Grunge

Grunge is a music genre and a more commercially successful offshoot of punk rock and hardcore punk in the late, late 1980s and early 1990s. It was bands from Seattle that made grunge popular with a large audience. Many of the more successful bands of the era we're associated with the Sub Pop record label.

Grunge music was a reaction to the long, slow movement from hard rock music of the 1970s to soft rock music in the 1980s.

Characterised by 'dirty' guitar, strong riffs and heavy drumming, Grunge was embraced by the youth for its simple defiance and what was seen as a much needed 'gritty realism' in the face of an overblown, superficial popular-culture. The mainstays of this rock genre were primarily Seattle based bands, such as, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, and Soundgarden. Other major contributors were Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. These bands promoted a raw, sometimes aggressive style of music, that deliberately and thoughtfully distanced itself from eighties 'big-hair' rock and the conventional heavy metal stylings of bands like Metallica or Anthrax.

It is impossible to consider the phenomenal success of grunge without emphasising the role of it's most notable protagonist; Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana. Cobain's giant riffing, spirited perfomances and enigmatic lyrics saw the band's first major commercial venture, "Nevermind", rocket to number one around the world, in 1991. Similarly, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam was (and still is) a highly energised and charismatic performer, and with the success of his band's debut Album 'Ten' in 1990, grunge's two leading icons whipped up a frenzy of (mostly harmless) youthful dissent, inspired by their heroes' impassioned performances and chaotic stunts on stage.

As the grunge wave broke across the airwaves of both alternative and commerical stations around the world, the genre ultimately, and inevitably, became a victim of its own succes. The term 'grunge' itself became as much, if not more, a marketing commodity than that which it replaced. Nowhere was this more poignantly evident than in the tragic suicide of the genre's reluctant frontman - Kurt Cobain. As Nirvana achieved phenomenal success, Cobain and company became increasingly distressed with the demands of fame. Tragically, and to the despair of millions of fans worldwide, he used a shotgun and heroin to end his life in 1994. Many fans consider that the grunge era died with him.

Though the term has since lost currency, many bands whose roots are in 'grunge' still enjoy successful career today. Most notable of these is Pearl Jam who, though their album sales have dropped significantly, still enjoy enormous popularity around the world.

Prominent bands:

see also Kill Rock Stars record label