Sunday Morning Playlist: Grunge - Page 2

The first real grunge band was Green River, who recorded from 1985-1988 and released two albums on Sub Pop; the band is also important for siring two crucial bands from the scene: Mark Arm and Steve Turner formed Mudhoney, and Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard formed Mother Love Bone, and then Pearl Jam. Among the other first wave acts were Soundgarden, and the Melvins, who befriended the young Kurt Cobain.

The first wave of grunge was heavier than the second wave, which included Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots, among others. Ironically, none of these bands could have existed without Mudhoney and the Melvins, yet they went on to enormous international success, while the first wave languished and failed to break nationally.

     

Nirvana became the miracle breakout success, jumping from a recorded-for-$600 indie debut to selling three million copies of their major-label follow-up. Pearl Jam's debut took off following Nirvana's success, they were able to parlay it into a long-term career.

In the wake of the mega-platinum success of those bands, national labels went on a frenzied signing spree, setting off a third wave of grunge, which included acts like Bush and Candlebox. While these bands met with commercial success, their albums were tepidly received by the music press, and were looked upon with suspicion, or downright disdain by fans of the first wavers. Many bands signed during this 1993-1994 peak commercial period sank without a trace following their debuts, and were dropped from their labels.

By 1995, grunge was already being pronounced over; two of its most important figures, Cobain and Mother Love Bone's Andrew Wood were dead, the local scene had suffered from a heroin epidemic, and public tastes had turned to a variety of alternative rock styles. The grunge bands either adapted to the times (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots), or called it a day (Soundgarden). The legacy they leave is alternative music itself; they turned it from an independant phenomenon to a major one. The music itself remains true in spirit to rock 'n' roll, and at its best it has become part of the lexicon. At its worst, it still captures a time and place unlike any other.

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