Modern Rock

Modern rock as a phrase is used in order to differentiate the music from the classical rock genre, which is known to focus on the music that was recorded during the sixties and the seventies. Even more specifically, the format of modern rock is known to consist of commercial radio stations which primarily play songs from the alternative rock music genre.  Alternative radio is the term that is frequently used to describe this format.

During the eighties, a couple of the modern rock radio stations like New York City’s WLIR-FM and Boston’s WFNX. In ’88, modern rock was actually solidified as a format for radio with Billboard’s creation of the chart for Modern Rock Tracks. During the ’88 episode “I Love the 80s” a VH1 show which discussed The Cure, INXS, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, as well as Erasure as the modern representatives of rock artists of that particular year. However, it was Nirvana’s breakthrough success as being a grunge band that resulted in a very large number of radio stations in America switching to the other format.

Modern Rock Radio Stations:
There are many rock music radio stations that currently refer to the format that they use as modern rock. Primarily, modern rock stations play current artists like the station for active rock would - however the active radio stations would mix their current style of music with classic rock music. As time passed and alternative rock’s mainstream popularity declined, nu metal, heavy metal, rap metal, emo and pop punk as well as other rock music forms that have been successful commercially which were also able to become popular on modern rock music radio.

By some, the modern rock music genre is considered to be a very specific genre of the alternative music genre. There are many fans of indie rock and alternative rock that criticize modern rock stating that it is too homogenized as well as a mere poor imitation of the very first original styles. Even despite all of this criticism, the modern rock music genre continues to be listed as one among the most dominant forms of rock music on the mainstream radio stations.

More about Modern Rock:
As modern rock is a very popular genre, there is a lot of information available about it as well as the artists who are a part of it. This of course is unlike the underground music genres that live on the edge of mainstream music.