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For the briefest moment in the early 2000s, Butt Rock ruled the airwaves. Creed wanted to take you higher. Nickelback were asking if we were having fun yet. And the guy from a band called Hoobastank wanted you to know he was not a perfect person. It was music that provided the perfect slightly angsty soundtrack for your morning commute, and one of the last fleeting glimpses of rock music as a chart entity.
All were using elements of Grunge, the gruff baritone, garbled sincerity and quiet loud dynamics, but buffed and polished with a view to radio and arena-glory, uninterested in the anti-sellout punk ethics of the original Seattle bands. But how did Butt Rock happen? What were their influences, the vital steps along the way? And how did we get to the point where the credibility completely disappeared from grunge? These are the 7 Songs to Blame For Butt Rock.
#postgrunge #musiclist
Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.
00:00 Introduction
00:57 Pearl Jam - Jeremy
07:07 Candlebox - Far Behind
11:12 Bush - Glycerine
17:17 Matchbox 20 - Push
22:50 Creed - Higher
27:25 The Calling - Wherever You Will Go
32:26 Nickelback - How You Remind Me
37:21 Butt Rock and Its Legacy Today
Soundtrack
Luar - Citrine (
https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Luar - Anchor (
https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
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Sources
Everybody Loves Our Town by Mark Yarm, 2011, Faber & Faber
“Nickelback - How You Remind Me” Rob Harvilla, 60 Songs That Explain The 90s: The 2000s Podcast, Jan 2025
“Bush - Glycerine” Rob Harvilla, 60 Songs That Explain The 90s Podcast, May 2026
“Pearl Jam: Right Here, Right Now” Kim Neely, Rolling Stone, Oct 1991
“Pearl Jam: New Oyster Cult” Steven Wells, NME, Mar 1992
“Nirvana: Inside the Heart and Mind of Kurt Cobain” Michael Azerrad, Rolling Stone, Apr 1992
“Pearl Jam: Pump up the 'Jam” Paul Elliott, Kerrang!, Jun 1992
“Pearl Jam: 'You, My Son, Are Weird!'” Mat Snow, Q Magazine, Nov 1993
“Candlebox: Set to Ignite” Beth R Nussbaum, Playgirl, Apr 1994
“Candlebox: Keepers Of The Flame” Jason Cohen, Rolling Stone, Feb 1995
“Bush Telegraph” Andrew Smith, The Guardian, Apr 1995
“Singles” Charles Aaron, Spin Magazine, Nov 1995
“Bush: Nirvanawannabes” Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, Apr 1996
“Bush - Feature” Sylvie Simmons, Rolling Stone, 1996
“Bush: Pretty On The Inside” James Hannaham, Spin Magazine, Dec 1996
“The Roaring 20's” Eylsa Gardner, Entertainment Weekly, Sep 1997
“PUSH FOR STARDOM TAKES MATCHBOX 20 INTO THE BIG LEAGUE” Staff, Morning Call, Mar 1998
“Matchbox 20 - Feature” Tracey Pepper, Spin Magazine, Jan 1999
“Matcbox Twenty: An American Band” Gavin Edwards, Spin Magazine, Jul 2000
“Sea Of Fire” Gavin Edwards, Spin Magazine, Sep 2000
“Nickelback's Crossover Hit Changes Everything” Corey Moss, MTV News, Sep 2001
“Scott Stapp: Preacher Man” Ian Winwood, Kerrang!, Jan 2001
“Fans Heed The Calling As Band Sets Tour” Joe D'Angelo & Jeff Cornell, MTV News, Jan 2002
“Creed's Stairway to Heaven” Chris Heath, Rolling Stone, Feb 2002
“The Calling Nervously Kick Off Their Tour In Santa Ana, CA” Ryan J. Downey, MTV News, Feb 2002
“Cowboy From Hell” Ian Winwood, Kerrang!, Feb 2002
“Singles - The Calling “Adrienne”” Chuck Taylor, Billboard, May 2002
“King of Pain: Heartbreak, Trauma, Jail” Paul Elliott, Kerrang!, Jun 2002
“The Calling - Live Review” Caroline Sulivan, The Guardian, Oct 2002
“Rob Thomas: Anonymity in the UK” Tim Cooper, The Independent, Jul 2005
“Rob Thomas: Confessions of an Unapologetic Pop Star” Erik Hedegaard, Rolling Stone, Aug 2009
“Matchbox Twenty: Push” Rob Thomas, Genius, Jul 2017
“Wherever Did They Go? Why The Calling Disappeared After Delivering One of 2001’s Biggest Hits” Taylor Weatherby, Billboard, May 2021
“Bush’s Gavin Rossdale Revisits 1995’s Hit Single “Glycerine”” Lily Moayeri, Spin Magazine, Nov 2023
“"I went from sleeping on a mattress to playing arenas inside two years": Creed's rise and fall was fast, but now, thanks to the TikTok generation, they're selling more tickets than ever” Niall Doherty, Classic Rock, Oct 2024
“"People said, 'You're going to be a one hit wonder.'" How Higher cemented Creed as rock's new superstars” Stephen Hill, MetalHammer, Dec 2024
“Bros, Budweisers, and Divorced Dads: Butt Rock Is Back, Baby” Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, Jul 2025
“The Alternative Number Ones: Silverchair’s “Tomorrow”” Tom Breihan, Stereogum, Sep 2025
“The Alternative Number Ones: Bush’s “Comedown”” Tom Breihan, Stereogum, Sep 2025
“How Pearl Jam Made ‘Ten’: ‘Eddie Was in Search of Perfection’” Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, Aug 2026
“The Alternative Number Ones: Matchbox 20’s “Push”” Tom Breihan, Stereogum, Aug 2026
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