View source for Grunge

{{Short description|Genre of rock music}}
{{About|the music genre}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Grunge
| other_names       = Seattle Sound (early)
| image             = Nirvana around 1992.jpg
| caption           = American grunge band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] in 1992
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Alternative rock]]<ref name="nelson2018">{{Cite news|last=Nelson|first=Kim|date=December 10, 2018|title=How St. Paul punk pioneers Hüsker Dü paved the way for grunge music|work=[[MinnPost]]|url=https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2018/12/how-st-paul-punk-pioneers-husker-du-paved-the-way-for-grunge-music/|access-date=August 19, 2020}}</ref>|[[punk rock]]<ref name=anderson2007C1/>|[[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]<ref name=anderson2007C1/>|[[garage rock]]|[[indie rock]]<ref name="DiBlasi, Alex 2013. p. 520"/>|[[hard rock]]<!--please don't change the genre after citation--><ref name="DiBlasi, Alex 2013. p. 520">DiBlasi, Alex. "Grunge" in ''Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars and Stories that Shaped Our Culture'', p. 520–524. Edited by Jacqueline Edmondson. ABC-CLIO, 2013. p. e520</ref>|[[noise rock]]<ref>{{cite book |last= Azerrad|first= Michael|date= 2018|title= Our Band Could Be Your Life|page= 439}}</ref>}}
| cultural_origins  = Mid-1980s, [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| subgenrelist      = 
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Post-grunge]]|[[nu metal]]}}
| fusiongenres      = 
| regional_scenes   = [[Music of Washington (state)#Grunge|Washington]]
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[Generation X]]|[[alternative metal]]}}
}}
'''Grunge''' (originally known as the '''Seattle Sound''') is an [[alternative rock]] [[Music genre|genre]] and [[subculture]] that emerged during the {{nowrap|mid-1980s}} in the U.S. state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], particularly in [[Seattle]] and [[Music of Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], and other nearby cities. Grunge fuses elements of [[punk rock]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]],<ref name="AllMusic grunge">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/grunge-ma0000002626 |title=Grunge |access-date=August 24, 2012 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref><ref name=anderson2007C1/> and features the [[Distortion (music)|distorted]] [[electric guitar]] sound used in both genres, as well as [[bass guitar]], [[drums]], and vocals. Grunge also incorporates influences from [[indie rock]] bands such as [[Sonic Youth]], [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]], and [[Dinosaur Jr]]. Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective, often addressing themes such as [[social alienation]], [[doubt|self-doubt]], [[abuse]], [[neglect]], [[betrayal]], [[social isolation]] and [[emotional isolation]], [[addiction]], [[psychological trauma]], and a desire for [[Liberty|freedom]].<ref name=4volumes>{{cite book|first=James E.|last=Perone|title=The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations [4 Volumes]: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313379079|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gzl1lBFXKhQC&pg=RA2-PT1133|date=October 17, 2012|access-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref><ref name=AlanisMorissette>{{cite book|first=Karen|last=Fournier|title=The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1440830693|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HhwUBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|date=January 16, 2016|access-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref>

The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label [[Sub Pop]] and the region's [[underground music]] scene, with local bands such as [[Green River (band)|Green River]], the [[Melvins]], and [[Mudhoney]] playing key roles in the genre's development. Sub Pop marketed the style shrewdly, encouraging media outlets to describe the Seattle sound as "grunge"; the style became known as a hybrid of [[punk (subculture)|punk]] and [[metal (music)|metal]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goldberg|first1=Danny|author-link=Danny Goldberg|title=Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2019|edition=1|chapter=Ch.4-Nevermind|pages=76|isbn=978-0062861504|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=64lLuQEACAAJ|page=76}}}}</ref> By the early 1990s, its popularity had spread, with similar sounding bands appearing in California, then emerging in other parts of the United States and Australia, building strong followings and signing major record deals. Grunge broke through into the mainstream in the early-to-mid-1990s, led by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s ''[[Nevermind]]'' in 1991, and followed by other crossover successes including [[Pearl Jam]]'s ''[[Ten (Pearl Jam album)|Ten]]'', [[Soundgarden]]'s ''[[Badmotorfinger]]'', and [[Alice in Chains]]' ''[[Dirt (Alice in Chains album)|Dirt]]''. The success of these bands boosted the popularity of alternative rock, eventually making grunge the most popular form of [[hard rock]] music during the 1990s.<ref name="AllMusic grunge"/>

Several factors contributed to grunge's decline in prominence. During the {{nowrap|mid-to-late 1990s}}, many grunge bands broke up or became less visible. Nirvana's [[Kurt Cobain]], labeled by ''Time'' as "the [[John Lennon]] of the swinging Northwest", struggled with an addiction to heroin before [[Suicide of Kurt Cobain|his suicide]] in 1994. 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]]<ref name="Danaher">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?a=1 |title=The 50 Best Grunge Songs |last=Danaher |first=Michael |date=August 4, 2014 |magazine=Paste |access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080330/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?a=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and added introspection and an exploration of what it means to [[Authenticity (philosophy)|be true to oneself]].<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 134">Felix-Jager, Steven. ''With God on Our Side: Towards a Transformational Theology of Rock and Roll''. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017. p. 134</ref> Grunge was also an influence on later genres, such as [[post-grunge]].

==Etymology==
[[File:Mark Arm.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=A male guitarist and singer, Mark Arm, is onstage, holding an electric guitar.|[[Mark Arm]] of [[Green River (band)|Green River]] whose ''[[Dry as a Bone]]'' EP was described as "ultra-loose grunge" in 1987]]

The word "grunge" is American slang for "someone or something that is repugnant" and also for "dirt".<ref name=willis2011/><ref name=marin>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/style/grunge-a-success-story.html|title=Grunge: A Success Story|first=Rick|last=Martin| date=November 15, 1992|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The word was first recorded as being applied to Seattle musicians in July 1987 when [[Bruce Pavitt]] described [[Green River (band)|Green River]]'s ''[[Dry as a Bone]]'' EP in a [[Sub Pop]] record company catalogue as "gritty vocals, roaring Marshall amps, ultra-loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/24/grunge-myths-nirvana-kurt-cobain|title=Ten myths about grunge, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain|first=Everett|last=True|work=theguardian.com|date=August 24, 2011}}</ref> Although the word "grunge" has been used to describe bands since the 1960s, this was the first association of grunge with the grinding, sludgy sound of Seattle.<ref name=anderson2007C2/><ref name=azerrad2001p365/> It is expensive and time-consuming to get a recording to sound clean, so for those northwestern bands just starting out it was cheaper for them to leave the sound dirty and just turn up their volume.<ref name=anderson2007C2/> This dirty sound, due to low budgets, unfamiliarity with recording, and a lack of professionalism may be the origin of the term "grunge".<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18"/>

The "Seattle scene" refers to a regional Pacific Northwest [[alternative rock|alternative music]] movement that was linked to the [[University of Washington]] in Seattle, and [[Evergreen State College|the Evergreen State College]] in Olympia. Evergreen is a progressive college which does not use a conventional grading system and has its own radio station, [[KAOS (FM)|KAOS]]. Seattle's remoteness from Los Angeles led to a perceived purity {{Clarify|reason= "Purity" in what sense?|date=December 2024}} of its music. The music of these bands, many of which had recorded with Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop, became labeled as "grunge".<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 182">Shuker, Roy. ''Understanding Popular Music Culture'', 4th Edition. Routledge, 2013. p. 182</ref> Nirvana's frontman [[Kurt Cobain]], in one of his final interviews, credited [[Jonathan Poneman]], cofounder of [[Sub Pop]], with coining the term "grunge" to describe the music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CTsGievjMU| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/3CTsGievjMU| archive-date=2021-10-29|title=One of Kurt Cobain's Final Interviews – Incl. Extremely Rare Footage| date=20 February 2017|via=youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The term "Seattle sound" became a marketing ploy for the music industry.<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 182" /> In September 1991, the [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] album ''[[Nevermind]]'' was released, bringing mainstream attention to the music of Seattle. Cobain loathed the word "grunge"<ref name=anderson2007C1/> and despised the new scene that was developing, feeling that record companies were signing old "[[Cock rock|cock-rock]]" bands who were pretending to be grunge and claiming to be from Seattle.<ref name=wall2016/>

Some bands associated with the genre have not been receptive to the label, preferring instead to be referred to as "[[rock and roll]]" bands. [[Ben Shepherd]] from Soundgarden stated that he "hates the word" grunge and hates "being associated with it."<ref name="Garro">{{cite web |url=http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/04/02/everybody-loves-our-town-grunge-book-interview-author-mark-yarm/#sthash.q3K63PaD.dpuf |title=The Grunge Era, As Told By The Musicians That Defined It (Interview with Author Mark Yarm) |last=Garro |first=Adrian |work=RockCellar Magazine |access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716165748/http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/04/02/everybody-loves-our-town-grunge-book-interview-author-mark-yarm/#sthash.q3K63PaD.dpuf |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Seattle musician Jeff Stetson states that when he visited Seattle in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a touring musician, the local musicians did not refer to themselves as "grunge" performers or their style as "grunge" and they were not flattered that their music was being called "grunge".<ref name="Stetson" />

''Rolling Stone'' noted the genre's lack of a clear definition.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-best-grunge-albums-of-all-time-20121114 |title=Readers' Poll: The Best Grunge Albums of All Time Your picks include 'Bleach,' 'Ten' and 'Temple of the Dog' |date=November 24, 2012 |magazine= Rolling Stone|access-date=February 17, 2017 }}</ref> Robert Loss acknowledges the challenges of defining "grunge"; he stated that, while he can recount stories about grunge, they do not serve to provide a useful definition.<ref name=loss>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/column/157017-grunge-music-and-memory/  |title=Grunge: Straining to Challenge the Status Quo |last=Loss|first= Robert |date= April 9, 2012|website=popmatters.com |publisher= Pop Matters|access-date= March 15, 2017}}</ref> Roy Shuker states that the term "obscured a variety of styles."<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 182" /> Stetson states that grunge was not a movement, "monolithic musical genre", or a way to react to 1980s-era [[Pop metal|metal pop]]; he calls the term a misnomer mostly based on hype.<ref name="Stetson">{{cite web |url=http://thoughtcatalog.com/jeff-stetson/2014/01/hey-millennials-grunge-was-never-a-movement-it-was-never-a-genre-get-over-yourselves/ |title=Hey Millennials, Grunge Was Never A Movement. It Was Never A Genre. Get Over Yourselves. |last=Stetson |first=Jeff |date=January 22, 2014 |publisher=Thought Catalog|access-date=February 3, 2017 }}</ref> Stetson states that prominent bands considered to be grunge (Nirvana, [[Pearl Jam]], [[Soundgarden]], [[Alice in Chains]], Mudhoney and [[Hammerbox]]) all sound different.<ref name="Stetson" /> Mark Yarm, author of ''Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge'', pointed out vast differences between grunge bands, with some being punk and others being metal-based.<ref name="Garro" />

[[Chris Cornell]], in a 1994 interview with ''Rolling Stone'' noted the limitation of the "Seattle scene":

<blockquote>... the rest of the country and the world and probably a lot of the bands that play in Seattle now think that what the Seattle scene was about is Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains — guitar-based rock with punk influences and ’70s influences. Period. End of story. And that's so far from what was going on. What was left out was the completely experimental music, from free jazz to theatrical bands to a lot of very Gothic-bent bands.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Foege|first1=Alec|title=Chris Cornell: The Rolling Stone Interview|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chris-cornell-the-rolling-stone-interview-79108/|year=1994|access-date=February 10, 2025}}</ref></blockquote>

==Musical style==
[[File:Seattle Music Scene Exhibit 3, EMP Museum.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=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 (album)|In Utero]]'' by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], along with ''[[Badmotorfinger]]'' by [[Soundgarden]]]]
In 1984, the punk rock band [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] toured small towns across the US to bring punk to the more remote parts of the country. By this time, their music had become slow and sludgy, less like the [[Sex Pistols]] and more like [[Black Sabbath]]. [[Krist Novoselic]], later the [[bassist]] with [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], recalled going with the [[Melvins]] to see one of these shows, after which Melvins frontman [[Buzz Osborne]] began writing "slow and heavy riffs" to form a [[dirge]]-like music that was the beginning of northwest grunge.<ref name=novoselic2004/> The Melvins were the most influential of the early grunge bands.<ref name=anderson2007C1/> [[Malfunkshun]] have also been cited as an influence on the early sound of grunge by figures such as [[Kurt Cobain]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Keneagy|first1=Kevyn|title=Beached, Buzzed and Blown with Nirvana|url=https://www.livenirvana.com/interviews/9110kk/index.php#Transcript1|year=1991|magazine=The Columbus Edge|access-date=March 15, 2025}}</ref> and [[Mark Arm]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mark Arm on Grunge, Green River, and Reuniting For SP20|url=https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/7693/green-river-interview|website=Pearl Jam.com|date=2008|access-date=March 15, 2025}}</ref> Sub Pop producer Jack Endino described grunge as "seventies-influenced, slowed-down punk music".<ref name=kallen2012/><ref name=azerrad1992/>

Leighton Beezer, who played with [[Mark Arm]] and [[Steve Turner (guitarist)|Steve Turner]] in the Thrown Ups, state that when he heard [[Green River (band)|Green River]] play ''Come On Down'', he realized that they were playing punk rock backwards. He noted that the [[diminished fifth]] note was used by Black Sabbath to produce an ominous feeling but it is not used in punk rock. In the 1996 grunge film documentary ''[[Hype!]]'', Beezer demonstrated on guitar the difference between punk and grunge. First he played the riff from "Rockaway Beach" by [[the Ramones]] that ascends the neck of the guitar, then "Come On Down" by Green River that descends the neck. The two pieces are only a few notes apart but sound unalike.<ref name=cameron2014/><ref name=true2006/> He took the same rhythm with the same chord, however descending the neck made it sound darker, and therefore grunge.<ref name=unterberger1999/> Early grunge bands would also copy a riff from metal and slow it down, play it backwards, distort it and bury it in feedback, then shout lyrics with little melody over the top of it.<ref name=anderson2007C2/>

Grunge fuses elements of [[punk rock]] (specifically American [[hardcore punk]] such as Black Flag) and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] (especially traditional, earlier heavy metal groups such as Black Sabbath), although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other.<ref name="AllMusic grunge" />{{better source needed|reason=[[WP:ALLMUSIC]] dubious for anything other than entertainment reviews with attribution|date=April 2021}} Alex DiBlasi feels that [[indie rock]] was a third key source, with the most important influence coming from [[Sonic Youth]]'s "free-form" noise.<ref name="DiBlasi, Alex 2013. p. 520"/> Grunge shares with punk a raw, [[Lo-fi music|lo fi]] sound and similar lyrical concerns,<ref name="AllMusic grunge" />{{better source needed|reason=[[WP:ALLMUSIC]] dubious for anything other than entertainment reviews with attribution|date=April 2021}} and it also used punk's haphazard and untrained approach to playing and performing. However, grunge was "deeper and darker"-sounding than punk rock and it decreased the "adrenaline"-fueled tempos of punk to a slow, "sludgy" speed,<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> and used more [[Consonance and dissonance|dissonant]] harmonies. Seattle music journalist [[Charles R. Cross]] defines "grunge" as distortion-filled, down-tuned and riff-based rock that uses loud [[audio feedback|electric guitar feedback]] and heavy, "ponderous" [[bassline]]s to support its song melodies.<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012">{{cite book|first1=Charles R. |last1=Cross|first2=Jim |last2=Berkenstadt|title=Classic Rock Albums: Nirvana – Nevermind|publisher= Music Sales Group|year= 2012}}</ref> Robert Loss calls grunge a melding of "violence and speed, muscularity and melody", where there is space for all people, including [[Women in music|women musicians]].<ref name=loss /> [[VH1]] writer Dan Tucker feels that different grunge bands were influenced by different genres; that while Nirvana drew on punk, Pearl Jam was influenced by [[classic rock]], and that "sludgy, dark, heavy bands" such as [[Soundgarden]] and [[Alice in Chains]] had a sinister metal tone.<ref name="Tucker">{{cite web |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/e5qxql/10-heaviest-grunge-bands |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908162247/http://www.vh1.com/news/52235/10-heaviest-grunge-bands/ |url-status=live |archive-date=September 8, 2015 |title=Heavier Than Grunge: 10 Alt Rock Bands That Were Coated In Metal |first=Dan  |last=Tucker  |date=December 21, 2013 |website=vh1.com |publisher=VH1 |access-date=March 1, 2017 }}</ref>

Grunge music has what has been called an "ugly" aesthetic, both in the roar of the distorted electric guitars and in the darker lyrical topics. 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.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 136">{{cite book|first=Steven|last=Felix-Jager|title= With God on Our Side: Towards a Transformational Theology of Rock and Roll|publisher= Wipf and Stock Publishers|year= 2017|page= 136}}</ref> Some key individuals in the development of the grunge sound, including [[Sub Pop]] producer [[Jack Endino]] and the [[Melvins]], described grunge's incorporation of heavy rock influences such as [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] as "musical provocation". Grunge artists considered these bands "cheesy" but nonetheless enjoyed them; Buzz Osborne of the Melvins described it as an attempt to see what ridiculous things bands could do and get away with.<ref name="Hype">Pray, D., Helvey-Pray Productions (1996). ''[[Hype!]]'' Republic Pictures.</ref> In the early-1990s, Nirvana's signature "stop-start" song format and alternating between soft and loud sections became a genre convention.<ref name="AllMusic grunge" />{{better source needed|reason=[[WP:ALLMUSIC]] dubious for anything other than entertainment reviews with attribution|date=April 2021}}

In the book ''Accidental Revolution: The Story of Grunge'', Kyle Anderson wrote:

{{blockquote|The twelve songs on ''[[Sixteen Stone]]'' sound ''exactly'' like what grunge is supposed to sound like, while the whole point of grunge was that it didn't really sound like ''anything'', including itself. Just consider how many different bands and styles of music have been shoved under the "grunge" header in this discography alone, and you realize that grunge is probably the most ill-defined genre of music in history.{{sfn|Anderson|2007|p=207}}}}

== Instrumentation ==
=== Electric guitar ===
[[File:MikeMcCready2013.JPG|thumb|right|alt=A male electric guitar player, Mike McCready, onstage with an electric guitar plugged into a guitar amplifier.|[[Pearl Jam]] guitarist [[Mike McCready]]]]
Grunge guitarists like [[Kurt Cobain]] often used "offset" guitars like the Fender Jaguar, Fender Jazzmaster, or Mustang. 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. Being unpopular when grunge started, offset guitars also offered excellent value for money.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://guitar.com/guides/essential-guide/best-grunge-bands-gear-players-guitars/ | title=The Guitarist's Guide to Grunge: Essential bands, gear and players }}</ref>  
Grunge is generally characterized by a sludgy [[electric guitar]] sound with a thick middle register and rolled-off treble tone and a high level of [[Distortion (music)|distortion]] and fuzz, typically created with small 1970s-style [[effects unit|stompbox]] pedals, with some guitarists chaining several fuzz pedals together and plugging them into a [[tube amplifier]] and speaker cabinet.<ref name="gibson.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/grunge-guitar-0426-2011.aspx |title=Serve the Servants: Unlocking the Secrets of Grunge Guitar |website=Gibson.com |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331190319/http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/grunge-guitar-0426-2011.aspx |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Grunge guitarists use very loud [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] guitar amplifiers<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/plug-it-in-the-top-pedals-named-after-musical-genres/|title=PLUG IT IN: The Top Pedals Named After Musical Genres|date=September 3, 2013|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> and some used powerful [[Mesa-Boogie]] amplifiers, including Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl (the latter in early, grunge-oriented [[Foo Fighters]] songs).<ref name="Bloomer">{{cite web |url= https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/blog/2015/04/10/what-the-heck-top-10-essential-grunge-guitar-gear/|title=What the Heck: Top 10 Essential 'Grunge' Guitar Gear |last=Bloomer |first= Richard|date= April 10, 2015|website=pmtonline.co|publisher= Professional Music Technology |access-date= March 1, 2017}}</ref> Grunge has been called the rock genre with the most "lugubrious sound"; the use of heavy distortion and loud amps has been compared to a massive "buildup of sonic fog".<ref>Moody, Fred. ''Seattle and the Demons of Ambition: A Love Story.''</ref> or even dismissed as "noise" by one critic.<ref>Whitehead, John W. '' Grasping for the Wind: The Search for Meaning in the 20th century''. 2001. p. 171</ref> As with metal and punk, a key part of grunge's sound is very distorted [[power chord]]s played on the electric guitar.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135">Felix-Jager, Steven. ''With God on Our Side: Towards a Transformational Theology of Rock and Roll''. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017. p. 135</ref>

Whereas metal guitarists' overdriven sound generally comes from a combination of overdriven amplifiers and distortion pedals, grunge guitarists typically got all of their "dirty" sound from overdrive and fuzz pedals, with the amp just used to make the sound louder.<ref name="Bloomer" /> Grunge guitarists tended to use the [[Fender Twin Reverb]] and the [[Fender Champion 100]] combo amps (Cobain used both of these amps).<ref name="Bloomer" /> The use of [[Effects unit|pedals]] by grunge guitarists was a move away from the expensive, studio-grade [[rackmount]] [[effects unit]]s used in other rock genres. The positive way that grunge bands viewed stompbox pedals can be seen in [[Mudhoney]]'s use of the name of two overdrive pedals, the [[Univox Super-Fuzz]] and the [[Big Muff]], in the title of their debut EP ''[[Superfuzz Bigmuff]]''.<ref name="Shepherd 2012. p. 23">Shepherd, John and Horn, David. ''Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Volume 8: Genres: North America''. A&C Black, 2012. p. 23</ref> In the song "Mudride", the band's guitars were said to have "growled malevolently" through its "Cro-magnon slog".<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/62q4/ |title = Mudhoney Superfuzz Bigmuff Review (Archived) |author = Chick, Stevie |date =2009 | website = BBC.co.uk |publisher =BBC|access-date = March 15, 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Boss turbopedal used.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A small effect unit pedal, painted in orange paint that is scuffed from heavy use.|The relatively affordable, widely available [[Boss Corporation|Boss]] DS-2 distortion pedal was one of the key effects (including the related [[Boss DS-1|DS-1]]) that created the growling, overdriven guitar sound in grunge.]]
Other key pedals used by grunge bands included four brands of distortion pedals (the [[Big Muff]], [[DOD Electronics|DOD]], and [[Boss DS-1|Boss DS-2]] and [[Boss DS-1]] distortion pedals) and the [[Small Clone]] [[chorus effect]], used by Kurt Cobain on "[[Come as You Are (Nirvana song)|Come As You Are]]" and by the [[Screaming Trees]] on "[[Nearly Lost You]]".<ref name="Bloomer" /> The DS-1 (later DS-2) distortion pedal played a key role in Cobain's switching from quiet to loud and back to quiet approach to songwriting.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/what-makes-an-electric-guitar-sound-like-an-electric-guitar/386441/|title=What Makes an Electric Guitar Sound Like an Electric Guitar |last=Jackson |first=Robert |date=March 4, 2015 |website=theatlantic.com/ |publisher=The Atlantic |access-date=May 20, 2017 }}</ref> The use of small pedals by grunge guitarists helped to start off the revival of interest in boutique, hand-soldered, 1970s-style analog pedals.<ref name="gibson.com" /> The other effect that grunge guitarists used was one of the most low-tech effects devices, the [[wah-wah pedal]]. Both "[Kim] [[Kim Thayil|Thayil]] and [[Alice in Chains]]' [[Jerry Cantrell]] ... were great advocates of the wah wah pedal."<ref name="gibson.com" /> Wah was also used by the Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and [[Dinosaur Jr]].<ref name="Bloomer" />

Grunge guitarists played loud, with Kurt Cobain's early guitar sound coming from an unusual set-up of four 800 watt [[PA system]] [[power amplifier]]s.<ref name="gibson.com" /> [[Audio feedback|Guitar feedback]] effects, in which a highly amplified electric guitar is held in front of its speaker, were used to create high-pitched, sustained sounds that are not possible with regular guitar technique. Grunge guitarists were influenced by the raw, primitive sound of punk, and they favored "... energy and lack of finesse over technique and precision"; key guitar influences included the [[Sex Pistols]], [[the Dead Boys]], [[Celtic Frost]], [[King's X]], [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]], [[Neil Young]]<ref>Wilkes, David. "Neil Young: Heart of Grunge?" ''[[New York Times]]'': 1. December 6, 1992. ProQuest. Web. October 5, 2015</ref> (''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'', side two), [[The Replacements (band)|the Replacements]], [[Hüsker Dü]], [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], and [[Melvins|the Melvins]].<ref name="Prown 1997. p. 242-243">Prown, Pete and Newquist, Harvey P. ''Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists''. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1997. p. 242-243</ref> Grunge guitarists often [[downtuned guitar|downtuned]] their instruments for a lower, heavier sound.<ref name="gibson.com" /> [[Soundgarden]]'s guitarist, [[Kim Thayil]], did not use a regular [[guitar amplifier]]; instead, he used a [[Bass amplifier|bass combo amp]] equipped with a 15-inch speaker as he played low riffs, and the bass amp gave him a deeper tone.<ref name="gibson.com" />

=== Guitar solos ===
[[File:Soundgarden @ McCallum Park (522012).jpg|thumb|right|alt=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.]]
Grunge guitarists "flatly rejected" the virtuoso [[shred guitar|"shredding"]] [[guitar solo]]s that had become the centerpiece of [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] songs, instead opting for melodic, [[blues]]-inspired solos – focusing "on the song, not the guitar solo".<ref>Cataldo, Tomas. ''Rock Licks Encyclopedia''. Alfred Music Publishing, 2001. p. 75.</ref> [[Jerry Cantrell]] of Alice in Chains stated that solos should be to serve the song, rather than to show off a guitarist's technical skill.<ref>{{cite web|quotation="I'm not saying I do bad shit, but I do what fits the part. I'm more interested in what the whole picture is instead of a big vehicle for Cantrell to wank off all over on everybody"|title=Grunge : Jerry Cantrell|url=https://www.guitar.com/articles/jerry-cantrell-unshackling-chains-depression|website=Guitar.com|access-date=April 1, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203204023/https://www.guitar.com/articles/jerry-cantrell-unshackling-chains-depression|archive-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> In place of the strutting guitar heroes of metal, grunge had "guitar [[anti-hero]]es" like Cobain, who showed little interest in mastering the instrument.<ref name="Prown 1997. p. 242-243" />

In Will Byers' article "Grunge committed a crime against music—it killed the guitar solo" in ''The Guardian'', he states that while the guitar solo managed to survive through the punk rock era, it was weakened by grunge.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://theguardian.com/music|title= Grunge committed a crime against music—it killed the guitar solo|last=Byers |first=Will |date=July 30, 2008 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> He also states that when Kurt Cobain played guitar solos that were a restatement of the main vocal melody, fans realized that they did not need to be a [[Jimi Hendrix]]-level virtuoso to play the instrument; he then says this approach helped to make music feel accessible by fans in a way not seen since the 1960s folk music movement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://andphilosophy.com/2014/12/01/grunge-and-philosophy/ |title=Grunge and Philosophy Grunge and Philosophy: What Nirvana Can Teach Us about the Philosophy of History |last=Tillman|first=Micah |date=December 2014 |publisher=Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series |access-date=February 17, 2017}}</ref> The producer of Nirvana's ''Nevermind'', [[Butch Vig]], stated that this album and Nirvana "killed the guitar solo".<ref name="Gonzalez">{{cite web |url=http://newnoisemagazine.com/genre-benders-the-shabby-dirty-grunge/# |title= Genre Benders: The Shabby, Dirty Grunge|last=Gonzalez |first=Sean |date=November 20, 2015 |work=New Noise Magazine |access-date=February 17, 2017}}</ref> [[Soundgarden]] guitarist [[Kim Thayil]] stated he feels in part to be responsible for the "death of the guitar solo"; he said that his [[punk rock]]er aspects made him feel that he did not want to solo, so in the 1980s, he preferred to make noise and do [[Audio feedback|feedback]] during the guitar solo.<ref name="Leslie">{{cite web |url=http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/kim-thayil/13759 |title=Kim Thayil |last=Leslie |first=Jimmy |date=July 7, 2011 |work=Guitar Player |access-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-date=June 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605211625/http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/kim-thayil/13759 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Baeble Music calls the grunge guitar solos of the 1990s "raw", "sloppy", and "basic".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.baeblemusic.com/musicblog/10-7-2015/the-top-5-guitar-solos-of-2015-so-far.html |title=The Top 5 Guitar Solos of 2015 So Far |last=Stalker-Wilde  |first=Max |date=October 7, 2015 |website=baeblemusic.com |publisher=Baeble Music |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref>

Not all sources support the "grunge killed the guitar solo" argument. Sean Gonzalez states that [[Pearl Jam]] has plentiful examples of guitar solos.<ref name="Gonzalez" /> [[Michael Azerrad]] praises the guitar playing of Mudhoney's [[Steve Turner (guitarist)|Steve Turner]], calling him the "[[Eric Clapton]] of grunge", a reference to the British blues guitarist<ref name="Azerrad">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/grunge-city-the-seattle-scene-19920416 |title=Grunge City: The Seattle Scene |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |date=April 16, 1992 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref> who ''Time'' magazine has named as number five in their list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players".<ref name="Tyrangiel-Time2009-08-14">{{cite magazine |last=Tyrangiel |first=Josh |title=The 10 Greatest Electric Guitar Players |date=August 14, 2009 |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1916544_1921860,00.html |access-date=April 26, 2011}}</ref> [[Pearl Jam]] guitarist [[Mike McCready]] has been praised for his blues-influenced, rapid licks.<ref name="Harris">{{cite web |url=http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-grunge-guitarists.php |title=Top 10 Grunge Guitarists |last=Harris |first=Shell |date=July 20, 2009 |website=toptenz.net |publisher=Toptenz |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref> [[The Smashing Pumpkins]]' guitarist [[Billy Corgan]] has been called the "arena rock genius of the '90s" for pioneering guitar playing techniques and showing through his playing skill that grunge guitarists do not have to be sloppy players to rebel against mainstream music.<ref name="Harris" /> Thayil stated that when other major grunge bands, such as Nirvana, were reducing their guitar solos, Soundgarden responded by bringing back the solos.<ref name="Leslie" />

=== Bass guitar ===
The early Seattle grunge album ''[[Skin Yard (album)|Skin Yard]]'' recorded in 1987 by the [[Skin Yard|band of the same name]] included [[fuzz bass]] ([[Distortion (music)|overdriven]] bass guitar) played by [[Jack Endino]] and [[Daniel House (musician)|Daniel House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skin-yard.com/skinfirstdetail.htm|title=SKIN YARD :: 1st record :: Skin-Yard.com|website=skin-yard.com|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> Some grunge bassists, such as [[Ben Shepherd]], layered [[power chord]]s with distorted low-end density by adding a fifth and an octave-higher note to a bass note.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2017/05/20/bass-transcription-ben-shepherd-bass-line-on-soundgarden-pretty-noose/ |title=Bass Transcription: Ben Shepherd's Bass Line on Soundgarden's "Pretty Noose" |last=Wroten |first=Brian |date=May 20, 2017 |website=notreble.com|publisher=No Treble |access-date=May 20, 2017}}</ref>

An example of the powerful, loud [[bass amplifier]] systems used in grunge is [[Alice in Chains]] bassist [[Mike Inez]]'s setup. He uses four powerful [[Ampeg SVT]]-2 PRO tube amplifier heads, two of them plugged into four 1×18" [[subwoofer]] cabinets for the low register, and the other two plugged into two 8×10" cabinets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bassplayer.com/artists/1171/mike-inez/25886 |title=Mike Inez |last=Jisi |first=Chris|work=Bass Player Magazine |access-date=October 1, 2009}}</ref> Krist Novoselic and Jeff Ament are also known for using Ampeg SVT tube amplifiers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reverb.com/ca/news/6-classic-amps-every-bassist-should-know |title=6 Classic Amps Every Bassist Should Know|last=Garland |first=Eric |date=October 30, 2015 |website=Reverb |access-date=March 12, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/185-pearl-jams-jeff-ament-bass-gear-rig-and-equipment |title=Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament Bass Gear Rig and Equipment|author=<!--Not stated--> |website=uberproaudio.com|publisher=ÜberProAudio |access-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref> Ben Shepherd uses a 300 watt all-tube Ampeg SVT-VR amp and a 600 watt [[Mesa/Boogie]] Carbine M6 amplifier.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Rig_Rundown_Soundgardens_Kim_Thayil_Chris_Cornell_and_Ben_Shepherd |title=Rig Rundown – Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Chris Cornell, and Ben Shepherd |last=Kies |first=Chris |date=February 18, 2013 |newspaper=Premier Guitar |access-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref> Ament uses four 6×10" speaker cabinets.<ref name="auto1" />

=== Drums ===
[[File:Dave Grohl 1989.jpg|alt=Dave Grohl playing drums circa 1989|left|thumb|Drummer [[Dave Grohl]], who played with [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and later went to form the band [[Foo Fighters]]]]
In contrast to the "massive [[drum kit]]s" used in 1980s [[pop metal]],<ref>Weinstein, Deena. ''Rock'n America''. University of Toronto Press, 2015. p. 223</ref> grunge drummers used relatively smaller drum kits. One example is the drumkit used by Soundgarden drummer [[Matt Cameron]]'s set-up. He uses a six-piece kit (this way of describing drumkits counts only the wooden drums, and does not count the [[cymbals]]), including a "12×8-inch rack [[Tom-tom drum|tom]]; 13×9-inch rack tom; 16×14-inch [[floor tom]]; 18×16-inch floor tom; 24×14-inch [[bass drum]]" and a [[snare drum]] and, for [[cymbals]], [[Zildjian]] instruments, including "... 14-inch K Light [Hi-][[Hi-hat|hats]]; 17-inch K Custom Dark [[Crash cymbal|crash]] [cymbal] and 18-inch K Crash Ride; 19-inch Projection crash; a 20-inch Rezo crash; ... and a ... 22-inch A Medium [[Ride cymbal|ride]] [cymbal]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/matt-camerons-pearl-jam-drum-setup-in-pictures-562870 |title=Matt Cameron's Pearl Jam drum setup in pictures |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=September 24, 2012 |website=musicradar.com |publisher=Music Radar|access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref>

A second example is Nirvana drummer [[Dave Grohl]]'s set-up during 1990 and 1991. He used a four-piece [[Tama Drums|Tama]] drumset, with an 8" × 14" birch snare drum, a 14" × 15" rack tom, a 16" × 18" floor tom, and a 16" × 24" bass drum (this kit "was demolished at the Cabaret Metro, Chicago, 10/12/91").<ref name=livenirvana>{{cite web |url=http://www.livenirvana.com/equipment/dave.php |title=Live Nirvana Equipment Guide: Dave Grohl |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=livenirvana.com |publisher=LiveNirvana! |access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref> Like Matt Cameron, Dave Grohl used Zildjian cymbals. Grohl used the company's A Series Medium cymbals, including an 18" and a 20" crash cymbal, a 22" ride cymbal, and a pair of 15" hi-hat cymbals.<ref name=livenirvana />

=== Other instruments ===
Although other instruments are generally not included in grunge, Seattle band Gorilla created controversy by breaking the "guitars only" approach and using a 1960s-style [[Vox (musical equipment)|Vox organ]] in their group.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19931119/1732607/powerful-melodic-gorilla-rises-above-a-sea-of-grunge | work=The Seattle Times | first=Cathy | last=Ragland | title=Powerful, Melodic Gorilla Rises Above A Sea Of Grunge | date=November 19, 1993}}</ref>
In 2002, [[Pearl Jam]] added a keyboard player, [[Boom Gaspar|Kenneth "Boom" Gaspar]], who played [[piano]], [[Hammond organ]], and other keyboards; the addition of a keyboardist to the band would have been "inconceivable" in the band's "grungy" early years, but it shows how a group's sound can change over time.<ref>Corbett, Bernard M. and Harkins, Thomas Edward. ''Pearl Jam FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Seattle's Most Enduring Band''. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2016</ref>

=== Vocals ===
[[File:PearlJam-9-23-06-8.jpg|thumb|right|alt=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.]]
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."<ref name="Shepherd 2012. p. 23" /> [[Layne Staley]] voiced lyrics with a "heaviness" and [[tremolo]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sola |first=David de |date=2012-04-05 |title=How Alice in Chains Found the Most Memorable Voice in Grunge |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/how-alice-in-chains-found-the-most-memorable-voice-in-grunge/255469/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US}}</ref>  In general, grunge singers used a "deeper vocal style" which matched the lower-sounding, downtuned guitars and the darker-themed lyrical messages used in the style.<ref name="gibson.com" /> Grunge singers used "gravelly, raspy" vocals,<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> "... growls, moans, screams and mumbles"<ref>Moody, Fred. ''Seattle and the Demons of Ambition: A Love Story''. 2004. p. 171.</ref> and "plaintive groans"; this range of singing styles was used to communicate the "varied emotions" of the lyrics.<ref>Fournier, Karen. ''The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette.'' ABC-CLIO, 2015. p. 44</ref> Cobain's reaction to the "bad times" and discontent of the era was that he screamed his lyrics.<ref name="Talley, Tara pp. 228">Talley, Tara. "Grunge and Blues, A Sociological Comparison:How Space and Place Influence the Development and Spread of Regional Musical Styles". ''Chrestomathy: Annual Review of Undergraduate Research, School of Humanities and Social Sciences'', College of Charleston Volume 4, 2005: pp. 228–240. p. 233</ref> In general, grunge songs were sung "simply, often somewhat unintelligibly"; the virtuoso "[[opera]]tics of hair-metal were shunned."<ref name="Talley, Tara pp. 228" /> Grunge singing has been characterized as "borderline out-of-tune vocals".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bullz-eye.com/music/deep_cuts/2007/grunge.htm   |title=GRUNGE Deep Cuts |last=Clark |first=Bill |date=September 4, 2007 |website=bullz-eye.com |publisher=Bullz-eye |access-date=March 1, 2017 }}</ref>

== Lyrics and themes ==
Grunge lyrics are typically dark, [[nihilism|nihilistic]],<ref name="DiBlasi, Alex 2013. p. 520" /> wretched, [[angst]]-filled and anguished, often addressing themes such as [[social alienation]], [[doubt|self-doubt]], [[abuse]], assault, [[neglect]], [[betrayal]], [[social isolation]]/[[emotional isolation]], [[psychological trauma]], and a desire for [[Liberty|freedom]].<ref name=4volumes /><ref name=AlanisMorissette />

[[File:Jerry Cantrell 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Jerry Cantrell]] has been the lead guitarist and chief songwriter of [[Alice in Chains]] since 1987.|left]]
An article by [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] states that grunge "lyrics [were] obsessed with disenfranchisement" and described a mood of "resigned despair".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://metal.mit.edu/brief-history-metal |title=A Brief History of Metal |last=Pearlin |first=Jeffrey |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |access-date=January 20, 2017 |archive-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201235433/https://metal.mit.edu/brief-history-metal |url-status=dead}}</ref> Catherine Strong, in her book ''Grunge: Music and Memory,'' states that grunge songs were usually about "negative experiences or feelings", with the main themes being alienation and [[Major depressive disorder|depression]], but with an "ironic sneer."<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.19">Strong, Catherine. ''Grunge: Music and Memory''. Routledge, 2016. p.19</ref> Grunge artists expressed "strong feelings" in their lyrics about "societal ills", including a "desire to 'crucify the insincere{{' "}}, an approach which fans appreciated for its [[Authenticity (philosophy)|authenticity]].<ref>Talley, Tara. "Grunge and Blues, A Sociological Comparison:How Space and Place Influence the Development and Spread of Regional Musical Styles". ''Chrestomathy: Annual Review of Undergraduate Research, School of Humanities and Social Sciences'', College of Charleston Volume 4, 2005: pp. 228–240. p. 236</ref> Grunge lyrics have been criticized as "violent and often obscene."<ref>Whitehead, John W. ''Grasping for the Wind: The Search for Meaning in the 20th Century''. 2001. p. 247</ref> In 1996, conservative columnist [[Rich Lowry]] wrote an essay criticizing grunge, entitled "Our Hero, Heroin"; he called it a music that is mostly "... shorn of ideals and the impulse for political action".<ref>Marion, Nancy E and Oliver, Willard M. ''Drugs in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture. and the Law''. ABC-CLIO, 2014. p. 888.</ref>

A number of factors influenced the focus on such subject matter. Many grunge musicians displayed a general disenchantment with the state of society, as well as a discomfort with [[social prejudice]]s. Grunge lyrics contained "explicit political messages and ... questioning about ... society and how it might be changed."<ref>Strong, Catherine. ''Grunge: Music and Memory''. Routledge, 2016. p.5</ref> While grunge lyrics were less overtly political than punk songs, grunge songs still indicated a concern for social issues, particularly those affecting young people.<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.19" /> The main themes in grunge were "tolerance of difference", "support of women", "mistrust of authority" and "cynicism towards big corporations."<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.19" /> Grunge song themes bear similarities to those addressed by punk rock musicians.<ref name="AllMusic grunge" />{{better source needed|reason=[[WP:ALLMUSIC]] dubious for anything other than entertainment reviews with attribution|date=April 2021}} In 1992, music critic [[Simon Reynolds]] said that "there's a feeling of [[Occupational burnout|burnout]] in the culture at large. Kids are depressed about the future".<ref name="success NYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/style/grunge-a-success-story.html?pagewanted=all |last=Marin |first=Rick |title=Grunge: A Success Story |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 15, 1992}}</ref> The topics of grunge lyrics–[[homelessness]], [[suicide]], [[rape]],<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.19" /> "broken homes, drug addiction and self-loathing"–contrasted sharply to the [[glam metal]] lyrics of bands like [[Poison (American band)|Poison]], which described "life in the fast lane",<ref name="Gina Misiroglu 2015. p. 343">Gina Misiroglu. ''American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History''. Routledge, 2015. p. 343</ref> partying, and hedonism.

Grunge lyrics developed as part of "[[Generation X]] malaise", reflecting that demographic's feelings of "disillusionment and uselessness".<ref name="United States 2005. p. 359">''Music Cultures in the United States: An Introduction''. Ed. Ellen Koskoff. Routledge, 2005. p. 359</ref> Grunge songs about love were usually about "failed, boring, doomed or destructive relationships" (e.g., "[[Black (Pearl Jam song)|Black]]" by Pearl Jam).<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.19" /> The [[Alice in Chains]] songs "Sickman", "Junkhead", "God Smack", and "[[Hate to Feel]]" have references to [[heroin]].<ref>Liner notes, [[Music Bank (album)|Music Bank box set]]. [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]. 1999.</ref><ref name=lyrics>{{cite web|url=http://users.stargate.net/~holliday/INT1.HTM |title=Alice In Chains – Digging Dirt |via=Users.stargate.net |work=RIP Magazine |date=February 1993|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031014101619/http://users.stargate.net/~holliday/INT1.HTM|archive-date=October 14, 2003|access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref> Grunge lyrics tended to be more introspective and aimed to enable the listener to see into "hidden" personal issues and examine the "depravity" of the world.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 136" /> This approach can be seen in [[Mudhoney]]'s song "[[Touch Me I'm Sick]]", which includes lyrics with "deranged imagery" which depict a "broken world and a fragmented self-image"; the song includes the lines "I feel bad, and I've felt worse" and "I won't live long and I'm full of rot".<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> Nirvana's song "[[Lithium (Nirvana song)|Lithium]]", from their 1991 album ''[[Nevermind]]'', is about a "man who finds faith after his girlfriend's suicide"; it depicts "irony and ugliness" as a way of dealing with these "dark issues".<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 136" />

== Recording production ==
Like punk, grunge's sound came from a [[Lo-fi music|lo fi]] (low fidelity) recording and production approach.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> Before the arrival of major labels, early grunge albums were recorded using low-budget analogue studios: "Nirvana's first album ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]'', was recorded for $606.17 in 1989."<ref name="Marin">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/style/grunge-a-success-story.html?pagewanted=all|title=Grunge: A Success Story |last=Marin |first=Rick |date=November 15, 1992 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 29, 2017 }}</ref> [[Sub Pop]] recorded most of their music at a "low-rent studio named [[Reciprocal Recording|Reciprocal]]", where producer [[Jack Endino]] created the grunge genre's aesthetic, a "raw and unpolished sound with [[distortion (music)|distortion]], but usually without any added [[effects unit|studio effects]]".<ref>Clapp, Edward P. ''Participatory Creativity: Introducing Access and Equity to the Creative Classroom''. Routledge, 2016.</ref> Endino is known for his stripped-down recording practices and his dislike of 'over-producing' music with [[effects units|effects]] and [[audio mastering|remastering]]. His work on Soundgarden's ''[[Screaming Life]]'' and Nirvana's ''Bleach'' as well as for the bands [[Green River (band)|Green River]], [[Screaming Trees]], [[L7 (band)|L7]], [[the Gits]], [[Hole (band)|Hole]], [[7 Year Bitch]], and [[Tad (band)|TAD]] helped to define the grunge sound. An example of the lower cost production approach is Mudhoney; even after the band signed to [[Warner Music]], "[t]rue to [the band's] indie roots ... [they are] ... probably one of the few bands that would have to fight [their label] to record for a lower budget rather than a higher one."<ref name="Azerrad" />

[[Steve Albini]] was another important influence on the grunge sound. Albini preferred to be called a "recording engineer", because he believed that putting [[record producer]]s in charge of recording sessions often destroys the band's real sound, while the role of the recording engineer is to capture the actual sound of the musicians, not to threaten the artists' control over their creative product.<ref>MTSU-lecture-2004</ref> Albini's recordings have been analyzed by writers such as [[Michael Azerrad]], who stated that Albini's "recordings were both very basic and very exacting: like Endino, Albini used few [[Effects unit|special effects]]; got an aggressive, often violent [[guitar]] sound; and made sure the [[rhythm section]] slammed as one."<ref>Azerrad, Michael (2001). ''Our Band Could be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991'' (1 ed.). Boston: Little, Brown. {{ISBN|9780316063791}}. Retrieved January 11, 2014. p. 344</ref>

Nirvana's ''[[In Utero (album)|In Utero]]'' is a typical example of Albini's recording approach. He preferred to have the entire band play live in the studio, rather than use mainstream rock's approach of recording each instrument on a separate track at different times, and then mixing them using [[multi-track recording]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} While multitracking results in a more polished product, it does not capture the "live" sound of the band playing together. Albini used a range of different microphones for the vocals and instruments. Like most metal and punk recording engineers, he mics the guitar amp speakers and bass amp speakers to capture each performer's unique tone.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

== Concerts ==
[[File:Pearl Jam Philadelphia 2016 01.JPG|thumb|alt=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 amplifier|bass stacks]].]]
Grunge concerts were known for being straightforward, high-energy performances. Grunge shows were "celebrations, parties [and] carnivals", where the audience expressed its spirit by stagediving, [[moshing]] and thrashing.<ref name="Henderson, Justin 2016">Henderson, Justin. ''Grunge: Seattle''. Roaring Forties Press, 2016. Ch. 5</ref> Simon Reynolds states that in "... some of the most masculine forms of rock—[[thrash metal]], grunge, moshing becomes a form of surrogate combat" in which "male bodies" can contact in the "sweat-and-bloodbath" of the moshpit.<ref>Reynolds, Simon. ''The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion, and Rock 'n' Roll''. Harvard University Press, 1996. p. 109</ref> As with punk shows, grunge "performances were about frontmen who screamed and jumped around on stage and musicians who thrashed wildly on their instruments."<ref name=popmatters>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.popmatters.com/column/148702-was-grunge-the-last-american-musical-revolution/ |title=Was Grunge the Last American Musical Revolution? |last=Whitaker |first=Dave |date=October 3, 2011 |magazine=PopMatters |access-date=January 29, 2017}}</ref> While grunge lyrical themes focused on "angst and rage", the audience at shows were positive and created a "life-affirming" attitude.<ref name="Henderson, Justin 2016" /> Grunge bands rejected the complex and high budget presentations of many mainstream musical genres, including the use of complex digitally controlled light arrays, pyrotechnics, and other visual effects then popular in "[[hair metal]]" shows. Grunge performers viewed these elements unrelated to playing the music. Stage acting and "onstage theatrics" were generally avoided.<ref name="Gina Misiroglu 2015. p. 343" />

Instead the bands presented themselves as no different from minor local bands. Jack Endino said in ''Hype!'' that Seattle bands were inconsistent live performers, since their primary objective was not to be entertainers, but simply to "rock out".<ref name="Hype" /> Grunge bands gave enthusiastic performances; they would thrash their long hair during shows as "a symbolic weapon" for releasing "pent-up aggression" ([[Dave Grohl]] was particularly noted for his "[[Headbanging|head flips]]").<ref name="Fournier, Karen 2015. p. 44">Fournier, Karen. ''The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette''. ABC-CLIO, 2015. p. 44</ref> Dave Rimmer writes that with the revival of punk ideals of stripped-down music in the early 1990s, "for Cobain, and lots of kids like him, rock & roll ... threw down a dare: Can you be pure enough, day after day, year after year, to prove your authenticity, to live up to the music ... And if you can't, can you live with being a [[poseur]], a phony, a [[sellout]]?"<ref>Marsh, Dave. "LIVE THROUGH THIS. ...  ". Rock & Rap Archives 124.</ref>

== Clothing and fashion ==
{{Main|Grunge fashion}}

=== 1980s–1990s ===
[[File:Courtney Love on stage crop.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=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.]]

{{vanchor|Clothing}} commonly worn by grunge musicians in Washington were a "mundane everyday style", in which they would wear the same clothes on stage that they wore at home.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> This Pacific Northwest "slacker style" or "slouch look" contrasted sharply with the "wild" [[mohawk (hairstyle)|mohawks]], leather jackets and chains worn by punks. This everyday clothing approach was used by grunge musicians because [[authenticity (philosophy)|authenticity]] was a key principle in the Seattle scene.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> The grunge look typically consisted of [[second-hand clothes]] or [[Charity shop|thrift store]] items and the typical outdoor clothing (most notably [[flannel]] shirts) of the region, as well as a generally unkempt appearance and long hair.<ref name="Gina Misiroglu 2015. p. 343" /> For grunge singers, long hair was used "as a mask to conceal the face" so they can "expres[s their] innermost thoughts"; Cobain is a notable example.<ref name="Fournier, Karen 2015. p. 44" /> Male grunge musicians were "... unkempt ... [and] ... unshaven<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.executivestyle.com.au/the-unfurling-of-a-modern-marvel-38lyl#ixzz4YQC1y25S |title=The unfurling of a modern marvel |last=Bailey |first=John |date=2014-05-19 |publisher=executivestyle |access-date=11 February 2017 |quote=In the '90s, the unshaven look of grunge was one way of resisting the increasingly clean and shiny image to which men were supposed to aspire. |archive-date=2017-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212092913/http://www.executivestyle.com.au/the-unfurling-of-a-modern-marvel-38lyl#ixzz4YQC1y25S |url-status=dead }}</ref> [,] with ... tousled hair"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepopcore.com/music/90s-grunge/ |title=90s Grunge |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=The Pop Core|access-date=February 11, 2017 |quote=Grunge musicians were known for their aversion to on-stage theatrics, and adopted an unkempt, workmanlike look. The wardrobe of most grunge musicians featured a wrinkled flannel shirt and plain blue jeans. And it wasn't uncommon for a grunge musician to be unshaven with ... tousled hair.}}</ref> that was often unwashed, greasy and "... matted [into a] sheep-dog mop".<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/style/grunge-a-success-story.html?pagewanted=all |title=Grunge: A Success Story |last=Marin |first=Rick |date=November 15, 1992 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 25, 2017 }}</ref>

The lumberjack attire was a common sight in the thrift stores near Seattle for the low prices that musicians could afford.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mazullo|first=Mark|date=2000|title=The Man Whom the World Sold: Kurt Cobain, Rock's Progressive Aesthetic, and the Challenges of Authenticity|jstor=742606|journal=The Musical Quarterly|edition=4|volume=84|issue=4|pages=713–749|doi=10.1093/mq/84.4.713}}</ref> Grunge style consisted of ripped jeans, [[thermal underwear]],<ref name="United States 2005. p. 359" /> [[Doc Martens]] boots or combat boots (often unlaced), band [[T-shirt]]s, oversized knit [[sweater]]s, long and droopy skirts, ripped tights, [[Birkenstocks]], hiking boots,<ref name="1990sTrends">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrowaste.com/1990s/fashion-in-the-1990s/ |title=Fashion in the 1990s |access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60512081.html |title=Must have; Embroidered Jeans |date=July 3, 1999 | last=Barr |first=Kelly Cooper |work=Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |access-date=January 17, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307113139/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60512081.html |archive-date=March 7, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/60187503.html?dids=60187503:60187503&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+25%2C+1998&author=John+Davidson&pub=The+Herald&desc=gypsy+rose&pqatl=google |title=Gypsy Rose |date=April 25, 1998 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107202326/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/60187503.html?dids=60187503:60187503&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+25%2C+1998&author=John+Davidson&pub=The+Herald&desc=gypsy+rose&pqatl=google |url-status=dead }}</ref> and eco-friendly clothing made from [[Textile recycling|recycled textiles]] or [[fair trade]] organic cotton.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CqnIAwAAQBAJ&q=1990s%20neon%20clothing&pg=PA154 |title=Roadmap to Sustainable Textiles and Clothing: Eco-friendly Raw Materials ...|page=154 |date= June 2, 2014|access-date=April 1, 2016|isbn=9789812870650|last1=Muthu|first1=Subramanian Senthilkannan|publisher=Springer }}</ref> As well, since women in the grunge scene wore the "... same plaid [shirt]s, boots, and short cropped heads as their male counterparts", women showed "... that they are not defined by their sex appeal."<ref name="Komar">{{cite web |url= https://www.bustle.com/articles/149928-the-evolution-of-androgynous-fashion-throughout-the-20th-century-photos |title=The Evolution of Androgynous Fashion Throughout the 20th Century |last=Komar |first=Marlen |date=30 March 2016 |work=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]] |access-date=March 9, 2017}}</ref>

"Grunge ... became an [[Consumerism|anti-consumerist]] movement where the less you spent on clothes, the more 'coolness' you had."<ref name="Ashgate">{{Cite book|title=Grunge: Music and Memory|url=https://archive.org/details/grungemusicmemor00stro|url-access=limited|last1=Strong|first1=Catherine|last2=Scott|first2=Derek|last3=Hawkins|first3=Stan|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2011|location=United Kingdom|pages=[https://archive.org/details/grungemusicmemor00stro/page/n15 2], 19}}</ref> 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. It also runs against the grain of the whole flashy aesthetic that existed in the 80s."<ref name="success NYT" /> The flannel and "... cracked leatherette coats" in the grunge scene were part of the Pacific Northwest's [[Thrift store|thrift-shop]] aesthetic.<ref name="nytimes.com" />  Grunge fashion was very much an anti-fashion response and a non-conformist move against the "manufactured image",<ref name="Stevenson">{{Cite book|title=A Visual History: From Regency & Romance to Retro & Revolution.|last=Stevenson|first=N.J|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=2012|location=New York|pages=248–249}}</ref> often pushing musicians to dress in authentic ways and to not glamorize themselves. At the same time, Sub-Pop utilized the 'grunge look' in their marketing of their bands. In an interview with VH1, photographer Charles Peterson commented that members from grunge band Tad "were given blue collar identities that weren't entirely earned. Bruce (Pavitt) really got him to dress up in flannel and a real chain saw and really play up this image of a mountain man and it worked."<ref name="Rise">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIGyJ4dgpRw| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220231156/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIGyJ4dgpRw&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-02-20|title=VH1 Documentary: Rise And Rise Of Kurt Cobain|publisher=VH1}}</ref>

''Dazed'' magazine called [[Courtney Love]] one of "ten women who defined the 1990s" from a style perspective: the "... image of Courtney Love's too-short baby doll dress, tattered fur coat and shock of platinum hair", a look dubbed "[[kinderwhore]]", "... topped with a tiara, of course – is seared on the memory of anyone who lived through the decade."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/26794/1/ten-women-who-defined-the-90s |title=Ten women who defined the 90s |last=Healey |first=Claire Marie |date=2016 |magazine=Dazed |access-date=February 12, 2017 }}</ref> The kinderwhore look consisted of torn, ripped tight or low-cut [[babydoll]] and [[Peter Pan collar|Peter-Pan-collared]] dresses, slips, heavy makeup with dark eyeliner,<ref>{{cite web|title=Kinderwhore grunge fashion guide|url=http://www.mookychick.co.uk/indie-fashion/alternative-style/kinderwhore-grunge-fashion.php|website=Mookychick|date=2014}}</ref> barrettes, and leather boots or [[Mary Jane (shoe)|Mary–Jane]] shoes.<ref name=elle>{{cite web|last1=Garis|first1=Mary Grace|title=The Evolution of Courtney Love|url=http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/g9069/the-evolution-of-courtney-love/?slide=7|website=Elle|publisher=Kevin O'Malley|access-date=December 13, 2015|date=2014-07-09}}</ref><ref>"Miss World" music video.[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1sf1c_hole-miss-world_music Dailymotion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107200404/http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1sf1c_hole-miss-world_music |date=2017-01-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Meltzer|first1=Marisa|title=Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music|date=2010|publisher=Faber and Faber|location=New York|isbn=978-0-86547-979-1|page=48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zqSn0jMJAQC&pg=PA48|access-date=December 13, 2015}}</ref> [[Kat Bjelland]] of [[Babes in Toyland (band)|Babes in Toyland]] was the first to define it, while Courtney Love of [[Hole (band)|Hole]] was the first to popularize it. Love has claimed that she took the style from [[Divinyls]] frontwoman [[Chrissy Amphlett]].<ref name=elle /> The look became very popular in 1994.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stegemeyer|first1=Anne|last2=Price Alford|first2=Holly|title=Who's who in fashion|date=2014|publisher=Fairchild Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60901-969-3|edition=6th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeLcBAAAQBAJ&pg=PR41|access-date=December 13, 2015}}</ref>

''[[Vogue (magazine)|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. It was completely counter to the shellacked, flashy aesthetic of the 1980s in every way. In disheveled jeans and floral frocks, he softened the tough exterior of the archetypal rebel from the inside out, and set the ball in motion for a radical, millennial idea of androgyny."<ref name="vogue.com">{{cite web |first=Chioma |last=Nnadi |url=http://www.vogue.com/868923/kurt-cobain-legacy-of-grunge-in-fashion/ |title=Kurt Cobain and the Legacy of Grunge in Fashion – Vogue |website=Vogue.com |date=April 8, 2014 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |archive-date=April 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404140625/http://www.vogue.com/868923/kurt-cobain-legacy-of-grunge-in-fashion |url-status=dead }}</ref> Cobain's way of dressing "was the antithesis of the macho American man", because he "... made it cooler to look slouchy and loose, no matter if you were a boy or a girl."<ref name="vogue.com" /> Music and culture writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that with Cobain's style of dress "Not only did he make it okay to be a freak, he made it desirable."<ref name="vogue.com" />

====Adoption by mainstream====
Grunge music hit the mainstream in the early 1990s with bands such as Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana being signed to major record labels. Grunge fashion began to break into mainstream fashion in mid-1992 for both sexes and peaked in late 1993 and early 1994.<ref name="1990sTrends" /><ref name="1994InReview">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/171387/Fashion-and-Dress-Year-In-Review-1994 |title=Fashion and Dress: Year In Review 1994 |access-date=March 17, 2015}}</ref><ref name="HitsNMisses94">{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/12/30/1994-fashion-hits-misses/ |title=1994 Fashion Hits & Misses |date=30 December 1994 |access-date=March 17, 2015}}</ref> As it picked up momentum, the grunge tag was being used by shops selling expensive flannelette shirts to cash in on the trend.<ref name="Ashgate" /> Ironically, the non-conformist look suddenly became a mainstream trend. In the fashion world, [[Marc Jacobs]] presented a show for Perry Ellis in 1992 (the Spring 1993 Collection,) featuring grunge-inspired clothing mixed with high-end fabrics. Jacobs found inspiration in the "[[realism (arts)|realism]]" of grunge streetwear; he mixed it with the luxury of fashion by sending models down the catwalk in beanies, floral dresses and silk flannel shirts.<ref name="Worsley">{{Cite book|title=100 Ideas That Changed Fashion|last=Worsley|first=Harriett|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|year=2011|page=197}}</ref> This did, however, not sit well with the brand owners and Jacobs was dismissed. Other designers like [[Anna Sui]], also drew inspiration from grunge during the spring/summer 1993 season.<ref name="Stevenson" />

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marc Jacobs – Voguepedia |url=http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Marc_Jacobs |website=Vogue.com |access-date=10 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719161512/http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Marc_Jacobs |archive-date=19 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Brecher |first1=Media |title=Lily McMenamy On Following Her Model Mom's Lead |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/lily-mcmenamy?slide=1 |access-date=10 December 2021 |work=Teen Vogue |date=5 February 2013}}</ref> This shoot made McMenamy the face for grunge, as she had her eyebrows shaved and her hair cropped short. Designers like [[Christian Lacroix]], [[Donna Karen]] and [[Karl Lagerfeld]] incorporated the grunge influence into their looks.<ref name="Worsley" /> In 1993, James Truman, editor of ''[[Details (magazine)|Details]]'', said: "to me the thing about grunge is it's not anti-fashion, it's unfashion. Punk was anti-fashion. It made a statement. Grunge is about not making a statement, which is why it's crazy for it to become a fashion statement."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/style/grunge-a-success-story.html?pagewanted=all|title=Grunge: A Success Story.|last=Marin|first=Rick|work=The New York Times |date=November 15, 1992}}</ref> The unkempt fashion sense defined the look of the "slacker generation", who "skipped school, smoked pot ... [and] cigarettes and listened to music" hoping to become a [[Celebrity|rock star]] one day.<ref name="Rise" />

=== 2000s–2010s ===
Even though grunge fashion had declined in popularity by the late 1990s, designers have continued to occasionally draw inspiration from the movement. Grunge appeared as a trend again in 2008, and for Fall/Winter 2013, [[Hedi Slimane]] at [[Yves Saint Laurent (brand)|Yves Saint Laurent]] brought back grunge to the [[Runway (fashion)|runway]]. With [[Courtney Love]] as his muse for the collection, she reportedly loved the collection. "No offense to MJ [Marc Jacobs] but he never got it right," Courtney said. "This is what it really was. Hedi knows his shit. He got it accurate, and MJ and Anna [Sui] did not."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.refinery29.com/2013/03/43945/courtney-love-marc-jacobs-got-grunge-wrong|title=Courtney Love Has Spoken: Why Hedi Slimane Rules (And Why She Might Be Wrong)|last=Manders|first=Hayden|date=March 6, 2013|website=Refinery29.com}}</ref>  Both Cobain and Love apparently burnt the Perry Ellis collection they received from Marc Jacobs back in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwd.com/eye/people/courtney-love-on-birkins-and-sex-3189035/|title=Courtney Love on Birkins and Sex|last=Strugatz|first=Rachel|date=July 10, 2010|publisher=WWD}}</ref> In 2016, grunge inspired an upscale "reinvention" of the style by [[A$AP Rocky]], [[Rihanna]] and [[Kanye West]].<ref name="Elan">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/apr/13/how-aap-rocky-rihanna-and-kanye-west-reinvented-grunge-style|title=How A$AP Rocky, Rihanna and Kanye West reinvented grunge style|last=Elan|first=Priya|date=April 13, 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> 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]]''.<ref name="Elan" />

==Alcohol and drugs==
[[File:BleachYour Works.png|thumb|left|alt=A poster encouraging injection drug users to use bleach to clean their syringes and needles.|The title of Nirvana's debut album ''[[Bleach (Nirvana 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.]]
Many music subcultures are associated with particular drugs, such as the [[hippie]] [[counterculture]] and [[reggae]], both of which are associated with [[marijuana]] and psychedelics. In the 1990s, the media focused on the use of heroin by musicians in the Seattle grunge scene, with a 1992 ''New York Times'' article listing the city's "three principal drugs" as "[[espresso]], beer and heroin"<ref name="Marin" /> and a 1996 article calling Seattle's grunge scene the "... subculture that has most strongly embraced heroin".<ref name="heroin">{{cite web |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/heroin.html |title='Rock 'n' Horse: Rock's Heroin Connection |last=Dasein |first=Deena |date=December 1996 |publisher=Perfect Sound Forever |access-date=January 29, 2017 }}</ref> [[Tim Jonze]] from ''The Guardian'' states that "... heroin had blighted the [grunge] scene ever since its inception in the mid-80s" and he argues that the "... involvement of heroin mirrors the self-hating, [[Nihilism|nihilistic]] aspect to the music"; in addition to the heroin deaths, Jonze points out that [[Stone Temple Pilots]]' [[Scott Weiland]], as well as [[Courtney Love]], [[Mark Lanegan]], [[Jimmy Chamberlin]] and [[Evan Dando]] "... all had their run-ins with the drug, but lived to tell the tale."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/10/deadliest-music-genre-grunge-mike-starr |title=Mike Starr and the deadliest musical genre Another grunge star has died young. Tim Jonze asks: is it the most lethal genre?|last=Jonze|first=Tim|date=March 10, 2011 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=February 6, 2017 }}</ref> 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."<ref name="Marion p. 888">Marion, Nancy E and Oliver, Willard M. ''Drugs in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture. and the Law''. ABC-CLIO, 2014 . p. 888.</ref> Justin Henderson states that all of the "downer" opiates, including "heroin, [[morphine]], [[etorphine]], [[codeine]], [[opium]], [and] [[hydrocodone]] ... seemed to be the habit of choice for many a grunger".<ref name="auto">Henderson, Justin. ''Grunge: Seattle''. Roaring Forties Press, 2016. Ch. 5 "the really big time", section: "here come the tabloids!"</ref>

The title of Nirvana's debut album ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]'' was inspired by a [[harm reduction]] poster aimed at heroin injection users, which stated "Bleach your works [e.g., [[syringe]] and [[Hypodermic needle|needle]]] before you get stoned". The poster was released by the U.S. State Health Department which was trying to reduce [[AIDS]] transmission caused through sharing used needles. Alice in Chains' song "God Smack" includes the line "stick your arm for some real fun", a reference to injecting heroin.<ref name=heroin /> Seattle musicians known to use heroin included Cobain, who was using "heroin when he shot himself in the head"; "[[Andrew Wood (singer)|Andrew Wood]] of [[Mother Love Bone]] [who] overdosed on heroin in 1990"; "[[Stefanie Sargent]] of [[7 Year Bitch]] [who] died of an overdose of the same opiate in 1992 ... [and] [[Layne Staley]] of Alice in Chains [who] publicly detailed his battles with heroin ...".<ref name=seattletimes>{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940420/1906421/seattle-scene-and-heroin-use-how-bad-is-it |title='Seattle Scene' And Heroin Use: How Bad Is It? |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 20, 1994 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 29, 2017 |archive-date=July 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719201032/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940420&slug=1906421 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mike Starr (musician)|Mike Starr]] of Alice in Chains<ref name="Marion p. 888" />  and [[Jonathan Melvoin]] from [[the Smashing Pumpkins]] also died from heroin. After Cobain's death, his "... widow, singer Courtney Love, characterized Seattle as a drug mecca, where heroin is easier to get than in San Francisco or Los Angeles."<ref name=seattletimes />

However, [[Daniel House (musician)|Daniel House]], who owned [[C/Z Records]], disputed these perceptions in 1994. House stated that there was "... no more (heroin) here [in Seattle] than anyplace else"; he stated that the "heroin is not a big part of the [Seattle music] culture", and that "marijuana and alcohol ... are far more prevalent". Jeff Gilbert, one of the editors of ''Guitar World'' magazine, stated in 1994 that the media association of the Seattle grunge scene with heroin was "really overblown"; instead, he says that Seattle musicians were "... all a bunch of potheads."<ref name=seattletimes /> Gil Troy's history of America in the 1990s states that in the Seattle grunge scene, the "... drug of choice switched from upscale cocaine [of the 1980s] to blue-collar marijuana."<ref>Troy, Gil. ''The Age of Clinton: America in the 1990s''.Macmillan, 2015. p. 105</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' magazine reported that members of Seattle's grunge scene were "coffee-crazed" by day on espresso and "... by night, they quaff[ed] oceans of beer – jolted by Java and looped with liquor, no wonder the [grunge] music sounds like it does."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/grunge-city-the-seattle-scene-19920416 |title=Grunge City: The Seattle Scene |author=Azzerad, Michael |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=April 16, 1992 }}</ref> "Some [Seattle] scene veterans maintain that [[3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine|MDA]]", a drug related to [[MDMA|Ecstasy]], "was a vital contributor to grunge", because it gave users a "body high" (in contrast to marijuana's "head high") that made them appreciate "bass-heavy [[Groove (music)|grooves]]".<ref>SPIN. Apr 2004 – Page 65. Vol. 20, No. 4</ref> Pat Long's '' History of the NME'' states that scene members involved with the Sub Pop label would have multi-day MDMA parties in the woods, which shows that what Long calls Ecstasy's "warm glow" had an impact even in the wet, grey and isolated Pacific Northwest region.<ref>Long, Pat. ''The History of the NME: High times and low lives at the world's most famous music magazine''. Pavilion Books, 2012.</ref>

==Graphic design==
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 [[Distressing|distressed]] lettering. Early grunge "[a]lbum covers and concert flyers appeared Xeroxed not in allegiance to some [[DIY]] aesthetic" but because of "economic necessity", as "bands had so little money".<ref>Dousner, Stephen. "Is there anything left to say about Kurt Cobain's legacy". ''Pitchfork''. March 31, 2014</ref> This was already a common feature of punk rock design, but could be extended in the grunge period due to the increasing use of [[Macintosh computer]]s for desktop publishing and digital image processing. The style was sometimes called 'grunge typography' when used outside music.<ref name="Liu">{{cite news|last1=Liu|first1=Caitlin|title=Creating a New Generation of Vivid Typefaces|work=The New York Times |date=5 August 1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/05/business/creating-a-new-generation-of-vivid-typefaces.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Walker">{{cite news|last1=Walker|first1=Rob|title=Type Casting|work=The New York Times |date=17 July 2005 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/magazine/type-casting.html|access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Businessweek">{{cite news|last1=Brustein|first1=Joshua|title=Font War: Inside the Design World's $20 Million Divorce|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-08/font-war-inside-the-design-worlds-20-million-divorce|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408183310/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-08/font-war-inside-the-design-worlds-20-million-divorce|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 8, 2014|work=Businessweek|access-date=September 28, 2014|date=2014-05-16}}</ref> A famous example of 'grunge'-style experimental design was ''[[Ray Gun (magazine)|Ray Gun]]'' magazine, art directed by [[David Carson (graphic designer)|David Carson]].<ref name="The Rise And Fall Of Grunge Typography">{{cite web|last1=Shetty|first1=Sharan|title=The Rise And Fall Of Grunge Typography|url=http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/grunge-typography|website=The Awl|date=August 21, 2012|access-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925150838/http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/grunge-typography|archive-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Palladino">{{cite web|last=Palladino|first=Valentina|title=Angst, imagination, and the Ray Gun Effect: a history of grunge typography|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5247944/the-awl-history-of-grunge-typography|work=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|access-date=December 29, 2013|date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>

Carson developed a technique of "ripping, shredding and remaking letters"<ref name="The Rise And Fall Of Grunge Typography" /><ref name="Palladino" />  and using "overprinted, disharmonious letters" and experimental design approaches, including "deliberate 'mistakes' in alignment".<ref name="Eskilon, Stephen 2012">Eskilon, Stephen. ''Graphic Design: A New History, Second Edition''. Yale University Press, 2012.</ref> Carson's art used "messy and chaotic design" and he did not "respect any rule of composition", using an "experimental, personal and intuitive" approach.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flipsnack.com/blog/5-useful-design-tips-from-the-father-of-grunge-david-carson/ |title=5 useful design tips from the father of grunge David Carson |last=Coroi |first=Patricia |date=May 19, 2016 |publisher=Flipsnack |access-date=February 22, 2017}}</ref> Another "grunge graphic designer" was [[Elliott Earls]], who used "distorted ... older typefaces" and "aggressively illegible" type which adopted the "unkempt expressiveness" of the "grunge [music] aesthetic"; this radical, anti-establishment approach in graphic design was influenced by the 1910s-era avant-garde [[Dada]] movement.<ref name="Eskilon, Stephen 2012" /> Hat Nguyen's Droplet, Harriet Goren's Morire and Eric Lin's Tema Canante were all "signature grunge fonts."<ref name="The Rise And Fall Of Grunge Typography" /><ref name="Palladino" /> Sven Lennartz states that grunge design images have a "realistic, genuine look" which is created by adding simulated torn paper, dog-eared corners, creases, yellowed scotch tape, coffee cup stains, hand-drawn images and handwritten words, typically over a "dirty" background texture which is done with dull, subdued colors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/the-secrets-of-grunge-design/ |title=The Secrets of Grunge Design|last=Lennartz |first=Sven|date=March 11, 2008|work=Smashing Magazine |access-date= March 15, 2017}}</ref>

A key figure in creating the "look" of the grunge scene for outsiders was music photographer [[Charles Peterson (photographer)|Charles Peterson]]. 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.

== Literature ==
=== Zines ===
Following the tradition in the 1980s US punk subculture of amateur, fan-produced [[zine]]s, members of the grunge scene also produced [[DIY]] publications which were "distributed at gigs or by mail order". The zines were typically photocopied and contained handwritten, "hand-colored pages", "typing errors and grammatical mistakes, misspellings and jumbled pagination", all proof of their amateur nature.<ref name="Leonard, Marion 2007. p. 140">Leonard, Marion. ''Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse and Girl Power''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007. p. 140</ref> ''Backlash'' was a zine that was published from 1987 to 1991 by Dawn Anderson, covering the "dirtier, heavier, more underground and rock side of Seattle's music scene", including "punk, metal, underground rock, grunge before it was called grunge and even some local hip-hop."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://10thingszine.blogspot.ca/2009/02/dawn-andersons-backlash-fanzine.html|title=Backlash fanzine!|website=10thingszine.blogspot.ca|access-date=January 18, 2018|date=2009-02-19}}</ref> ''Grunge Gerl #1'' was one early 1990s grunge zine; the publication was written by and for [[riot grrrl]]s in the Los Angeles area. It stated that "we're girls, we're angry, we're powerful."<ref name="Leonard, Marion 2007. p. 140" />

=== Local newspapers ===
In 1992, ''Rolling Stone'' music critic [[Michael Azerrad]] called ''[[The Rocket (music magazine)|The Rocket]]'' the Seattle music "scene's [most] respected commentator".<ref name="Azerrad" /> ''The Rocket'' was a free newspaper about the Pacific Northwest music scene which was launched in 1979. Edited by [[Charles R. Cross]], the paper covered "fairly obscure alternative bands" in the local area, such as [[the Fartz]] and others.<ref name="McChesney">McChesney, Robert W.  "Balancing Things Left of Center", ''The Rocket'', Issue #195, December 7–21, 1994, p. 12, 14.</ref> In the mid-1980s, the paper had stories on [[Slayer]], [[Wild Dogs]], [[Queensrÿche]], and [[Metal Church]].  By 1988, the metal scene had faded, and ''The Rocket''{{'s}} focus shifted to covering the pre-grunge local [[alternative rock]] bands. Dawn Anderson states that in 1988, long before any other publication took notice of them, [[Soundgarden]] and [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] were ''Rocket'' cover stars.<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, Dawn.  "Timeline: 1988", ''The Rocket'', Issue #195, December 7–21, 1994, p. 38.</ref>  In 1991, ''The Rocket'' expanded to include a Portland, Oregon edition.

=== Fiction ===
{{Main|Grunge lit}}
Grunge lit is an Australian [[literary genre]] of [[fiction]]al or [[Autobiographical novel|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 [[nihilism|nihilistic]] pursuit of sex, violence, drugs and alcohol".<ref name="leishman" /> Often the central characters are disfranchised, alienated, and lacking drive and determination beyond the desire to satisfy their basic needs. It was typically written by "new, young authors"<ref name="leishman">Leishman, Kirsty, 'Australian Grunge Literature and the Conflict between Literary Generations', ''Journal of Australian Studies'', 23.63 (1999), pp. 94–102</ref> who examined "gritty, dirty, real existences"<ref name="leishman" /> of everyday characters.  It has been described as both a sub-set of [[dirty realism]] and an offshoot of Generation X literature.<ref>Vernay, Jean-François, '[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5550 Grunge Fiction]', ''The Literary Encyclopedia'', November 6, 2008, accessed September 9, 2009</ref> Stuart Glover states that the term "grunge lit" takes the term "grunge" from the "late '80s and early '90s— ... Seattle [grunge] bands".<ref name="stuartglover.com.au">{{cite web |last=Glover |first=Stuart |date=1996 |title=A Short Note on Grunge Fiction |url=http://www.stuartglover.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/A-short-note-on-Grunge-Fiction.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219073033/http://www.stuartglover.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/A-short-note-on-Grunge-Fiction.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-19 |access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref> Glover states that the term "grunge lit" was mainly a marketing term used by publishing companies; he states that most of the authors who have been categorized as "grunge lit" writers reject the label.<ref name="stuartglover.com.au" /> The Australian fiction authors McGahan, McGregor and Tsiolkas criticized the "homogenizing effect" of conflating such a different group of writers.<ref name="leishman" /> Tsiolkas called the "grunge lit" term a "media creation".<ref name="leishman" />

==Role of women==
{{see also|Women in rock}}
[[File:L7 band live.jpg|thumb|[[L7 (band)|L7]] performing in [[Paris]], June 2015]]
Many [[All-female band|all-female]] or woman-led bands are associated with grunge including [[L7 (band)|L7]], [[Lunachicks]], [[Dickless]], [[7 Year Bitch]], [[the Gits]], [[Courtney Love]]'s band [[Hole (band)|Hole]], and [[Babes in Toyland (band)|Babes in Toyland]]. VH1 writer Dan Tucker described L7 as an "all-female grunge band [that] emanated from the fertile L.A. underground scene and [which] had strong ties with ... [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] and could match any male band in attitude and volume."<ref name="Tucker" /> Grunge was also closely linked with [[Riot Grrrl]], an underground [[feminist]] [[punk rock|punk]] movement.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/24/grunge-myths-nirvana-kurt-cobain|title=Ten myths about grunge, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain |last=True |first=Everett |date= August 24, 2011|newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=January 29, 2017 }}</ref> 
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 [[Teen Spirit (deodorant)|deodorant]] marketed specifically to young women.<ref>Azerrad, Michael. ''Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana''. Doubleday, 1994. {{ISBN|0-385-47199-8}}, pp. 211–212</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWO4JnP2T40 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/xWO4JnP2T40| archive-date=2021-10-29|title=A performance at Joes Pub in NYC, where Hanna tells the story of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" |publisher=Youtube.com |date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=June 27, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The inclusion of women instrumentalists in grunge is notable, because professional [[Women in music#Popular music|women instrumentalists]] are uncommon in most rock genres.<ref>Julian Schaap and Pauwke Berkers. "Grunting Alone? Online Gender Inequality in Extreme Metal Music" in ''IASPM Journal''. Vol.4, no.1 (2014) p. 101-102</ref>

[[Bam Bam (Seattle band)|Bam Bam]],<ref name="bam bam">{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Jade Yamazaki |date=July 8, 2021 |title=Before Nirvana or Pearl Jam, there was Tina Bell, the godmother of grunge. Musicians pay tribute in upcoming concert |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/before-nirvana-or-pearl-jam-there-was-tina-bell-the-black-godmother-of-grunge-musicians-pay-tribute-in-upcoming-concert/ |website=The Seattle Times}}</ref> formed in Seattle in 1983, was fronted by an African American woman named [[Tina Bell]], breaking the norm of what was predominantly a White dominated scene.<ref name="AS">{{Cite web |last=Uitti |first=Jacob |date=September 8, 2021 |title=Did Tina Bell Help Invent Grunge? |url=https://americansongwriter.com/did-tina-bell-help-invent-grunge/ |website=American Songwriter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pleasekillme.com/bam-bam-tina-bell/|title=Tina Bell's Hidden Legacy: The Black Woman Who Created the Sound of Grunge|date=September 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="cbs news">{{Cite web |date=September 7, 2021 |title=African American woman who led a grunge forerunner gets her moment of long-overdue recognition |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/video/african-american-woman-who-led-a-grunge-forerunner-gets-her-moment-of-long-overdue-recognition/ |website=CBS News}}</ref> Bam Bam also included future [[Soundgarden]] and [[Pearl Jam]] drummer [[Matt Cameron]].<ref name="bam bam"/> [[Kurt Cobain]] was a roadie for Bam Bam before he was famous; he was also a fan of the band.<ref name="bam bam"/> Bell died in 2012. Observers have speculated that the lack of recognition in her lifetime as one of the progenitors of grunge music was due to sexism and racism.<ref name="bam bam"/><ref name="AS"/><ref name="cbs news"/>

Women also played active non-musician roles in the underground grunge scene, such as riot grrrls who produced [[zines]] about grunge bands and indie record labels (e.g., ''Grunge Gerl #1'') and writer Dawn Anderson of the Seattle fanzine ''Backlash'' which supported many local bands before they achieved greater fame.<ref name="Hype" /> Tina Casale was the co-founder of [[C/Z Records]] in the 1980s (along with Chris Hanzsek), a Seattle indie label that released the seminal grunge compilation ''[[Deep Six (album)|Deep Six]]'' in 1986.

[[Susan Silver]] was the first female manager of the Seattle music scene. She started her career in 1983 and managed several bands such as [[the U-Men]], [[Soundgarden]], [[Alice in Chains]] and [[Screaming Trees]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/misc/ssilver.shtml |title=Susan Silver |work=Stargate |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602235157/http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/misc/ssilver.shtml |archive-date=June 2, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 1991, ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' called Silver "the most powerful figure in local rock management".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19910106/1259221/faces-to-watch-in-91 |title=Faces To Watch In '91 -- A Look At Up-And-Comers Who Will Be Helping To Shape The Arts This Year |work=The Seattle Times |date=January 6, 1991 |access-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-date=June 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603104210/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910106&slug=1259221 |url-status=live }}</ref> Silver was also an advisor for [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]. [[Kurt Cobain]] and bassist [[Krist Novoselic]] consulted Silver for advice when they were not satisfied with Sub Pop's lack of promotion for their debut album, ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]''. Silver looked at their contract with the label and told them they needed a lawyer. Silver then introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who started sending out Nirvana's demo tape to major labels looking for deals. The band ended up choosing [[DGC Records|DGC]] and the label released their breakthrough album ''[[Nevermind (album)|Nevermind]]'' in 1991.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=byoPYMdJ150C&pg=PA191 |title=Nirvana: The Biography |first=Everett |last=True |publisher=Da Capo Press |pages=191–192 |date=March 13, 2007|isbn=9780786733903 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Charles R.|last=Cross|author-link=Charles R. Cross|title=Heavier Than Heaven|publisher=[[Hachette Books|Hyperion Books]]|location=New York City|date=August 15, 2001|isbn=0-7868-6505-9 |pages=486–488}}</ref> When Nirvana was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2014, Novoselic thanked Silver during his speech for "introducing them to the music industry properly".<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/read-nirvanas-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-acceptance-speech-242181/ |title=Read Nirvana's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech |date=April 11, 2014 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>

==History==
=== 1965–1985: Roots, predecessors, and influences ===
[[File:Neil Young 1976.jpg|alt=Young in 2006.|thumb|275x275px|[[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.]]
The term proto-grunge has been used to describe artists as having elements of grunge well before the genre appeared in the mid- to late-1980s. Perhaps the earliest proto-grunge album is ''[[Here Are the Sonics]]'', released in 1965 by [[the Sonics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/albums-led-grunge/|title=10 Albums That Led to Grunge|website=[[Loudwire]]|date=15 February 2018}}</ref> [[Neil Young]]'s albums ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'' (1979) and ''[[Ragged Glory]]'' (1990) have been proclaimed examples of proto-grunge and grunge music.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-grunge-albums-798851/neil-young-and-crazy-horse-ragged-glory-1990-798864/|title=50 Greatest Grunge Albums|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=April 2019}}</ref> Additionally, he has been cited as an influence by [[Pearl Jam]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/35283-pearl-jam-explore-and-not-explode|title=Pearl Jam – Explore and Not Explode |last=Kerr |first=Dave |date=May 16, 2006 |work=The Skinny}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kqed.org/support/membership/onq/webexclusives/article-pearljam.jsp |title=Pearl Jam Unmic'ed |publisher=KQED |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228152554/http://www.kqed.org/support/membership/onq/webexclusives/article-pearljam.jsp |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref> which led to them backing Young for the ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]'' album, released in 1995. Other acts described as proto-grunge include [[Wipers (band)|Wipers]] and their album ''[[Youth of America]]'' (1981), [[Elvis Costello]] and his ''[[Blood & Chocolate]]'' album which [[Will Birch]] hailed as "6 or 8 years ahead of its time" (1986),<ref name="Birch">{{cite book |last1=Birch |first1=Will |title=Cruel To Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe |date=15 August 2019 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=978-1-4721-2914-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t32IDwAAQBAJ |access-date=30 March 2020|pages=234–235}}</ref> and [[the Stooges]] and their album ''[[Fun House (The Stooges album)|Fun House]]'' (1970).<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-grunge-albums-798851/stooges-fun-house-1970-798900/|title = 50 Greatest Grunge Albums |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=April 2019}}</ref>

Grunge's sound partly resulted from [[Seattle music scene|Seattle's isolation]] from other music scenes. As Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman noted, "Seattle was a perfect example of a secondary city with an active music scene that was completely ignored by an American media fixated on Los Angeles and New York [City]."<ref>Aston, Martin. "Freak Scene". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 12.</ref> Mark Arm claimed that the isolation meant, "this one corner of the map was being really inbred and ripping off each other's ideas".<ref>[[Mick Wall|Wall, Mick]]. "Northwest Passage". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 9.</ref> Seattle "was a remote and provincial city" in the 1980s; Bruce Pavitt states that the city was "very working class", a place of deprivation, and so the scene's "whole aesthetic – work clothes, thriftstore truckers' hats, pawnshop guitars" was not just a style, it was done because Seattle "was very poor."<ref name="Hunter-Tilney">{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/32fd8cf0-b42c-11e3-a102-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/32fd8cf0-b42c-11e3-a102-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=What Kurt Cobain teaches us about the American way of failure |last=Hunter-Tilney |first=Ludovic |date=March 28, 2014 |newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=February 12, 2017}}</ref> Indeed, when "''[[Nevermind]]'' reached number one in the U.S. charts, Cobain was living in a car."<ref name="Hunter-Tilney" />

Bands began to mix metal and punk in the Seattle music scene around 1984, with much of the credit for this fusion going to [[the U-Men]].<ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 418.</ref> However, some critics have noted that in spite of the U-Men's canonical place as original grunge progenitors, that their sound was less indebted to heavy metal and much more akin to {{nowrap|post-punk.}} However the idiosyncrasy of the band may have been the bigger inspiration, more than the aesthetics themselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/u-men-mw0003104006 |title=U-Men – U-Men |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref> Soon Seattle had a growing and "varied music scene" and "diverse urban personality" expressed by local "[[post-punk]] [[garage band]]s".<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> Grunge evolved from the local punk rock scene, and was inspired by bands such as [[the Fartz]], the U-Men, [[10 Minute Warning]], [[the Accüsed]], and the [[Fastbacks]].<ref name="Hype" /> Additionally, the slow, heavy, and sludgy style of the [[Melvins]] was a significant influence on the grunge sound.<ref>Wall, Mick. "Northwest Passage". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 8.</ref> Roy Shuker states that grunge's success built on the "foundations ... laid throughout the 1980s by earlier [[alternative rock|alternative music]] scenes."<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 183">Shuker, Roy. ''Understanding Popular Music Culture, 4th Edition. Routledge, 2013. p. 183''</ref> Shuker states that music critics "... emphasized the perceived purity and authenticity of the Seattle scene.<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 183" /> [[File:U-Men at the Bat Cave Seattle.jpg|thumb|left|alt=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]]

Outside the Pacific Northwest, a number of artists and music scenes influenced grunge. Alternative rock bands from the Northeastern United States, including [[Sonic Youth]], [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]], and [[Dinosaur Jr.]], are important influences on the genre. Through their patronage of Seattle bands, Sonic Youth "inadvertently nurtured" the grunge scene, and reinforced the fiercely independent attitudes of its musicians.<ref>Everley, Dave. "Daydream Nation". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 39.</ref> Nirvana introduced into the Seattle scene the noise-inflected influences of [[Scratch Acid]] and the [[Butthole Surfers]].<ref name="Gina Misiroglu 2015. p. 343" /><ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 439.</ref>

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 [[KEXP-FM#KCMU: The early years|KCMU]].<ref>Hennesy, Kate (August 11, 2013). [https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/cosmic-psychos-uberblokes-punked-pumped-and-primed-20130811-2rpt8.html "Cosmic Psychos: Uber-blokes punked, pumped and primed"], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. Retrieved October 8, 2015.</ref><ref name="zan">[[Zan Rowe|Rowe, Zan]] (September 26, 2008). [http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/zan/blog/s2374282.htm "Jonathan Poneman from Sub-Pop takes five with the albums he wishes he'd released..."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426200316/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/zan/blog/s2374282.htm |date=April 26, 2016}}, ''Mornings with Zan''. Retrieved October 8, 2015.</ref> The influence of Pixies on Nirvana was noted by [[Kurt Cobain]], who commented in a ''Rolling Stone'' interview, "I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard."<ref>Fricke, David. "Kurt Cobain: The Rolling Stone Interview". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. January 27, 1994.</ref> In August 1997, in an interview with ''[[Guitar World]]'', [[Dave Grohl]] said: "From Kurt, [[Krist Novoselic|Krist]] [Novoselic] and I liking [[the Knack]], [[Bay City Rollers]], [[The Beatles|Beatles]] and [[ABBA|Abba]] just as much as we liked [[Flipper (band)|Flipper]] and [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] ... You listen to any Pixies record and it's all over there. Or even [[Black Sabbath]]'s "[[War Pigs]]"—it's there: the power of the dynamic. We just sort of abused it with [[pop rock|pop songs]] and got sick with it."<ref>{{cite book |title=Guitar World Presents Nirvana and the Grunge Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4R0xtoz_gQ8C |author=Guitar World |author-link=Guitar World |year=1998 |publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]] |location=Milwaukee |isbn=0-7935-9006-X |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4R0xtoz_gQ8C&pg=178&dq=%22Beatles+and+Abba+just+as+much+as+we+liked+Flipper+and+Black+Flag%22%22You+listen+to+any+Pixies+record+and+it's+all+over+there.+Or+even+Black+Sabbath's%22%22War%20Pigs%22%22it's+there:+the+power+of+the+dynamic.+We+just+sort+of+abused+it+with+pop+songs+and+got+sick+with+it.%22 170–1]}}</ref>

Aside from the genre's punk and alternative rock roots, many grunge bands were equally influenced by heavy metal of the early 1970s. [[Clinton Heylin]], author of ''Babylon's Burning: From Punk to Grunge'', cited Black Sabbath as "perhaps the most ubiquitous pre-punk influence on the northwest scene".<ref>Heylin, p. 601.</ref> Black Sabbath played a role in shaping the grunge sound, through their own records and the records they inspired.<ref>Carden, Andrew. "Black Sabbath". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 34.</ref> Musicologist [[Bob Gulla]] asserted that Black Sabbath's sound "shows up in virtually all of grunge's most popular bands, including [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Soundgarden]], and [[Alice in Chains]]".<ref>[[Bob Gulla|Gulla, Bob]], ''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: The grunge and post-grunge years, 1991–2005'', [[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]], 2006, p. 231.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/doom-generation-inside-black-sabbaths-master-of-reality |title=Doom Generation: Inside Black Sabbath's Master of Reality |date= 19 February 2021|website=[[Rhino Entertainment]]}}</ref> The influence of [[Led Zeppelin]] is also evident, particularly in the work of Soundgarden, whom ''Q'' magazine noted were "in thrall to '70s rock, but contemptuous of the genre's overt sexism and machismo".<ref>Brannigan, Paul. "Outshined". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 102.</ref> Jon Wiederhorn of ''Guitar World'' wrote: "So what exactly is grunge? ... Picture a supergroup made up of [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]], Black Sabbath and [[the Stooges]], and you're pretty close."<ref>{{cite book |author=Guitar World |chapter=Seattle Reign: The Rise and Fall of Seattle Grunge|author2=Jon Wiederhorn |pages=1–12|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guitarworldprese0000nirv/page/n9/mode/2up|title=Guitar World Presents Nirvana and the Grunge Revolution |year=1998 |publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-0-7935-9006-3|quote=}} – [https://archive.org/details/guitarworldprese0000nirv/page/2/mode/2up Quote]</ref> Catherine Strong stated that grunge's strongest metal influence was [[thrash metal]], which had a tradition of "equality with the audience", based on the notion that "anyone could start a band" (a way of thinking also shared by US [[hardcore punk]], which Strong also cites as an influence on grunge) which was also taken up by grunge bands.<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18" /> Strong stated that grunge musicians were opposed to the then-popular "[[hair metal]]" bands.<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18" />

Strong stated that "sections of what was [US] [[Hardcore punk|hardcore]] became known as grunge."<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18" /> Seattle songwriter Jeff Stetson states that "[t]here is no real difference ... between Punk and Grunge."<ref name="Stetson" /> Like punk bands, grunge groups were "embraced as back-to-basics rock 'n' roll bands which reminded the public that the music was supposed to be raw and raunchy".<ref name=popmatters /> One example of the influence of US hardcore on grunge is the impact that the Los Angeles hardcore punk band [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] had on grunge. Black Flag's 1984 record ''[[My War]]'', on which the band combined heavy metal with their traditional sound, made a strong impact in Seattle. Mudhoney's [[Steve Turner (guitarist)|Steve Turner]] commented, "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."<ref name="Azerrad419">[[Michael Azerrad|Azerrad, Michael]]. ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991''. Boston: [[Little, Brown and Company]], 2001. {{ISBN|0-316-78753-1}}, p. 419.</ref> Turner explained grunge's integration of metal influences, noting, "Hard rock and metal was never that much of an enemy of punk like it was for other scenes. Here, it was like, 'There's only twenty people here, you can't really find a group to hate.'" Charles R. Cross stated that grunge was the "culmination of twenty years of [[punk rock]]" development.<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012" /> Cross states that the bands most representing the grunge genre were Seattle bands [[Blood Circus (band)|Blood Circus]], Tad, and Mudhoney and Sub Pop's Denver band [[the Fluid]]; he states that Nirvana, with its pop influences and blend of Sonic Youth and [[Cheap Trick]], was lighter-sounding than bands like Blood Circus.<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012" />

[[File:CosmicPsychos2007.jpg|thumb|alt=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]]

[[Neil Young]] played a few concerts with Pearl Jam and recorded the album ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]''. This was grounded not only in his work with his band [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]] and his regular use of distorted guitar—most notably on the album ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]''—but also his dress and persona.<ref>McNair, James. "''Rust Never Sleeps'' – Neil Young". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 36.</ref> A similarly influential yet often overlooked album is ''[[Neurotica (album)|Neurotica]]'' by [[Redd Kross]], about which Jonathan Poneman said, "''Neurotica'' was a life changer for me and for a lot of people in the Seattle music community."<ref name="ew rk">{{cite magazine |title=This is the most important band in America? |date=December 3, 1993 |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/12/03/this-most-important-band-america/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=June 15, 2007 |archive-date=July 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706094522/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308818,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The context for the development of the Seattle grunge scene was a "golden age of failure, a time when a swath of American youth embraced the ... vices of indolence and lack of motivation".<ref name="Hunter-Tilney" /> 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.'"<ref name="Hunter-Tilney" />

===1985–1991: Early development and rise in popularity===
[[File:Green River (1980s Sub Pop promo photo).jpg|thumb|left|Seattle grunge pioneers [[Green River (band)|Green River]]]]
In 1985, the band [[Green River (band)|Green River]] released their debut EP ''[[Come on Down (EP)|Come on Down]]'', which is cited by many as being the first grunge record.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Come on Down'' Review |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=come-on-down-mw0000109467|pure_url=yes}} |website=[[AllMusic]] |last=Torreano |first=Bradley |access-date=September 22, 2024}}</ref> Another seminal release in the development of grunge was the ''[[Deep Six (album)|Deep Six]]'' compilation, released by [[C/Z Records]] in 1986. The record featured multiple tracks by six bands: Green River, [[Soundgarden]], [[Melvins]], [[Malfunkshun]], [[Skin Yard]], and the U-Men. For many of them it was their first appearance on record. The artists had "a mostly heavy, aggressive sound that melded the slower tempos of heavy metal with the intensity of hardcore". The recording process was low-budget; each band was given four hours of studio time. As Jack Endino recalled, "People just said, 'Well, what kind of music is this? This isn't metal, it's not punk, What is it?' ... People went 'Eureka! These bands all have something in common.'"<ref name="Azerrad419" /> Later that year [[Bruce Pavitt]] released the ''[[Sub Pop 100]]'' compilation and Green River's ''[[Dry as a Bone|Dry As a Bone]]'' EP as part of his new label, Sub Pop. An early Sub Pop catalog described the Green River EP as "ultra-loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation".<ref name="Azerrad420">Azerrad (2001), p. 420.</ref> Sub Pop's Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman, inspired by other regional music scenes in music history, worked to ensure that their label projected a "Seattle sound", reinforced by a similar style of production and album packaging. 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."<ref>Azerrad (2001), pp. 436–37.</ref>
[[File:Deep Six ad - The Rocket (1986).jpg|thumb|Advertisement for grunge compilation ''[[Deep Six (album)|Deep Six]]'', featured in ''[[The Rocket (music magazine)|The Rocket]]'', April 1, 1986]]
Early grunge concerts were sparsely attended (many by fewer than a dozen people) but Sub Pop photographer [[Charles Peterson (photographer)|Charles Peterson]]'s pictures helped create the impression that such concerts were major events.<ref>Azerrad (2001), pp. 421–22.</ref> Mudhoney, which was formed by former members of Green River, served as the flagship band of Sub Pop during their entire time with the label and spearheaded the Seattle grunge movement.<ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 411.</ref> Other record labels in the Pacific Northwest that helped promote grunge included C/Z Records, [[Estrus Records]], EMpTy Records and [[PopLlama Records]].<ref name="Hype" /> In 1988 Mudhoney released their debut album ''[[Superfuzz Bigmuff]]'', which Bruce Pavitt called "the record that really put Sub Pop on the map," and of its impact said: "It really announced to the world that there was a new style of rock and roll being made in this very obscure city that most people had never heard of."<ref>{{cite web   |url=https://medium.com/vnyl-on-vinyl/firstspin-sub-pop-co-founder-bruce-pavitt-8245424be824| title=#FirstSpin: Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt|work=Medium|date=April 7, 2015}}</ref> 
{{quote box|width=25%|align=right|quote=Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Tad, Alice in Chains – the names of these bands may not mean much now, but they almost certainly will in the next few years. Just as cities far removed from the entertainment meccas of Los Angeles and New York (Minneapolis; Akron; Athens, Ga.; Austin, Tex.) helped define the sound of the '80s, Seattle is becoming a breeding ground for alternative rock in the '90s.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kot|first1=Greg|title=Seattle's Big Noise |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/55943023/|year=1989|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> – [[Greg Kot]], writing for ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' (1989)}}

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. This exposure helped to make grunge known outside of the local area during the late 1980s and drew more people to local shows.<ref name="Hype" /> The appeal of grunge to the music press was that it "promised the return to a notion of a regional, authorial vision for [[American rock]]".<ref>Lyons, James. ''Selling Seattle: Representing Contemporary Urban America''. Wallflower, 2004. {{ISBN|1-903364-96-5}}. pp. 128–29.</ref> Grunge's popularity in the [[underground music]] scene was such that bands began to move to Seattle and approximate the look and sound of the original grunge bands. Mudhoney's Steve Turner said, "It was really bad. Pretend bands were popping up here, things weren't coming from where we were coming from."<ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 449.</ref> As a reaction, many grunge bands diversified their sound, with Nirvana and Tad in particular creating more melodic songs.<ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 450.</ref> Dawn Anderson of the Seattle fanzine ''Backlash'' recalled that by 1990 many locals had tired of the hype surrounding the Seattle scene and hoped that media exposure had dissipated.<ref name="Hype" /> In a 1991 article, Mark Arm commented that "It was pretty funny when all the Seattle hype started, because there had been really good bands in Seattle for a long time who couldn't put out albums because they didn't have an outlet for it. Bands like [[Malfunkshun]] and [[10 Minute Warning]], who were amazing."<ref>{{cite news|title=Seattle's Mudhoney turns isolation into oppurtunity|first=Greg|last=Kot|work=Chicago Tribune|page=72|date=September 5, 1991}}</ref>

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 (Australian band)|X]], [[Beasts of Bourbon]], [[feedtime]], [[Cosmic Psychos]] and [[Lubricated Goat]].<ref name="Dubrow">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/apr/07/australia-grunge-nirvana |title=Nirvana had nothing on Australia's Lubricated Goat |last=Dubrow |first=Chris|date=April 7, 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=February 8, 2017 }}</ref> Dubrow said "Cobain ... admitted the Australian wave was a big influence" on his music.<ref name="Dubrow" /> Everett True states that "[t]here's more of an argument to be had for grunge beginning in Australia with the Scientists and their scrawny punk ilk."<ref name="ReferenceA">True, Everett. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/24/grunge-myths-nirvana-kurt-cobain "Ten Myths about Grunge, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain"]. ''The Guardian''. August 24, 2011</ref>

Grunge bands had made inroads to the musical mainstream in the late 1980s. Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label when they joined the roster of [[A&M Records]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-soundgarden/172326555/|title=Hometown bands are making big waves elsewhere|first=Gillian|last=G. Garr|work=The News Tribune|page=80|date=August 28, 1988}}</ref> Soundgarden, along with other major label signings [[Alice in Chains]] and [[Mother Love Bone]], performed "okay" with their initial major label releases, according to Jack Endino.<ref name="Hype" /> [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], originally from [[Aberdeen, Washington]], was also courted by major labels, while releasing its first album ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]'' in 1989. Nirvana got signed by [[Geffen Records]] in 1990.

Alice in Chains signed with [[Columbia Records]] in 1989,<ref>{{cite book|last1=de Sola|first1=David|title=Alice in Chains: The Untold Story|date=August 4, 2015|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|isbn=978-1250048073|pages=323–324}}</ref> and their debut album, ''[[Facelift (album)|Facelift]]'', was released on August 21, 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/8881ep/alice-in-chains-facelift-album-facts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522193316/https://www.vh1.com/news/8881ep/alice-in-chains-facelift-album-facts|url-status=live|archive-date=May 22, 2022|title=Alice in Chains' Facelift: 25 Album Facts|publisher=VH1|date=August 21, 2015|access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref> The album's second single, "[[Man in the Box]]", was released in January 1991, spent 20 weeks on the Top 20 of [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'s [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock]] chart and its music video received heavy rotation on MTV.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sonymusic.com:80/artists/AliceInChains/bio.html |title=Alice In Chains Timeline |website=SonyMusic.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991007164204/http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/AliceInChains/bio.html |archive-date=October 7, 1999 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/alice-in-chains/chart-history/rtt/ |title=Man In The Box Chart History |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref> ''Facelift'' became the first album from the grunge movement to be certified gold by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) on September 11, 1991,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/alice-in-chains-facelift/|title=How Alice in Chains Bridged Rock Eras With 'Facelift'|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=August 21, 2015|access-date=December 6, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116064308/http://ultimateclassicrock.com/alice-in-chains-facelift/|archive-date=November 16, 2017}}</ref> for selling over 500,000 copies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Alice+in+Chains&ti=Facelift#search_section |title=Alice in Chains (Facelift) – RIAA |website=Recording Industry Association of America}}</ref>

===1991–1997: Mainstream success===
====Peak of influence====
In September 1991, Nirvana released its major label debut, ''[[Nevermind]]''. The album was at best hoped to be a minor success on par with Sonic Youth's ''[[Goo (album)|Goo]]'', which Geffen had released a year earlier.<ref>Wice, Nathaniel. "How Nirvana Made It". ''[[Spin magazine|Spin]]''. April 1992.</ref> It was the release of the album's first single "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" that "marked the instigation of the grunge music phenomenon". Due to the constant airplay of the song's music video on [[MTV]], ''Nevermind'' was selling 400,000 copies a week by Christmas 1991,<ref>Lyons, p. 120</ref> and was certified gold on November 27, 1991.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=NIRVANA&ti=NEVERMIND |title=Nirvana (Nevermind) – RIAA |website=Recording Industry Association of America}}</ref> In January 1992, ''Nevermind'' replaced [[pop music|pop]] superstar [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Dangerous (Michael Jackson album)|Dangerous]]'' at number one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>"The ''Billboard'' 200". ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. [[Prometheus Global Media]]. January 11, 1992.</ref> ''Nevermind'' was certified diamond by the RIAA in 1999.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Nevermind|artist=Nirvana}}

The success of ''Nevermind'' surprised the music industry. ''Nevermind'' not only popularized grunge, but also established "the cultural and commercial viability of alternative rock in general."<ref>{{cite web |author=Olsen, Eric |title=10 years later, Cobain lives on in his music |publisher=[[Today.com]].com |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/10-years-later-cobain-lives-his-music-wbna4652653 |date=April 9, 2004 |access-date=July 25, 2007}}</ref> Michael Azerrad asserted that ''Nevermind'' symbolized "a sea-change in rock music" in which the [[glam metal]] that had dominated rock music at that time fell out of favor in the face of music that was perceived as [[authenticity (philosophy)|authentic]] and culturally relevant.<ref>Azerrad (1994), pp. 229–30.</ref> Grunge made it possible for genres thought to be of a niche audience, no matter how radical, to prove their marketability and be co-opted by the mainstream, cementing the formation of an individualist, fragmented culture.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 3, 2013 |title=Are We Still Living in 1993? |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |url=https://nymag.com/arts/art/features/1993-new-museum-exhibit/|access-date=February 26, 2013 |first=Carl |last=Swanson}}</ref> Other grunge bands subsequently replicated Nirvana's success. [[Pearl Jam]], which featured former [[Mother Love Bone]] members [[Jeff Ament]] and [[Stone Gossard]], had released its debut album ''[[Ten (Pearl Jam album)|Ten]]'' in August 1991, a month before ''Nevermind'', but album sales only picked up the following year. By the second half of 1992 ''Ten'' had become a breakthrough success, being certified gold and reaching number two on the ''Billboard'' charts.<ref>Pearlman, Nina. "Black Days". ''[[Guitar World]]''. December 2002.</ref> ''Ten'' by Pearl Jam was certified 13× platinum by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Ten|artist=Pearl Jam}}

The band Soundgarden's album ''[[Badmotorfinger]]'' and the band Alice in Chains' album ''[[Dirt (Alice in Chains album)|Dirt]]'', along with the band [[Temple of the Dog]]'s [[Temple of the Dog (album)|self-titled album]], a collaboration featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, were also among the 100 top selling albums of 1992.<ref>Lyons, p. 136.</ref> The popular breakthrough of these grunge bands prompted ''Rolling Stone'' to nickname Seattle "the new [[Liverpool]]".<ref name="success NYT" /> Major record labels signed most of the prominent grunge bands in Seattle, while a second influx of bands moved to the city in hopes of success.<ref>Azerrad (2001), pp. 452–53.</ref> The grunge scene was the backdrop in the 1992 [[Cameron Crowe]] film ''[[Singles (1992 film)|Singles]]''. There were several small roles, performances, and cameos in the film by popular Seattle grunge bands including Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. Filmed in and around Seattle in 1991, the film was not released until 1992 during the height of grunge popularity.<ref name="success NYT" />

The popularity of grunge resulted in a large interest in the Seattle music scene's perceived cultural traits. While the Seattle music scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s in actuality consisted of various styles and genres of music, its representation in the media "served to depict Seattle as a music 'community' in which the focus was upon the ongoing exploration of one musical idiom, namely grunge".<ref>Lyons, p. 122.</ref> The fashion industry marketed "grunge fashion" to consumers, charging premium prices for items such as knit ski hats and tartan shirts. Critics asserted that advertising was co-opting elements of grunge and turning it into a fad. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' commented in a 1993 article, "There hasn't been this kind of exploitation of a subculture since the media discovered hippies in the '60s".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 2, 1993 |title=Smells Like Big Bucks |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/04/02/smells-big-bucks/ |access-date=July 25, 2007 |first=Peter |last=Kobel |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014023338/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,306055,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Marketers used the "grunge" concept to sell grunge air freshener, grunge hair gel and even CDs of "easy-listening music" called "grunge light".<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' compared the "grunging of America" to the mass-marketing of [[punk rock]], [[disco]], and [[hip hop music|hip hop]] in previous years.<ref name="success NYT" /> Ironically, the ''New York Times'' was tricked into printing a fake list of slang terms that were supposedly used in the grunge scene; often referred to as the [[grunge speak]] hoax. This media hype surrounding grunge was documented in the 1996 documentary ''[[Hype!]]''.<ref name="Hype" /> As mass media began to use the term "grunge" in any news story about the key bands, Seattle scene members began to refer to the term as "the G-word".<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012" />

[[File:PearlJam-DC2000.jpg|thumb|left|alt=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 backlash against grunge began to develop in Seattle; in late 1992, Jonathan Poneman said that in the city, "All things grunge are treated with the utmost cynicism and amusement [. . .] Because the whole thing is a fabricated movement and always has been."<ref name="success NYT" /> Grunge and grunge bands received criticism from musicians such as [[Blur (band)|Blur]]'s [[Damon Albarn]], who was quoted saying "fuck grunge" and "[[The Smashing Pumpkins]] can kiss my fucking ass" while performing onstage.<ref>{{cite web | last = Hood-Morris | first = Greg| url =https://issuu.com/uw_imprint/docs/1993-94_v16-n21_imprint/24 | title = Fuck Grunge | work = [[Imprint (newspaper)|Imprint]] | date=January 7, 1994 | access-date=January 18, 2020}}</ref> Many grunge artists were uncomfortable with their success and the resulting attention it brought. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain told Michael Azerrad, "Famous is the last thing I wanted to be."<ref>Azerrad, Michael. ''Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana''. Doubleday, 1994. {{ISBN|0-385-47199-8}}, p. 254.</ref> Pearl Jam also felt the burden of success, with much of the attention falling on frontman [[Eddie Vedder]].<ref name="crowe">{{cite magazine | last = Crowe | first = Cameron | author-link=Cameron Crowe | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10560431/five_against_the_world | title = Five Against the World | magazine = [[Rolling Stone]] | date=October 28, 1993 | access-date=June 23, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070619084803/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10560431/five_against_the_world |archive-date =June 19, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Nirvana's follow-up album ''[[In Utero (album)|In Utero]]'' (1993) featured an intentionally abrasive album that Nirvana bassist [[Krist Novoselic]] described as a "wild aggressive sound, a true alternative record".<ref>DeRogatis, Jim. ''Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's''. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. {{ISBN|0-306-81271-1}}, p. 18.</ref> Nevertheless, upon its release in September 1993, ''In Utero'' topped the ''Billboard'' charts.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 8, 1993 |title=In Numero Uno |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308282,00.html |access-date=September 8, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004211114/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C308282%2C00.html |archive-date=October 4, 2007 }}</ref> In 1996, ''In Utero'' was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=In Utero|artist=Nirvana}} Pearl Jam also continued to perform well commercially with its second album, ''[[Vs. (Pearl Jam album)|Vs.]]'' (1993). The album sold a record 950,378 copies in its first week of release, topped the ''Billboard'' charts, and outperformed all other entries in the top ten that week combined.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/1993/11/19/pearls-jam/ | title=Pearl's Jam | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | date=November 19, 1993 | access-date=August 29, 2007 | first=Nisid | last=Hajari | archive-date=October 14, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014195855/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308749,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> In 1993, the rock band [[Candlebox]] released their [[Candlebox (album)|self-titled album]], which was certified {{nowrap|4× platinum}} by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Candlebox|artist=Candlebox}} In February 1994, Alice in Chains' EP, ''[[Jar of Flies]]'' peaked at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart.<ref name="AliceinChainsBillboard200">[https://www.billboard.com/artist/278597/alice-chains/chart?f=305 Alice in Chains – Billboard 200 chart history] billboard.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.</ref> Soundgarden's album ''[[Superunknown]]'', which was also released in 1994, peaked at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart,<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/artist/279997/soundgarden/chart?f=305 Soundgarden – Billboard 200 chart history] billboard.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.</ref> and was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Superunknown|artist=Soundgarden}} In 1995, Alice in Chains' [[Alice in Chains (album)|self-titled album]] became their second number 1 album on the ''Billboard'' 200,<ref name="AliceinChainsBillboard200" /> and was certified 2× platinum.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Alice in Chains|artist=Alice in Chains}}

In the early-mid 1990s, the commercial success of grunge put record labels on a nationwide search for undiscovered talent to promote. This included [[San Diego]], [[California]]–based [[Stone Temple Pilots]],<ref name="Loudwire STP">{{cite magazine |url=http://loudwire.com/best-grunge-bands/ |title=10 Best Grunge Bands of All Time |last=Childers |first=Chad |magazine=[[Loudwire]] |access-date=July 22, 2016 |quote=Could grunge grow outside of Seattle? That was the question in 1992, when San Diego-based rockers Stone Temple Pilots arrived with their 'Core' album, leading the second wave of grunge.}}</ref> Texas-based [[Tripping Daisy]]<ref name="AllMusic grunge" />{{better source needed|reason=[[WP:ALLMUSIC]] dubious for anything other than entertainment reviews with attribution|date=April 2021}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tripping-daisy-mn0000024113/songs|title=Tripping Daisy |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> and [[Toadies]],<ref name="Toadies Sun-Sentinel">{{cite news |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-08-10/entertainment/0108080862_1_toadies-nirvana-grunge |title=Toadies Break Sophomore Jinx – With A Little Help From Nirvana |newspaper=[[Sun-Sentinel]] |date=August 10, 2001 |access-date=May 15, 2016 |archive-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007062556/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-08-10/entertainment/0108080862_1_toadies-nirvana-grunge |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Toadies DailyCal">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailycal.org/2014/03/22/texan-band-toadies-ready-anniversary-tour/ |title=Texas band Toadies ready for anniversary tour |newspaper=The Daily Californian |date=March 22, 2014 |access-date=May 15, 2016 |quote=Few would argue that ''[[Rubberneck (album)|Rubberneck]]'' is the most influential album of the '90s, but it is distinctly grunge, and it is distinctly Texan. |archive-date=June 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610180839/http://www.dailycal.org/2014/03/22/texan-band-toadies-ready-anniversary-tour/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Toadies Rashbaum">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488609/20040622/burden_brothers.jhtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129071137/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488609/20040622/burden_brothers.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |title=The Burden Brothers' Key To Success: Stop Trying |last=Rashbaum |first=Alyssa |publisher=MTV |date=June 22, 2004 |access-date=May 15, 2016 |quote=Lewis had left his mark on the early 1990s grunge scene with the Toadies, but the group broke up in 2001 after recording only two studio albums.}}</ref> [[Paw (band)|Paw]],<ref name="Paste 50 Best Grunge Songs" /> Chicago-based [[Veruca Salt]],<ref name="Paste 50 Best Grunge Songs" /> and Australian band [[Silverchair]], bands whose early work continues to be identified broadly (if not in Seattle itself) as "grunge". In 2014, ''Paste'' ranked Veruca Salt's "All Hail Me" #39 and Silverchair's "Tomorrow" #45 on their list of the 50 best grunge songs of all time.<ref name="Paste 50 Best Grunge Songs" /> ''[[Loudwire]]'' named Stone Temple Pilots one of the ten best grunge bands of all time.<ref name="Loudwire STP" /> Grunge bands outside of the United States emerged in several countries. In Canada, [[Eric's Trip]], the first Canadian band signed by the Sub Pop label, has been classified as grunge<ref name="ReferenceC">Barclay, Michael; Schneider, Jason; Jack, Ian. ''Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance, 1985–1995''. ECW Press, 2011</ref> and [[Nickelback]]'s debut album was considered to be grunge. Silverchair achieved mainstream success in the 1990s; the band's song "[[Tomorrow (Silverchair song)|Tomorrow]]" went to number 22 on the [[Radio Songs (chart)|Radio Songs]] chart in September 1995<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/silverchair/chart-history/hsb/ |title=Silverchair Chart History (Radio Songs) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 26, 2017}}</ref> and the band's debut album ''[[Frogstomp]]'', released in June 1995, was certified 2× platinum by the RIAA in February 1996.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Frogstomp|artist=Silverchair|region=United States|type=album}}

During this period, grunge bands that were not from Seattle were often panned by critics, who accused them of being bandwagon-jumpers; Stone Temple Pilots and [[Bush (British band)|Bush]] in particular fell victim to this. In a January 1994 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' poll, Stone Temple Pilots was simultaneously voted "Best New Band" by ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} readers and "Worst New Band" by the magazine's music critics, highlighting the disparity between critics and fans.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/04/scott-weiland-stone-temple-pilots-2008 |title=Rebuilding the Temple: Inside Stone Temple Pilots' 2008 Comeback |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |last=Greenblatt |first=Leah |date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> Stone Temple Pilots became very popular; their album ''[[Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)|Core]]'' was certified 8× platinum by RIAA{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Core|artist=Stone Temple Pilots}} and their album ''[[Purple (Stone Temple Pilots album)|Purple]]'' was certified 6× platinum by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|region=United States|type=album|title=Purple|artist=Stone Temple Pilots}} The British post-grunge band Bush released their debut album ''Sixteen Stone'' in 1994.<ref name=SixteenStoneAllMusic>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sixteen-stone-mw0000125267 |title=Sixteen Stone – Bush |author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> In a review of their second album ''[[Razorblade Suitcase]]'', ''Rolling Stone'' criticized the album and called Bush "the most successful and shameless mimics of Nirvana's music".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Matt |last=Diehl |title=Bush – Razorblade Suitcase |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bush/albums/album/242869/review/5944129/razorblade_suitcase |date=November 13, 1996 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216075712/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bush/albums/album/242869/review/5944129/razorblade_suitcase |archive-date=February 16, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 (American band)|Warrant]]".{{sfn|Klosterman|2007|p=240}}

====Decline in popularity and end of subculture====
A number of factors contributed to grunge's decline in prominence. Critics and historians do not agree on the exact point that grunge ended.<ref>DiBlasi, Alex. "Grunge" in ''Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars and Stories that Shaped Our Culture'', p. 520–524. Edited by Jacqueline Edmondson. ABC-CLIO, 2013. p. 523</ref> Catherine Strong wrote that "at the end of 1993 ... grunge had become unstable, and was entering the first stages of being killed off"; she pointed out that the "scene had become so successful" and widely known that "imitators had begun to enter the field".<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.55">Strong, Catherine. ''Grunge: Music and Memory''. Routledge, 2016. p.55</ref> ''Paste'' magazine states by 1994, grunge "was fading fast", with "Pearl Jam retreating from the spotlight as fast as they could; Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and hordes of others were battling horrid drug addictions and struggling for survival."<ref name="Danaher" /> In ''Grunge: Seattle'', Justin Henderson stated that the "downward spiral" began in mid-1994, as the influx of major label money into the scene changed the culture and it had "nowhere to go but down"; he states the death of [[Hole (band)|Hole]] bassist [[Kristen Pfaff]] on June 16, 1994, from a heroin overdose, was "another nail in grunge's coffin."<ref>Henderson, Justin. ''Grunge: Seattle''. Roaring Forties Press, 2016. Ch. 6</ref>

In Jason Heller's 2013 article "Did grunge really matter?", in ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', he stated that Nirvana's ''In Utero'' (September 1993) was "grunge's death knell. As soon as Cobain grumbled, 'Teenage angst has paid off well / Now I'm bored and old,' it was all over."<ref name=avclub>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/did-grunge-really-matter-105354 |title=Did grunge really matter? |last=Heller |first=Jason |date=November 11, 2013 |work=The A.V. Club |access-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref> Heller states that after Cobain's death in 1994, the "hypocrisy" in the grunge of the time "became ... glaring" and "idealism became embarrassing", with the result being that "grunge became the new [mainstream] [[Aerosmith]]".<ref name=avclub /> Heller states that "grunge became an evolutionary dead end", because "it stood for nothing and was built on nothing, and that ethos of negation was all it was about."<ref name=avclub />

During the mid-1990s, many grunge bands broke up or became less visible. On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound; Nirvana summarily disbanded. After Cobain's death, Bruce Hardy wrote in ''Time'' magazine that he was "the [[John Lennon]] of the swinging Northwest", that he had struggled with a heroin addiction, and claimed that during the last weeks of his life there had been rumors in the music industry that Cobain had suffered a drug overdose and that Nirvana was breaking up.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Handy, Bruce |date=April 18, 1994 |title=Never mind |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980562,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050120134611/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980562,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 20, 2005 |access-date=September 8, 2007}}</ref> Cobain's suicide "served as a catalyst for grunge's ... demise", because it "deflated the energy from grunge and provided the opening for saccharine and corporate-formulated music to regain" its lost footing."<ref name="Batchelor">{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/feature/148553-smells-like-mtv-music-video-and-the-rise-of-grunge/ |title=Smells Like MTV: Music Video and the Rise of Grunge |last=Batchelor |first=Bob |date=September 26, 2011 |website=popmatters.com |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref>

That same year Pearl Jam canceled its summer tour in protest of ticket vendor [[Ticketmaster]]'s unfair business practices.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Gordinier, Jeff |date=October 28, 1994 |title=The Brawls in Their Courts |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/10/28/brawls-their-courts/ |access-date=September 8, 2007 |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129040704/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304203,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Pearl Jam then began a boycott of the company; however, Pearl Jam's initiative to play only at non-Ticketmaster venues effectively, with a few exceptions, prevented the band from playing shows in the United States for the next three years.<ref>DeRogatis, p. 65.</ref> In 1996, Alice in Chains gave their final performances with their ailing and estranged lead singer, [[Layne Staley]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.casinoballroom.com/event-detail.php?event=94 |title=Alice in Chains – Sold Out |publisher=[[Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130054834/http://www.casinoballroom.com/event-detail.php?event=94 |archive-date= November 30, 2007}}</ref> who subsequently died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1470138/late-alice-in-chains-singer-layne-staleys-last-interview-revealed-in-new-book/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140428102355/http://www.mtv.com/news/1470138/late-alice-in-chains-singer-layne-staleys-last-interview-revealed-in-new-book/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 28, 2014 |title=Late Alice In Chains Singer Layne Staley's Last Interview Revealed In New Book |publisher=MTV |last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon |date=February 25, 2003}}</ref> In 1996, Soundgarden and Screaming Trees released their final studio albums of the 1990s, ''[[Down on the Upside]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/down-on-the-upside-mw0000647977 |title=Down on the Upside – Soundgarden |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> and ''[[Dust (Screaming Trees album)|Dust]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dust-mw0000184238 |title=Dust – Screaming Trees |publisher=AllMusic}}</ref> respectively. Strong states that Roy Shuker and Stout have written that the "end of grunge" can be seen as being "as late as the breakup of Soundgarden in 1997".<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.55" />

[[File:Bush grsATX.jpg|thumb|right|alt=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".]]

====Emergence of post-grunge====
{{Main|Post-grunge}}

During the latter half of the 1990s, grunge was supplanted by [[post-grunge]], which remained commercially viable into the start of the 21st century. Post-grunge "... transformed the thick guitar sounds and candid lyrical themes of the Seattle bands into an accessible, often uplifting mainstream aesthetic".<ref name=liveabout>{{cite web |url=https://www.liveabout.com/post-grunge-defined-2898292 |title=The History of Post-Grunge Rock |last=Grierson |first=Tim |publisher=Live About}}</ref> These artists were seen as lacking the underground roots of grunge and were largely influenced by what grunge had become, described by [[AllMusic]] as "a wildly popular form of inward-looking, serious-minded hard rock". {{nowrap|Post-grunge}} was a more commercially viable genre that tempered the distorted guitars of grunge with a studio sheen making it radio friendly.<ref name="AllMusic postgrunge">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-grunge-ma0000005020 |title=Post-Grunge |access-date=August 19, 2012 |work=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

In 1995, ''SPIN'' writer Charles Aaron stated that with grunge "spent", [[pop punk]] in a slump, [[Britpop]] a "giddy memory" and album-oriented rock over, the music industry turned to "Corporate[-produced] Alternative", which he calls "soundalike fake grunge" or "scrunge".<ref name="Charles, Aaron 1995. p. 131">Charles, Aaron. "Singles". SPIN. November 1995. p. 131</ref> Bands Aaron lists as "scrunge" groups include: [[Better Than Ezra]]; Bush; [[Collective Soul]]; [[Garbage (band)|Garbage]]; [[Hootie & the Blowfish]]; [[Hum (band)|Hum]]; [[Silverchair]]; [[Sponge (band)|Sponge]]; [[Tripping Daisy]]; [[Jennifer Trynin]] and [[Weezer]]; Aaron includes the [[Foo Fighters]] in his list, but states that [[Dave Grohl]] avoided becoming a "scrunge fall gu[y]" by combining 1980s [[hardcore punk]] with 1970s arena trash music in his post-Nirvana group.<ref name="Charles, Aaron 1995. p. 131" /> Bands described as grunge like Bush<ref name=Newsobserver>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article11312237.html |title=Gavin Rossdale brings '90s grunge band Bush to Raleigh |newspaper=[[The News & Observer]] |last=Condran |first=Ed |date=February 26, 2015}}</ref><ref name=USClubGigs>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/514554/bush-to-play-us-club-gigs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331084027/http://www.mtv.com/news/514554/bush-to-play-us-club-gigs/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |title=Bush To Play U.S. Club Gigs |publisher=MTV |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=June 2, 1999}}</ref><ref name="Graff 1996">{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]] |last=Graff |first=Gary |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7876-1037-1 |quote=Probably the most well-known grunge band to come out of England, Bush exploded onto the American music scene in 1994 with Sixteen Stone. |url=https://archive.org/details/musichoundrockes0000unse }}</ref> and Candlebox<ref>{{cite web |last=Huey |first=Steve |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/candlebox-mn0000543595#biography |title=Candlebox Biography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 22, 2024}}</ref> also have been largely categorized as {{nowrap|post-grunge.<ref name="AllMusic postgrunge" />}} These two bands became popular after 1992.<ref name="AllMusic postgrunge" /> Other bands categorized as post-grunge that emerged when Bush and Candlebox became popular include [[Live (band)|Live]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/the-10-worst-post-grunge-bands-4169278 |title=The 10 Worst Post-Grunge Bands |newspaper=[[LA Weekly]] |last=Steininger |first=Adam |date=August 23, 2013}}</ref>

====Reaction by Britpop====
{{Main|Britpop}}
[[File:Oasis-band-concert-Montreal-Canada-Aug2002.jpg|thumb|left|235px|alt=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]]
Conversely, another [[rock music|rock]] genre, [[Britpop]], emerged in part as a reaction against the dominance of grunge in the United Kingdom. In contrast to the dourness of grunge, Britpop was defined by "youthful exuberance and desire for recognition".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/britpop-ma0000002480 |title=Britpop |work=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 22, 2024}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=[[WP:ALLMUSIC]] dubious for anything other than entertainment reviews with attribution|date=April 2021}} The leading Britpop bands, "[[Blur (band)|Blur]] and [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] existed as reactionary forces to [grunge's] eternal downcast glare."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hazlitt.net/blog/what-if-grunge-never-happened |title=What if Grunge Never Happened? |last=Lipez|first=Zachary |date=February 25, 2015 |publisher=Hazlitt |access-date=February 18, 2017 }}</ref> Britpop artists' new approach was inspired by Blur's tour of the United States in the spring of 1992. [[Justine Frischmann]], formerly of [[Suede (band)|Suede]] and leader of [[Elastica]] (and at the time in a relationship with Damon Albarn) explained, "Damon and I felt like we were in the thick of it at that point ... it occurred to us that Nirvana were out there, and people were very interested in American music, and there should be some sort of manifesto for the return of Britishness."<ref>Harris, p. 79.</ref>

Britpop artists were vocal about their disdain for grunge. In a 1993 ''[[NME]]'' interview, [[Damon Albarn]] of Britpop band Blur agreed with interviewer [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]]' assertion that Blur was an "anti-grunge band", and said, "Well, that's good. If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I'm getting rid of grunge" (ironically Kurt Cobain once cited Blur as his favorite band).<ref>[[John Harris (critic)|Harris, John]]. "A shite sports car and a punk reincarnation". ''[[NME]]''. April 10, 1993.</ref> [[Noel Gallagher]] of Oasis, while a fan of Nirvana, wrote music that refuted the pessimistic nature of grunge. Gallagher noted in 2006 that the 1994 Oasis single "[[Live Forever (Oasis song)|Live Forever]]" "was written in the middle of grunge and all that, and I remember Nirvana had a tune called 'I Hate Myself and I Want to Die,' and I was like ... 'Well, I'm not fucking having that.' As much as I fucking like him [Cobain] and all that shit, I'm not having that. I can't have people like that coming over here, on [[heroin|smack]] [heroin], fucking saying that they hate themselves and they wanna die. That's fucking rubbish."<ref>"Lock the Door". ''Stop the Clocks'' [bonus DVD]. Columbia, 2006.</ref> In an interview during [[Pinkpop Festival|Pinkpop Festival 2000]], Oasis' [[Liam Gallagher]] attacked Pearl Jam, who were also performing, criticizing their depressing lyrical content and writing them off as "rubbish".<ref>{{Citation|title=Liam Gallagher interview @ Pinkpop 2000 (2)| date=31 October 2007 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBiqYlV5nDg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/ZBiqYlV5nDg| archive-date=2021-10-29|language=en|access-date=2021-04-02}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Since 1997: Successors and revivals===
====Second-wave post-grunge====
[[File:Creed (band).jpg|thumb|240px|Post-grunge band Creed in 2002]]
<!-- Please read talk page before deciding to remove information about grunge in the 21st century-->
Following the end of the original grunge movement, post-grunge increased in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Adam Steininger criticized the post-grunge bands' "diluted ditties filled with watered-down lyrics, all seemingly revolving around suffering through romance."<ref name="Steininger">{{cite web |url=http://www.westword.com/music/the-ten-shittiest-post-grunge-bands-5684793/2 |title=The ten shittiest post-grunge bands |last=Steininger |first=Adam |date=August 15, 2013 |website=westword.com |publisher=Westword |access-date=March 5, 2017 |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720140003/http://www.westword.com/music/the-ten-shittiest-post-grunge-bands-5684793/2 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Criticizing many bands that have been described as post-grunge, Steininger panned [[Candlebox]] for their "pop-filled" sound, focus on "love lyrics, and writing songs without "versatility and creativity; [[Three Days Grace]] for their "diluted" and "radio-friendly music"; 3 Doors Down for focusing on "snagging hit singles instead of creating quality albums"; [[Finger Eleven]] for going in a "pop rock" direction; Bush's "random phrasings of nonsense"; [[Live (band)|Live]]'s "pseudo pop poetry" that "strangled the essence of grunge", [[Puddle of Mudd]]'s "watered down post-grunge sound"; [[Lifehouse (band)|Lifehouse]], for tearing down "grunge's sound and groundbreaking structure to appeal more to the masses"; and [[Nickelback]], which he calls the "featherweight ... punching bags of post-grunge" whose music is "dull as dishwater".<ref name="Steininger" />

====Grunge revivals<!--'Grunge revival' redirects here-->====
Many major grunge bands continued recording and touring with success in the 2000s and 2010s. Perhaps the most notable grunge act of the 21st century has been [[Pearl Jam]]. 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]].<ref name="secondcoming">{{cite magazine |author=Hiatt, Brian |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/pearl_jam_the_second_coming |title=The Second Coming of Pearl Jam |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=June 16, 2006 |access-date=June 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823234208/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/pearl_jam_the_second_coming |archive-date=August 23, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They saw a return to wide commercial success with 2006's [[Pearl Jam (album)|''Pearl Jam'']], 2009's ''[[Backspacer]]'' and 2013's ''[[Lightning Bolt (Pearl Jam album)|Lightning Bolt]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/328459/pearl-jam/chart|title=Pearl Jam – Chart history |magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> Alice In Chains reformed for a handful of reunion dates in 2005 with several different vocalists replacing Layne Staley. Eventually settling on [[William DuVall]] as Staley's replacement, in 2009 they released ''[[Black Gives Way to Blue]],'' their first record in 14 years. The band's 2013 release, ''[[The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here]]'', reached number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref>{{cite magazine |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=Alice In Chains|chart=Billboard 200}} |title=Alice In Chains – Chart history: ''Billboard'' 200 |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |access-date=October 1, 2013}}</ref> Soundgarden reformed in 2010 and released their album ''[[King Animal]]'' two years later which reached the top five of the national albums charts in Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://acharts.us/album/74435 |title=King Animal by Soundgarden – Music Charts |website=Acharts.us |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd joined [[Alain Johannes]] (Queens of the Stone Age, Eleven), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) and [[Dimitri Coats]] (Off!) to form side project Ten Commandos in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tencommandos.net/ |title=Ten Commandos |publisher=Ten Commandos |access-date=April 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116090535/http://www.tencommandos.net/ |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Despite Kurt Cobain's death, the remaining members of Nirvana have continued to be successful posthumously. Due to the high sales for Kurt Cobain's ''[[Journals (Cobain)|Journals]]'' and the band's best-of compilation ''[[Nirvana (Nirvana album)|Nirvana]]'' upon their releases in 2002, ''The New York Times'' argued Nirvana "are having more success now than at any point since Mr. Cobain's suicide in 1994."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C03E6DE1431F930A25752C0A9659C8B63|title=Nine Years After Cobain's Death, Big Sales for All Things Nirvana|author=Nelson, Chris|date=January 13, 2003|access-date=August 29, 2007|newspaper=nytimes.com}}</ref> This trend has continued through the century's second decade, with the reissuing of the band's discography and release of the authorized documentary ''[[Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck]]''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Morgen|first=Brett|title=Cobain: Montage of Heck|date=May 4, 2015|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4229236/|access-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> In 2012, the surviving members of Nirvana re-united, with [[Paul McCartney]] in place of Cobain, to record a track for the soundtrack Dave Grohl's documentary ''[[Sound City (film)|Sound City]]'' titled "Cut Me Some Slack".<ref>{{Citation|last=nevadch|title=Nirvana & Paul McCartney – Cut Me Some Slack [Live] [HD 720p]|date=December 14, 2012|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a8j_LEryAs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/7a8j_LEryAs| archive-date=2021-10-29|access-date=December 5, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

One of the most successful rock groups of the 21st century, [[Queens of the Stone Age]], has featured major contributions from various grunge musicians. [[Josh Homme]] had briefly played in [[Screaming Trees]] with off-and-on QOTSA member [[Mark Lanegan]], before forming the group. Nirvana's [[Dave Grohl]] and [[Eleven (band)|Eleven's]] Alain Johannes have also provided notable contributions. Homme and Grohl joined with [[Led Zeppelin]]'s [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] to form the supergroup [[Them Crooked Vultures]] in 2009. Johannes also performed with the group as a touring member.

[[File:Courtney Barnett at Rough Trade.jpg|thumb|left|alt=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]]
In the early 2000s, grunge would make multiple regionally based resurgences, albeit minor ones. In 2005, ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' made note of {{nowrap|grunge-influenced}} groups returning in the Seattle scene.<ref>{{cite news |author=Scanlon, Tom |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20050923/nite23/weapons-of-mass-neo-grunge-appeal |title=Weapons of Mass Neo-Grunge Appeal |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=September 23, 2005 |access-date=February 17, 2012 |archive-date=June 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604042813/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050923&slug=nite23 |url-status=live }}</ref> Similarly, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported of grunge-influenced groups from [[Yorkshire and the Humber|Yorkshire]], including [[Dinosaur Pile-Up]], [[Pulled Apart by Horses]], and [[Wonderswan (band)|Wonderswan]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Simpson, Dave |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jan/30/leeds-grunge-scene |title=Just Don't Call It Grunge: Leeds' New Music Scene |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=January 30, 2009 |access-date=February 17, 2012 |location=London}}</ref> Also, in 2003, the ''New York Times'' noted a resurgence in grunge fashion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/30/nyregion/front-row.html?src=pm |title=FRONT ROW |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=La Ferla, Ruth |date=September 30, 2003 |access-date=August 19, 2012}}</ref>

The 2010s have birthed a number of bands influenced by grunge. Unlike their forebears, some of these acts ascribe the label to themselves willingly. Many acts have been noted for affiliating and/or collaborating with prominent figures from the original alternative rock era. [[Steve Albini]] has produced for or worked with members of bands such as [[Bully (band)|Bully]],<ref>{{cite web|first=Bryn |last=Lovitt |url=http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/bully-i-remember |title=Bully, "I Remember" &#124; New Music |work=Impose Magazine |date=March 17, 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://indieunderground.ca/indie-music/new-music-bully-trying-grunge-rock-alternative.html |title=New Music: BULLY – "Trying" (Grunge / Rock / Alternative) &#124; Indie Underground |website=Indieunderground.ca |date=May 26, 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720165723/http://indieunderground.ca/indie-music/new-music-bully-trying-grunge-rock-alternative.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Vomitface,<ref>{{cite news |last=Laban |first=Linda |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/vomitface-are-literally-dissatisfied-with-everything-but-jesus-teen-mom-and-music-7711741 |title=Vomitface Are 'Literally Dissatisfied With Everything' but Jesus, 'Teen Mom' & Music |newspaper=The Village Voice |date=September 29, 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |archive-date=November 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101231626/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/vomitface-are-literally-dissatisfied-with-everything-but-jesus-teen-mom-and-music-7711741 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="first-avenue.com">{{cite web|url=http://first-avenue.com/performer/vomitface |title=Vomitface |publisher=First Avenue |date=July 5, 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> and [[Shannon Wright]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=MacKenzie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/over-the-sun-mw0000330139 |title=Over the Sun – Shannon Wright |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=April 6, 2004 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> while [[Emma Ruth Rundle]] of [[Marriages (band)|Marriages]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slugmag.com/national-music-reviews/marriages-salome/ |title=Review: Marriages – Salome |website=SLUG Magazine |date=May 1, 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> has toured with [[Buzz Osborne]] of the [[Melvins]]. Other notable acts that have been labelled as grunge or as heavily influenced by the grunge era, include [[Courtney Barnett]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Ganz |first=Jacob |url=https://www.npr.org/event/music/394023874/courtney-barnett-nobody-really-cares-if-you-dont-go-to-the-party-live-at-sxsw |title=Courtney Barnett, 'Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party' (Live At SXSW) |newspaper=NPR |date=19 March 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Everett |last=True |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/17/courtney-barnett-sometimes-i-sit-and-think-and-sometimes-i-just-sit-review |title=Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit review &#124; Music |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 March 2015 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> [[Wolf Alice]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Nme.Com |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-albums-of-the-year-2015/394320#/photo/47 |title=NME Music Galleries |website=Nme.com |date=February 5, 2016 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> [[Yuck (band)|Yuck]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/news/yuck-talk-grunge-revival |title=Yuck Talk Grunge Revival &#124; News &#124; Clash Magazine |website=Clashmusic.com |date=24 January 2011 |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> [[Speedy Ortiz]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukfestivalguides.com/artist/speedy-ortiz |title=Speedy Ortiz |website=Ukfestivalguides.com |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> [[the Kut]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/videos/premiere-the-kut-mind-games|title=Premiere: The Kut – 'Mind Games'|website=Clash Magazine|date=29 March 2018 }}</ref> [[Mitski]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/mitski-revels-hurt-to-make-neo-grunge-but-would-trade-it-all-to-be-happy-and-dull/|title=Mitski revels in hurt to make neo grunge, but would trade it all to be happy and dull – Loud And Quiet|newspaper=Loud And Quiet|access-date=February 18, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> [[2:54]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Sian |last=Rowe |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jan/07/colette-hannah-thurlow-2-54 |title=2:54: the sisters heading to Doom Rock Central &#124; Music |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> [[False Advertising (band)|False Advertising]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://falseadvertising.bandcamp.com/album/brainless|title=Brainless, by False Advertising|website=False Advertising|access-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref> [[Slothrust]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Donelson |first=Marcy |url={{AllMusic|artist|slothrust-mn0003211103#biography|pure_url=yes}} |title=Slothrust Biography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 22, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sonicbids.com/band/slothrust-1/|title=About Slothrust|website=Sonicbids|language=en|access-date=February 18, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218144422/https://www.sonicbids.com/band/slothrust-1/|archive-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://slothrust.bandcamp.com/|title=Everyone Else, by SLOTHRUST|website=SLOTHRUST|access-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref> [[Baby in Vain]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://partisanrecords.com/artist/baby-in-vain/|title=Baby In Vain – Partisan Records|website=partisanrecords.com|access-date=August 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005143956/http://partisanrecords.com/artist/baby-in-vain/|archive-date=October 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Big Thief]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spin.com/2016/06/big-thief-all-eyes-on-masterpiece-interview/|title=Big Thief: The Dynamic Indie Quartet Can't Be Satisfied With One 'Masterpiece' {{!}} SPIN|newspaper=Spin |date=June 30, 2016|access-date=September 2, 2016|last1=Unterberger |first1=Andrew }}</ref> [[Torres (musician)|Torres]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Corinne |last=Jones |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/17/torres-sprinter-review-astonishing-unsettling |title=Torres: Sprinter review – astonishing, unsettling, beautiful |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> Lullwater,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://nysmusic.com/2019/03/15/interview-athens-georgia-meets-seattle-grunge-lullwater/ |title=Interview: Athens, Georgia meets Seattle grunge: Lullwater |access-date=2 July 2019}}</ref> and [[Red Sun Rising]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.axs.com/interview-red-sun-rising-vocalist-mike-protich-unravels-thread-129163 |title=Interview: Red Sun Rising vocalist Mike Protich unravels 'Thread' |access-date=2 July 2019}}</ref>

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]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/the-90s-grunge-revival-is-alive-and-well-in-this-new-title-fight-video|title=The '90s Grunge Revival Is Alive And Well In This New Title Fight Video – News – Rock Sound Magazine|website=Rock Sound Magazine|access-date=January 18, 2018|archive-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720165639/https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/the-90s-grunge-revival-is-alive-and-well-in-this-new-title-fight-video|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Culture creature">{{cite web|url=https://www.culturecreature.com/grunge-emo-revival/|title=Enough With the 'Grunge Revival.' Rock Bands of 2017 Should Look Ahead – Culture Creature|date=March 29, 2017|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> [[InCrest]],{{cn|date=October 2024}} [[Fangclub]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/11/artist-of-the-day-1109-dublins-fangclub-sink-their-teeth-into-the-uk-on-debut-album-6917177/ |title=Artist of the day 11/09: Dublin's Fangclub sink their teeth into the UK on debut album|date=11 September 2017|access-date=February 2, 2018 }}</ref> [[Code Orange (band)|Code Orange]],<ref name="Culture creature" /> [[My Ticket Home]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rocksins.com/reviews/my-ticket-home-unreal/|title=My Ticket Home – unReal – Rock Sins|website=rocksins.com|date=13 October 2017|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://teamrock.com/review/2017-10-09/my-ticket-home-unreal-album-review|title=My Ticket Home – unReal album review|date=October 9, 2017|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> [[Citizen (band)|Citizen]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.punknews.org/review/12093/citizen-youth|title=Citizen – Youth|last=Punknews.org|website=punknews.org|date=22 July 2013 |access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> [[Milk Teeth]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/milk-teeth-vile-child|title=Milk Teeth – Vile Child|date=22 January 2016 |access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> and [[Muskets (band)|Muskets]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.punktastic.com/album-reviews/muskets-spin/|title=Muskets – 'Spin' – Punktastic|website=punktastic.com|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://altcorner.com/bands/muskets/|title=MUSKETS – ALTCORNER.com|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://vennrecords.com/muskets/|title=Muskets – Venn Records|date=May 6, 2015|access-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref> some of which have been described as merging the genre with [[emo]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Mudhoney Clash Club Night 2 (2952836201).jpg|thumb|right|alt=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.]]
In 2011, music critic Dave Whitaker wrote, "every generation since the beginning of recorded music has introduced a game-changing genre", from [[swing music]] in the 1930s, [[rock and roll]] in the 1950s, [[punk rock]] in the 1970s, and then grunge in the 1990s. However, he states "grunge was the last American musical revolution", as no post-grunge generation has introduced a new genre which radically changed the music scene.<ref name=popmatters /> He states that the "digital revolution" (online music, file sharing, etc.) has meant that there has not been a "generation-defining genre since grunge", because, for "one genre to so completely saturate the market requires ... a [[music industry]] with immense control over the market".<ref name=popmatters /> In 2016, [[Rob Zombie]] stated that grunge caused the death of the "rock star"; he states that unlike previous stars like "[[Alice Cooper]] and [[Gene Simmons]] and [[Elton John]]", who "might as well have been from another fuckin' planet", with grunge the attitude was "[we] need all our rock stars to look just like us."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://loudwire.com/rob-zombie-grunge-era-end-of-larger-than-life-rock-star/?trackback=tsmclip |title=Rob Zombie: Grunge Era Marked End of the 'Rock Star' |last=Childers |first=Chad |date=May 1, 2016 |magazine=Loudwire |access-date=January 29, 2017}}</ref>

Bob Batchelor states that the indie record mindset and values in Seattle which provided guidance for the development and emergence of Nirvana and Pearl Jam "conflicted with the major recording label desire to sell millions of CDs." Batchelor also states that despite grunge musicians' discomfort with the major labels' commercial goals, and the resistance by some key bands to do the promotional activities required by the labels, including music videos, [[MTV]]'s video programs "played an instrumental role in making [grunge]" become "mainstream, since many music fans received their first exposure" on MTV, rather than on local or "niche radio."<ref name="Batchelor" /> Gil Troy states that the "grunge rebellion, like most others" in America's "consumerist" culture, ended up being "commodified, mass-produced, ritualized, and thus sanitized" by major corporations.<ref>Troy, Gil. ''The Age of Clinton: America in the 1990s''. Macmillan, 2015. p. 106</ref>

In 2011, John Calvert stated that "timing" is the reason why a grunge revival did not happen; he says that the cultural mood of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which inspired the movement, were no longer present.<ref name="Calvert">{{cite magazine |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/06941-my-own-private-nirvana-john-calvert-revisits-nevermind-20-years-on |title= My Own Private Nirvana-Revisiting Nevermind 20 Years On|last=Calvert |first=John |date=September 8, 2011 |magazine=The Quietus |access-date=February 17, 2017}}</ref> Seattle songwriter Jeff Stetson states that people from the 2010s who are listening to grunge should learn about the "context and history of how it all came to be" and "respect for what a truly amazing thing it was that happened here [in Seattle,] because you probably won't see anything like it again."<ref name="Stetson" /> ''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]].<ref name="Danaher" />

Calvert stated that Nirvana's "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" has an "iconic place in history" as it had "generation-defining resonance" for [[Generation X|young people from its era]]"; he states that "no other band ... made the urge to self-destruct ... as listenable", with "authentic" pain and "disaffection".<ref name="Calvert" /> Calvert also calls the record "chart history's most ferocious, dark and intense" music since early punk rock, and he says it was "heavy when heavy was needed" by young people of that era, "jarr[ing] young America awake" and giving them something to "cling to" in difficult times.<ref name="Calvert" /> A 2017 book stated that grunge "forever changed the identity of [[rock music]] in a way analogous to punk"; moreover, grunge added "introspective" lyrics about "[[Existentialism|existential]] authenticity" and "what it means to be [[Authenticity (philosophy)|true to oneself]]".<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 134" /> Grunge's Kurt Cobain has been called the "voice of Generation X", playing the same role for this demographic as [[Bob Dylan]] played for 1960s youth and that [[John Lennon]] played for the 1970s generation.<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 134" /> Bob Batchelor stated that Nirvana was "as important as [[Elvis]] or the [[Beatles]]."<ref name="Batchelor" />

In 2008, Darragh McManus of ''The Guardian'' states that grunge was not simply a young person's trend or a musical fad; she states that grunge synthesized the key philosophies of the modern era, from "[[Feminism]], [[liberalism]], irony, apathy, cynicism/idealism&nbsp;... [[anti-authoritarianism]], [to] wry [[post-modernism]]". McManus states that grunge dealt with serious, "weighty" topics, which does not occur often in popular music. McManus stated that for Generation X, grunge was not just music, it was a key cultural influence.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/oct/31/grunge |title=Just 20 years on, grunge seems like ancient history |last=McManus |first=Darragh |date=October 31, 2008 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=February 19, 2017}}</ref> Marlen Komar stated that Nirvana's success popularized "non-heterosexist", non-binary ways of thinking about "gender and sexuality", emphasized how men and women were alike and promoted progressive political thinking.<ref name="Komar" />

When asked about the '90s grunge movement in 2021, [[Mark Lanegan]] commented, "It's not something that was contrived or cooked up around the campfire somewhere. It just happened organically. It's hard for me to comment, because there's always great new music and there probably always will be – as long as the sun keeps shining."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Prato|first=Greg|date=2021-12-15|title=Mark Lanegan on His New Book Devil in a Coma and His Near-Death Experience With COVID|url=https://consequence.net/2021/12/mark-lanegan-interview-2021/|access-date=2022-01-01|website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence]]|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|1990s|Rock music}}
* [[List of grunge albums]]
* [[List of grunge bands]]
* [[Riot grrrl]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=anderson2007C1>{{Harvnb|Anderson|2007|pp=12–22}}</ref>

<ref name=anderson2007C2>{{Harvnb|Anderson|2007|pp=24–33}}</ref>

<ref name=azerrad1992>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grunge-city-the-seattle-scene-250071/|title=Grunge City: The Seattle Scene|last1=Azerrad|first1=Michael|date=April 16, 1992|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Penske Business Media|access-date=November 2, 2018|quote="Seventies-influenced, slowed-down punk music"}}</ref>

<ref name=azerrad2001p365>{{Harvnb|Azerrad|2001|pp=365}}</ref>

<ref name=cameron2014>{{cite book|last1=Cameron|first1=Keith|title=Mudhoney: The Sound and the Fury from Seattle|publisher=Voyageur Press|year=2014|pages=45|isbn=978-0760346617|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=3OTcBAAAQBAJ|page=45}}}}</ref>

<ref name=kallen2012>{{cite book|last1=Kallen|first1=Stuart A.|title=The History of Alternative Rock|publisher=Lucent Books|year=2012|pages=73|isbn=978-1420507386|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=UVtmDwAAQBAJ|page=73}}}}</ref>

<ref name=novoselic2004>{{cite book|last1=Novoselic|first1=Krist|title=Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!|publisher=Akashic Books|year=2004|pages=6|isbn=978-0971920651|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=k5g6DwAAQBAJ|page=6}}}}</ref>

<ref name="Paste 50 Best Grunge Songs">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html |title=The 50 Best Grunge Songs |magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |date=August 4, 2014 |access-date=May 15, 2016 |archive-date=May 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506055804/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18">Strong, Catherine. ''Grunge: Music and Memory''. Routledge, 2016. p.18</ref>

<ref name=true2006>{{cite book|last1=True|first1=Everett|title=Nirvana: The True Story|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2006|pages=129|isbn=978-1844496402|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=H89kHhJR4-AC|page=129}}}}</ref>

<ref name=unterberger1999>{{cite book|last1=Unterberger|first1=Richie|last2=Hicks|first2=Samb|title=Music USA: The Rough Guide|publisher=Rough Guides|year=1999|pages=449|isbn=978-1858284217|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=uwtAx1xP9BMC|page=449}}}}</ref>

<ref name=wall2016>{{cite book|last1=Wall|first1=Mick|title=Foo Fighters|publisher=Orion|year=2016|pages=76–77|isbn=9781409118411|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=s1TUCQAAQBAJ|page=76}}}}</ref>

<ref name=willis2011>{{cite book|last1=Willis|first1=Ellen|title=Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|editor1-last=Frere-Jones|editor1-first=Sacha|year=2011|chapter=Ch.1-The World Class Critic|pages=[https://archive.org/details/outofvinyldeepse00will/page/41 41]|isbn=978-0-8166-7282-0|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=YhvBfNXvoQoC|page=41}}|url=https://archive.org/details/outofvinyldeepse00will/page/41}}</ref>
}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Kyle|title=Accidental Revolution: The Story of Grunge|publisher=Macmillan|year=2007|isbn=978-0-312-35819-8|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=N9pHV2h8B7gC}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Azerrad|first=Michael|title=Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991|publisher=Little, Brown|year=2001|isbn=978-0316787536|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=6Q07AQAAQBAJ}}}}
* Humphrey, Clark (1999). ''Loser: The Real Seattle Music Story''. [[Harry N. Abrams]]. {{ISBN|1-9290692-4-3}}.
* {{cite book |title=Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Klosterman |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4165-8952-5 }}
* Masco, Maire (2015). ''Desperate Times: The Summer of 1981''. Fluke Press. {{ISBN|978-1938476013}}.
* [[Bruce Pavitt|Pavitt, Bruce]] (2014). ''SUB POP U.S.A.: The Subterraneanan Pop Music Anthology, 1980–1988'' [[Bazillion Points]]. {{ISBN|978-1-935950-11-0}}.
* Pavitt, Bruce (2013). ''Experiencing Nirvana: Grunge in Europe, 1989''. Bazillion Points. {{ISBN|978-1-935950-10-3}}.
* Peterson, Charles (1995). ''Screaming Life: A Chronicle of the Seattle Music Scene''. [[HarperCollins]]. {{ISBN|0-0625864-0-8}}.
* Prato, Greg (2010). ''Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music''. [[ECW Press]]. {{ISBN|1-5502287-7-3}}.
* Prato, Greg (2023). ''I Love Grunge: 'Grunge Is Dead' Outtakes''. Independently published. {{ISBN|979-8852167330}}.
*{{cite book|last=Prato |first=Greg |title=Alternative for the Masses: The '90s Alt-Rock Revolution - An Oral History |publisher=Motorbooks |year=2025 |isbn=978-0760398425 }}
* Tow, Stephen (2011). ''The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge''. [[Sasquatch Books]]. {{ISBN|1-5706174-3-0}}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Grunge}}

{{Alternative rock}}
{{Punk rock}}
{{Rock music}}
{{Alternative metal}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grunge| ]]
[[Category:1980s in American music]]
[[Category:1980s in Australian music]]
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[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Alternative rock genres]]
[[Category:American styles of music]]
[[Category:Culture of Seattle]]
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