Grunge

musicismylife78

I was and am a big fan of the early 90’s seattle scene that was going on.

The music spoke about me and to me, like nothing else before or since.

Did anyone else kinda get the feeling that whole music movement was speaking about a sort of lost generation. A generation that was lost, was disillusioned, angry, upset, abused. These were kids who were left alone by their parents, and some didn’t even have “parents” so to speak.

Immortality speaks about a person who is at a crossroads: cannot stop the thought of running in the dark, coming up a which way sign all good truants must decide.

Like it or not, eddie vedder and Kurt Cobain became spokesmen of a generation, writing songs about sexual abuse, racism, death, suicide, and feeling completely lost.

I got the sense that it was like the 1960’s, there was millions of kids who identified with Nirvana and pearl Jam, and were disaffected youth, who were abused by parents and not listened to at all. The song runaway train by Soul Asylum kinda sums this up. That people started running away.

Anyone have any data on this, during the early 90’s did kids who identified with these bands start running away and rebelling? Were millions of kids listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and saying hell yeah, I need to escape!

Did the music reflect reality in the sense that Jeremy did, that there were tons of kids who were neglected by parents, and made fun of by fellow students?

Was there is fact a movement much like the hippies, of kids who were trying to leave their homes and get away?

And if this is true, if this music was somehow so ahead of its time, to talk about kids like this, or if the music was merely a product of its time and reflected how kids felt, what happened to all those kids?

Did they stay on the run? Marry? Have kids?

We all know the story of how hippies turned into yuppies and sold out and all that, became what they hated. Can the same be said for the generation that lived in the 90’s?

long road walker

it probably was the 2nd best if not biggest movement of all time . I still live in the "grunge" era so to say, still listen to all that stuff , lol, can never get enough

the music was way, way , way ahead of its time & it will come full circle again eventually

culot4

The people, myself included, didn't do anything really. We didn't protest, we weren't activists, and we didn't really give a shit about anything. We wore our angst on our sleeve and were even given a label "generation x'ers". The music was great until too many knockoffs watered it down, everyone was wearing flannel and docs, we smoked a lot of bud, and it was cool to feel sad and have problems ...thats what I remember. I also remember it being over pretty much right after it began.

pjfan020

Everything that I listen to today is thanks to the grunge scene. I saw pearl jam, got into all the seattle bands, then classic rock, and everywhere else. Unlike the bands around today, the music, vocals, lyrics were great. Honestly that was the last great musical movement. It's my belief (or dream) that very soon you will see an uprising of actual talented musicians come around. That might be wishful thinking but who knows. I've got a feeling.

culot4

pjfan020 wrote:

It's my belief (or dream) that very soon you will see an uprising of actual talented musicians come around.

They've been saying that forever.....rock (with a few exceptions) is dead.

danielson

culot4 wrote:

They've been saying that forever.....rock (with a few exceptions) is dead.

I disagree.

Musical movements are reactions to social conditions and musical conditions of the day, I think a reaction is coming. Grunge was made by kids who grew up with Reagan as president and Hair metal as the popular music.

8 years of bush, and Rap as the popular music, I'm thinking another reaction is due. These wiggers are going to have to realize at some point that everyone hates them. White people hate them, black people hate them, and they will have to come back to the white mans bread and butter - rock n roll.

Also, parents have an impact on kids musical tastes. The two great musical movements in rock feed off of each other. 65-75, and 87(starting at appetite)-95 The people who made grunge music were the kids of people who lived through the first rock revolution. When parents listen to good music, their kids grow up to make good music. The bands today have parents who grew up in the disco and hair band eras, considered crappy music by most objective people(with some obvious exceptions)

Once Grunge fans kids start making bands, I figure music will get good again, because the grunge era produced a lot of really good music.

and when it comes down to it, the combination of a guitar, a bass, a drum kit, and a singer has worked for 40 years as the most popular form of music to humans. Rap certaintly has its place, but Rock will live on.

Music goes in cycles like anything,drugs are like that. It was coke in the 80's, heroin in the 90's, now its meth. Stimulant, depressant, stimulant.

Politics- George W Bush's disasterous presidency is just breeding liberals by the bucketful, just like clintons "imoral" presidency breed conservatives, just like the reagan era bred liberals

culot4

danielson wrote:

I disagree.

Musical movements are reactions to social conditions and musical conditions of the day, I think a reaction is coming. Grunge was made by kids who grew up with Reagan as president and Hair metal as the popular music.

8 years of bush, and Rap as the popular music, I'm thinking another reaction is due. These wiggers are going to have to realize at some point that everyone hates them. White people hate them, black people hate them, and they will have to come back to the white mans bread and butter - rock n roll.

Also, parents have an impact on kids musical tastes. The two great musical movements in rock feed off of each other. 65-75, and 87(starting at appetite)-95 The people who made grunge music were the kids of people who lived through the first rock revolution. When parents listen to good music, their kids grow up to make good music. The bands today have parents who grew up in the disco and hair band eras, considered crappy music by most objective people(with some obvious exceptions)

Once Grunge fans kids start making bands, I figure music will get good again, because the grunge era produced a lot of really good music.

and when it comes down to it, the combination of a guitar, a bass, a drum kit, and a singer has worked for 40 years as the most popular form of music to humans. Rap certaintly has its place, but Rock will live on.

Music goes in cycles like anything,drugs are like that. It was coke in the 80's, heroin in the 90's, now its meth. Stimulant, depressant, stimulant.

Politics- George W Bush's disasterous presidency is just breeding liberals by the bucketful, just like clintons "imoral" presidency breed conservatives, just like the reagan era bred liberals

Yeah man I hear what you're saying but I mean pure rock .I'm sure there are some kick ass kids in garages around the country just playing pure rock music but I doubt if I ever get to hear most of it. If you're talking about a massive mainstream crossover I just don't see rock as I know it and love it ever having a massive resurgence. The sound would just be labeled as this band is a classic rock retread. A brand new sound... thats a possibility but in what kind of form. Grunge was a movement...so was disco. Time determines the relevance of the early 90's and aside from the obvious not a lot of those bands survived. It all goes in cycles I realize that. I just hope that when and if it comes around again I'll even care. I really have to think about the last "rock" band that came along and impressed me.

Echoes

culot4 wrote:

but I doubt if I ever get to hear most of it.

look for it somewhere other than the radio

pjfan020

Echoes wrote:

look for it somewhere other than the radio

I get what you're saying, but right now isn't a great time to be in a rock band. Right now emo, indie, and metal music rule the scene and it's hard for a rock band to get signed. With the music industry so fixated on image and marketing, it's almost impossible for just some regular kids who love rock music to get signed to a major label. You can record all the music you want, but until you can get the kind of distribution that major labels provide, your record isn't gonna go anywhere.

Echoes

pjfan020 wrote:

You can record all the music you want, but until you can get the kind of distribution that major labels provide, your record isn't gonna go anywhere.

Well, all rock bands start off as "indie" anyways. I mean, with the internet, there shouldn't be any problem getting people to hear your music, even if you aren't on a label. You still get a lot of great rock bands making music that easy to hear and easy to buy at indie record shops and the like. I agree it is tougher and tougher to get play on the radio, and carried in big displays in shitty chain stores like HMV or Best Buy or whatever, or to have it on MTV eith all the "big boys," but this does not stop great rock music from being made. People that love music for the music will make it regardless of what giant label signs or doesn't sign them. Major label status pretty much means squat to me.

but don't take what is being played on the radio as 'metal' as being at aqll indicitive of what good metal really is. Tehre is some great stuff out there you'll never hear on an "alt" radio station

drew0

It will come. For some reason, I think that something is brewing in the underworld. As everyone said, music goes in cycles. You had the '60s/early '70s that kicked ass, then disco, and then slowly into hair metal & pop. Then, grunge/alternative rock came about with Seattle, Stone Temple Pilots, Radiohead, Rage, Smashing Pumpkins, and all those good bands. Then carbon copies came along, ruined the scene, and pop & rape have been dominant for 10 years. It goes in cycles. I have a feeling that within ten years you'll see rock & roll as it was in the '90s come back to the top kick the world's ass again. Politics effect music (Vietnam the '60s, Reagan the alternative rock movement), and now eight years of hypocrisy & corruption can only lead to one positive thing: better music with lots of pissed off rockers. Maybe it won't be like it was in the '90s - but I'm sure we'll see something surging here soon. I'm just hoping for more classic rock type bands with loud guitar solos, lyrics that mean something, vocals that define rock, songs that don't all sound the same & have depth, and a frontman that actually has a personality. You know what band I'm taling about.

Chimera

Personally, I can't wait for this Emo/Screamo garbage to be done with.

Grunge is still my favorite.

Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Temple of the Dog, etc.

prytocorduroy

Chimera wrote:

Personally, I can't wait for this Emo/Screamo garbage to be done with.

Grunge is still my favorite.

Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Temple of the Dog, etc.

Couldn't agree more. Emo is a pathetic music format. Pussy singers and crappy guitar riffs. Metal music is getting better, but people need to learn to sing (like Metallica does), not scream (like Lamb of God or whatever). Grunge to me is the best form of music, but that's because I grew up with it I guess. And don't forget the Smashing Pumpkins!

pj_zombie

drew0 wrote:

I'm just hoping for more classic rock type bands with loud guitar solos, lyrics that mean something, vocals that define rock, songs that don't all sound the same & have depth, and a frontman that actually has a personality. You know what band I'm taling about.

This is what I'm looking for too. Recently I've only found a few that seem to be hovering around that idea. Shinedown recently took a big step in this direction with their latest album and their lead guitarist is really good. One of their songs reminds me of a Led Zeppelin song. Brent reminds me a lot of Eddie in terms of the passion he has and all the emotion/energy he shows at concerts. Another recent band that seems to fit the bill is a new band called Rose Hill Drive. Someone on here told me about them and I love their songs. Definately a really talented guitarist there too.

Echoes

danny72688 wrote:

Couldn't agree more. Emo is a pathetic music format. Pussy singers and crappy guitar riffs. Metal music is getting better, but people need to learn to sing (like Metallica does), not scream (like Lamb of God or whatever). Grunge to me is the best form of music, but that's because I grew up with it I guess. And don't forget the Smashing Pumpkins!

Emo has some good enough tunes, but none of this played on the radio crap.
As far as metal goes, the less bands that sound like Metallica the better. We need more bands that sound like Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy vocalwise
Grunge is just a way of labelling "alternative" music when it wasn't alternative anymore. Some of it was really good but a lot of it is really overrated by people with narrow musical tastes

edit: Sinedown is a pretty tired sounding band, but their lead singer does a wicked cover of "Simple Man"

culot4

Echoes wrote:

look for it somewhere other than the radio

I havent listened to the radio in years

Echoes

culot4 wrote:

I havent listened to the radio in years

Then what are you complaining about? There is plenty of great rock being made!

FinsburyParkCarrots

Try Internet radio. Try KEXP (http://www.kexp.org), for a start. There's a lot of good music out there.

prytocorduroy

Echoes wrote:

Emo has some good enough tunes, but none of this played on the radio crap.
As far as metal goes, the less bands that sound like Metallica the better. We need more bands that sound like Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy vocalwise
Grunge is just a way of labelling "alternative" music when it wasn't alternative anymore. Some of it was really good but a lot of it is really overrated by people with narrow musical tastes

edit: Sinedown is a pretty tired sounding band, but their lead singer does a wicked cover of "Simple Man"

I was just refering to how Hetfield actually sings his well written (at least back in the day) lyrics instead of (I think the term is) growling. Growling is almost as annoying as the emo voice to me.

And what emo song has a good tune? Everything I've heard sounds boring and not cathcy at all, but I may be wrong 'cause I only heard the shit from the radio.

Nothingbetter

long road walker wrote:

it probably was the 2nd best if not biggest movement of all time . I still live in the "grunge" era so to say, still listen to all that stuff , lol, can never get enough

the music was way, way , way ahead of its time & it will come full circle again eventually

I'm the same way, and all very true.

Echoes

danny72688 wrote:

I was just refering to how Hetfield actually sings his well written (at least back in the day) lyrics instead of (I think the term is) growling. Growling is almost as annoying as the emo voice to me.

And what emo song has a good tune? Everything I've heard sounds boring and not cathcy at all, but I may be wrong 'cause I only heard the shit from the radio.

I always like Dashboard Confessional's "Hands Down," it is probably my favourite "new era" emo song, but there are tonnes of old songs on Dischord record from the 80's that were great, and the Promis Ring and Sunny Day Real Estate had some good songs to represent the middle wave of emo in the mid-90's. But I can understand how a lot of people hate DC, they are a pretty loathsome band, I just really like that one song.

As for the growling, that is just a personal thing, there are some great growlers out there, I just bought a classic Morbid Angel album and it is absolutely awesome, with its iceberg-sized riffs and crazy drums and gorwling vocals. "Clean" Metal vocals don't really do it for me anymore. Usually the rest of the song sucks, or the lyrics are really lame, or the voice is beyond cheesy