History Main / Grunge

Grunge itself is widely believed to have started in the indie rock scene in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, and was sometimes called "the Seattle sound" in the early days, although the documentary ''Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll'' claimed it originated with The Scientists, who hailed from Perth, Western Australia (The Scientists' Kim Salmon claimed he used the term "grunge" to describe the band's style of music in the mid-80s, although he admits he isn't sure if anyone picked up on it). The earliest examples of grunge music includes Malfunkshun and Green River, neither of which achieved any mainstream success. As a backlash against HairMetal, which was big at the time ([[TheEighties the mid-'80s]]), Grunge artists featured a stripped down and low-key aesthetic lacking in the theatrics and bombast of the prevailing trends. Playing in rainy Seattle, many struggling early grunge rockers wore the only warm clothing they could afford: thick flannel shirts, which became a trademark of the genre.

The music itself could be described as a strange combination of DoomMetal, NoiseRock and AlternativeRock with even more influences from HardcorePunk (Music/BlackFlag's sludgier, slower material from 1984 on was frequently cited as an influence). Indie rock’s noise is another influence, as is pop. The guitars have heavy distortion and plenty of feedback (usually), songs often consist of both loud and soft sections, and the lyrics are often pretty personal, with topics like drug addiction (particularly heroin), depression, poverty, and suicide. This introspective focus influenced lots of more [[{{Wangst}} angsty]] genres such as NuMetal and [[Music/{{Emo}} modern emo bands]]. The vocals range from PerishingAltRockVoice to {{Yarling}}, and all stops in between.

So, Grunge started off underground, but of course something happened. Record labels decided it was the next “big thing.” Anybody with a guitar and two songs got signed. Flannel became cool. So what was this "something?" A little band named Music/{{Nirvana}}.

A UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (by way of Aberdeen and Olympia) grunge band fronted by Music/KurtCobain, Nirvana unexpectedly made it big [[TheNineties in 1991]] with their album ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'', containing the famed hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which, in typical "most famous song" fashion, was [[MagnumOpusDissonance shunned by Cobain]]. The album drove away from the dirgy sludgy material that had defined the "grunge" label and the bands earlier material to that point and instead experimented with less distortion and catchy pop hooks, a feature that when combined with Cobain's anguished voice and rugged good looks launched them into superstardom. With Nirvana's success, other bands from Seattle, as well as those that were similar in tone, such as Music/PearlJam, Music/{{Soundgarden}} and Music/AliceInChains, also made it pretty big, and less-popular groups (namely Music/{{Mudhoney}}, Music/{{Melvins}}, Screaming Trees, and ''Tad'') also had their moments in the mainstream spotlight. Against their will. As for punk before it, being big and famous went against Grunge's philosophy, and many of the bands tried to avoid fame. Cobain himself was pretty depressed over this, as well as many other things, including his heroin addiction. This whole depression thing culminated in Cobain's shotgun suicide in 1994 (although some {{conspiracy theorist}}s still maintain that he was murdered).

Then Nirvana disbanded, Pearl Jam retreated from the spotlight, Alice in Chains went on hiatus, Soundgarden headed in a more mainstream alternative rock direction and released their most famous song ("Black Hole Sun"), and with the rise of commercial PostGrunge bands like Bush, Music/FooFighters, Music/{{Silverchair}} and Music/MatchboxTwenty, grunge itself had begun to fade into the shadows cast by the mid-to-late nineties. By the turn of the millennium, grunge in the mainstream was reduced to nostalgia and another blow was dealt nearly a decade after Cobain's suicide when Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains, died of a heroin overdose -- on the approximate date of Cobain's death [[note]]Both were discovered dead after some time had passed. Both were still listed as circa April 5th, however.[[/note]], which is cause for concern and even more paranoid UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.

+ HardRock, AlternativeMetal, IndieRock, PsychedelicRock, Experimental Music, PostPunk, ProtoPunk, NewWaveMusic, ProgressiveRock

* Music/Yuck (Black Metal and Grunge mixed together)

Grunge itself is widely believed to have started in the indie rock scene in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, and was sometimes called "the Seattle sound" in the early days. The earliest examples of grunge music includes Malfunkshun and Green River, neither of which achieved any mainstream success. As a backlash against HairMetal, which was big at the time ([[TheEighties the mid-'80s]]), Grunge artists featured a stripped down and low-key aesthetic lacking in the theatrics and bombast of the prevailing trends. Playing in rainy Seattle, many struggling early grunge rockers wore the only warm clothing they could afford: thick flannel shirts, which became a trademark of the genre.

* Fecal Matter (UrExample, best known as Kurt Cobain's band before Nirvana)

* KEN mode (''Success'', mixed with post-hardcore; as of ''Loved'', they are back to their traditional style, making this a case of CreatorsOddball)

Grunge is an influential form of AlternativeRock. It's often regarded without this genre's assistance, Alternative Rock's mainstream popularity would have never advanced past the late-80s alternative crossover boom.

Grunge is an influential form of AlternativeRock. It's often regarded without this genre's assistance, Alternative Rock's mainstream popularity would have never advanced.

"Grunge" is a form of Alternative Rock. A very popular one, at that. Without this genre the vast majority of us wouldn't know the Alternative Rock bands we listen to today, since Grunge broke it out of its niche/underground status and into the public eye.

Grunge itself is widely believed to have started in the indie rock scene in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, and was sometimes called "the Seattle sound" in the early days. The earliest examples of grunge music includes Malfunkshun and Green River, neither of which achieved any mainstream success. As a backlash against big budget HairMetal, which was big at the time ([[TheEighties the mid-'80s]]), Grunge artists featured a stripped down and low-key aesthetic lacking in the theatrics and bombast of the prevailing trends. Playing in rainy Seattle, many struggling early grunge rockers wore the only warm clothing they could afford: thick flannel shirts, which became a trademark of the genre.

So, Grunge started off underground, but of course something happened. Record labels decided it was the next “big thing.” Anybody with a guitar and two songs got signed. Flannel became cool. So what was this "something?"

Music/{{Nirvana}}.

Then Nirvana disbanded, Pearl Jam retreated from the spotlight, Alice in Chains went on hiatus, Soundgarden headed in a more mainstream alternative rock direction and released their most famous song ("Black Hole Sun"), and with the rise of commercial PostGrunge bands like Bush, Music/FooFighters, Music/{{Silverchair}} and Music/MatchboxTwenty, grunge itself had begun to fade into the shadows cast by the mid-to-late nineties, including {{Britpop}}, NuMetal, PopPunk, Music/TheSpiceGirls, Music/BackstreetBoys and Music/BritneySpears. By the turn of the millennium, grunge in the mainstream was reduced to nostalgia and another blow was dealt nearly a decade after Cobain's suicide when Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains, died of a heroin overdose -- on the approximate date of Cobain's death [[note]]Both were discovered dead after some time had passed. Both were still listed as circa April 5th, however.[[/note]], which is cause for concern and even more paranoid UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.

* Music/TheVines

Then Nirvana disbanded, Pearl Jam retreated from the spotlight, Alice in Chains went on hiatus, Soundgarden headed in a more mainstream alternative rock direction and released their most famous song ("Black Hole Sun"), and with the rise of commercial PostGrunge bands like Bush, Music/FooFighters, Music/{{Silverchair}} and Music/MatchboxTwenty, grunge itself had begun to fade into the shadows cast by the mid-to-late nineties, including {{Britpop}}, NuMetal, PopPunk, Music/TheSpiceGirls, Music/BackstreetBoys and Music/BritneySpears. By the turn of the millennium, grunge in the mainstream was reduced to nostalgia and another blow was dealt nearly a decade after Cobain's suicide when Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains, died of a heroin overdose -- on the approximate date of Cobain's death [[note]]Both were discovered dead after some time had passed. Both were still listed as circa April 5th, however.[[/note]], which is cause for concern and even more paranoid UsefulNotes/{{conspiracy theories}}.

Although Grunge's time is over, the genre is still viewed as a landmark one due to its honesty and creative musicianship (especially compared to what [[{{PostGrunge}} it mutated into]]), and it still has a fanbase in certain corners, and the teens of the nineties are starting to look back upon it with nostalgia. Some of the bands have also had a significant influence on DoomMetal subgenres such as Stoner Metal and Sludge, which could be seen as a SpiritualSuccessor of sorts. Conversely, Grunge, Sludge, and Stoner Metal can also be considered "sister genres" as all three formed from the same sonic root with quite a bit of overlap in the bands themselves ('70s heavy/garage rock filtered through doom-influenced hardcore punk rock) but developed along tertiary characteristics that distinguished them: Grunge took up AlternativeRock, Stoner Metal added more PsychedelicRock, and Sludge doubled down on DoomMetal. For this reason, while the latter two are sonically very similar to Grunge, they are not quite the same.

Nirvana, a UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (by way of Aberdeen and Olympia) Grunge band fronted by Kurt Cobain, unexpectedly made it big [[TheNineties in 1991]] with their album ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'', containing the famed hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which, in typical "most famous song" fashion, was [[MagnumOpusDissonance shunned by Cobain]]. The album drove away from the dirgy sludgy material that had defined the "grunge" label and the bands earlier material to that point and instead experimented with less distortion and catchy pop hooks, a feature that when combined with Cobain's anguished voice and rugged good looks launched them into superstardom. With Nirvana's success, other bands from Seattle, as well as those that were similar in tone, such as Music/PearlJam, Music/{{Soundgarden}} and Music/AliceInChains, also made it pretty big, and less-popular groups (namely Music/{{Mudhoney}}, Music/{{Melvins}}, Screaming Trees, and ''Tad'') also had their moments in the mainstream spotlight. Against their will. As for punk before it, being big and famous went against Grunge's philosophy, and many of the bands tried to avoid fame. Cobain himself was pretty depressed over this, as well as many other things, including his heroin addiction. This whole depression thing culminated in Cobain's shotgun suicide in 1994 (although some {{conspiracy theorist}}s still maintain that he was murdered).

Then Nirvana disbanded, Alice in Chains went on hiatus, Soundgarden headed in a more mainstream alternative rock direction and released their most famous song ("Black Hole Sun"), and with the rise of commercial PostGrunge bands like Bush, Music/FooFighters, Music/{{Silverchair}} and Music/MatchboxTwenty, grunge itself had begun to fade into the shadows cast by the mid-to-late nineties, including {{Britpop}}, NuMetal, PopPunk, Music/TheSpiceGirls, Music/BackstreetBoys and Music/BritneySpears. By the turn of the millennium, grunge in the mainstream was reduced to nostalgia and another blow was dealt nearly a decade after Cobain's suicide when Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains, died of a heroin overdose -- on the approximate date of Cobain's death [[note]]Both were discovered dead after some time had passed. Both were still listed as circa April 5th, however.[[/note]], which is cause for concern and even more paranoid UsefulNotes/{{conspiracy theories}}.

* Music/MadSeason (A Grunge {{Supergroup}} consisting of members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees, also blues rock)

* Music/{{Melvins}} (TropeMaker, along with Green River. Also associated with {{Doom Metal}}, particularly Sludge Metal. Kurt Cobain was a fan, and Dale Crover occasionally filled in on drums for Nirvana.)

* [[{{Music/NeilYoung}} Neil Young]] (Often considered the Godfather of Grunge, with ''Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)'' and ''Rust Never Sleeps (1979)'' having songs that can be described as Proto-Grunge.)
** ''Mirror Ball'' (1995, played with {{Music/Pearl Jam}})

** ''Music/{{Bleach}}'' (1989)

* Music/{{Pixies}} [[note]]Though more associated with {{Alternative Rock}}, they and Green River were probably the first bands to play this style, as well as being a huge influence on the other bands; Cobain often said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sounded like a Pixies ripoff, specifically their song "Debaser"[[/note]]

* Music/MotherLoveBone (Cut short by the lead singer's [[AuthorExistenceFailure sudden death from heroin overdose]], two of its members went on to form Music/PearlJam. Like Alice in Chains, they were also associated with HairMetal.)

->"''I'm taking our music to the next level - [[FunWithAcronyms Guitar Rock Utilizing Nihilist Grunge Energy]] - or, as I call it, '''[[ShapedLikeItself GRUNGE!]]'''"''

** 1992 - ''Music/{{Dirt}}''

The music itself could be described as a strange combination of [[DoomMetal sludge metal]], Black Sabbath, and AlternativeRock with even more influences from HardcorePunk (Music/BlackFlag's sludgier, slower material from 1984 on was frequently cited as an influence). Indie rock’s noise is another influence, as is pop. The guitars have heavy distortion and plenty of feedback (usually), songs often consist of both loud and soft sections, and the lyrics are often pretty personal, and describing drug addiction (particularly heroin), depression, poverty, suicide. This introspective writt influenced lots of more [[{{Wangst}} angsty]] genres such as NuMetal and [[Music/{{Emo}} modern emo bands]]. The vocals range from PerishingAltRockVoice to {{Yarling}}, and all stops in between.

"Grunge" is a form of Alternative Rock. A very popular one, at that. So popular in the early 1990s that it made Alternative Rock more popular. Without this genre the vast majority of us wouldn't know the Alternative Rock bands we listen to today, since Grunge broke it out of its niche/underground status and into the public eye. For good or bad, the vast majority of us wouldn't know most of the bands we take for granted without it.

** Creator/JerryCantrell, though mostly by association

The music itself could be described as a strange combination of [[DoomMetal sludge metal]], Black Sabbath,and AlternativeRock with even more influences from HardcorePunk (Music/BlackFlag's sludgier, slower material from 1984 on was frequently cited as an influence). Indie rock’s noise is another influence, as is pop. The guitars have heavy distortion and plenty of feedback (usually), songs often consist of both loud and soft sections, and the lyrics are often pretty personal, and describing drug addiction (particularly heroin), depression, poverty, suicide. This introspective writt influenced lots of more [[{{Wangst}} angsty]] genres such as NuMetal and [[Music/{{Emo}} modern emo bands]]. The vocals range from PerishingAltRockVoice to {{Yarling}}, and all stops in between.

* ''Tad'' (Probably the heaviest example aside from Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and The Melvins)