College rock is rock music played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s and 1990s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream rock played on commercial radio stations. The term "College rock" is used to define the alternative rock of the 80s, before the term "alternative" became common usage in 90s.
Characteristics
An outgrowth of hardcore punk, college rock originated less as a genre term and more as a signal of the medium — college radio — by which college rock acts were often heard. As a result, the genre featured a high degree of diversity and eclecticism, meaning that "on college radio ... screaming noise, retro country, avant-garde electronics, and power pop could coexist, linked by cheap-sounding singles recorded by local bands."
History
Forerunners
Pitchfork stated that "without the Byrds, the entirety of college rock—and, from it, indie rock—wouldn’t exist". Subsequently, Rolling Stone cited Alex Chilton's power pop band Big Star as a foundational influence on college rock and R.E.M., noting "[...] What the Velvet Underground was to punk, Big Star's Alex Chilton was to college rock." Other early influences included the Soft Boys, cult favorites in the US where bands like R.E.M. and the Replacements "memorized every lick," New Zealand's Dunedin sound bands such as the Clean as well as Mission of Burma, the dB's, the Embarrassment, Pylon and Camper Van Beethoven. As explained by Rolling Stone, college rock's origins can be placed in Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia and several college rock bands, such as R.E.M. The genre would expand to include a diverse array of regional scenes in several cities throughout the United States, particularly Minneapolis, home of the Replacements and Hüsker Dü, and Boston, home of Pixies and Throwing Muses. The genre also came to include several British alternative acts who incorporated elements of jangle pop or post-punk romanticism in their music, with bands such as the Smiths, the Cure, and the La's achieving success on American college radio stations. In September 1988, Billboard introduced the Modern Rock Tracks chart which monitored airplay on modern rock and college radio stations. 120 Minutes began on MTV as a program to feature music of the college rock style and compilations branded with the 120 Minutes name were released and featured several college rock bands.
By the early 1990s, college rock as a genre had been surpassed by grunge and indie rock in the alternative sphere. Svenonius points to NPR's aggressive campaign against left of the dial college stations as a cause: seeking to remove competition in this airspace, NPR reduced many college stations to closed circuit formats, if the stations were continued at all.
Although not considered college rock bands in their native country, several UK-based acts also achieved success on the college rock circuit. Many of these acts, including the Smiths, the Cure and the La's, grew out of the UK's alternative scene and achieved greater mainstream success there. Other acts, such as Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, grew out of the British initial new wave scene and transitioned to the underground college circuits during the 1980s.
Similarly, Australian acts such as the Hoodoo Gurus and Midnight Oil appeared in college rock circles in the US.