RubenB

=ALTERNATIVE ROCK =

Essential questions for my research
1) How did alternative rock get started? who made it very popular? when did it become popular? 2) What kind of music did alternative rock influence/get influenced by. 3) What parts of African music influenced alternative rock, or things that lead to alternative rock?

Alternative rock used to just be called alternative. All of the music that wasn't large enough was grouped into alternative, some kinds of music that were grouped into alternative were grunge, hard rock, punk rock, and some punk. Alternative rock became the name of the genre for certain things in the 1980's and 90's, it became more popular and with Nirvana it became its own genre. Alternative rock usually consist of a song that has a constant drum beat throughout the song, and a strong guitar part throughout the song. Many alternative songs have lyrics that are loud, and match the strong guitar. Alternative music cannot be classified specifically, which is why it is a very large and popular genre today. As a conclusion, Alternative rock wasn't made very long ago, it is comprised of kinds of rock that don't fit well into the other genres. Although alternative rock isn't very old, it is very popular although will probably go out of style soon as our country evolves.
 * Findings**



US Census information
In 1990 46% of African american families had only a female householder present, and no husband. In 1990 83% of white families had both householders present, and only 17% had one householder.. In 1990 The income of an African american household when both husband and wife were making money, and when the husband was making money were significantly lower than in the white households where both the husband and wife were making money, and when the husband was making the money. In 1990 the percent of African americans that completed at least 4 years of high school that were age 25-34 was 82%, it had been around 75%. The white percent for this was about 87% and had stayed there for some time.

In 2000 27% of the US population had never been married, the percent of African americans that had never been married was 41%. The amount of female householders without a husband for African americans went down to 30% in 2000. 30% was still much higher than the total population's 11.8%. In 2000 the education was much higher for some things, but a little lower for others. In the African american population 29.8% had only completed high school, much lower than 1990, but the percent for some sort of degree in college was 28.2% which is much higher than 1990. The African American population that got a bachelors degree was 14.3%, much higher than before. Compared to the total population, African Americans were regular for completing high school and getting a college degree, but low in getting a bachelors, and high in not completing high school at all. The economic situation for African Americans in the 2000 census shows that all of the average earnings for African american families and varieties of families were all lower than the total population's varieties of these families. The difference is less than it was in 1990, but it is still significantly lower in each category.

The information in the US census can be used to explain cultural experiences because it can show where African Americans were concentrated. For example it would have shown that in 1920-30 much of the African American population moved to the Harlem area. This would have shown that the Harlem renaissance was taking place. It can also be used to show how rampant racism was, the differences in income for African American families between other families would be bigger if there was more racism. There are many other ways to track cultural experiences through the US census because of all the categories it has, and how specific it is.

Samples of alternative rock songs
media type="file" key="Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (lyrics).mp3" width="240" height="20" Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit Alternative rock Released September 10th 1991 This song was one of the main songs to classify alternative rock into it's own category. Before nirvana alternative rock was a combination of many other types of rock such as College rock. "Indie music" was the name for alternative before Nirvana changed the category and made it alternative rock. This song has some call and response when the music plays, and then the singing is sung in the rhythm that the music right before it was. This song has a lot of syncopation because it constantly changes from slowish soft music to loud yelling music. The syncopation in this song is very apparent and is put in places that make the song much more affective.

media type="file" key="02 Walking Disaster.m4a" width="300" height="50" align="left" Sum 41, Walking Disaster, Alternative rock, released July 23 2007.

I chose this song because it has several components of african american influence. This song has a polyrhythm because of the original rhythm in the beginning, and it being added on to. The polyrhythm continues for most of the song, except for the slow parts. There are drastic changes in rhythm between the slow parts and fast parts, these show syncopation throughout the song. This song is somewhat like a story so it needs syncopation to show the parts where the singer is feeling different about his life.

media type="file" key="Good Charlotte - The Anthem.mp3" width="240" height="20"Good Charlotte, The Anthem, Alternative rock, released February 28th 2003.

This song does not have very much polyrhythm or many other patterns, but it does have a lot of syncopation. Many certain notes are stressed, and the singer is louder or softer depending on the intensity of these notes. These sections do not go on for long, they are usually only a few words or one, I thought this was unusual so i picked it. There is also some call and response at the end of the song which i couldn't find in many alternative rock songs.