Grunge Didn't Die With Cobain

As someone who has gone through my fair share of embarrassing music phases, one that has stuck with me with (thanks largely to my parents) is grunge, and looking at some of the music that’s come out more recently it certainly doesn’t seem like I’m the only one. Being the genre that knocked hair-metal out of the charts, we already owe a great debt to these 90s icons, but the music and styles longevity shows just how impactful the grunge movement was.

When grunge sprung up around Seattle’s underground music scene in the mid-80s, it was taking influence from the heavy metal and punk that has enjoyed success from the 70s, and creating a new, angst filled sound. Although most of these bands rejected the label, grunge soon went mainstream and the term was known across the world, helped by the new Sub Pop record label, who signed bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney early on. Two of Mudhoneys member were from the band Green River, who released probably the first grunge EP in 1985, and Mudhoneys debut Touch Me I’m Sick is still seen as one of the greatest grunge songs of all time, a claim I’m happy to back, and thus began the popularity of this sludgy Seattle sound.

Throughout the late 80s, grunges popularity had already started dying down a fair bit, but Nirvana releasing Smells Like Teen Spirit in 1991 suddenly changed the trajectory of grunge music. After the single featuring heavily on radio and MTV, the album Nevermind received widespread success, catapulting grunge into the mainstream. Similar bands such as Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains followed as chart toppers, and many of the members began struggling with fame and the commercialisation of what was supposed to be a “pure” genre of rock n roll.

As more and more grunge artists were making it to the top, problems with addiction and mental health came to the forefront. Part of grunges appeal was the political, honest and emotional lyrics; artists didn’t shy away from writing about their struggles, which resonated with a large audience, but pouring your heart into a song and seeing it sung by millions must be strange. While Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder said hearing the audience sing Alive back at him transformed the song into one of hope (it was written about his father, who he had never known, passing away), he also (unsuccessfully) moved to prevent Black from becoming a hit due to how personal it was. In Utero, Nirvanas third album, was also seen as a rebellion against the mainstream success they achieved with Nevermind, with a noticeably rougher and heavier sound. Both Pearl Jam and Nirvana continued to top the charts, despite their best efforts.

Just as Nirvana brought grunge to the top, frontman Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994, after a battle with his health and a heroin addiction, marked the beginning of the end. In the same year Kristen Pfaff, bassist of Hole, also died from an overdose, and it was clear heroin and addiction was plaguing the grunge scene. In 1996 Layne Staley, the frontman of Alice in Chains, sadly also passed away from an overdose, as did bassist Mike Starr in 2010. This wasn’t even the end of the tragedies, with Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Chris Cornell also passing away in 2015 and 2017 respectively. With all these heart-breaking deaths, grunge also died to an extent, and any attempts at a grunge revival (looking at you, Nickleback) will just never be the same.

That said, grunge had too big an impact during its short reign at the top to say grunge died out with Cobain. Grunge has instead evolved over the years, and yes while the post-grunge movement was really not quite the revival fans may have wanted (Nickleback, Three Doors Down, Creed etc), many great bands would not be what they are without the influence of the long-haired Seattle groups. While Pearl Jam have thankfully been killing it well into the 2010s, any music borrowing from grunge has needed to make it something new and fresh for it to properly work.

Long hair, flannels, Nirvana tees and tattered jeans are enduring angsty wardrobe staples of millions, but many artists have embraced a grunge influence, especially in the 2010s. The raw lyrics, energetic live performances and distorted guitars of grunge were just far too good to let go. Of course, we still have Foo Fighters to enjoy, formed by Dave Grohl of Nirvana, but I can't imagine Biffy Clyro or even Cloud Nothings haven’t been heavily influenced by grunge. Emo music too can be seen to mix many elements of grunge with metal, and bands such as Citizen have definite grunge elements, as do Code Orange and Wolf Alice, despite very different sounds.

Now that I think about it, almost all the music I love now can definitely be traced back to grunge, as can my extensive flannel collection I will never get rid of. Grunge is a movement that has shaped Gen Z me, and undoubtedly thousands of others. If you’ve never dipped your toes into grunge after hearing Smells Like Teen Spirit one or two (hundred) too many times, please do, and even if it isn’t your thing, it is indisputable how important grunge was for alternative music and style since.

Top 5 Grunge tracks:

1: Pearl Jam, Jeremy

2: Soundgarden, Rusty Cage

3: Stone Temple Pilots, Sex Type Thing

4: Nirvana, Come As You Are

5: Alice in Chains, Grind