The History of Grunge Music
A look at the history of grunge music, from its beginnings in the early 1990s to its present day popularity.
Origins of Grunge
Grunge music emerged in the mid-1980s as a reaction to the slick pop music and glossy production of the time. Grunge bands were often signed to independent labels and relied on word-of-mouth and college radio airplay to build an audience. Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind helped bring grunge into the mainstream.
Seattle’s music scene in the 1980s
The term “grunge” was first used to describe the Seattle music scene in the early 1980s. Grunge music was a mix of punk and heavy metal, and it was characterized by its dark, aggressive sound. The first grunge band to achieve mainstream success was Nirvana, whose 1991 album Nevermind became a global sensation. Nirvana’s success helped introduce grunge to a wider audience, and other Seattle bands such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden soon followed suit. Grunge became one of the most popular genres of the 1990s, and its influence can still be heard in today’s music.
The rise of grunge in the early 1990s
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a number of bands from Seattle’s independent music scene gained mainstream success. These bands were associated with the grunge movement, which often incorporated elements of punk rock and heavy metal. Grunge music was marked by its aggressive sound and its themes of disillusionment and apathy.
The first Seattle band to achieve national success was Nirvana, whose 1991 album Nevermind featured the anthemic single “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Nirvana’s lead singer Kurt Cobain became an icon of the grunge movement, and his untimely death in 1994 helped bring grunge to an end. Other successful grunge bands included Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.
Grunge fashion became popular among teenagers and young adults in the early 1990s. Grunge fashion often featured plaid shirts, ripped jeans, and Doc Martens boots. The popularity of grunge fashion peaked in 1993, when Time magazine declared that “Grunge is dead” on its cover. Although grunge fashion is no longer in vogue, certain elements of it have been absorbed into mainstream fashion.
Key Bands and Artists
The grunge music scene emerged in the early 1990s in the American Pacific Northwest. The term “grunge” was first used to describe the music of Seattle-based bands such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. Grunge music is characterized by its heavy, distorted guitars, angry lyrics, and dark, brooding atmosphere.
Nirvana
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. It was founded by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting and best-known being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Though the band dissolved in 1994 after the suicide of Cobain, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock and roll culture.
Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in 2014, with Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl (in his capacity as former drummer) all attending the ceremony.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band’s lineup consists of founder Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), and Matt Cameron (drums). Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Drummers Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, and Dave Abbruzzese are former members of the band.
Formed after the dissolution of Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard’s previous group Mother Love Bone and the subsequent death of lead vocalist Andrew Wood, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, Ten, in 1991. One of the key bands of the grunge movement in Seattle during the early 1990s, Pearl Jam was praised for its eschewal of traditional music marketing strategies; they declined to release music videos and refrained from performing interviews or appearing on television. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having “spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame.”
To date, Pearl Jam has sold more than 85 million records worldwide
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. Soundgarden’s third studio album,Badmotorfinger (1991), brought the band to a new level of commercial success.
In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction. After more than a decade of working on solo projects, the members of Soundgarden reunited in 2010 and released their fourth studio album, King Animalin 2012. Cornell died by suicide in 2017.
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr, who was replaced in 1993 by Mike Inez. Despite great critical success, the band was plagued by extended inactivity due to Staley’s struggles with addiction. After a brief reunion in 2005, Alice in Chains was discharged from duty with all its members pursuing other projects. In 2006, the band released a live album titled Unplugged, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and went platinum.
The group reformed in 2009 with new lead vocalist William DuVall taking over for Staley, who died that year. The following year, Alice in Chains released Black Gives Way to Blue, their first studio album in 14 years. The album received strong reviews and became the band’s second straight album to enter the Billboard 200 at number one (after Facelift). Their fourth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), entered the Billboard 200 at number two while their 2014 EP jar of Flies became just the second Alice in Chains album to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart.
The Grunge Sound
Grunge music is a genre of rock music that emerged in the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Grunge music is characterized by a heavy, distorted guitar sound, often created with feedback, and lyrics dealing with apathetic and anguished themes.
The influence of punk rock
The punk rock movement had a profound impact on the development of grunge. Punk rock was a DIY (do it yourself) movement that emerged in the mid-1970s in response to the commercialism of mainstream rock music. Punk rock bands were often characterized by their stripped-down sound, angry lyrics, and anti-establishment attitude.
Many grunge bands were influenced by punk rock, and they adopted some of its aesthetic and musical elements. For example, many grunge bands were signed to independent record labels rather than major labels. And like punk rock bands, grunge bands often wrote songs that critiqued society and expressed frustration with the status quo.
However, grunge diverged from punk rock in some important ways. First, while punk rock tended to be fast-paced and aggressive, grunge was often slow and heavy. Second, while punk rock tended to be highly politicized, grunge was often apolitical. And finally, while punk rock was an underground movement that existed outside of the mainstream, grunge would eventually achieve mainstream success.
The influence of heavy metal
At the heart of the grunge sound was a heavy metal influence. Bands like Nirvana,Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains all drew inspiration from metal bands like Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Iron Maiden. This can be heard in the distorted guitars, thundering drums, and screamed vocals. But grunge also had a different feel than metal. It was rawer, more emotional, and more reflective of the struggles of everyday life. This combination ofmetal and punk created a sound that was both powerful and vulnerable, angry and sad. It resonated with a generation of kids who were feeling lost and disconnected. Grunge provided them with a soundtrack for their pain.
The distinctive grunge sound
The grunge sound is often described as a cross between hardcore punk and heavy metal, but it is also influenced by other genres such as indie rock and hip hop. Grunge songs are typically aggressive and distorted, with downtuned guitars and dense drumming. Lyrics are typically angst-ridden and deal with topics such as social isolation, apathy, despair, and depression.
Grunge bands began to emerge in the early 1990s, with Seattle’s Nirvana leading the way. Nirvana’s breakthrough album Nevermind (1991) popularized the genre and catapulted the band to international stardom. Other successful grunge bands of the early 1990s include Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.
By the mid-1990s, grunge had begun to lose its mainstream appeal, but it continued to be influential on underground music scenes. In the 2000s and 2010s, there was a renewed interest in grunge, culminating in the release of new albums by some of the genre’s most iconic bands.
The Legacy of Grunge
Grunge music first became popular in the early 1990s and was initially considered to be a subgenre of rock. However, grunge quickly became its own distinct genre with its own unique sound and aesthetic. Grunge music was marked by its heavy use of distortion and feedback, as well as its often dark and depressing lyrical themes. Grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains were some of the most popular and influential bands of the 1990s.
The impact of Kurt Cobain’s death
Kurt Cobain’s impact was huge. He was the spokesperson and figurehead of a generation, and his suicide in 1994 left many feeling lost and without a compass. For many, music simply wasn’t the same after Cobain’s death. It wasn’t just that Nirvana was gone—It was that the genre of grunge, which had only recently come to prominence, suddenly felt like it was on its last legs. In the years immediately following Cobain’s death, grunge all but disappeared from the mainstream, with only a few holdouts (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam) managing to keep things going. It would be years before grunge made any sort of comeback, and when it did, it would be in a very different form than it was in the early ’90s.
The decline of grunge in the late 1990s
The grunge music scene began to decline in the late 1990s, with many of the leading bands breaking up or becoming less active. Record labels and music media lost interest in the genre, and it became increasingly difficult for new grunge bands to break through. Some groups, such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, continued to be successful commercially, but they began to move away from their earlier sound and experiment with other styles of music. Others, such as Nirvana and Alice in Chains, became less active due to personal tragedies or drug addiction. By the early 2000s, grunge was considered a largely forgotten musical style.
The enduring influence of grunge music
It has been more than two decades since the death of Kurt Cobain and the end of Nirvana, the band that defined the grunge movement. And yet, grunge remains one of the most influential genres of music today. From its DIY ethic to its dark lyrics, grunge changed the face of rock music and continues to inspire musicians around the world.
Grunge emerged in the early 1990s as a reaction against the glitz and glamour of hair metal and pop music. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden placed an emphasis on authenticity, writing songs about their own experiences with depression, addiction, and heartbreak. Grunge musicians were also unafraid to experiment with different sounds and styles, often incorporating elements of punk and folk into their music.
While grunge only enjoyed a brief moment in the mainstream spotlight, its influence can still be felt today. Many modern rock bands list grunge as a major influence, and the genre has even begun to enjoy a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that grunge changed rock music forever.
