Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, in reaction to the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.
Britpop was partly a reaction to the popularity of Nirvana and the dourness of grunge music
Select magazine's April 1993 issue – with Suede's Brett Anderson on the cover in front of a Union Flag – emphasised "Great British pop"
The UK media extensively covered the chart battle between Blur and Oasis. The anticipation over who would be number one in the week leading up to the chart being announced saw Albarn (left) appear on the ITV News at Ten.
Oasis playing live. NME states, "as (What's the Story) Morning Glory? emerged to colossal sales, it became clear that while Blur had won the battle, Oasis were winning the war."
Alternative rock is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s with the likes of the grunge, shoegaze, and Britpop subgenres in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. During this period, many record labels were looking for "alternatives", as many corporate rock, hard rock, and glam metal acts from the 1980s were beginning to grow stale throughout the music industry. The emergence of Generation X as a cultural force in the 1990s also contributed greatly to the rise of alternative rock.
Live, an alternative rock band from York, Pennsylvania, performing in May 2008
R.E.M., one of the first alternative rock bands, relied on college-radio airplay, constant touring, and a grassroots fanbase to break into the mainstream.
Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth performing in July 2005
Robert Smith of the Cure performing in June 2004
