Grunge music

:Grunge redirects here. For other uses, see Grunge (disambiguation).

Style, roots, and influences

Grunge music is generally characterized by "dirty" guitar, strong riffs, and heavy drumming. The "dirty" sound resulted both from a stylistic change in the standard method of playing punk rock, and from the common use of guitar distortion and feedback. Grunge involves slower tempi and dissonant harmonies that are generally not found in punk. The lyrics are typically angst-filled — anger, frustration, ennui, sadness, fear, and depression are often explored in grunge songs. These lyrics may have come from the feelings of angst that are common in adolescence; many grunge musicians began their careers as teenagers or young adults. However, other factors, such as poverty, discomfort with social prejudices, and a general disenchantment with the state of society may also have influenced grunge lyricism. Nevertheless, not all grunge songs dealt with such emotions: Nirvana's satirical "In Bloom" is a notable example of more humorous writing. Many other grunge songs had a sense of humor as well, which often went unnoticed by the general public. Much of the humor in grunge satirized heavy metal and other forms of rock music that were popular during the 1980s.{{ref|freind}}

Related Topics:
Guitar - Punk rock - Feedback - Angst - Nirvana - In Bloom

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Grunge evolved out of the Pacific Northwest's local punk rock scene, inspired by local punk bands such as The Fartz, The U-Men, the feedback- and distortion-intensive The Accused, and pop-punksters The Fastbacks.{{ref|Hype1}} Above all, the slow, heavy sound of The Melvins was the biggest influence on grunge. Both The Melvins and the punk band The Wipers (also influential) are themselves considered grunge bands by some fans of the genre, although others classify them as hardcore punk bands. Aside from its punk origins, the grunge movement had strong roots in the musical and youth culture of the American northwest. The musical resemblance to such 1960s northwest bands as the Wailers and, most particularly, the Sonics, is unmistakable.

Related Topics:
The Fartz - The U-Men - The Accused - The Fastbacks - The Melvins - The Wipers - American northwest - 1960s - The Wailers - The Sonics

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Mark Arm, the vocalist for the Seattle band Green River (and later Mudhoney), is widely credited for being the first to use the term "grunge" to describe the style. However, Arm used the term with a negative connotation; he called the band's style "pure grunge, pure shit". This was not seen as being negative by the media, and the term was subsequently applied to all music that sounded similar to Green River's style.{{ref|ArmGrunge}} It is likely that the term was seen as appropriate because of the "dirty" guitar sound that grunge is known for (the word grunge itself means "dirt").

Related Topics:
Mark Arm - Green River - Mudhoney

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Formed in 1983, Green River is widely believed to have created the genre, and was a large inspiration for many grunge bands despite the band's relatively low level of commercial success.{{ref|greenriver}} After the band split up in 1988, members of Green River formed Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone, continuing on their style. Green River, who used a harder sound in their performance than many later grunge bands, inspired other early grunge bands such as Soundgarden and Alice in Chains to use a similarly hard style. However, the sound of the genre became a mix of the earlier grunge style and alternative rock shortly before its mainstream success in the 1990s. This is most often credited to Nirvana's style, which combined the sound of earlier grunge bands with that of The Pixies. Nirvana's use of the Pixies' "soft verse, hard chorus" style popularized this stylistic approach in both grunge and other alternative rock genres.

Related Topics:
Mother Love Bone - Soundgarden - Alice in Chains - The Pixies

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Grunge's unique sound is often said to have resulted from Seattle's isolation from other alternative rock scenes.{{ref|howitt}} However, outside of the Pacific northwest, other musicians are said to have influenced grunge. Such northeastern bands as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. are considered important influences on the grunge sound, and the influence of the Pixies on Nirvana — and through them on other bands — is unquestionable. The Minnesota hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü are also believed by some to have been an influence. After Neil Young played live a few times with Pearl Jam and recorded the album Mirror Ball with them, some members of the media gave Young the questionable title "Godfather of Grunge," a claim grounded mainly on his work with his band Crazy Horse.

Related Topics:
Northeastern - Sonic Youth - Dinosaur Jr. - Minnesota - Hüsker Dü - Neil Young - Pearl Jam - Mirror Ball - Crazy Horse

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Mudhoney's Steve Turner says that Black Flag's 1984 record My War and its supporting tours were major influences on many Seattle bands. The record found the Los Angeles punk rock stalwarts slowing their tempi considerably and injecting a potent dose of heavy metal, though to considerable derision and disgust from some fans. Turner says that "A lot of other people around the country hated the fact that Black Flag slowed down ... but up here it was really great — we were like 'Yay!' They were weird and fucked-up sounding." (Azerrad, p. 419){{ref|Azerrad}} While elements of thrash metal made their way into the grunge sound, the genre continued to remain more loyal to its punk roots. The mentality of the musicians was still very deeply rooted in the punk scene, with many bands subscribing to the DIY ethic.

Related Topics:
Black Flag - My War - Los Angeles - Tempi - DIY ethic

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Grunge concerts were known for being straightforward, high-energy performances. Grunge bands avoided the complex, high budget presentations that bands from other rock genres such as heavy metal were known for; complex light arrays, pyrotechnics, and other technological visual effects unrelated to playing the music were not part of the concerts. Instead, the bands presented themselves no differently from any local band, using only their instruments and their own presence as visual "effects" (neither being budgeted higher than what was needed). The concerts did have some level of interactivity though, presented in the form of the mosh pit. Fans and musicians alike would participate in stage diving, crowd surfing, headbanging, and pogoing, though the audiences at grunge concerts were best known for their extremely enthusiastic moshing. The mosh pits would be located close to the stage, allowing such interaction between the audience and the band.

Related Topics:
Heavy metal - Mosh pit - Stage diving - Crowd surfing - Headbanging - Pogo

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