Retrospective

It’s hard to quantify the impact that Nirvana’s Nevermind album had on the musical landscape. My knowledge of popular genres and the time periods they belong to is fairly standard and if I hear a song, I can probably nail the decade it was produced on based on the tone of the instruments used. Nevermind and the grunge movement that sprung up from the album’s release represents an anomaly, and that’s precisely what makes it so important.
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Never mind Black Friday – here’s the Sex Pistols Indecency Trial! When I did some investigative work earlier this year and discovered that 24 November 1977 was a very special date in Nottingham’s music history, I knew we had to celebrate it here on the Rockhaq Community. A special shout out to Nottingham Libraries for having this brilliant archive material to hand. And it’s all free, dammit.
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This week 20 years ago, Radiohead released their eagerly awaited third album, OK Computer. It was June 1997, the UK was still in the throes of Britpop with Oasis and Blur leading the charge. Yes, people were expecting a lot from Radiohead. Their second album, The Bends, was quietly released to an almost zero fan base in 1995. Yet with each single release, its impact slowly grew to show the world that they still deserved to be here.
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Can music really generate controversy nowadays? Can one song have a massive impact on an entire country, leading to outrage, mainstream censorship and even alleged fixing of its entry in the music charts? Some music can, and still does. A lot depends on timing.
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