Consequence is continuing Post-Grunge Week with a look at what the backlashes against so-called “yacht rock” and “butt rock” can teach us about fandom. Check out our picks for the 50 Greatest Post-Grunge Songs, and loop back throughout the week for more lists, artist-driven content, games, and more.
These days, we pretty much never listen to music we don’t like. But back when radio was the dominant means of consuming songs, audiences had few choices for programming and no skip button. And something weird but probably inevitable happened: People formed violent opinions about music that they otherwise would have been happy to ignore.
Today, it’s hard to imagine any new artist experiencing the strange and vicious fame cycles of the biggest post-grunge bands, Creed and Nickelback. In a previous feature, we spoke with Scott Stapp of Creed, charting the group’s dizzying ascent, the cruel reviews and ferocious backlash that led to the derogatory term of “Butt Rock,” and now, their reemergence as a favorite among Gen Z.
Here’s something that might sound familiar: Extremely online hipsters and some kids who just like to party, many with unusual facial hair, re-popularized old commercial rock that their parents’ generation called uncool. The rise, fall, and rise again of these post-grunge rockers helps shed light on another backlash from a few decades prior.
“A reporter from Variety called me up the other day, and he said that the consensus among music journalists is that the two darkest days in the history of the Grammys are when Milli Vanilli won and when I won,” Christopher Cross said shortly after his 70th birthday in 2021. “I just couldn’t believe how cruel that comment was.”
Cross, born Christopher Geppert, has endured more than a few cruel comments over the years. In 1979 his debut album Christopher Cross swept the Big Four categories at the 1981 Grammys — Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist — in a feat that wouldn’t be equalled until an earthquake named Billie Eilish rocked the 2020 ceremony.