Subculture: Grunge

Britannica.com defines grunge as a genre of rock music that flourished in the late 1980s and early 90s. Grunge came to fruition on Seattle’s independent Sub Pop record label as Mudhoney, Nirvana, Screaming Trees, and Soundgarden followed in the footsteps of Northwestern band the Melvins. 

Grunge was a formative music and fashion genre in my life. I was in middle school/junior high when MTV started playing some of the classic grunge bands, we all know. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains were constantly being played on MTV along with the popular R&B, Hip-Hop, and electronic artists of the time. 

Growing up listening to this mix of music probably explains my all-over-the-place taste in music. Alice In Chains, Janet Jackson, and Enigma I’ll listen to it all. 

From the Journal of Media and Culture “In 1991, the Seattle sound exploded onto the international music scene with the release of four seminal grunge-era albums over a six-month period". In April Temple of the Dog released their album followed by Pearl Jam’s Ten in August, Nirvana’s Nevermind in September, and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger in October”. 

The release of those albums opened the floodgates for many more bands to follow. Hole, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins, Silverchair, Candlebox, Veruca Salt, Bush, and Jane’s Addiction are just a handful of the bands that came through the door of those four seminal albums being released. 

Let’s get into grunge fashion a little bit.  

My memories and clothing from my grunge phase that, let’s be honest, I haven’t completely left behind are of flannel and combat boots. 

According to Rebel’s Market, grunge clothing came from a disdain for conformity from GenX. The fashion could include flannel over a t-shirt, combat boots, torn jeans, and floral dresses. Grunge fashion was about individuality. 

The makeup look could be messy or just nonexistent and the hair was usually long, dyed, and unkempt. 

There you have it. A look at music that was born out of rock and punk and fashion that expressed individuality.