Jump to content

Seattle Grunge...


MrsTaborJet

Recommended Posts

We have quite a few music aficionados here on JN... LOL..

What's your pick on that era?

In my mind, no one can compare to Alice In Chains. They didn't get regular radio play like Nirvana, but they rocked. Next for me is Pearl Jam, specifically the Ten album.

I'm sure there's other sub-genres and obscure groups I've never heard of.

We got Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sound garden, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog... Candlebox later and STP outside the Seattle scene...

Thoughts?

Discuss...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have quite a few music aficionados here on JN... LOL..

What's your pick on that era?

In my mind, no one can compare to Alice In Chains. They didn't get regular radio play like Nirvana, but they rocked. Next for me is Pearl Jam, specifically the Ten album.

I'm sure there's other sub-genres and obscure groups I've never heard of.

We got Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sound garden, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog... Candlebox later and STP outside the Seattle scene...

Thoughts?

Discuss...

One of the greatest eras of music IMO. I lived it all through high school. It was great not giving a fu#ck and being hated by all the jocks. My #1 will always be Nirvana. That was the band that got me hooked on that type of music. Not far behind is Alice In Chains. Check out the Melvins. They were the epitome of grunge.

-U8fRHemfZw

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO....

Alice and Chains by far the best of that group

Pearl Jam...."ten" is one of the best albums ever....the rest was alright

Nirvana? Not to be a dick, but I was never a Cobain fan and the silver lining in him offing himself was finding out that Dave Grohl isn't just an amazing drummer, but he can do it all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was talking about this yesterday with my wife and daughter. How Eddie Vedder influenced a whole generation of singers-kind of like how Robert Plant did with mine...so I'd have to say that Pearl Jam, Green Day, and Nirvana=Foo Fighters

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much great underground metal from that era, so I never really paid attention to grunge. I was like 10 when cobain died so I'm kinda young for the whole grunge phase. Pearl Jam ten is a great album and blind melon was a pretty cool band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My two cents: The whole Seattle scene was more hype than substance. For whatever reason, I never got Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam. Yeah, they are talented, but derivative in my opinion. The best band in terms of rock & roll spirit was Nirvana. Whether you like these guys or not, their bare-bones, iconoclastic first album goes down as one of the most influential records ever; much like Never Mind the Bollocks, Here Come the Sex Pistols. Probably the best band from that area is the least known: Mudhoney.

Other great things to come out of the grunge era: Great vocalists like Layne Staley, Geoff Tate, and Chris Cornell (Cornell could sing for/front anyone's band, including Led Zep); cool flannel shirts; guys growing their hair like the 60s again; and good--albeit expensive--coffee for the masses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For my money, Alice in Chains was the best of that scene. Great songwriting, vocal harmonies and Jerry Cantrell is a great guitarist.

I also like Alice in Chains, though I would classify Cantrell as a great songwriter rather than a great guitarist. He's a competent rhythm player, but solos are not his strong suit. Vocally, no band from that era could touch Alice. Cantrell and Staley blended so well that it's almost like one voice. That skill/magic doesn't happen too often. I thought Down in a Hole was one of their best tunes, and really showcases their vocal chops. Again, it's like one singer singing. Amazing. Also, nice power chords in the chorus. I put my amp waaay up when I play this gem.

HFhQmPNAVDY

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OQ2FS53ySgU

Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth are both great bands! I wouldn't consider either of them grunge but they definitely count as late 80's early 90's alt rock.

And my favorite grunge band is Soundgarden. Nobody can compare to Chris Cornell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also like Alice in Chains, though I would classify Cantrell as a great songwriter rather than a great guitarist. He's a competent rhythm player, but solos are not his strong suit. Vocally, no band from that era could touch Alice. Cantrell and Staley blended so well that it's almost like one voice. That skill/magic doesn't happen too often. I thought Down in a Hole was one of their best tunes, and really showcases their vocal chops. Again, it's like one singer singing. Amazing. Also, nice power chords in the chorus. I put my amp waaay up when I play this gem.

HFhQmPNAVDY

I agree on Down In a Hole. What an awesome song, although the lyrics are a bit depressing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth are both great bands! I wouldn't consider either of them grunge but they definitely count as late 80's early 90's alt rock.

And my favorite grunge band is Soundgarden. Nobody can compare to Chris Cornell.

Yeah, I wouldn't consider them grunge but they had heave influence on alot of the grunge bands back then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also like Alice in Chains, though I would classify Cantrell as a great songwriter rather than a great guitarist. He's a competent rhythm player, but solos are not his strong suit.

Agree with the songwriting comment. Also agree that he's not an amazing soloist, but the solos and fills he did play were very tasteful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My two cents: The whole Seattle scene was more hype than substance. For whatever reason, I never got Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam. Yeah, they are talented, but derivative in my opinion. The best band in terms of rock & roll spirit was Nirvana. Whether you like these guys or not, their bare-bones, iconoclastic first album goes down as one of the most influential records ever; much like Never Mind the Bollocks, Here Come the Sex Pistols. Probably the best band from that area is the least known: Mudhoney.

Other great things to come out of the grunge era: Great vocalists like Layne Staley, Geoff Tate, and Chris Cornell (Cornell could sing for/front anyone's band, including Led Zep); cool flannel shirts; guys growing their hair like the 60s again; and good--albeit expensive--coffee for the masses.

I pretty much agree with this. I read a quote back when from some industry guy that said that the kids went crazy when Nirvana hit the scene because they were looking for something different that they weren't getting. He said they then found what they were looking for: Pearl Jam. FWIW, I like most of it, but I also prefer Alice in Chains and I find Soundgarden's sound a little too depressing to love.

I think people forget what was happening to the music scene back then. I remember liking heavy metal because it was the hardest thing out there Led Zep, Sabbath, Deep Purple. We liked that stuff and the newer bands and some hardcore, but metal eventually evolved into who had the best haircut and spandex pants. Grunge kind of got rid of that "gotta have the look" attitude and put the focus back on the music. Sometimes simplicity is good. Things were getting a little ridiculous with all the Yngwie arpeggio **** and pick hand tapping. Some of the dressing like girls **** was cool (N Y Dolls) but eventually the makeup was more important than the music and it seemed everybody was just writing ballads to get laid.

Some bands survived. Metallica, was as metal as they come, but I remember when they first came around they were just jeans and t-shirts guys playing somewhat obscure covers. They kept getting bigger until they were more pompous than any hair band. Pantera ditched the hairspray and stayed big. I think of Helmet more as "metal" than grunge, but they were big during the era (not from Seattle though Thorsten). I just think things got too pompous and it was time to knock everything down a peg.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I had to choose one band from the 90's that I enjoyed most it would be Soundgarden.

Some of my other favorites are (and they are not all considered grunge):

Alice In Chains

STP

Pearl Jam

Foo Fighters

Bush

Garbage

Nada Surf (anyone remember them?)

Silverchair

Tool

Harvey Danger

Better than Ezra

Semisonic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with the songwriting comment. Also agree that he's not an amazing soloist, but the solos and fills he did play were very tasteful.

I did not mean to disparage Cantrell at all. I really like him. He comes up with interesting, dark chord changes and melodies, and has put his stamp on the overall vibe of Alice's tunes. You put it best: very tasteful playing. In a way, he's like one of my heroes: Pete Townshend. Townshend is a brilliant songwriter and performer, whose strumming technique is still unparelleled. He's an ace rhythm player that--when it came to soloing--you'd never confuse for Eric Clapton, Richie Blackmore or Jimmy Page. But talk about tasteful playing and getting the rock edge down cold.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pretty much agree with this. I read a quote back when from some industry guy that said that the kids went crazy when Nirvana hit the scene because they were looking for something different that they weren't getting. He said they then found what they were looking for: Pearl Jam. FWIW, I like most of it, but I also prefer Alice in Chains and I find Soundgarden's sound a little too depressing to love.

I think people forget what was happening to the music scene back then. I remember liking heavy metal because it was the hardest thing out there Led Zep, Sabbath, Deep Purple. We liked that stuff and the newer bands and some hardcore, but metal eventually evolved into who had the best haircut and spandex pants. Grunge kind of got rid of that "gotta have the look" attitude and put the focus back on the music. Sometimes simplicity is good. Things were getting a little ridiculous with all the Yngwie arpeggio **** and pick hand tapping. Some of the dressing like girls **** was cool (N Y Dolls) but eventually the makeup was more important than the music and it seemed everybody was just writing ballads to get laid.

Some bands survived. Metallica, was as metal as they come, but I remember when they first came around they were just jeans and t-shirts guys playing somewhat obscure covers. They kept getting bigger until they were more pompous than any hair band. Pantera ditched the hairspray and stayed big. I think of Helmet more as "metal" than grunge, but they were big during the era (not from Seattle though Thorsten). I just think things got too pompous and it was time to knock everything down a peg.

Great point. That's why I alluded to the Sex Pistols when mentioning Nirvana. Just like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols were a response to dinosaur rock (really classical rock, whatever that is) like ELP and Yes (bands I still idolize) and disco, Nirvana and the whole Grunge scene set out to distance themselves from the dinosaurs of that era: hair metal bands like Poison and Warrant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...