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Ana Salgado
23 de jan. de 2021

Grunge: The movement

When did grunge become grunge? How did this five-letter word meaning dirt, grime, filth, trash, came to be associated with a music genre, a fashion statement and, above all, a pop phenomenon?

To answer these questions, we must first journey through time and look back onto the 80s to see how it all began.


There are many conflicting stories about as to when the word “grunge” was first used to describe a sound related to a particular style of alternative music that oozed out from dank basements and shoddy rehearsal spaces. However, it is possible to pinpoint the movement’s roots back to the blue-collar environment of logging towns, coastal fisheries and airplane manufacturing distinctive of the Pacific Northwest and, more specifically, of Seattle.

It was there, in the City of Rain, where grunge first emerged as a manner for a community of musicians to cope with the tucked away isolation of their musty surroundings. These artists fully submerged themselves in their own cultural milieu of rock music, rain and a sense of youthful rebellion that traced back to the hippie values of the 70s and that were still very much present. Soon enough, melodies, heavily inspired by the city’s three main drugs (espresso, beer and heroin), started seeping through the dense mist and new bands began to take shape.


Although there isn’t a consensus about who the first grunge band was, many believe that the Melvins, who formed in 1983, were the pioneers of the alternative music scene. However, others consider that real grunge only took formation one year later with Green River who were undoubtedly the first true "grungers".

Shortly after their debut, bands like Soundgarden and Screaming Trees and Alice in Chains also made their premiere.

These bands were a part of a generation of musicians heavily influenced by renowned groups like KISS, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. The grunge sound drew from the nihilism of punk, the banging gospel of heavy metal and the parading of the 1970s FM rock, distinguishing itself from all of the other genres at the time.


Many of the Seattle-based artists were under Sub Pop Records who were the first to include the word grunge in their marketing materials to describe “the grittiness of the music and the energy”. Sub Pop was a playground for those who solely cared for their music and little to nothing else. The company, like its artists, didn’t take itself too seriously. It was this care-free conduct that later on came to attract big names like Nirvana.


Between 1988 and 1990 there was a shift on the Seattle scene. Many groups started to lose the non-conformity mentality that, in a way, defined grunge. Examples of this are Green River, who separated into two groups because a few selected members wanted to remain “underground” while others wanted to become notorious rock stars, and Soundgarden who, to much dismay of their fans, signed with a big record label.


Grunge artists were changing. However, their music never did. They became regular bands at music venues across the Emerald City as their fame and success grew.

Before any bands left Seattle, they would often describe themselves and their art in self-deprecating ways. They would refer to their music style as dirt, scum and grunge.

In 1990, Nirvana entered the alternative music scene and soon after grunge rose to the top. In 1991, the group had already reached number one on the Billboard charts, with Pearl Jam (formerly known as Soundgarden) following closely behind. This achievement was groundbreaking as it signified the assertion of grunge as a new rock subgenre.

Characterized by guitar distortion and emotionally laden songs, that spoke to the anguished youths who identified with the lyrics about isolation, anger and death, grunge was appealing to the masses of a generation that felt like they didn’t fit in.

Like Simon Reynolds said: "There's a feeling of burnout in the culture at large. Kids are depressed about the future." Thus, it’s not surprising how all of these bands became major hits.


As these bands developed a need for marketing, grunge changed from a laughingstock to the ultimate promoter, especially in the fashion field. The industry started replicating the style of these bands and their Seattle audiences. From flannel shirts to combat boots and unwashed hair, they were now all being sported by the most famous runway models and, as always, the rich were keeping up with the latest trends.

Thrifted apparel was in and, for the first time, instead of going to boutiques, people were running to the nearest Goodwill as clothes purchased from second-hand shops were now dictating what got brought into shops.


From subculture to mass culture, grunge took on the interest of the media who struggled to galvanize its relevance. James Truman, the editor in chief of Details, the young men's style magazine that is taking grunge to the masses, even said: "To me, the thing about grunge is it's not anti-fashion, it's un fashion. Punk was anti-fashion. It made a statement. Grunge is about not making a statement, which is why it's crazy for it to become a fashion statement."

However, although many did not understand the movement, the concept of grunge became increasingly popularized, resulting in its cumulative renunciation by anti-conformist Seattle.

Today, though, the term has been reclaimed, many Seattleites still hold on to the same values that began the grunge movement. Nevertheless, they have learned to embrace the subgenre that, in many ways, put their city on the map.






 

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