band from a Southern town. In Hooty's case, Columbia, S.C. that built their audience through live gigs and moody acoustic plus electric rock with a twang on alternative radio. Hoodie were only modestly popular. Their biggest hit, Only Wanna Be with youh, a top 10 pop and album rock hit, only reached number 22 on the modern rock charts. However, especially after the breakthroughs of other jangle rock bands like the Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket, Hooty and the Blowfish showed that this form of alt pop was a key element of the post grunge universe. Hooty spawned a wave of what I term friends rock crossing over at both the modern rock and pop charts, including Blues Traveler with their top 20 modern rock top 10 pop hit Runaround, Deep Blue Something with their top 30 modern rock top 5 pop hit Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sister Hazel with their top 40 modern rock number 11 pop hit all for you, you. As for 1996, that year's top selling album came from this fiery Canadian.

[B]

It'S.

[A]

Not fair to deny Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill was not only the top selling rock album by a woman in the 90s, it was one of the decade's top sellers, period. Eventually certified a staggering 16 times platinum. Morissette was an unlikely firebrand. A former child actress and teen pop star in Canada in the early 90s, Alanis transformed herself at age 21 into a purveyor of deeply poetic confessionals and alt pop angst that connected with rock fans and impassioned young women around the world, most especially in America. From the moment Jagged Little Pill arrived in the summer of 1995 through the fall of 96, Alanis breakthrough disc spun off hit after hit at both top 40 and alternative radio on the modern rock chart. Its first three singles all hit number one, including you Oughta Know.

[B]

I Don't Know, you, Seem Very well, Things Look.

[A]

Peaceful, Hand In My Pocket.

[B]

And the Other One Is.

[A]

And of course, ironic. At the time, Alanis Morissette's blockbuster success was seen as the culmination of years of sharp tongued soul bearing and impassioned young women rockers from Sinead O' Connor to Ani DiFranco, Liz Fair to Tori Amos. But it also opened up both alt rock and even pop radio to another wave of intrepid rapid women rockers, including Fiona Apple and the transatlantic band Garbage, fronted by Scottish singer Shirley Manson. Arguably, Morissette's triumph even helped prime the marketplace for the 1997 success of the All Woman Lilith Fair Tournament tour, fronted by fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan, even though Morissette herself did not join the Lilith tour. But as we discussed in our Lilith episode of Hit Parade, the peak of Alanis Morissette and of Lilith Fair circa 1996 and 97 proved to be a last hurrah for women on alternative rock radio. The modern rock chart was about to get much more dude centric as a wave of pogoing ska punk and grimacing post grunge took over. At first, the rise of ska punk on modern rock radio was fairly progressive. Heroes and veterans of the scene like Berkeley band Rancid, were finally scoring radio hits like Time Bomb, and they were sharing space on the alt rock airwaves with with no Doubt, fronted by Gwen Stefani. By late 96, however, the burgeoning ska punk audience shifted its focus to a band that was quite literally a dead end. Long beach trio Sublime, whose frontman Bradley Knoll had died from a heroin overdose just weeks before the band's major label debut album dropped. Nonetheless, Sublime's sunny reggae inflected single what I Got topped the modern rock chart for three weeks in the fall of 96.

[B]

Or you might get a shot Never start on static I just get it off my chest Never had to battle with my bulletproof vest Take a small example, take a tinnit.

[A]

Within a year, the self titled Sublime album went triple platinum and spun off four modern rock hits including the top 10s Wrong Way and Santeria.

[B]

I don't practice Santeria I ain't got no crystal ball I had on.

[A]

Whatever the merits of their music. Sublime's rise was a sad symbol of alt rock's future. It was yet another reminder of the death toll addiction was exacting on modern rock's leading lights. And it served as a warning that alt rock in the late 90s would be driven by the bro and powered by bands who could not always up even the greatest success. We'll be right back. By the late 90s, alternative rock was entering what I call its faux turnative period. What had made the early to mid-90s remarkable was how alt rock redefined what pop music could sound like. By the late 90s, pop struck back and not just on Top 40 radio, which went scurrying away from alternative rock toward millennial teen pop, but also on rock radio where some so called alt rock bands were essentially pop acts in tattooed and gelled dragons. It was the last time some of these video friendly bands could call themselves alternative with a straight face. The Goo Goo Dolls, for example. After a decade of of bashing out American style punk rock whose sound was indebted to the replacements, the Buffalo, New York band finally broke through in 1995 with the acoustic ballad Name. It topped the modern rock chart and hit number five on the Hot 100. So Johnny Resnick, the Goo's lead singer songwriter, leaned into the band's new swoony profile wild. In 1998, the Goo Goo Dolls recorded the even more lovelorn ballad Iris for the soundtrack to the Hollywood blockbuster City of angels. It spent five weeks at number one on the Modern Rock chart and a record 18 weeks on top of the Hot 100 airplay chart. In other words, Iris was the most played song at radio, including at many adult contemporary stations for over four months.

[B]

And I don't want the world to see me cause I don't think this.

[A]

Massive mainstream success for the Goo Goo Dolls did not alienate alt rock programmers or listeners. The band's own follow up CD to the City of Angels soundtrack, 1998's Dizzy up the Girl, generated from four more modern rock hits, including another number one, the shamelessly catchy slide. The wall between pop and alternative had become ever more porous. Now the Goo Goo Dolls were a veteran 80s 90s band who rebooted themselves. Even more dizzying was what happened to a slick new post grunge band from Orlando, Florida who called themselves Matchbox. Matchbox 20 blended old school 70s style arena rock with 90s grunge era sonics. Led by singer songwriter Rob Thomas who penned their breakthrough track Push, a modern rock number one in the summer of 97 and the object of parody in the 2023 film Barbie. For its self pitying dude rock lyrics, the band became the stealth blockbuster of the late 90s. They sold a gobsmacking 12 million copies of their debut album yourself or Someone like youe. Though it never topped the album chart, Matchbox's debut CD quietly rode the chart for over two years, spinning all off hit after hit including the strummy sing alongs, Long Day, real World and 3am Matchbox 20 were the tip of a very glossy iceberg. By 1997 and 98, all manner of fratty punchy, slick and easy post grunge was flooding the charts from the likes of Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray.

[B]

Put your Arms around me baby, put your arms.

[A]

Around Me Baby and Third Eye Blind. All of them scored modern rock number ones and top 10 or better pop radio hits and their albums went at least double platinum. Third Eye Blind CD went sextuple platinum and generated three top 10 pop hits. It was a good time to be a bro with frosted tips, a soul patch and a quirky voice. At least these bands scored more than one hit. This was also the era of the alt rock one hit wonder with the grunge explosion now more than five years in the rear view mirror, the late 90s saw a parade of flash in the pan bands that could ride one massive radio hit to a platinum album before facing oblivion. For example, consider Marcy Playground. In 1998 Marcy Playground set a then record on the modern rock chart when their hit Sex and Candy spent an incident improbable 15 weeks at number one. But they had difficulty following it up. Their next single St. Joe on the school bus. What? You don't remember St. Joe on the school bus?

[B]

St. Joe he said he's never been made up like a woman.

[A]

It did manage to scratch scrape the top 10, but was on and off the chart in about as much time as Sex and Candy had been number one. Marcy Playground was essentially forgotten by radio programmers one album later. This was the fate of a lot of 90s bands, whether it was the Verve Pipe.

[B]

I believe we'd ever die for these sins, we want me flash.

[A]

Now, Eve 6, Harvey danger or Semisonic each band scored a chart topping modern rock hit, saw their album go gold or even platinum, and then then their compact discs were clogging used CD bins in record stores for years afterward. However pleasurable many of these schlocky, unabashedly catchy faux turnative hits were Join me at Karaoke sometime and we can do Semi Charmed Life or Closing Time together. The Barbie movie had a point about how relentlessly well made all of this soul patch rock was, but that was nothing compared with nu metal and rap rock. The other major trends of the late 90s corn limp, biscuit Cold Chamber Orgy, the Deftones, even Kid Rock at the time was aligned with nu metal's combination of syncopated rhythms, metal screeching and occasional rapping. The can of Freaks, the all produced hits that made both the mainstream rock and modern rock charts in 1999. Limp Bizkit actually topped the modern rock list with their most melodic nu metal Jam rearranged the rise of alt metal and the bro ification of alternative radio in the late 90s also benefited a Tallahassee, Florida band who recorded spiritually searching anthems with growly, gnarly vocals. AllMusic called them, quote straightforward, grungy hard rock without apology. Often associated by their fans with Christian rock, this band actively downplayed their religious overtones in their quest for mainstream success. But that was complicated by the fact that the band's name was Creed.

[B]

Sunday Morning Banging My Hair no Time for Morning Ain't got Nothing.

[A]

Led by messianic lead singer Scott Stapp, who was known to strike what Soundgarden might call a Jesus Christ pose on stage, and guitarist Mark Tremonti, who produced virtuosic post grunge riffs, Creed blanketed the rock charts with the singles from their 1997 debut album My Own Prison, including the top ten title track what's this Life for? And One Never A. Critics band, Creed were embraced by a silent majority of fans who liked major key rock without irony. That devotion only grew when Creed dropped their 1999 follow up album Human Clay. The album's galvanizing lead single, Higher topped both the mainstream rock and modern rock charts in the fall of 1999, and over the next year Human Clay went on to sell 10 million copies and spun off multiple hits, culminating in the late 2000 power ballad with Arms Wide Open, which hit number two on the Modern Rock chart and even reached number one on the Hot 100. For a couple of years, Creed were, no joke, the biggest rock band in America. What the rise of bands like Creed signified by the end of the 90s was the end of the of alternative rock's distinctive identity as a place for either the weirdo wit of the 80s goth bands or the progressive ideals Nirvana and Pearl Jam espoused in the early 90s. Pearl Jam, who by the way, were cited as an influence by many post grunge bands, settled into a comfortable role as elder statesman before the decade was out. They even scored a fluke crossover pop hit with their cover of the tragic 60s teen ballad Last Kiss, first made famous by J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers in 1964, Pearl Jam's cover of Last Kiss peaked at number two on both the Modern Rock chart and the Hot 100 in 99, their highest charting pop hit ever. Coincidentally, the Wilson version had also peaked at number two two in 64. Pearl Jam were and are the great survivors of the original wave of grunge, still touring and recording more than three decades later with most of their original lineup intact. Both Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, however, suffered the untimely loss of their original vocalists. Alice's Lane Staley was found dead from a drug overdose in 2002. The band reformed mid decade with original member Jerry Cantrell and new addition William Duvall sharing vocals, and they even scored an alternative number one song in 2009 with Check My Brain California.

[B]

Check My Brain California.

[A]

As for Soundgarden, they had first broken up in 1997. Their drummer Matt Cameron joined Pearl Jam, while Chris Cornell recorded for several years with Audio Slave, a hit side project of Rage against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. Finally, after a hiatus of more than a dozen years, Soundgarden reformed in the early 2010s and recorded recorded one last album, 2012's King Animal, before lead singer Chris Cornell succumbed to suicide in 2017. Around the time Soundgarden were enjoying their short lived 2012 comeback, something something quietly momentous happened on the Modern Rock chart, which by the way, Billboard had renamed Alternative Songs in 2009. They would eventually rename it again as Alternative Airplay, which remains the chart's name to this day. Anyway, in 2013, for the first time since the 1996 heyday of Alanis Morissette, a solo woman was number one on the alternative chart. New Zealander Ella Yelich O' Connor, aka Lorde, took over the summit with her quirky reflection on pop and hip hop. Excess Royals and We'll Never Be Royal.

[B]

It's a run in our blood that.

[A]

Kind of looks just ain't for our Since Lord's 2013 breakthrough, the alternative airplay chart has hardly maintained gender parity. Male bands are still on top most weeks, from Cage the Elephant to the Black Keys, These bands are the backbone of the alternative radio format, which has become as entrenched in the 21st century as AOR radio was in the late 20th century. But recently more women have succeeded on the alternative chart, which, let's not Forget, launched in 1988 with Susie sue at number one. Over the last decade, an adventurous strain of quirky pop has topped the list from the likes of Lana Del Rey, Paramore, Elle King and Billie Eilish. It was this spirit that Nirvana was looking to honor when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 2014, two decades after Kurt Cobain's death. For their Rock hall performance, original members Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl and later Nirvana member Pat Smear were joined on stage for their four song set by four woman guest vocalists Joan Jett, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth St. Vincent and for the finale of the set, Lord, who sang the final Nirvana modern rock one of Kurt Cobain's lifetime. All apologies. Lord was at the time all of 17 years old, not even born when Kurt Cobain departed this physical plane. The Rock hall performances with women fronting Nirvana went so well and were so acclaimed, the band repeated the idea 11 years later in 2025 at the fire Aid Benefit in Los Angeles by But back in 2014, the surviving members of Nirvana were not only attaching themselves to one of the current stars of the charts. And sure, they were also honoring their departed leaders, gender fluid and feminist ideals. I would argue they were also putting a wish into the universe. If alternative rock has a future, that future will keep evolving, will be more female, and will not look like the past. All in all is all we are I hope you enjoyed this episode of Hit Parade. Our show was written, edited and narrated by Chris Melanfi. That's me. My producers this month were Olivia Briley and Kevin Bendis. Our supervising producer is Joel Meyer and Slate's editor in chief is Hilary Fry. Check out Slate's roster of [e-mail] podcasts. You can subscribe to Hit Parade wherever you get your podcasts, in addition to finding it in the Slate Culture feed. If you're subscribing on Apple Podcasts, please rate and review us while you're there. It helps other listeners find the show. Thanks for listening and I look forward to leading the Hit Parade back your way. Until then, keep on marching on the one. I'm Chris Melanfy.

[B]

Sam is all We Are all.