Grunge rock is a pop culture phenomenon, an alternative rock style that combines the best of hardcore punk and heavy metal. It is characterized by loud, hoarse vocals, with personal anguish, sometimes there is slight aggression and mild propaganda of suicidal tendencies. Thanks to its eccentricity, rudeness, the richness of the melody, and gloominess of the lyrics, this kind of music quickly gained popularity and millions of fans. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history of grunge rock as a musical style, as well as its relating to the issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
Description and History of Grunge Rock
Grunge rock music appeared in the 80s years of the twelfth century in Seattle. It was a synthesis of several genres, and it stood out among others in sound, presentation, and sense. The term grunge originally described murky guitar bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, as well as music, existed between periods of heavy metal-hard rock and postpunk alternative rock (Henderson 7). A grunge feature was the sound of a “dirty” guitar, a heavy drum, and apathetic or fearful lyrics. Members of grunge groups were known for their independent disposition, rejection of theatrical productions, and success in the mainstream; they often appeared on stage in everyday worn clothes. Grunge was characterized by a guitar sound with an abundance of distortion, the dynamics of music with alternating “loud and quiet,” gloomy lyrics on the topic of alienation, loneliness, apathy, and freedom. During the performances, the artists achieved a characteristic dirty sound by using strong guitar distortion, fuzz, and feedback. The music had a fast and slow tempo, vocal delivery, and complex instrumentation.
The first grunge bands distinguished by their democratic and artless aesthetics were Green River, Mudhoney, Melvins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and others. They originated in the United States and soon became famous far beyond the borders of their country. Such styles as punk rock, heavy metal, and indie rock-influenced the formation of grunge. Grunge bands borrowed features from different genres, for example, Nirvana was very attracted by punk, Pearl Jam was influenced by classic rock, and Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and TAD had an ominous, metallic sound (Stafford). Musicians used electric guitars, guitar solos, bass guitars, drums, and other instruments. The subject of the grunge lyrics was filled with sadness and longing; most of the topics concerned social exclusion, suicidal disposition, and the desire for freedom. The songs were full of feelings of fear, anger, depression, disappointment, and a sense of addiction. It is because representatives of grunge rock showed general dissatisfaction with the state of society, irritation with social prejudices.
Concerts of grunge musicians usually consisted of simple, but extremely energetic performances. With the dissemination of media information about grunge, this musical style became an international passion and trend in fashion. However, in the late 1990s, the popularity of grunge bands began to decline, due to several reasons. One of them was that many bands were opposed to mainstream fame and long-term support from major record companies. Another reason was the emergence of post-grunge, in which there was no “dirty” sound, which most fans were used to and liked. The heroin addiction among grunge musicians was also a severe problem for the continuation of some grunge bands (Stafford). Derived from the grunge style, the directions of post-grunge and grunge-core quite successfully continue to appear on the modern stage (for example, the post-grunge band Seether). Despite this fact, the songs of grunge bands still influence young people and are in demand all over the world.
Relating Grunge Rock to Definers of Identity
The gloomy and depressing grunge rock lyrics contained explicit sociopolitical messages and asked questions about possible social changes and problems affecting young people. Issues of tolerance, support for women, addiction, cruelty, and mistrust of power determined the themes of grunge songs. Grunge love songs, as a rule, were dedicated to unsuccessful, painful, and doomed to breaking up relationships. The vast majority of rock performers were men, while women rockers were literally few. They were subjected to gender-biased attitudes, stereotypical thinking, and accusations of violation of gender roles (Schaap and Berkers 101). However, there were quite a few women in the grunge, which made this musical style an exception to the rule.
Generally, grunge texts had a reflective basis and were aimed at allowing a listener to penetrate hidden personal problems and reflect on them. Almost twenty-five years after the spread of grunge rock around the world, the tendency to correlate rock and masculinity remains. According to most people, femininity and sexuality are qualities that do not apply to this type of music (Rouse 73). Nevertheless, there were many talented girls in the grunge rock industry, for example, the groups Lunachicks, Dickless, 7 Year Bitch, The Gits, Hole, and others. They made a significant contribution to the development of grunge as a variety of rock and enriched this extraordinary music.
Rock grunge had fairly specific class attributes and initially did not have wide publicity. The press and television did not notice that quite a broad audience gathered around musical groups in this direction. The problem was that they were not taken seriously and were considered a big basement party, in other words – the fun of useless teenagers. The musical mood of the genre changed very often – an energetic and positive punk could easily give way to a depressing psychedelic. And again it gave way to a cheerful and groovy pace with a couple of sonorous chords of an electric guitar, as if symbolizing a victory over gloom. The main idea was expressed in the following: fatigue and unsuccessful struggle with the moral principles of a callous and indifferent society, which left the young generation along with survival in the modern world.
Conclusion
The grunge rock musical movement appeared in the United States at the end of the twentieth century and quickly spread throughout the globe. It made a revolution in the music world and violated all then-existing rules. Combining in their music unique guitar melodies, magnificent voices of vocalists, touching themes, and lyrics, grunge representatives became known far beyond Seattle, they were discussed in all media, and their work is popular even now. Nowadays, “Nirvana” is considered the ancestor of the genre, since it was this creative team that popularized this musical style. Nirvana band managed to achieve the first commercial success in this field. Grunge has become not only a musical style with multi-million fans and successful albums, but also a widespread subculture, a trend in the fashion industry, and world outlook.
Works Cited
Henderson, Justin. Grunge: Seattle. Roaring Forties Press, 2016.
Rouse, Jennah. “‘Punks are Not Girls’: Exploring Discrimination and Empowerment Through the Experiences of Punk and Alt-rock Musicians in Leeds.” Punk & Post Punk, vol. 8, no.1, 2019, pp. 73-88.
Schaap, Julian, and Pauwke Berkers. “Grunting Alone? Online Gender Inequality in Extreme Metal Music.” IASPM@ Journal, vol. 4, no.1, 2013, pp. 101-116.
Stafford, Paul Edgerton. “The Grunge Effect: Music, Fashion, and the Media During the Rise of Grunge Culture in the Early 1990s.” M/C Journal, vol. 21, no. 5, 2018, Web.