The difference, by ear
Funk rock is the funk-derived wing of the alternative branch, and shares its labels and its audience.
Both are sung cleanly and move at much the same pace, around 100 to 150 bpm. To hear the difference, play Red Hot Chili Peppers next to R.E.M. Funk rock grew out of alternative rock.
In figures
Funk rock
Where it sits
Rock › Alternative rock › Funk rock
In short
Slap bass and funk grooves under rock guitars. Rap rock, and through it nu metal, start here.
How it sounds
- Slap bass or a very prominent bass tone as the lead instrument.
- Funk-style guitar with ninth chords and wah-wah, alternating with heavy riffs.
- Syncopated groove and drums full of ghost notes.
Key acts
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Faith No More
- Living Colour
Start here
The pickFaith No More - Angel Dust. An album that deliberately sabotages its own success.
Full page →Alternative rock
Where it sits
In short
An umbrella for everything that grew outside commercial radio and then conquered it. Defined originally by the college-radio network, not by any one sound.
How it sounds
- No single sound - originally defined by the distribution channel rather than by style.
- What the bands share: less glossy production and less predictable structures than radio rock.
- Quiet-loud dynamics, popularised by the Pixies and copied by everyone after 1991.
Key acts
- R.E.M.
- Pixies
- Nirvana
- Radiohead
Start here
The pickPixies - Doolittle. Cobain admitted he was simply trying to write a Pixies song.
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