Question is, what was it about Nu-Metal that made itself huge in the late 90's?  Was it the fusion of hip-hop and grunge, the teen-angst, or the crazy antics of Fred Dust?  I really don't understand, the economy was pretty good in the late 90s and teenagers then really didn't have much to be angry about.  I admit, I liked Kid Rock, Sevendust, P.O.D., and to the smaller extent Korn, but it I never really got Limp Bizkit and other bands, as I thought it was too cheesy.

P.S. Also, has anyone seen Fred Durst lately?  He aged horribly.

Question is, what was it about Nu-Metal that made itself huge in the late 90's?  Was it the fusion of hip-hop and grunge, the teen-angst, or the crazy antics of Fred Durst? 


Three words: Clear Channel Communications.  8-P 8-P 8-P

I have always wondered the same thing, too.

;D

I know the easy answer would be "MTV heavily promoted it" but before then MTV tried promoting electronica and teen-pop(Spice Girls) and while they did get a month or two success, it went downhill.  Nu-Metal lasted throughout the late 90s and didn't end in the early 00s.  Could it have been TRL and Carson Daly? 

I think Nu-Metal had a lot of potential, considering how good RATM is imo.

I know the easy answer would be "MTV heavily promoted it" but before then MTV tried promoting electronica and teen-pop(Spice Girls) and while they did get a month or two success, it went downhill.  Nu-Metal lasted throughout the late 90s and didn't end in the early 00s.  Could it have been TRL and Carson Daly? 

I think Nu-Metal had a lot of potential, considering how good RATM is imo.
Don;t forget  the "Deftones" they were a very good "nu-metal" band too. MTV did do good with the teen-pop thing but your right the Spice Girls success lasted for a about a year in the US(it might have lasted longer longer in the UK though I think.)

I think 2002 was like the real last big year for Nu-Metal. I think it might have still been around in 2003 a little bit though it had waning popularity.

Question is, what was it about Nu-Metal that made itself huge in the late 90's?  Was it the fusion of hip-hop and grunge, the teen-angst, or the crazy antics of Fred Dust?  I really don't understand, the economy was pretty good in the late 90s and teenagers then really didn't have much to be angry about.  I admit, I liked Kid Rock, Sevendust, P.O.D., and to the smaller extent Korn, but it I never really got Limp Bizkit and other bands, as I thought it was too cheesy.

P.S. Also, has anyone seen Fred Durst lately?  He aged horribly.
The reason why nu-metal was popular was because it offered an alternative for people who didn't like teen-pop.

As for Fred Durst he was going bald even back in the day when "Limp Bizkit" was popular(circa 1999-2001) thats why he always he wore a cap during that time frame.

Good question, I think it was because the industry wanted a rock revival, and it sorta mixed the anger and attitude of grunge with hip hop influence. It actually was a little similar to '80s rock in that suburban white kids seemed to like it the most (some guys in my high school circa 1999 liked Limp Bizkit, lol).

wait .. Nu-Metal was attractive?

The reason why nu-metal was popular was because it offered an alternative for people who didn't like teen-pop.

As for Fred Durst he was going bald even back in the day when "Limp Bizkit" was popular(circa 1999-2001) thats why he always he wore a cap during that time frame.


Gee...I thought Fred Durst was setting a trend to wear a red yankee's cap backwards :)

He was balding then, but nowadays he looks like he is dying, and sadly he is only 38 years old.

I think of nu-metal as one of those trends that marks the overextension and decline of a pop cultural era...it's the most decadent and vulgar music of the 1990s, IMO, and so therefore it cropped up towards the end of it. Also, it's typical of end-of-decade trends in that it combines and then vulgarizes existing trends: in this case, gangsta rap, grunge, and the better alternative metal of the late '80s and earlier '90s.

The wikipedia article says "nu metal" peaked in 2001. To me, earlier 2001 is when the remnants of late '90s pop culture hit their nadir. Nu metal was both a remnant of 1990s pop cultural forms and a preview, not in its exact form but in its execution, of the blandness and homogeneity of record-industry promoted music that really hit by the mid-'00s, when literally the only thing being marketed was glam rap and its dance-pop derivatives (Rihanna, Beyonce), or of any music that even charts. IMO, the very early '00s were really one of the blandest, least exciting periods for pop culture...older forms from the '90s (teen pop, JLo/Destiny's Child style R&B, nu metal) still were hanging around, but without really advancing.

I think nu metal really appealed to the demographic of white, male (and to a much lesser extent female), roughly middle-class and sometimes lower listeners between the ages of let's say, 12 and 30. It combined the angstiness of grunge, but without the intellectuality; the vulgarity of South Park, which was so popular then; the violence of WWL and extreme sports (also popular); talk-show style ideas of shock; and the increasing popularity of hip-hop. But it's really all pretty bad and unmemorable today, IMO. I think it's popularity can be accounted for (this also follows the Wikipedia article) by promotion on TRL and by record companies (it was really, really high in retail stores like Sam Goody's back c. 2001, I remember), and by festivals. Much of this promotion was really designed to hit that particular demographic.

Gee...I thought Fred Durst was setting a trend to wear a red yankee's cap backwards :)

He was balding then, but nowadays he looks like he is dying, and sadly he is only 38 years old.


Here what he looks like today.

http://www.411mania.com/siteimages/fdurst_2206.jpg

I guess he isn't doing it for the nookie anymore.

;D

I think of nu-metal as one of those trends that marks the overextension and decline of a pop cultural era...it's the most decadent and vulgar music of the 1990s, IMO, and so therefore it cropped up towards the end of it. Also, it's typical of end-of-decade trends in that it combines and then vulgarizes existing trends: in this case, gangsta rap, grunge, and the better alternative metal of the late '80s and earlier '90s.

The wikipedia article says "nu metal" peaked in 2001. To me, earlier 2001 is when the remnants of late '90s pop culture hit their nadir. Nu metal was both a remnant of 1990s pop cultural forms and a preview, not in its exact form but in its execution, of the blandness and homogeneity of record-industry promoted music that really hit by the mid-'00s, when literally the only thing being marketed was glam rap and its dance-pop derivatives (Rihanna, Beyonce), or of any music that even charts. IMO, the very early '00s were really one of the blandest, least exciting periods for pop culture...older forms from the '90s (teen pop, JLo/Destiny's Child style R&B, nu metal) still were hanging around, but without really advancing.

I think nu metal really appealed to the demographic of white, male (and to a much lesser extent female), roughly middle-class and sometimes lower listeners between the ages of let's say, 12 and 30. It combined the angstiness of grunge, but without the intellectuality; the vulgarity of South Park, which was so popular then; the violence of WWL and extreme sports (also popular); talk-show style ideas of shock; and the increasing popularity of hip-hop. But it's really all pretty bad and unmemorable today, IMO. I think it's popularity can be accounted for (this also follows the Wikipedia article) by promotion on TRL and by record companies (it was really, really high in retail stores like Sam Goody's back c. 2001, I remember), and by festivals. Much of this promotion was really designed to hit that particular demographic.


Based on the theory you said about end of the year genres, are we going to expect a genre combining emo music with glam rap?  I really hope that is not the case.

Based on the theory you said about end of the year genres, are we going to expect a genre combining emo music with glam rap?  I really hope that is not the case.


I think it came in clothing if not music...in the pajama print hoodies that became hugely popular between spring 2007 and winter 2007-2008, combining "glam rap" styles with skate/emo styles. Alot of people started merging the styles of dressing into one in 2007.

I think it came in clothing if not music...in the pajama print hoodies that became hugely popular between spring 2007 and winter 2007-2008, combining "glam rap" styles with skate/emo styles. Alot of people started merging the styles of dressing into one in 2007.


God help us all.

When grunge "died" and Nu-metal was "born", I switched back over to classic rock.
At least it was music I grew up with and liked. I didn't abandon grunge, just changed the station for a while.

Good god I hate nu-metal.  It isn't even metal, more like gay glam rock.  Man am I glad METAL is back in the good with awesome bands like Shadows Fall, Cellador, and Amon Amarth. \m/