Music is one of the many ways that one person can express their admiration or disdain for society. Often, the former is typically the topic of modern music. Expressing love for the lives they’re given. However, there are many people in the United States who possess thoughts akin to the latter category in terms of feelings for society. For the popular bands of the early 1990’s, this could not be more true. Gaining momentum in the earlier part of the decade, grunge music became a movement, letting the listeners express their own disdain for society.
This led to the creation of the “grunge ideal”, embodying all the emotions nd actions that the movement embraced. The mindset of the teenage youth of the 90’s embrace the grunge movement, going against society, music pervading the American public. A few music groups stood above the rest, evolving the youth’s outcry into lyrics that spoke to them. Those groups, such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, became icons in the short-lived era. But what exactly is “grunge”? What is the “grunge era”? Grunge is a style of music, combing rock of the 1970’s and punk rock.
But unlike punk, a Britain-based movement, grunge hails from the Pacific Northwest, namely Seattle. Starting in the late 1980’s, Seattle record label Sub Pop released a compilation of songs that would later be known as grunge, and thus was the birth of the movement itself. This album, named Sub Pop 200, contained songs by groups such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, officially coining the term, “grunge” to describe the sound, also believing that any “grimy” word would have fit and worked with the movement itself (Marin, “Grunge: A Success Story”).
One of the bands, Nirvana, would rise to be the most popular band of the new “grunge” sound. Originally signing in 1988, the band known as Nirvana, headed by Kurt Cobain, rose to fame with he release of their first album, Bleach (Gould, “Nirvana”). By the time their second album, Nevermind, was released in 1991, copies quickly sold out and the band was amazed by how popular them and their songs had become. Within the first month of selling, the album hit No. 35 on the Billboard Top 200 (Cross 199-204).
Since the release of that album, they became icons of the time and created the “grunge” culture. The vocalist of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, became the image of grunge. Born and raised in Aberdeen Washington, he led a simple life until his parent’s divorced when he was eight. During that time, his escape became music (Gracie 7). Forming his own band after flunking out of high school, he named it “Nirvana”, describing it as “attainment of perfection” (Cross 101). Nirvana ravaged the pop music scene, releasing top-chart singles like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Gould par. ). Other bands, like Pearl Jam, followed in that mold to become just as popular. With the release of their first album, Ten, it became apparent that it would join the ranks of Nirvana and share the popularity. All of the music both of the bands would produces would shape the grunge movement into hat it became. However, it was not only the music that created the movement, but also the minds of the musicians and the listeners that melded to create the “grunge ideal”. The “grunge ideal” can be identified with several different concepts.
One of these concepts is a certain anger at society. Being mad at what you’ve been born into, what has happened to you, or how society treats you based on your likes and interests. The next, resistance to what said society defines as “mainstream”. All of society likes something, and you can’t bring yourself to enjoy, simply because everyone else does as well. All of these feelings, all of these thoughts and all of this coming together, can be tied to the cult following of bands like Nirvana.
First off, the people of the grunge movement often expressed anger at society and being held to its standard. As expressed in the lead-selling single by Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, most of the listeners wanted to let loose, as Cobain wrote: Load up on guns, bring your friends It’s fun to lose and to pretend She’s over bored and self assured Oh no, I know a dirty word The listeners of this specific stanza can identify an “oh no” in the ourth line, suggesting that knowing “a dirty word” is a mistake, something to be frowned upon.
It’s easy to tell he fed up with societal standards. As the song progresses, and the chorus comes around, the vocals sound as if Cobain is screaming to the audience, a sign of anger Spirit’). While some songs express the anger of the vocalist, there are others which express the anger of others in the story the writers choose to tell. One example of the latter is the song “Jeremy”, by another grunge band Pearl Jam.
In the mentioned song, the story follows the titular “Jeremy”, a young boy who nleashes a furious rage when picked on: Clearly I remember Pickin’ on the boy ana Lyrics: ‘Smells Like Teen Seemed a harmless little f*** But we unleashed a lion Gnashed his teeth And bit the recess lady’s breast Later on, the song describes his life at home, meant to indicate the source of his rage (“Pearl Jam Lyrics: Jeremy”).
The lyrics are meant to amplify feelings of disdain or hatred towards what society had given them, or society as a whole. Jeremy” is one of the many songs that identifies with the former, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is geared towards the latter. Another huge spect of the “grunge ideal” was the resisting of “mainstream”, when something is of immense popularity over a wide range of people. Pearl Jam was best at this, as they “consistently rejected mainstream popularity” (“Pearl Jam”). First boycotting companies like Ticketmaster, then creating music on social and political issues, Pearl Jam embodies several concepts of the “grunge ideal” (“Pearl Jam”).
However, all of these concepts and the “grunge ideal” itself would not have been viewed as a movement if it wasn’t for the “cult” following of bands like the ones mentioned before. Only taking a few months for Nevermind to reach the top charts, Nirvana had established itself a lead group in the movement, catching the attention of many American teens and gaining a following of those who felt the same way (“Nirvana”). All of these bands pervaded society with the sole purpose of shaking it up and displaying what they felt. Songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Jeremy” reflected emotions and shaping the “grunge ideal”.
It was not only music that shaped it, however, it was also other aspects, such as fashion. A New York Times article from November 15th, 1992 illustrates the style of clothing that defined grunge. the threadbare flannel shirts,” Rick Marin writes, “knobby wool sweaters and cracked leatherette coats of the Pacific Northwest’s thrift-shop esthetic” (“Grunge: A Success Story) were the style, officially labeled as “unfashion” by James Truman, explaining it by saying “Grunge is about not making a statement, which is why it’s crazy for it to become a fashion statement. (“Grunge: A Success Story”).
It changed fashion at the time, and instead of flashy garb of the 80’s or the anti- fashion statement of punk. Pervading society would ultimately lead to impacting it and change it through several means. There are a few different modes in which you can change society. You can do so through visual means, shocking people with modern art, audial means, shaking up the world with your music. Then there’s the people. People can shake the world. They can speak, they can advocate for anything as long as they have someone believing in them.
Grunge is no exception to these rules. For the grunge movement, those would be the music and the people. First off, the music. The music was angry because the people were angry, people were depressed, and shone light on a part of America that normally wouldn’t have een seen. It melded an entire generation, now donning the fashion of the time and the “underground” music soon found itself popular for no explicable reason beyond Nirvana’s release of Nevermind (“Nirvana”). The music spoke to the youth, and told them it was okay to feel the way they felt.
Nirvana and Pearl Jam were angry, and they could be as well. By the music rejecting mainstream society, their fans felt represented as anything but outcasts. But eventually, as time went on, the “grunge ideal” became mainstream, deterring all of its original fan base. It became popular fashion, and the alternative ovement ceased to be so (“Grunge: A Success Story”). It was not only the music that helped shape society, but also the people who created the music. These people did the most out of anyone to shape the era into something spectacular.
Most notable of these people would be Kurt Cobain. He wrote “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, sparking the initial phenomenon (“Nirvana”). His words spoke, calling out to the people who felt the same way as he did. Yet, the most impactful action of his life was ending it. On April 5th, 1994, Cobain committed suicide, shaking the entire community and all of his fans. After those events, he became viewed as a martyr of music-up in the ranks with other stars that share the same fate. Jim Morrison of The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, and Sid Vicious, all were held to the same pedestal as Cobain.
Following the events of that tragic day, fans gathered to celebrate his life and mourn the loss. He was an icon, a symbol to the people, they were shaken, as well as the rest of America, by his death. The reasoning behind the events was simple, however tragic. Effectively, by spreading his music and acting against the establishment of the music business, he had ecome what he was trying to avoid, and in the end couldn’t take it (Gracie). Despite all the events that occurred, Cobain still remained as the icon of the era. But as 1995 rolled around the corner, the age was coming to the end.
Pearl Jam, on the other end, stayed together well past the grunge era, still recording and preforming today. They have even advocated for various rights movements and continue to impact society positively (“Pearl Jam”). Despite tragedy and the fall of the grunge era, there is still an imprint left from the people who lived it and changed what modern music and society would become. Though the grunge era inevitably ended, and the “grunge ideal” faded with time, the changes it made to American pop culture and society are unmistakable.
While an alternative group can never truly be alternative while in the limelight, there is definitely more recognition of said alternative groups in today’s society. The music pervaded the public. Like all other musical movements do, but none happened in such a blaze of glory that was the reign of Nirvana. The minds of the youth all shared the same thoughts, and some rose above the rest to speak them. This new generation of young adults cried for something, and that it was grunge music delivered.
Something to relate to them, something they could call their own. The music, the bands, the people all attributed to this movement. They were ushering in a new age, one where you could be angry at so y, one where you could be resistant to mainstream, one where you could be whoever you wanted to be, like whatever bands you wanted to like, shake up society whenever it was deemed necessary. That still is true today. The United States has become a more progressive and accepting society, all ushered in by the grunge era of American history.
