Professor Louis F. Markert of California State University in the Fresno Bee, October 12, 1996:

Rock, rap, alternative rock, gangsta rap, grunge—these are tribes. They have their own lyricists, choruses, followers, and sounds.

Snoop Doggy Dog, Hootie and the Blowfish, Bjork, Blues Traveler, Shakur, Madonna, R.E.M., U2, Pearl Jam and Soul Asylum—the names are distinctive. The music is rebellious, tender, harsh, and compassionate, more emotional than spiritual, more brazen than inspiring.

It documents the experience of youth growing up in worlds created and managed by adults: families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, stores, courts, corporations, economies, industries, political parties, poverty, racism, alcoholism, abuse, and unemployment—worlds that are often harsh and uninviting. The young must make sense of them, define themselves against them, and find their way in them. Their music tells the story.

Unfortunately, their story is partly an indictment of us...

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