What I call "wine-box" rock, or "bitch" rock, seemed to arise from (or as an intended part of) the effects of the feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Because of feminism, more women were working, in academia, or had careers. Now the pressure to "have it all" and be Supergirl started to build, and by the 1980s the stress was starting to show. Sitcoms tried to normalize the pressures of this life, movies and soap operas dramatized it, and a new form of rock music emerged to complain about it.
This angry, somewhat whiny, and a little rebellious tone took the forms of artists like Alanis Morissette and Melissa Etheridge. They were tired, stressed, and in typical feminist fashion--put all the blame on the men around them. They insisted that their quirky, rebellious style was something that everyone, especially men, just had to get used to.
This bitching bled over into the pop-country genre and got increasingly aggressive. Songs started to sound like rap songs--full of violence, threats of violence, bragging, and general hatefulness.
I realize now that I have never liked any of those genres because I am not a feminist. I do find the music sad because the women are clearly not happy and their unhappiness is getting exploited.
