The Rise of Grunge Music and Rappers

A look at how two very different genres of music have risen to prominence in recent years.

The Origins of Grunge

Grunge music is a type of rock music that gained popularity in the early 1990s. It is characterized by its heavy, distorted guitars and its angsty lyrics. Grunge music was created as a response to the over-produced and polished music of the 1980s. Some of the most popular grunge bands include Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam.

Seattle’s music scene in the late 80s and early 90s

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Seattle’s music scene wasdefined by a style of rock known as “grunge.” Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the Pacific Northwest city of Seattle. The music is characterized by its heavy guitars and gritty, realism-based lyrics.

The grunge movement began in the mid-1980s with the formation of two popular bands: Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind brought grunge into the mainstream and Pearl Jam’s 1992 album Ten cemented the band’s place as one of the most popular groups of the decade.

By the mid-1990s, grunge had become one of the most popular genres of music in the United States. The popularity of grunge was largely due to its real-life lyrical content and heavy guitar sound, which appealed to a generation of listeners who were tired of the polished, expensive-sounding production values that dominated popular music in the 1980s. Grunge bands were also known for their DIY (do it yourself) ethic, which led them to self-produce their albums and book their own tours.

The grunge movement came to an abrupt end in 1994 with the suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Following Cobain’s death, Pearl Jam decided to scale back their publicity efforts and focus on making music rather than being celebrities. As a result, interest in grunge dissipated quickly and by the end of the 1990s, the genre was all but forgotten.

The grunge look

Grunge fashion began in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a way for young people to express their dissatisfaction with the mainstream culture. Often characterized by ripped jeans, flannel shirts, and dirty Converse sneakers, the grunge look was largely influenced by the punk and heavy metal scenes.

Grunge fashion became popular among Seattle’s youth in the late 1980s and early 1990s. By 1992, it had spread throughout the United States and Europe. In Britain, young people began to emulate the grunge look as a way of rebelling against the conservative values of their parents.

The popularity of grunge fashion reached its peak in 1993, when a number of high-profile celebrities, such assupermodel Kate Moss and actor Johnny Depp, were photographed wearing grunge clothing. However, by 1994, the grunge look had begun to lose its appeal, owing to its association with poverty and homelessness.

The Main Grunge Bands

Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden were the four most successful grunge bands of the early 1990s. Each band had its own distinctive sound, but all four were dark, heavy, and emotional. Grunge music was angrier and more aggressive than the Seattle sound that preceded it.

Nirvana

Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting and best-known being Dave Grohl, who joined in 1990. Nirvana’s success popularized alternative rock, particularly grunge, a genre of rock music that developed in Seattle during the mid-1980s.

Nirvana’s sound combined elements of punk rock and heavy metal, often utilizing loud feedback guitars and unorthodox song structures. Their active career ended with Cobain’s suicide in 1994 at age 27. But Nirvana’s popularity continued through much of the 1990s; “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was ranked as the greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide making them one of the biggest selling bands of all time.

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. The band’s line-up consists of founder Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Matt Cameron (drums).Since its inception, the band’s popularity has translated not only into 30 million album sales worldwide, but a progressive social activism stance that encompasses everything from participation in Rock Against Bush to support of terrorism victims and their families. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017.

Soundgarden

Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band’s full-time drummer in 1986 while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990. The band built its reputation as part of the Seattle music scene and was one of a group of grunge bands that achieved mainstream success in the early 1990s.

Soundgarden was one of the pioneering grunge bands and their sound was heavy and influential. Their first album, Ultramega OK (1988), was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The singles “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun”, from the 1994 album Superunknown, won Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Rock Song respectively. In 1997, the album Down on the Upside was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 due to internal strife over royalties and creative differences.

After more than a decade of working on various projects, Cornell released his solo album Scream (2009) with producer Timbaland. Right before Soundgarden’s reunion tour began in 2010, Cornell committed suicide at age 52.

The Legacy of Grunge

Grunge music came to the forefront of popular culture in the early 1990s with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the charge. This new type of music was a stark contrast to the polished pop of the 1980s and its Brooke Shields-fronted MTV. With its DIY aesthetic, grunge was the music of a generation of disaffected youth who were tired of the mainstream. In the years since, grunge has had a lasting legacy, not just in music, but in fashion and pop culture as a whole.

The influence of grunge on subsequent generations of music

While grunge music may have initially seemed like a passing fad, its influence has been felt for decades. Many of the bands that emerged in the wake of Nirvana’s success, such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, went on to become hugely successful in their own right. Grunge also had a significant impact on subsequent generations of music, with many artists citing it as an influence on their own work.

In the years since Kurt Cobain’s death, grunge has been embraced as an important part of music history. While it may not be as commercially successful as it once was, grunge continues to exert a powerful influence on the world of music.

The enduring popularity of grunge music

Since the early 1990s, grunge music has been one of the most popular genres of rock music. Grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam emerged from the underground music scene in Seattle and quickly gained mainstream success. The grunge movement was short-lived, but its impact was profound and long-lasting.

Grunge music is characterized by its dark, angsty lyrics and its heavy, distorted sound. Grunge bands were inspired by punk rock and heavy metal, but they stripped away the pretensions of both genres to create something new and different. Grunge music was a rebellion against the polished, corporate sound of mainstream pop music.

Today, grunge music is still popular among many young people who appreciate its raw energy and emotion. In recent years, several grunge bands have reunited to play sold-out shows around the world. The legacy of grunge lives on in the music of today.