Behind The Music

It was the year music fans changed the course of the industry. In Seattle, flannel replaced spandex and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was crowned the king of a sound called "grunge." Nirvana and other rockers like Pearl Jam gave validity to the alienation of middle America and "Generation X" through raging guitars, angst-ridden lyrics and their political stances. In South Central Los Angeles hip-hop artists like Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Ice-T told of the guns and drugs that were a part of their daily life, creating a hard-hitting genre called gangsta rap. Their music would soon prove prophetic, when the Rodney King verdict set off several days of rioting and violence. Ice-T and Time Warner would soon be taken to task by Vice President Dan Quayle for the song "Cop Killer." Already disconnected from a political system which said they didn't count, the youth and MTV's Rock The Vote helped elect a president - Bill Clinton -- who at least grew up in the rock 'n' roll generation, even if he never "inhaled."