What is Grunge Music? Beyond the Flannel

When people hear that music can make you smarter, they usually start thinking about Mozart or Beethoven or Coltrane. My guess is that not many pregnant women are playing grunge music to help develop the brains of their unborn children. And that’s fair. The dark, angst-filled, and electric-guitar-heavy sound may not be ideal for that purpose. That said, the story of grunge is a poignant one, and one that’s worth knowing. But what exactly is grunge music? Let’s go back to pre-Amazon Seattle.

 

The Facts

Grunge was the description applied to a sound that came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Specifically, areas in and around Seattle, Washington, served as the epicenter of the movement.

The sound was a mix of heavy metal and punk rock (in varying doses), and it distinctly featured the electric guitar with distortion. A then independent record label in Seattle called Sub Pop is credited with pushing the term grunge, though the bands that became associated with the description were not particularly fond of it.

Some of the pioneers, so to speak, included bands like the Melvins, Green River, Soundgarden, and the Screaming Trees. Other groups like Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, and Malfunkshun were in the mix, among many others.

Along with Soundgarden, the best-known bands were Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam.

As the genre gained popularity, a variety of bands from other parts of the country and world were tossed into the same category. Some of this categorization was valid and some was due simply to an overlap in time and/or the use of the electric guitar. Examples include the Smashing Pumpkins (Chicago), Stone Temple Pilots (San Diego), and the Cranberries (Ireland).

 

The Deeper Story

So far, nothing seems particularly noteworthy. But the story goes much deeper.

Grunge was, in one word, raw. Self-doubt, mental agony, and despair were recurrent themes, creating an authenticity that was at times uncomfortably authentic. Intertwined in these themes were reactions against commercialism and the corporate sanitization of art. For these reasons, the “hair metal” of the 1980s was not a source of inspiration. In fact, grunge flipped hair metal’s objectification of women upside down, with several mostly-female grunge acts like Hole and L7 forming a key part of the scene. Fashion was not necessarily scorned, but it was irrelevant.

In a twist of irony, as grunge bands attained commercial success, the non-mainstream elements that defined them became mainstream. Flannel shirts, ski hats, and the like were suddenly in vogue. Occurring in an era that predates the current fragmented entertainment landscape, the cultural phenomenon was surprisingly profound. Ultimately, the movement might have defined an entire generation (Generation X).

 

The Tragic Ending

As mentioned above, the anguish and social alienation expressed by grunge bands were all too real. For some, fame paradoxically contributed further to this reality. What could have been a fairy-tale ending became, instead, one that continues to haunt many.

In 1994, Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, committed suicide. He was just 27. While grunge was not meant to last forever, this tragic act undoubtedly contributed to the premature decline of the genre.

In 2002, Layne Staley, the lead singer of Alice in Chains, was found dead, with a subsequent toxicology report revealing heroin and cocaine. He is believed to have died on April 5th, exactly eight years after Cobain.

And in 2017, Chris Cornell, the lead singer of Soundgarden, was found dead in his hotel room. The cause of death was suicide by hanging.

Generation X, unlike its predecessor, would not be attending reunion shows or farewell tours.

(You may be wondering about Pearl Jam. In their case, tragedy predated their story. Pearl Jam was formed from the remaining members of Mother Love Bone after their lead singer died of a heroin overdose. Thankfully, his replacement, Eddie Vedder, remains alive and well.)

 

Two Quintessential Songs

Picking just two songs to punctuate this narrative is a complete injustice, but here we go.

“Alive” by Pearl Jam 

Often misconstrued as a song celebrating life, this tune dives deep into the psyche of Eddie Vedder. Specifically, he laments being told at age 13 that the man he thought was his father was not his biological father and that his biological father had died.

 

 

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

Arguably the song that defined grunge, this is not an uplifting jam. But it’s pretty awesome.

 

 

Now I need to go cry. Or listen to some pop music.