Category:Grunge: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"''I'm taking our music to the next level - Guitar Rock Utilizing Nihilist [[Recursive Acronym|Grunge]] Energy - or, as I call it, '''[[Fun With Acronyms|GRUNGE]]!'''"''|'''Homer Simpson''', ''[[The Simpsons]]''}}

'''Grunge''' is a form of [[Alternative Rock]]. A very popular one, at that. So popular that it made alternative rock more popular, laying the foundations for all alternative bands to come, with the result being... kind of bad for alternative rock, actually, since the term "alternative" lost all meaning when alternative rock became the dominant form of rock music, and not so alternate anymore. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Thanks a lot, grunge]].

Ignoring that little [[Take That]] at grunge's expense... grunge itself is widely believed to have started in [[Seattle]], and is sometimes referred to as "the Seattle sound" by nobody in particular, even though some bands weren't actually ''from'' there. Grunge was created by two groups - Malfunkshun and Green River {{spoiler|and whoever tells you otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about}} - and started off underground, which was the philosophy of the music. As a backlash against [[Hair Metal]], which was big at the time ([[The Eighties|the mid-'80s]]), grunge artists didn't care much for theatrics or their appearance, resulting in that trademark messy look characterized by flannel shirts.

The music itself could be described as a strange combination of [[Doom Metal|sludge metal]] and [[Alternative Rock]] with even more influences from [[Hardcore Punk]]. The guitars have plenty of feedback (usually), and the lyrics are often pretty personal, influencing lots of more [[Wangst|angsty]] genres such as [[Nu Metal]] and [[Emo (Music)|modern emo bands]]. The vocals range from [[Perishing Alt Rock Voice]] to [[Nose Yodeling]], and all stops in between.

So, grunge started off underground, but of course something happened. What was this "something", you may ask?

[[Nirvana (Music)|Nirvana]].

Nirvana, a Seattle (by way of Aberdeen and Olympia) grunge band fronted by Kurt Cobain, unexpectedly made it big [[The Nineties|in 1991]] with their album ''Nevermind'', containing the famed hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which, in typical "most famous song" fashion, was [[Black Sheep Hit|shunned by Cobain]]. With Nirvana's success, other grunge bands, such as [[Pearl Jam (Music)|Pearl Jam]], [[Soundgarden (Music)|Soundgarden]] and [[Alice in Chains (Music)|Alice in Chains]], also made it pretty big. Against their will. 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|conspiracy theorists]] still maintain that he was murdered).

Then Nirvana disbanded, Soundgarden released their most famous song ("Black Hole Sun"), and grunge began to fade in the shadow of [[Britney Spears (Music)|Britney Spears]] and a new generation of Millennial techno-geeks inspired by the [[Britpop]] revolution which was historically [[Arch Nemesis|hostile to grunge]]. Another blow was dealt to grunge nearly a decade after Cobain's suicide when Layne Staley, lead singer of [[Alice in Chains (Music)|Alice in Chains]], died of a heroin overdose -- on the approximate date of Cobain's death <ref>Both were discovered dead after some time had passed. Both were still listed as circa April 5th, however.</ref>, which is cause for concern and even more paranoid [[Useful Notes/Conspiracy Theories|Conspiracy Theories]]. {{spoiler|[[Yoko Oh No|Courtney Love]] did it!}}

So, there you have it. The strange story of grunge.

Archetypal of [[The Nineties]]. For more information see articles like [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/oct/31/grunge this one].

The "signature look" of grunge, much to the [[Unkempt Beauty|distress of fashion designers]] everywhere, was loose-fitting jeans and a t-shirt with an open flannel shirt over it. This had been a "burnout" look among poorer teens for years -- the members of grunge bands only wearing such clothes because it was literally the only warm clothing they could afford when they were struggling -- [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks|and was now promoted to "cool" kids]].

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 [[Post-Grunge|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 [[Doom Metal]] subgenres such as Stoner Metal and Sludge, which could be seen as a [[Spiritual Successor]] of sorts.

Not to be confused with [[Post-Grunge]], which, beyond being based around downtuned guitar, often has very little in common.

''Definitely'' not to be confused with [[Emo]], unless you are referring to the early-90s [[Post-hardcore]] movement. Also do not confude with Gunge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunge); the goopy stuff often dumped on contestant's heads during kid's game shows in the mid-90's.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Nineties]]

[[Category:Alternative Rock]]

[[Category:Music Tropes]]

[[Category:Grunge]]