American Roots of Grunge

The topic for this week is American Roots in music! I picked Grunge rock, because it isn’t a well known genre in my generation. I enjoy the music itself but it also has a lot of different meanings for different people. Grunge music is a subgroup of American Rock that started in the mid-1980's. It originated in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Starting from punk rock and heavy metal grunge, it transformed. While the genre kept several of the traditional rock themes,  it also  formed into an apathy, depression, and heartache based genre.

Grunge is for you if you like to express yourself through music. I know that is a cliche thing to say, but it's true. Music is a way to connect with yourself, others, and the world around you. Grunge may not be for everyone and that’s valid. 

It’s vital to be respectful of all music and all artists. Generally I understand that many people my age do not listen to Grunge; however I feel that it should be respected and experienced by everyone at some point in their life. I hope that throughout reading this you understand the importance of ALL music. There are so many different kinds of people who need and listen to different things, and all of it has a purpose. 

I grew up listening to all the types of music that I am acknowledging here. I have a personal connection and very different relationship with these genres of music. Some are my favorites and some aren’t. I still respect them all the same and try to understand the purpose of the music, this is something I encourage others to do.

Before diving too deep into the genre, I want to expose you to a couple of the biggest grunge bands of the time. Starting with Alice In Chains (lead singer Kurt Cobain). Their song "Nutshell" is one of the first grunge songs I ever heard. And yes, I was the 8 year old at the live music on the weekends singing Alice In Chains. (Also, Pro-tip, always listen to the unplugged version of rock songs. This means they are alive and they are always the best). 

Next is Nirvana. I chose. "smells like teen spirit," because a lot of people know this song and don't realize it. Just listen until the chorus, I'm sure you've heard it. :)

Just for reference to understand where Grunge music originated from I’m going to talk a little about Heavy metal. Heavy Metal artists Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC were some of the biggest influencers of the Grunge era. Though they were artists of a different genre, this was the music that the one day grunge rockstars grew up listening to. Although I credit and respect these artists, heavy metal is one of my least favorite types of rock. I have, however, also grown up listening to almost all of them.

 In addition to what you have learned already, I want to put the spotlight on how the name was created. The word grunge means something is dirty/filthy. This term was originally used to describe the new sub genre due to its chaos and noise. Mark Arm was the first to use it in 1981, when he wrote a letter under his given name Mark McLaughlin to the Seattle zine, Desperate Times, criticizing his band Mr. Epp and the Calculations as "Pure grunge! Pure noise! Pure shit!". 

Grunge songs often had light guitar sounds in the verses, and the high energy boost of distorted guitars in the choruses. The line-up for these bands was the typical rock band of electric guitars, bass, drums and vocal. For the most part, there was no autotune. Raw vocals with much screaming. A majority of rock artists of this time period were not traditionally educated musicians. They were self taught. 

Keeping in mind the time period, streets were still roaming with hippies and their ideas of nonconformity. People wanted change, they wanted to be able to express themselves as they please. For these individuals, grunge was not just a genre of music, but a way of life. The bands were followed by groupies to perform after performance. Partying and drugs became common pass times for the artists. 

Respect is a must when talking about the grunge artists. Their music topics were mostly focused on hardship and depression because that's how they actually felt. It is important to acknowledge that the type of music a person makes is deeply connected to them. This type of connection with music is what you want to look for when trying to find your music taste. 

Specifically this music was popular in the 80’s so it's important to remember that this was a time where partying and drugs was just life, and everybody wanted to be wild and free. Shoutout to all my hippies and free spirited people out there.

Many artists with not only Grunge but Heavy metal and Punk have lost their lives to the lifestyle that comes with the music. Partying and drugs were to stop feeling; however many artists like Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell lost their lives to this particular lifestyle. 

Of course they didn’t hide the way they lived because it was stated in most of the music. They were battling things like addiction and trying to make a living with their music. Like most people in the world, I think it's really easy to forget they are humans too, with issues. 

Another interesting thing I’ve learned about these artists is that because Grunge is their passion, it is all they do. Their job is to perform and make music in order to make money. Because of this, most artists are part of multiple bands and make solo music as well. Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder are my favorite Grunge artists, so I’ll use them as an example. Both artists make their own music. Chirs Cornell is part of  bands: Stone temple pilots, temple of the dog, and audioslave. Eddie Vedder is part of Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog. And just because I absolutely love this video of Eddie Vedder, here is a live video of him performing the song, “Alive” by Pearl Jam.

 

And there you have it,

Grunge Rock