Grunge: Music, Aesthetic, or Lifestyle? Or Maybe All of the Above?

“Grunge,” a derivative of “grungy” as defined by MerriamWebster’s Dictionary, is “shabby or dirty in character or condition.” The second definition listed is perhaps the one most familiar to fans of music, or those who came of age in the 1990s: “rock music incorporating elements of punk rock and heavy metal.” Grunge was so much more than just a style of music: it was fashion, a lifestyle, a mindset. Grunge is most associated with the Pacific Northwest, specifically Seattle, but became a cultural influence well beyond that region. Seattle-based groups such as the Melvins, Soundgarden, Green River, and the Screaming Trees began to merge punk and heavy metal in the early to mid-1980s, creating the heart of what would later be known as grunge. C/Z Records’ 1986 compilation album Deep Six is considered to be the first distribution of grunge music. Between 1988 and 1990, transformations happened amongst some of the tight-knit Seattle group of bands, with members leaving and joining other groups, bringing on new members, name changes, and the tragic overdose death of Andrew Wood, lead singer of the promising group, Mother Love Bone. After Wood’s death, Eddie Vedder was brought in to sing a duet with one of the remaining members and the group later reformed as Pearl Jam. In 1990, Nirvana, which would soon be one of the most famous bands of the grunge era, found its signature sound with the addition of drummer Dave Grohl to the existing group. The community of Seattle bands would self-deprecatingly refer to their music as “dirt,” “scum,” and “grunge.” In 1991, Nirvana reached Number 1 on the Billboard Alternative chart and the term “grunge” went from a joke to the name which became the descriptor for the genre.

Grunge: Music, Aesthetic, or Lifestyle? (Or Maybe All of the Above?) As bands Nirvana and Pearl Jam gained astronomical success, other bands also such as Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, and others gained traction on a nationwide and eventually worldwide scale. As the music genre and nonchalant attitudes of the bands became more appealing, so did their lack of fashion. While punks were decidedly anti-fashion, grunge rockers were just indifferent to it. But, as fashion takes inspiration from popular culture, soon flannel shirts and combat boots were showing up on the runways. When thrifting and secondhand clothes were once considered the realm of those who couldn’t afford “fashion,” suddenly thrift stores and grandpa’s hand-me-downs were influencing major designers. Fans of grunge were passionate about the music and the people who created it, but the soulful and painful lyrics that fans so loved often hid deeper pain and struggle. When Nirvana singer-bassist Kurt Cobain died by suicide in April of 1994, it rocked the world of music and the fans who loved the band. Unfortunately, in the ensuing years, quite a few other grunge icons such as Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff, Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, and Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland have also died by suicide or overdose. Fame and fortune and tragedy seem to have been a heavy burden for many of these 1990s alternative music innovators. While the grunge subculture came from a place of new sound and the disenchantment many Gen Xers felt, the influence of the music, the style, and the moment can still be felt today.