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411:'s aggressive campaign against left of the dial college stations as a cause: seeking to remove competition in this airspace, NPR reduced many college stations to closed circuit formats, if the stations were continued at all. Many remaining stations reformatted to capture the more abrasive styles of indie rock. Many 1980s college radio music directors went on to pursue successful careers in the mainstream American music industry.
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drivel." Reflecting the erudite tastes of these students, college rock programs were generally less militant and blunt than punk, but often featured a degree of activist sensibility. In contrast with many indie and punk bands, college rock acts often signed to major labels, albeit without becoming
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Many college radio stations during this period sought to promote music that went against the commercial style of the 1980s. Svenonius characterized these stations as being "staffed by music enthusiasts who worked without pay, and who saw college rock as a desperately needed alternative to the
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College rock originated less as a genre term and more as a signal of the medium, college radio, by which college rock acts were often heard. As a result, the genre featured a high degree of diversity and eclecticism, meaning that "on college radio ... screaming noise, retro
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explained, "Though hardly uniform in style, there were commonalities between the college-rock acts. Not really punk, hard rock, or art rock, most of these groups played conventionally hooky songs, heavy on jangle and twang, with lyrics steeped in poetic
Americana."
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could coexist, linked by cheap-sounding singles recorded by local bands." Acknowledging this variety, some common aesthetics among college rock bands do exist, with some writers characterizing it largely as a combination of the experimentation of
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In the sixties, when FM radio was less typical, the FCC issued many Class D radio licenses to universities, which allowed them to create noncommercial stations on the little-used left side of dial (typically 88.1–90.5
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Although not considered college rock bands in their native country, several UK-based acts also achieved success on the college rock circuit. Many of these acts, including
293:. The genre also came to include several British alternative acts who incorporated elements of jangle pop or post-punk romanticism in their music, with bands such as
362:, a publication that reported on the scene, created a chart which measured popularity of artists played on college radio. The journal's charts were used by
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in the 1980s and 1990s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream rock played on commercial radio stations.
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building a following. Though these cities were major hubs, college rock acts proliferated throughout the US, from areas ranging from
California (
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The genre would expand to include a diverse array of regional scenes in several cities throughout the United States, particularly
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American artists came from a variety of regions, with many succeeding in college towns. Spurred by the success of bands such as
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Key to the success of college rock was the success of college radio stations throughout the United States. In
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musical scenes that developed in the late 1970s. Though not as avant-garde as post-punk or abrasive as
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as a program to feature music of the college rock style and compilations branded with the
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scene and transitioned to the underground college circuits during the 1980s.
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584:"About.com: College Rock - Alternative When Alternative Wasn't Commercial"
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705:"Ask the indie professor: why do Americans think they invented indie?"
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By the early 1990s, college rock as a genre had been surpassed by
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Other mediums began tracking college rock during this period. The
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attributed the proliferation of college rock stations to the
724:"Eclectic Sounds of New Jersey, Echoing From Coast to Coast"
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name were released and featured several college rock bands.
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spawned a large contingent of college rock acts, including
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area became a hotbed of college rock, with acts such as
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music that played on student-run university and college
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achieving success on
American college radio stations.
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335:The Replacements, pictured in 1984, came from the
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586:. 80music.about.com. 2011-02-01. Archived from
407:in the alternative sphere. Svenonius points to
231:Michael Stipe (left) and Peter Buck (right) of
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368:magazine and other media. In September 1988,
533:appeared in college rock circles in the US.
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353:flagship acts for their record companies.
257:, college rock's origins can be placed in
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265:and several college rock bands, such as
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525:Similarly, Australian acts such as the
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239:College rock was an outgrowth of the
208:with a more melodic pop style and an
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753:Ciabattoni, Steve (16 August 1999).
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643:
641:
639:
637:
635:
573:
773:
650:"The Rise and Fall of College Rock"
414:
13:
648:Svenonius, Ian (23 October 2015).
615:"1992: The year college rock died"
613:Murray, Noel (12 September 2012).
518:, grew out of the British initial
178:
14:
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755:"The Elvis Costello Variety Show"
632:
378:chart which monitored airplay on
61:Late 1970s; United States, Canada
1284:
1283:
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722:Wise, Brian (8 February 2004).
674:Dolan, Jon (19 November 2020).
703:Wendy Fonarow (28 July 2011).
1:
676:"Music at Home: College Rock"
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382:and college radio stations.
7:
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973:Christian alternative rock
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1312:20th-century music genres
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1322:American styles of music
1256:Independent record label
167:stations located in the
1317:Alternative rock genres
781:"ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY"
761:. CMJ Network, Inc.: 10
340:
329:
236:
101:Twin Cities, Minnesota
481:Red Hot Chili Peppers
334:
324:
263:University of Georgia
230:
1134:New wave of new wave
759:CMJ New Music Report
485:Camper Van Beethoven
359:CMJ New Music Report
344:platinum tedium of '
145:CMJ New Music Report
1219:Alternative Airplay
1189:Neue Deutsche Härte
1047:Paisley Underground
939:Alternative country
441:St. Paul, Minnesota
435:achieving success.
728:The New York Times
376:Modern Rock Tracks
341:
339:alternative scene.
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139:Modern Rock Tracks
1327:Rock music genres
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1298:
1246:Independent music
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1176:Alternative metal
1149:Post-punk revival
1083:Latin alternative
951:Alternative dance
787:. 19 October 2021
487:) to New Jersey (
154:
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27:Stylistic origins
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1076:Industrial metal
849:Alternative rock
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806:Hoodoo Gurus Bio
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445:the Replacements
415:Notable examples
311:The New Republic
275:the Replacements
73:Alternative rock
66:Derivative forms
58:Cultural origins
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179:Characteristics
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106:Athens, Georgia
87:Regional scenes
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734:on 17 May 2022
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556:"College Rock"
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512:Elvis Costello
477:the Del Fuegos
473:Throwing Muses
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291:Throwing Muses
261:, home of the
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619:The A.V. Club
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590:on 2011-07-07
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212:sensibility.
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1266:Lollapalooza
1241:Campus radio
1233:
1166:Slacker rock
983:Dark cabaret
978:College rock
977:
961:Post-Britpop
801:
791:28 September
789:. Retrieved
784:
775:
765:28 September
763:. Retrieved
758:
748:
738:28 September
736:. Retrieved
732:the original
727:
717:
709:The Guardian
708:
685:28 September
683:. Retrieved
679:
669:
659:28 September
657:. Retrieved
653:
624:28 September
622:. Retrieved
618:
592:. Retrieved
588:the original
565:28 September
563:. Retrieved
559:
531:Midnight Oil
527:Hoodoo Gurus
524:
497:
469:Dinosaur Jr.
429:Let's Active
418:
398:
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165:campus radio
157:College rock
156:
155:
143:
136:
128:
115:Other topics
22:College rock
1261:Lo-fi music
1020:Post-grunge
1003:Wizard rock
968:Chamber pop
915:Gothic rock
457:Soul Asylum
453:the Suburbs
437:Minneapolis
394:120 Minutes
385:120 Minutes
380:modern rock
337:Minneapolis
271:Minneapolis
210:underground
193:electronics
190:avant-garde
130:120 Minutes
16:Music genre
1306:Categories
1184:Funk metal
1159:Post-metal
1144:Pagan rock
1100:Mangue bit
1088:Madchester
1037:Jangle pop
1032:Indie folk
1027:Indie rock
929:Styles and
905:Proto-punk
900:Noise rock
888:Riot grrrl
873:Avant-punk
863:Jangle pop
856:Precursors
594:2011-02-22
537:References
500:the Smiths
405:indie rock
295:the Smiths
285:, home of
273:, home of
78:indie rock
39:jangle pop
1251:Indie pop
1199:Rap metal
1154:Post-rock
1139:Noise pop
1120:Blackgaze
1110:Dream pop
1054:Math rock
998:Geek rock
910:Post-punk
868:Punk rock
493:Dramarama
449:Hüsker Dü
433:Don Dixon
388:began on
371:Billboard
279:Hüsker Dü
245:post-punk
202:post-punk
197:power pop
137:Billboard
49:folk rock
44:power pop
34:Post-punk
1290:Category
1194:Nu metal
1115:Shoegaze
1064:Slowcore
1059:New rave
988:Dolewave
895:New wave
810:AllMusic
560:AllMusic
520:new wave
508:the La's
504:the Cure
303:the La's
299:the Cure
241:new wave
206:new wave
1229:Artists
1125:Nu gaze
956:Britpop
346:classic
223:History
186:country
1224:Anorak
1015:Grunge
475:, and
465:Pixies
461:Boston
455:, and
423:, the
421:R.E.M.
401:grunge
350:Top 40
348:' and
301:, and
287:Pixies
283:Boston
281:, and
267:R.E.M.
233:R.E.M.
195:, and
173:Canada
1093:Baggy
1010:Grebo
793:2022
785:KCRW
767:2022
740:2022
687:2022
661:2022
626:2022
567:2022
529:and
514:and
506:and
439:and
431:and
403:and
327:FM).
289:and
277:and
243:and
204:and
171:and
161:rock
1235:C86
993:Emo
495:).
409:NPR
390:MTV
320:FCC
159:is
1308::
808:,
783:.
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314:,
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188:,
841:e
834:t
827:v
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769:.
742:.
711:.
689:.
663:.
628:.
597:.
569:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
