Rock’s Greatest Moments- The Grunge Era

Seattle — 1986: Rock music was dying a slow death driven by forgettable bands that were more about the glamour and shock value than content of their music. The Bill Board charts were filled with pop numbers. And the cold sleepy town of Seattle hadn't produced a famous musician since the days of Hendrix. But, isolated from the two famous music hubs LA and New York, Seattle would soon rise as the hotbed of the greatest rock talent the world had ever seen.

Seattle always had an underground music culture and it attracted young budding musicians to test their talent in front of their peers. The grunge music represented the sign of the times. It talked about the despair, the anger and social issues all important to the American youth and hardly addressed by bubble pop music. The counter culture music was new, the lyrics fresh and it was alive and kicking in Seattle waiting to burst into scene for the rest of the world.

Grunge is defined as the mix of Punk and Metal. But the umbrella term used to describe all the bands to come out of Seattle during the time does them a disservice. They were more than that. They were kids who appreciated and were influenced by the greatest of rock musicians of various sub genres. That showed in their music. The willingness to experiment, to evolve and grow. The genre would produce musicians with great technical abilities and creative drive. Yes, all the bands could fall between the spectrum of punk and metal but the creative influences of country, psychedelic, hard rock and art rock were clearly to be seen. Each band had their own approach to music and an unique sound. It was this that would lead four bands to create their own legacy in rock history, all coming from a small city of Seattle.

To be continued……