I’ve mentioned Grunge a few times in past blogs because how can you talk about the 90’s without talking about Grunge. I didn’t expect to be writing about the 90’s so much, but then again that’s where a lot of different types of alternative music that really found success in the 90’s. Of all of these alternative genres Grunge was by far the most successful.
Grunge originated in Seattle in the 1980’s but really became popular in the 1990’s with the release of Nirvana’s album NeverMind and Pearl Jam’s Ten. These bands, along with may other bands from Seattle, really dominated the early grunge scene and helped bring the genre into the mainstream. During this time Grunge really dominated the mainstream. The grunge look became the look of the 90’s and everyone wanted to emulate these bands’ look and attitude. Although grunge lost almost all of it’s popularity by the end of the 90’s it still had a great influence rock music and the music from it’s heyday is still very popular.
The Grunge sound is characterized by distorted guitar, much slower tempos,
dissonant harmonies, and more complex instrumentation. The lyrics are typically “angst” filled which really appealed to the younger generation of it’s time. Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg) is one of, if not the, most popular Grunge songs of the 90’s. Everyone knows it, even if they don’t think they do and it’s sound is the epitome of Grunge. It has all of the aforementioned characteristics and is just kind of awesome. Soundgarden is another band that has all of these Grunge elements. Their sound is very slow and distorted which can be seen in their song Fell on Black Days(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySzrJ4GRF7s). There’s also Pearl Jam who I mentioned before, their song Even Flow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4mV8H9WxEU&list=PL762F4773DEBF9CEE) from their Ten album is a bit different. It’s a little more reminiscent of classic rock than Nirvana.
I could go on listing Grunge bands for quite a bit longer but I figured if everyone knows at least these three that would be enough for me. These bands are some of the best and most popular grunge bands. There is nothing quite like grunge and that’s why it’s great. It really takes the rock genre’s that preceded it combines them in an innovative interesting way. Grunge still has success with young people today because it really connects with all “angst” filled teenagers (because lets face it, teens tend to be angsty). So thanks Seattle, even if your coffee isn’t the best, your Grunge definitely is.