Grunge anyone?

[sowhat]

So what do you think of it? What were its roots (i've heard some people here in Russia say that grunge and garage punk are the same thing, heh-heh), what are the closest genres, what was old and what was new about it (if there was anything), what was the main idea/message, etc. Do you think Nirvana is the best grunge band ever or perhaps not? (Yes, i know this question is stupid ) Etc, etc. Any kinds of opinions welcome, as usual.
PS: yes, i know there's Wikipedia and such, i'm just asking for your opinion. And yours. And yours. And even yours.
PPS: my favourite track from grunge days is by Soundgarden.

[phlemmy]

In general, I detest most of it. Many of the guys who ended up in grunge bands were previously in metal bands...see: Alice in Chains. They are a cut above most of the bands from that genre. From day one I always thought Nirvana were average and Bleach is the only one I can listen to.

The one band from that movement that really did it for me was Screaming Trees, especially their LP Sweet Oblivion. Mark Lanegan is beyond talented. Even his solo works are really good...dark...evil.



When I never understood is why it was cool to be sloppy. Bands like Screaming Trees, AIC, Soundgarden were exceptions, but many of them were almost unlistenable. Mother Love Bone had a few decent tracks too.

I do love the movie SINGLES though. Pretty funny stuff.

As for the roots...metal was a big influence IMHO.

[shamustwin]

Loved Nirvana, still think they're one of the all time best. I thank them for ridding us of hair spandex pointy guitar pop metal.

Always good to have things shaken up.

My friend moved from SoCal to Seattle in the early '80's, said every one dressed that way, thought it was weird, like they were all hippies.

That became Grunge's look, I suppose.

[blueflamerick]

Liked a lot of the music, especially Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Soundgarden. Hated the nappy hair and combat boots with shorts.

[phlemmy]

Loved Nirvana, still think they're one of the all time best. I thank them for ridding us of hair spandex pointy guitar pop metal.

Nirvana had nothing to do with the above.

[captsandwich]

Loved Nirvana, still think they're one of the all time best. I thank them for ridding us of hair spandex pointy guitar pop metal.

Nirvana had nothing to do with the above.

I read a quote, I think it was one of the guys from Warrant who said that he walked into his management company's office and saw a poster of Nirvana over the receptionists desk and thought to himself "Oh s**t!"

I am a huge Nirvana fan. I didn't really like AIC or Soundgarden because they were too metal for my tastes.
This is probably my favourite Nirvana song:

[longhouse]

I won't deride the entire genre as trash because a few good songs did emerge from that insipid music movement. As a 'social phenomenon' is was abominable. Hideous clothes, hideous tattoos, hideous attitudes. A few of my acquaintances even moved to the Northwest to be part of it. Ultimately it spiraled into corporated clonedom. Vedder clones, AIC clones, etc.

And didn't Eddie Vedder sound like a Bizarro World version of Ethel Merman???

The stomach churning guitars failed to speak to me. I got the impression that most grunge players were either failed metal players or skilled metal players looking for a band. Lyric-wise grunge was just as ridiculous as the cockrock hairbands they supposedly supplanted. But instead of pompous excess the messages was essentially 'Daddy didn't buy me that pony when I was 9 so I do heroin and destroy myself'. Pardon the gross exaggeration, but that's what grunge said to ME.

The ghost of grunge still haunts music I'm afraid, but thankfully its Big Muff flannel salad days have passed.

[ozover50]

No sugar coating there, eh Noel??

Couldn't have said it better myself!!

[kenposurf]

I think Nevermind totally kicks ***...Peral Jam's 10 also....to me, it's short sighted to think that these were metal players who could not make the cut....there is some great music that came out of this era and was a breath of fresh at the time. One band who has been arond forever and deserves a seperate thread are The Red Hot Chilli Peppers...grunge/funk/hard rock..these guys have covered a lot of ground...

[sowhat]

I didn't really like AIC or Soundgarden because they were too metal for my tastes.

Too metal, huh? Now i don't feel so bad about liking Soundgarden; at least, not as bad as a while ago when i was told they were too poppy for a true music fan to like.
Funny that, because here where i live, grunge is most often regarded as a wave of punk, not heavily related to metal.
Do not agree about clothes being hideous, perhaps cause i like this clothing style. The message, huh? "I hate myself and want to die"? I do not think it was all there was about grunge. But come to think of it, isn't all moody music about that if we take the most primitive, right-in-your-face message out of it?

[antipodean]

Labels, labels. Given the relatively short life-span and narrow base of "grunge" at least it is easier to define than "metal", which pretty much can cover everything from Black Sabbath through Iron Maiden to whoever is big, loud and nasty next year....

There would appear to be a reasonable variety within the movement we label Grunge. Whilst I can see the influence of Punk in terms of a lo-fi independent approach early in the movement, I believe that alt-rockers have at least as much influence as metal. There is a whistful sensitivity to certain Nirvana and Pearl Jam songs in particular that are way more early indie REM than the overt machoism of the vast majority of metal bands. On top of that, there is a tendency in Grunge to atmospheric arrangements that are rare in either metal or punk - where the reverb is set to ten rather than the gain.

I have to say that Grunge makes my play list, but then again so does just about every other genre besides roller-disco, bubble-gum and modern manufactured pop...

[phlemmy]

That first Pearl Jam album was pretty special. The drum work was fantastic.

[shamustwin]

I see people dressed like xxxx vs people dressed well at a ratio of about 97-3 everyday. I doubt any of them are grunge fans!

[phlemmy]

[longhouse]

Todd Snider 'Talking Seattle Blues':