10FTW - The early days of Grunge

As Stereogum reported, Grunge unofficially turned 30 yesterday with the anniversary of the first Sub-Pop Mudhoney single, "Touch Me, I'm Sick." Yesterday was also the 37th (?!?!?!) birthday of the channel formerly known as Music Television, MTV. I'm thankful to have experienced it during it's prime, when it showcased music videos, music-related news, concerts...you know, MUSIC. Before I go off on a 'back in my day' rant, I'll just drop this line of discussion right here. Right now. Back to grunge.


I hate the term "grunge." It began as a term to encapsulate the Seattle music scene of the late 80s and early 90s, which was fine. The music the term was intended to define - essentially garage-rock with a fuck-all attitude - became a catch-all for myriad rock and alt-rock bands of the 90s that either descended from Seattle lineage or benefited from the early-mid 90's mainstream success the genre enjoyed, largely due to the big four of Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Even before 'grunge' was played out as a term, I preferred to refer to the music coming from my neighbor to the north as "the Seattle sound" because it was what Seattle sounded, and often looked, like. At least when I got up there from the Portland, OR area where I lived in the early 90s.

Like the seemingly perma-gray sky that covered the Emerald City, the music of the grunge scene was plodding, dark, and thick, cloaked in a depressive haze. Mudhoney, Green River, early Soundgarden, that first Nirvana album, and non-Seattle acts that were on Sub-Pop during its formative years, like L7 and Afghan Whigs, were part of the beginnings of Sub-Pop and the grunge movement. They changed the way I heard and wanted to hear music. While I'm not keen on chugging down a can of nostalgia and pining for MTV's more innovative days, I will offer up my favorite ten songs by Seattle and/or Sub-Pop bands from the early days of grunge, before it became a fashion commodity and inspiration for a metric shit-ton of one or two-hit wonders that diluted its sound and intent. I'm talking pre-Nevermind and Ten days. Yes, I loved both of those albums then and still do, but this is about that precious time before the Seattle sound turned a corner and was no longer this little corner of the country's secret.

Soundgarden appears twice as they were the first "Grunge" band I latched on to. "Loud Love" was my gateway to everything that came after from the band, who felt like the lovechild of two of my favorite bands at the time, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. "Hunted Down" is just a raw slab of tuned-down, menacing noise. Exactly what "'Grunge" represented to me.

I first heard Nirvana on a Sub-Pop compilation CD I grabbed from the cutout bin of Cellophane Square - a then iconic record shop in the University District (Go Huskies!). The song was "Dive," which wasn't on their debut, Bleach,and finally became available again as the "Smart Sessions" version on the Super Deluxe reissue of Nevermind. The song still holds court as my favorite Nirvana track and I remain a fan of all the band did during its existence.

The Tad, Green River, and Mudhoney songs are here because they are emblematic of the original intent of grunge, to be different than anything else out there and reflect the mood and 'tude of the Seattle music scene circa 1988-1991. And they still shred.

Mother Love Bone...well, we should all know how that story went by now. Andy Wood, mercurial talent destined for super-stardom, dies of heroin overdose just as the band was building toward its inevitable transcension of the scene that proved its downfall. Remaining MLB members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard went on to found Pearl Jam and the rest is so much history. "Stardog Champion" makes this list over "Chole Dancer / Crown of Thorns" solely because it brings all of Wood's rock-star swagger to the table and drenches it in swirling, nearly psychedelic, guitars.

"We Die Young" was my first taste of Alice in Chains. I heard it on the AM-only syndicated radio-station that was known as Z-Rock. They mostly played hair-metal, but were big on spotlighting new acts that rocked and rocked hard. AIC fit the bill and the second I heard "We Die Young," I knew Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Mudhoney were being challenged for the title of coolest Seattle band ever (sorry, not sorry, Heart). I saw Alice in Chains five times - at small sweat box venues as well as opening for huge acts like Van Halen and Poison (yes...that happened). Tangent Alert!!! Warrant was supposed to open but they got in to a fight with Poison over who got more Aqua-Net...or something...a day before they were to play Portland. Warrant was off the tour and were replaced by this little band from Seattle that no one had heard of apparently. I was in the front-row of the Poison / Alice In Chains show (only front-row seated big rock event in my concert-going career) and I was losing my mind for AIC. The band was right there, long-haired and shirtless, painted up in day-glo peace signs and "Stop the War" commentary (the concert took place a couple days after the Gulf War began). When I was finally able to take my eyes off of Layne Staley, I did a 180 to see how the crowd was reacting to their set. Long story short, I was maybe one of six people out of 18,000 that was eating up everything Layne and company were serving. It was surreal then and remains so now.

Finally, "Retarded" was the first Afghan Whigs tune I heard and by the time they released their major label debut (and masterpiece), Gentlemen, I was firmly entrenched in the raspy wordplay of Greg Dulli and the evolving sound of the band.

I consider myself fortunate to have visited Seattle many times in the early 90s, before grunge seeped out of Seattle and in to the world at large. Fortunate to have seen many of these bands live. I missed Green River, Mudhoney, L7, and Mother Love Bone, but seeing Soundgarden, Nirvana, AIC, and others in the flesh were unforgettable experiences. As was this time in music history. I've probably never been happier as a music fan and consumer. For better or worse, grunge will forever be my spirit animal, both musically and aesthetically.