Teen Spirit: The Grunge Years (1988 - 1995)

Roots and Development
Punk, hardcore, metal and indie rock would be an important stepping stone to Grunge rock with such artists as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Black Flag, Minor Threat, The Minutemen, The Germs, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, REM, Bad Brains, Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth etc.

By the mid 80's the first wave of grunge was born in the US concentrating on the west coast (particularly Seattle - the cauldron of Grunge Music) and in sparse scenes across the country. Bands like Bundle of Hiss, Beat Happening, Green River, The Pixies, Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Soul Asylum, Skin Yard, The Melvins, Tad, The Replacements and many more would be born.

These bands would later reform other bands and/or influence others to pick up guitars. Out of the ashes of Green River formed Mother Love Bone and Mudhoney. Nirvana was signed to Subpop in 1988, Soundgarden to A&M in 1989 and Alice in Chains, a heavy metal post punk band would sign to Columbia in 1989.

Territorial Pissings
By 1991, momentum and buzz was building finally exploding in Jan. 1992 when Nirvana's major label debut Nevermind hit number one, knocking off Jacko's Dangerous. The occurrence was seen as a symbolic one for the fact a scruffy garage band that the media didn't know how to classify knocked off the King of Pop. For a brief few months the good guys won and music was pure and important. Along with Nirvana, bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots started making waves. The days of hair metal and glam were over and hair spray bands were dropped immediately destined to break up or become novelty acts for the rest of time.

With greatness comes imitation and the marketing monster went into effect. Record companies found less raw, safer bands to populate the TV and airwaves. Bands like Collective Soul, Candle Box, Bush, and Veruca Salt began popping up saturating the networks and stations. It was all over before it began.


With the Lights Out
In 1994, some say the death blow to grunge occurred when it's leader, Kurt Cobain killed himself in April. No one moment in the history of rock evokes such emotions as Cobain's suicide. He hated the mantle he was placed upon but he was an important figure and symbol of a generation.

By 1995, Smashing Pumpkins, STP, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden were all coming off successful releases but their futures would be less positive. Grunge was on it's last legs and music was heading into a new direction (for the worse- Fred Durst and Limpbizkit was still to come).

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
1995 was a year where things were ending and other types of music were emerging. The shift had been gradual but by 1993, 1994, 1995 and so on the new force in music would be hip hop. I was in high school in the early to mid 90's and it was a great time in music when grunge ruled. It was the last time and will probably be the last time rock had a definitive hold on our generation and musical conscience.