BLOG 1 - The 1990s (Grunge)

One of the most popular styles of rock music in the first half of the 90s was grunge. A sub-genre of alternative rock, grunge was born in the city Seattle and took inspiration from heavy metal, hardcore punk and 80's alternative/indie bands. Different groups normally incorporated one of these styles into their music more heavily than the other two. Common musical aspects of grunge music was electric guitars played with distortion and fuzz however most bands sound comparatively different with the grunge label being applied because they came from the same area, had the same lyrical content and a similar look. There isn't a common vocal style for the genre either as most grunge bands had very different vocalists. Chris Cornell from the band Soundgarden has a very powerful voice similar to Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. Kurt Cobain from Nirvana however had a much more raw approach to singing, relating more to punk vocalists. Mark Arm, the frontman for Green River and Mudhoney is widely recognized as the first person to use the word grunge when talking about the music. Mark claims however that he was not naming the genre but using the word to describe the "dirty" sound of the overdriven guitars.

The lyrical content of grunge music is one thing that is the same with many of the bands. Many song lyrics are angst-driven, talking about depression, social alienation, apathy and even on occasion political agenda. Sometimes lyrics mentioned rebellion, often the topic Hardcore punk groups sang about. This isn't to say there was not exceptions as some songs from grunge bands featured humour. "Big Dumb Sex" by Soundgarden pokes fun at Glam Metal, a music genre that people normally think grunge caused to end.

Even though grunge faded out just after the first half of the decade it spawned alot of very successful bands that have sold millions of records. Nirvana are probably the best known band in the genre and are the group that brought mainstream attention to the grunge scene with their 1991 single "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Kurt Cobain, the iconic frontman of the band killed himself in 1994.

"Louge Act" from the album Nevermind. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPYcFQxsKlQ)

Alice in Chains second album "Dirt" went platinum four times. Their music has much more of a heavy metal vibe to it than other grunge bands. Sadly their lead singer Layne Staley also passed away in 2002, he died of a heroin overdose.

"Them Bones" from the album Dirt. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UhsvyFStkg&feature=related)

Soundgarden were the first band within the genre to sign to a major label. Their third studio album entitled "Badmotorfinger" was released in 1991 made people sit up and take notice and also get them airplay on MTV and alt rock radio.

"New Damage" from the album Badmotorfinger. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjALaiew_9g)

Pearl Jam, perhaps the group with the most classic rock influence, put out their debut album "Ten" in 1991 which went platinum thirteen times and remains one of the best selling albums of the genre.

"Why Go" from the album Ten. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfrJCbol7ZU)

Alternative rock bands like The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and Jane's Addiction helped shape certain aspects of the grunge sound and look. For example, these bands used to play shows in their normal clothes, they had a "everyday" image about them. The Pixies quiet verse then loud chorus structure that they used alot was taken by Kurt Cobain and used in the structure of many Nirvana songs. Another band that influenced many grunge bands is The Melvins. Their bizarre combination of Sludge, Punk and Noise Rock created a unique sound that inspired some new grunge bands to include things like sludgy sounding guitars and odd time signatures in their music. The band Green River are perhaps the first real Grunge band. They started in 1984 and by 1988 had released two e.ps and one album. Mark Arm, the lead singer of the band went on to form Mudhoney, another band who helped kickstart grunge and gained a large cult following. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament went on to form the hugely successful and key group of the genre, Pearl Jam.

Although grunge came to a halt a long time ago, many post-grunge bands have popped up inspired by the original 90's bands. These bands however are alot more commercial and are disliked by some people who claim they rip-off the older bands. Silverchair, Bush, and Seether are just some examples of post-grunge bands. After Cobains suicide in 1994, Dave Grohl went on to front his new band, the Foo Fighters. Their first two albums have alot of grunge influenced songs on them.