Friday, Wet - so time for some grunge

[sunvalleylaw]

It is Friday again, it is wet and rainy here in Idaho. The kind of day that makes me want to put on my flannel shirt and jeans, grab a jacket and go walk in the woods by a river or up a mountain, listening to the birds and the watertil I am soaking wet. Bottom line, a Seattle grungey day.

This is the first song that came to mind. Shaky vid, but good audio and nice performance in Seattle.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=eFEAoPU9gEg


It is going to be on my learn list for campfire purposes. Lots of possibilities for layers of wankery, and I can sing it.

Here is McCready and friends wanking away at extended solo time (with some Stairway to Heaven thrown in).



And here is the counterpart band, wailing away.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=DnFiVUQFpG4

So closet grunge fans, post your favorites. Those who hate grunge, that's fine. This thread is not for you. Enjoy your Friday! I plan to go get out in the rain.

[Katastrophe]

One of my faves from that time:

[sunvalleylaw]

Good one Kat, the guys from Spanaway.

[red]

What do you mean "closet grunge fans"? I'm completely out in the open, and proud! Just got my new Record Store Day Soundgarden T-Shirt a couple of days ago.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah you are right. Wear your flannel proud over the top of that new SG t-shirt.

[Commodore 64***]

I think I just threw up a little. I pretty much can't stand grunge and all thigns that spawned from it.

[red]

Yeah you are right. Wear your flannel proud over the top of that new SG t-shirt.

Will do, kind sir. Will do.

[sunvalleylaw]

I think I just threw up a little. I pretty much can't stand grunge and all thigns that spawned from it.

Well, then like I said, this thread is not for you. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. (all in good fun of course).

[Jimi75]

Rainy day, dream away....yeah man I loved Grunge, was totally into it!
Besides the well known ones, I also loved these:

He was to good to be true - Jeff Buckley:


The Afghan Wigs:

[Eric***]

I tend not to like Pearl Jam because I think Eddie Vedder is so pretentious and he had a major part in the whole "Seattle Throat" phenomenon propagated by countless others like Scott Stapp, etc. HOWEVER...I do like some of Mike McCready's guitar playing.

I was totally into music around this time, and while I had tons of bands I liked, the ones I remember the best seem to be the big names:

Alice in Chains



and Soundgarden

[Kazz]

ahhh I love me some Alice In Chains.....While Grunge pretty much spelled the end for the hair metal that I loved so much in the late 80s.....there was some good music coming out of Seattle at that time. Unfortunately 2 of the greats....Layne and Kurt did not make it out.

[Kazz]

Thanks Eric for that reminder of Tripod.

[sunvalleylaw]

Ok, now that we have some groups out there, let's discuss aspects. Whose vocal wail/howl/whatever did you like the best? I am going to say Kurt, as it hits some primal scream bone in me. I love the more mellow Vedder stuff, like Mary above, but I am just not as into his howl as much as Kurt's wail. I also liked Cornell and Layne Straley, probably overall before Vedder. For guitar, I probably pick Cantrell or McCready.

Jimi, thanks for posting some of the less known stuff. I like me some Afghan Whigs.

This is my favorite lesser known band:


http://youtube.com/watch?v=zrUA7kOySZQ&feature=related

Check out lead guitarist Steve Turner on the Hagstrom!

[Spudman***]

I went for the new Alice In Chains along with the latest Porcupine Tree for my soggy bike ride. Grunge would have just pissed me off.

[Eric***]

Ok, now that we have some groups out there, let's discuss aspects. Whose vocal wail/howl/whatever did you like the best? I am going to say Kurt, as it hits some primal scream bone in me. I love the more mellow Vedder stuff, like Mary above, but I am just not as into his howl as much as Kurt's wail. I also liked Cornell and Layne Straley, probably overall before Vedder.

If you want to call him grunge, Billie Joe Armstrong does a pretty good scream. I guess that's not really a howl though...

For guitar, I probably pick Cantrell or McCready.

I think I agree with this. When I was picking out youtube vids for my post, I was thinking how I like both of those guys. McCready's solos may have elicited that 'c*ck rock' quote from Kurt back in the day, but I think he's surprisingly decent. Quite honestly, Cantrell is the only guitarist who really stood out during this period for me.

Man, I'm realizing all of the bands that haven't been mentioned like Cracker, Everclear, Screaming Trees, etc. I won't say Everclear was ever a real envelope-pushing band, but they had a few cool tunes. I love this era of music.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, Eric, I agree with you and also like Cracker, Everclear, Screaming Trees, Green Day, The Offspring, Sublime, etc. from those days. But I don't consider those guys grunge in the sense that I go there right away on rainy, misty days. The grunge I was talking about came really from Olympia/Aberdeen/Hoquiam, Auburn, Spanaway, . . . outlying rural areas in western WA experiencing decline due to the slow death of old growth logging, lost fisheries, etc, and oncoming californication and sprawl. Seattle was the musical melting pot for those artists.

But I still liked those other bands a lot. Cracker supplied san anthem for me for a long time, as I was tired of traditional and boomer era folk music at the time.


Re: what Kurt said about Pearl Jam, McCready, etc., I just ignored that stuff. Kurt had his view, but PJ could certainly carve its own path without his permission. I still think Kurt nailed the angst and wail better though.

[Katastrophe]

I prefer Staley's voice over the others. AIC was/is probably my favorite band out of the grunge groups. The vocal harmonies between Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell was powerful.

[sunvalleylaw]

I prefer Staley's voice over the others. AIC was/is probably my favorite band out of the grunge groups. The vocal harmonies between Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell was powerful.

Concur on those vocals harmonies.

[Eric***]

Yeah, Eric, I agree with you and also like Cracker, Everclear, Screaming Trees, Green Day, The Offspring, Sublime, etc. from those days. But I don't consider those guys grunge in the sense that I go there right away on rainy, misty days.

Screaming Trees weren't grunge?

I think I get your point, but I guess I'd say that the defining part of grunge was the music, not necessarily where a given band formed. Seattle was definitely the birthplace of many of those bands, but I always attributed that to zeitgeist/90s scene. I thought the music itself was rooted in 80s underground more than anything else. IIRC, Vedder was a surfer dude from SoCal...

BUT it is all how you interpret it to some degree. I think music gains significance by what it makes you think and feel.