I think we've been saying this for awhile, but the media and the nostalgia industry pigeonholes decades too much. For instance, the '70s were not all about disco, the '90s were not just grunge, the '80s were not just like The Wedding Singer, and the '60s were not all about the British Invasion and the "Summer of Love."  I think the perception of the '90s about being "grunge only" is what causes the late '90s to be discredited as '90s, whereas they were part of the '90s cultural syntax in a different way. Ditto with the other stuff out of the '70s, like stadium rock or Philly soul, and lots of other genres.

Hmmm, I don't know if its 'pigeonholing' or reducing each decade to a number of icons and symbols (there is a slight difference, but let's not tiddle taddle on that particular point). These symbols form a link to the masses popular idea of the decade as a whole. If you ask a 12-year old 'what things do you associate with the 70s?' They would invariably say Disco, or the Brady Bunch.etc. But yeah, I get slightly irked when decades are pigeonholed in that way - the 70s were not all about 'disco' at all. In the 60s and early 70s discotheques were merely clubs where they played music, and maybe dance, but the word 'disco' was later taken over by clubs that played mainly dance music, and hence became 'Disco.'

Disco at least was a big part of the charts in the late '70s, grunge never was that big on the charts so the idea of the '90s being all about grunge is easily invalidated, of course to an alternative/rock person yes the '90s would be a lot about grunge, but not to a hip-hop or pop person who possibly could care less about grunge.

Disco at least was a big part of the charts in the late '70s, grunge never was that big on the charts so the idea of the '90s being all about grunge is easily invalidated, of course to an alternative/rock person yes the '90s would be a lot about grunge, but not to a hip-hop or pop person who possibly could care less about grunge.


Part of it was definitely that singles were never big for rock groups in the '90s, though all the "big four" grunge bands, Hootie and the Blowfish, STP, the Dave Matthews Band, and the Pumpkins all had huge-selling albums.

Part of it was definitely that singles were never big for rock groups in the '90s, though all the "big four" grunge bands, Hootie and the Blowfish, STP, the Dave Matthews Band, and the Pumpkins all had huge-selling albums.

Hootie & the Blowfish were grunge? :o

Hootie & the Blowfish were grunge? :o


No, I was including them separately from the grunge "big four."

The "Dazed and Confused" 70's (arena & prog rock) period, 73 to early 77, was just as important as disco.

Disco was huge, but it didn't catch on everywhere, Disco's hold on the suburbs wasn't quite as strong as say, Frampton comes alive. It was big in the cities, NY, LA, Miami, the cosmopolitan crowd. While I'm sure there were discos in Kansas as well, it's pull in America was not as strong as some make it out to be.

Also, Disco died very quickly, while arena rock just sort of faded in the late 70's. It didn't officially "die" with the emergence of disco.

The "Dazed and Confused" 70's (arena & prog rock) period, 73 to early 77, was just as important as disco.

Disco was huge, but it didn't catch on everywhere, Disco's hold on the suburbs wasn't quite as strong as say, Frampton comes alive. It was big in the cities, NY, LA, Miami, the cosmopolitan crowd. While I'm sure there were discos in Kansas as well, it's pull in America was not as strong as some make it out to be.

Also, Disco died very quickly, while arena rock just sort of faded in the late 70's. It didn't officially "die" with the emergence of disco.



I don't think arena rock really "died" until the early '80s. Journey, Foriegner, and Survivor all had big hits in the early '80s.

Journey and Foreigner were not really staples of the era, I'm thinking more like Led Zeppelin, Rush, Peter Frampton, KISS, The Who, Aerosmith, Deep Purple.

The "Dazed and Confused" 70's (arena & prog rock) period, 73 to early 77, was just as important as disco.

Disco was huge, but it didn't catch on everywhere, Disco's hold on the suburbs wasn't quite as strong as say, Frampton comes alive. It was big in the cities, NY, LA, Miami, the cosmopolitan crowd. While I'm sure there were discos in Kansas as well, it's pull in America was not as strong as some make it out to be.

Also, Disco died very quickly, while arena rock just sort of faded in the late 70's. It didn't officially "die" with the emergence of disco.


I always saw new wave as a revival of the British Invasion sort of rock aesthetic, and hair metal as a revival of '70s arena rock and early heavy metal. Disco was most popular with "ethnics" (particularly Italian-Americans, Hispanics, and African-Americans) and the gay crowd in the big cities. NYC was by far the center of its popularity and the place of its origin.

The decades are too pigeonholed.  Back in 1994, a pigeon pooped on my shoe.  Those were expensive shoes.  I will never forgive that pigeon, and I am still trying to track him down.  I will get him if it's the last thing I do

Journey and Foreigner were not really staples of the era, I'm thinking more like Led Zeppelin, Rush, Peter Frampton, KISS, The Who, Aerosmith, Deep Purple.



Yeah, the popularity of those bands faded out dramatically in the late '70s. Even though Aerosmith and KISS still had hits into the '80s most of those bands had pretty well faded out by the early '80s.

I like pigeonholing decades.