Grunge

[7] By the early 1990s, its popularity had spread, with grunge bands appearing in California, then emerging in other parts of the United States and in Australia, building strong followings and signing major record deals.

Grunge was commercially successful in the early-to-mid-1990s due to releases such as Nirvana's Nevermind, Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Alice in Chains' Dirt, and Stone Temple Pilots' Core.

Although most grunge bands had disbanded or faded from view by the late 1990s, they influenced modern rock music, as their lyrics brought socially conscious issues into pop culture[9] and added introspection and an exploration of what it means to be true to oneself.

Seattle music journalist Charles R. Cross defines "grunge" as distortion-filled, down-tuned and riff-based rock that uses loud electric guitar feedback and heavy, "ponderous" basslines to support its song melodies.

This approach was chosen both to counter the "slick" elegant sound of the then-predominant mainstream rock and because grunge artists wanted to mirror the "ugliness" they saw around them and shine a light on unseen "depths and depravity" of the real world.

They used primarily offset guitars because at the time they were unpopular enough to offer a new image as opposed to more frequently seen Gibson Les Pauls or Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster used by mainstream pop & rock bands.

"[40] Wah was also used by the Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr.[42] Grunge guitarists played loud, with Kurt Cobain's early guitar sound coming from an unusual set-up of four 800 watt PA system power amplifiers.

[70] The grunge singing style was similar to the "outburst" of loud, heavily distorted electric guitar in tone and delivery; Kurt Cobain used a "gruff, slurred articulation and gritty timbre" and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam made use of a "wide, powerful vibrato" to show his "depth of expression.

[82] The topics of grunge lyrics–homelessness, suicide, rape,[77] "broken homes, drug addiction and self-loathing"–contrasted sharply to the glam metal lyrics of bands like Poison, which described "life in the fast lane",[83] partying, and hedonism.

"[105] The style did not evolve out of a conscious attempt to create an appealing fashion; music journalist Charles R. Cross said, "[Nirvana frontman] Kurt Cobain was just too lazy to shampoo", and Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman said, "This [clothing] is cheap, it's durable, and it's kind of timeless.

[113] Vogue stated in 2014 that "Cobain pulled liberally from both ends of a woman's and a man's wardrobe, and his Seattle thrift-store look ran the gamut of masculine lumberjack workwear and 40s-by-way-of-70s feminine dresses.

[106] In the same year, Vogue did a spread called "Grunge & Glory" with fashion photographer Steven Meisel who shot supermodels Kristen McMenamy, Naomi Campbell, and Nadja Auermann in a savanna landscape wearing grunge-styled clothing.

[123] However, "dressing grunge is no longer a badge of authenticity, though: the signifiers of rebellion (Dr Martens boots, tartan shirts) are omnipotent on the high street", says Lynette Nylander, deputy editor of i-D magazine.

"[125] A 2014 book stated that whereas in the 1980s, people used the "stimulant" cocaine to socialize and "... celebrate good times", in the 1990s grunge scene, the "depressant" heroin was used to "retreat" into a "cocoon" and be "... sheltered from a harsh and unforgiving world which offered ... few prospects for ... change or hope.

[132] Regarding graphic design and images, a common feature of grunge bands was the use of "lo-fi" (low fidelity) and deliberately unconventional album covers, for example presenting intentionally murky or miscolored photography, collage or distressed lettering.

Peterson's black and white, uncropped, and sometimes blurry shots of the underground Pacific Northwest music scene's members playing and jamming, wearing their characteristic everyday clothes, were used by Sub Pop to promote its Seattle bands.

Grunge lit is an Australian literary genre of fictional or semi-autobiographical writing in the early 1990s about young adults living in an "inner cit[y]" "... world of disintegrating futures where the only relief from ... boredom was through a nihilistic pursuit of sex, violence, drugs and alcohol".

[149] Riot Grrrl pioneer and Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna was the source for the name of Nirvana's 1991 breakthrough single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", a reference to a deodorant marketed specifically to young women.

[150][151] Notable women instrumentalists include the bassists D'arcy Wretzky and Melissa Auf der Maur from the Smashing Pumpkins, and drummers Patty Schemel of Hole and Lori Barbero of Babes in Toyland.

[83][177] Several Australian bands, including the Scientists, Cosmic Psychos and Feedtime, are cited as precursors to grunge, their music influencing the Seattle scene through the college radio broadcasts of Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman and members of Mudhoney on KCMU.

[184] Black Sabbath's 1971 album Master of Reality in particular has been noted as a key influence on grunge, largely in part due to the sound, as a result of guitarist Tony Iommi down-tuning his guitar a step and a half.

[171] The "idlers of Generation X [were] trying to forestall the dread day of corporate enrollment" and embrace the "cult of the loser"; indeed Nirvana's 1991 song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" "opens with Cobain intoning 'It's fun to lose.

While music writer Michael Azerrad acknowledged that early grunge bands like Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and Tad had disparate sounds, he noted "to the objective observer, there were some distinct similarities.

[37] Grunge attracted media attention in the United Kingdom after Pavitt and Poneman asked journalist Everett True from the British magazine Melody Maker to write an article on the local music scene.

[37] Chris Dubrow from The Guardian states that in the late 1980s, Australia's "sticky-floored ... alternative pub scene" in seedy inner-city areas produced grunge bands with "raw and awkward energy" such as the Scientists, X, Beasts of Bourbon, feedtime, Cosmic Psychos and Lubricated Goat.

[246] In the book Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota, Chuck Klosterman wrote, "Bush was a good band who just happened to signal the beginning of the end; ultimately, they would become the grunge Warrant".

These post-grunge artists were criticized for their commercialized sound as well as their "worldview built around the comforts of community and romantic relationships", as opposed to grunge's lyrical exploration of "troubling issues such as suicide, societal hypocrisy and drug addiction.

In 2006, Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt described Pearl Jam as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame", but noted the band had nevertheless developed a loyal concert following akin to that of the Grateful Dead.

[309] Media outlets also began referring to a revival of the grunge sound around the mid-2010s, with the label being given to bands such as Title Fight,[310][311] InCrest,[citation needed] Fangclub,[312] Code Orange,[311] My Ticket Home,[313][314] Citizen,[315] Milk Teeth[316] and Muskets,[317][318][319] some of which have been described as merging the genre with emo.

"[23] Paste magazine's Michael Danaher states that the grunge "movement changed the course of rock 'n' roll, bringing ... tales of abuse and depression" and socially conscious issues" into pop culture.

A male guitarist and singer, Mark Arm, is onstage, holding an electric guitar.
Mark Arm of Green River whose Dry as a Bone EP was described as "ultra-loose grunge" in 1987
A museum exhibition of items associated with the 1990s Seattle music scene, including two Nirvana record album sleeves, a Soundgarden record sleeve, and instruments.
A museum exhibition about the Seattle music scene, with record sleeves of Nevermind and In Utero by Nirvana , along with Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden
A small effect unit pedal, painted in orange paint that is scuffed from heavy use.
The relatively affordable, widely available Boss DS-2 distortion pedal was one of the key effects (including the related DS-1 ) that created the growling, overdriven guitar sound in grunge.
A male electric guitarist, Kim Thayil, onstage with an electric guitar. He has a beard.
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil 's punk attitudes encouraged him to downplay soloing in the 1980s; however, when other leading grunge bands such as Nirvana started to de-emphasize the role of the solo during the early 1990s, he began to do solos again.
Dave Grohl playing drums circa 1989
Drummer Dave Grohl , who played with Nirvana and later went to form the band Foo Fighters
A male singer, Eddie Vedder, onstage and singing into a vocal microphone. He has an emotional look on his face as he sings.
Vocalist Eddie Vedder , from Pearl Jam , is noted for his expressive singing style.
Jerry Cantrell has been the lead guitarist and chief songwriter of Alice in Chains since 1987.
A male bassist, Jeff Ament, playing upright bass in a concert. He is seated in front of several large, tall speaker cabinets.
Grunge concerts, like the heavy metal, punk rock, and hardcore shows that influenced grunge's development, were loud. Pictured is Pearl Jam 's bassist Jeff Ament in front of a wall of bass stacks .
A female musician, Courtney Love, singing into a microphone at a concert. She is wearing a lingerie corset and has long blonde hair.
Courtney Love has been considered one of the top ten women who defined 1990s style by popularizing the " kinderwhore " style.
A poster encouraging injection drug users to use bleach to clean their syringes and needles.
The title of Nirvana's debut album Bleach referred to the 1980s-era public health posters which urged heroin injectors to use bleach to clean their needles, to prevent AIDS transmission.
L7 performing in Paris , June 2015
Young in 2006.
Neil Young has been called the "Godfather of Grunge". His albums Rust Never Sleeps and Ragged Glory have been described as proto-grunge and grunge.
A rock band, the U-Men, playing onstage in a small venue with low ceilings. The band members are wearing matching grey suits and bow-ties.
Seattle band the U-Men performing in Seattle
An Australian rock band, the Cosmic Psychos, performing onstage. The dark stage is lit up by coloured lights. Three performers are visible: an electric bass player, an electric guitarist, and a drummer behind a drumkit.
Cosmic Psychos , one of several Australian bands which influenced and interacted with the Seattle scene
Seattle grunge pioneers Green River
A rock band, Pearl Jam, performing onstage. A vocalist sings into a microphone while playing tambourine. A drummer sits behind a drumkit. A guitarist plays electric guitar.
Grunge band Pearl Jam in Columbia, Maryland in 2000
A rock band performing onstage
British band Bush were described by Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone as "the most successful and shameless mimics of Nirvana's music".
A rock band, Oasis, performing onstage in front of a large projection screen with images on it. Four members are wearing guitars strapped to them.
Britpop band Oasis performing in Canada in 2002
Post-grunge band Creed in 2002
A female singer and guitarist performing onstage. She is singing into a microphone while playing electric guitar.
Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Courtney Barnett in 2015
A photo of a rock band, Mudhoney, at a live show. The photo is blurred from the onstage motion. From left to right are the electric bassist, singer and guitarist.
This photo of a Mudhoney concert captures some of the band's live show energy.