Line #1 Main/Grunge


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/panorama_of_seattle_sound_grunge_exhibit___rock_&_roll_hall_of_fame_and_museum_cleveland_by_adam_jones.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The grunge exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.]]
3
4	->"''I'm taking our music to the next level - Guitar Rock Utilizing Nihilist Grunge Energy - or, as I call it, '''GRUNGE!'''"''
5	-->-- '''Homer Simpson''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "That '90s Show"
6
7	[floatboxright:
8	Primary Stylistic Influences:
9	+ AlternativeRock, PunkRock, HardcorePunk, DoomMetal, NoiseRock
10	]
11	[floatboxright:
12	Secondary Stylistic Influences:
13	+ HardRock, AlternativeMetal, IndieRock, GarageRock, PsychedelicRock, Experimental Music, PostPunk, ProtoPunk, PostHardcore, ProgressiveRock
14	]
15
16	Grunge is an influential form of AlternativeRock. This genre helped Alternative Rock's mainstream popularity advance past the late-80s alternative crossover boom.
17	Grunge 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.[[note]]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).[[/note]] The earliest examples of grunge music includes Malfunkshun and Green River, neither of which achieved any mainstream success.
18
19	As a backlash against polished, highly produced commercially-successful 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 greasy, unwashed hair and thrift shop clothes of early grunge bands was more of a product of their low income playing underground venues, rather than a fashion statement.
20
21	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). Many artists in the genre also take cues from the PowerPop-inspired songwriting of college rock bands such as Music/{{REM}}, Music/{{Pixies}} and Music/HuskerDu. The guitars have heavy distortion and plenty of shrieking feedback (usually), songs often consist of both loud and soft sections, and the lyrics are often personal and introspective, 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.
22
23	However, these were among the few traits that most of the acts had in common; while Nirvana, Melvins, Green River, and Tad could certainly be said to have lived up to most of those supposed hallmarks, they had little to do with Pearl Jam's arena rock stylings, Alice in Chains' dark thrash-meets-glam dirges, Soundgarden's mix of 70s hard rock spectacle with the grit and fuck-you attitude of traditional doom metal, Mudhoney's punky, bluesy [[Music/TheStooges Stooges-inspired]] garage rock, Mother Love Bone's sleazy, punkish blues glam, Hole's violent, abrasive, grindcore-tinged noise rock, and Screaming Trees' psychedelic leanings. In short, while there was something resembling a basic skeleton of grunge, there wasn't really anything resembling a codified style, and the bands that did sound alike often did so out of coincidence or common influences.
24
25	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, and the A&R department did a photo shoot of them in retro thrift store clothes and flannel. So what was this "something?" A little band named Music/{{Nirvana}}.
26
27	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\|Album}}'', 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. Another grunge approach that broke with HairMetal was to downplay or even eliminate the guitar solo. In contrast to a typical hair metal solo, which used two-handed tapping and rapid-fire, virtuoso arpeggio riffs, Cobain's guitar solos might be simply an instrumental version of the vocal melody.
28
29	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 with 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 depression culminated in Cobain's shotgun suicide in 1994 (although some {{conspiracy theorist}}s still maintain that he was murdered).
30
31	Then Nirvana disbanded, Pearl Jam retreated from the spotlight and reinvented itself, Alice in Chains went on hiatus, Soundgarden disbanded, and with the rise of commercial PostGrunge bands like Music/{{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]].
32
33	So, there you have it. The strange, short story of Grunge.
34
35	Archetypal of TheNineties. For more information see articles like [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/oct/31/grunge this one]].
36
37	Although Grunge's time is over, the genre is still viewed as a landmark one due to its honesty, authenticity 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 started 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.
38
39	Not to be confused with PostGrunge, which, beyond being based around downtuned guitar, often has very little in common. Also not to be confused with [[DoomMetal Sludge]], which actually has quite a bit in common, but is far heavier, more nihilistic, and abrasive.
40
41	See also: RiotGrrrl, a women-led feminist hardcore punk genre and subculture from the same time period.
42	----
43
44	!!Bands typically categorised as Grunge include:
45
46	[[index]]
47	* Music/AliceInChains (often considered the [[AlternativeMetal heaviest of the lot]]; there was also some HairMetal present on the demos and ''Facelift''. Starting with ''Black Gives Way To Blue'', they've gone all in with DoomMetal.
48	** 1992 - ''Music/DirtAlbum''
49	** Music/JerryCantrell, though mostly by association
50	* Music/{{Ash}} (often seen as bridging the gap between Grunge and {{Britpop}})
51	* Music/BabesInToyland
52	* Music/{{Bush}} (Often called Post-Grunge, but they could just as easily be called 'real' Grunge. [[BerserkButton You really, really shouldn't mention them around fans of Grunge, however.]])
53	* Music/{{Candlebox}} (Mixed with Post-Grunge on early work. Later considered straight up Post-Grunge.)
54	* Music/{{Everclear}} (First two albums. Later went on to greater success as a Power Pop band.)
55	* Music/{{Failure}} (also dipping into AlternativeRock and SpaceRock)
56	* Music/FecalMatter (UrExample, best known as Kurt Cobain's band before Nirvana)
57	* Music/{{Feeder}} (only during the ''Polythene'' era)
58	* Music/TheFluid (also GarageRock Revival)
59	* Music/FooFighters (mostly only their [[Music/FooFightersAlbum self-titled debut]])
60	* Music/FudgeTunnel is Grunge if you approach it with modern ears. They display all of the common tropes to Grunge and their music videos were shot in a very similar manner as grunge ones.
61	* [[Music/MiaZapata The Gits]]
62	* Music/GreenRiver (TropeMaker) (Its members went on to form Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone / Music/PearlJam)
63	* Music/{{Gruntruck}}
64	* Music/{{Gumball}} (Most well-known for being led by famed Alternative/Indie producer Don Fleming)
65	* [[Music/HajisKitchen Haji's Kitchen]] (Typically a Groove Metal/ Prog Metal mix but they are often considered Grunge as well)
66	* Music/{{Hammerbox}}
67	* Music/{{Hazel}}
68	* Music/{{Hole}} (Music/CourtneyLove's band)
69	** ''Music/PrettyOnTheInside''
70	** ''Music/LiveThroughThis''
71	** ''Music/MyBodyTheHandGrenade''
72	** ''Music/CelebritySkin''
73	* [[Music/KenMode KEN mode]] (''Success'', mixed with post-hardcore; as of ''Loved'', they are back to their traditional style, making this a case of CreatorsOddball)
74	* Life of Agony (something of a GenreMashup of this, HardcorePunk, and sludge metal)
75	* Music/LoveBattery
76	* Music/{{L7}}
77	* Music/MadSeason (A Grunge {{Supergroup}} consisting of members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees, also BluesRock)
78	* Music/{{Malfunkshun}} (UrExample)
79	* Music/{{Melvins}} (TropeMaker, along with Green River. Also associated with DoomMetal, particularly Sludge Metal. Kurt Cobain was a fan, and Dale Crover occasionally filled in on drums for Nirvana.)
80	* Music/MotherLoveBone (Cut short by the lead singer's [[DiedDuringProduction 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.)
81	* Music/{{Mudhoney}} the other {{TropeCodifier}}
82	* [[Music/MySistersMachine My Sister's Machine]]
83	* Music/NeilYoung (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.)
84	** ''Mirror Ball'' (1995, played with Music/PearlJam
85	* Music/{{Nirvana}} (TropeCodifier)
86	** ''Music/BleachAlbum'' (1989)
87	** ''Music/{{Nevermind\|Album}}'' (1991)
88	** ''Music/{{Incesticide}}'' (1992)
89	** ''Music/InUtero'' (1993)
90	** ''Music/MTVUnpluggedInNewYork'' (1994)
91	** Music/KurtCobain
92	* Music/TheNymphs
93	* Music/{{Paw}}
94	* Music/PearlJam
95	** ''Music/TenPearlJamAlbum'' (1991)
96	* Music/{{Pixies}} [[note]]Though more associated with AlternativeRock, 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]]
97	** 1988 - ''Music/SurferRosa''
98	** 1989 - ''Music/{{Doolittle}}''
99	* Music/{{Pond}}
100	* Music/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStatesOfAmerica
101	* Music/{{Radiohead}} (Only during the ''Pablo Honey'' era, which was more of a mixture of this and straightforward AlternativeRock)
102	** 1993 - ''Music/PabloHoney''
103	* Music/{{Seaweed}}
104	* [[Music/SevenYearBitch 7 Year Bitch]]
105	* Music/ScreamingTrees
106	* Music/{{Seaweed}}
107	* Music/{{Silverchair}} (Especially their debut ''Frogstomp'', released when the band was in their mid-teenage years at the height of TheNineties. They later moved on to PostGrunge and later to more experimental material.)
108	* Music/SkinYard
109	* Music/{{Sloan}} (During their first couple of years including their debut album ''Smeared'' though they began moving away from it afterwards)
110	* Music/{{Soundgarden}} (Much like Music/AliceInChains, generally considered heavy enough to be AlternativeMetal, and also sometimes thought of as an UrExample of [[DoomMetal Stoner Metal]] as well, and the style peppers much of their discography)
111	* Music/SoulAsylum
112	* {{Music/Sponge}} (''Rotting Piñata'' only)
113	* Music/StoneTemplePilots (Early work. Later work is more experimental or could be considered PostGrunge)
114	* Music/TheStooges (purely as a very early UrExample)
115	* Music/{{Tad}} (Probably the heaviest example aside from Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and The Melvins)
116	* Music/TempleOfTheDog (A one-album collaboration between members of Mother Love Bone and Soundgarden that helped lead to the formation of Pearl Jam)
117	* [[Music/DavidBowie Tin Machine]]
118	** 1989 - ''[[Music/TinMachineAlbum Tin Machine]]''
119	** 1991 - ''Tin Machine II''
120	* [[Music/{{Titas}} Titãs]] (only in ''Titanomaquia'')
121	* Music/{{Tool}} (mostly Prog Metal, although some of their earlier works incorporate Grunge influences)
122	* Music/{{Truly}} (A band composed of members of Soundgarden and Screaming Trees)
123	* [[Music/UMen U-Men]]
124	* Music/{{Verdena}}
125	* Music/VerucaSalt
126	* Music/TheVines (started out as a Nirvana cover band, then started writing their own songs combining grunge with PsychedelicRock)
127	* Music/ViolentSoho (A modern day example)
128	* Whores. (''Gold'', along with sludge; another revivalist act)
129	* Music/{{Willard}}
130	* Music/{{Yuck}} (Black Metal and Grunge mixed together)
131	[[/index]]
132
133	!!Grunge provides the following examples of tropes:
134
135	* DeadUnicornTrope: Much like NuMetal later on, Grunge isn't a really a coherent genre, but rather a basic skeleton for bands to build off of. Artists that fall under Grunge has produced styles such as:
136	** NoiseRock-oriented AlternativeRock with touches of PunkRock and PowerPop (Nirvana)
137	** [[SludgeMetal Sludgy]] AlternativeMetal (Alice in Chains)
138	** Alternative metal with PsychedelicRock and StonerMetal elements (Soundgarden)
139	** HardRock, with influences ranging from FunkRock and BluesRock to psychedelic rock (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots)
140	** Experimental sludge metal (The Melvins)
141	** Power pop and PostGrunge-infused {{Britpop}} (Ash)
142	** Post-grunge with PostHardcore elements (Bush)
143	** Shoegaze-leaning power pop (Veruca Salt)
144	** A hodgepodge of post-grunge, punk rock, power pop, noise rock and shoegaze (Foo Fighters on their self-titled debut album)
145
146	!! Grunge in fiction:
147	* CyclicNationalFascination: Grunge started out as an underground, indie style in Seattle and Australia, with groups doing noisy, loud, DIY recordings that incorporated elements of punk and heavy metal. When recording executives decided Grunge would be the next big thing, they signed up almost anyone with a flannel shirt and a guitar, distortion pedal, and a few angsty songs about alienation and addiction. Grunge bands soared up the charts and toured widely. Of course, a musical style that was developed by outsiders could not flourish under the thumb of industry managers, so there was a pushback against this commercialization and commodification. This pushback, along with the surge of copycat acts and the saturation of the market with derivative songs, and the impact of addiction issues led to Grunge's demise.
148

Context Main / Grunge