Who killed Hair Metal?- grunge. Grunge shot Hair metal and stomped all over the grave in a clown suit, happily whistling to itself.
It was an interesting time in Music, the end of the 1980s. At the beginning of the 80s it was pretty easy to determine what the trend was. You had the last gasps of punk, New Wave coming through - think Blondie. Disco was dead. and the whole synth pop was taking hold. Think Soft cell, Duran Duran, Echo and the Bunnymen. In the underground you had a lot more going on. Rap, Hip Hop was taking hold, Electronic music, originally driven by Kraftwerk, but later taken on by Gary Numan, 808 State, New Order. Then the alternative metal hardcore scene in the States, Black Flag, Fugazi, Husker Du etc.
here is some Husker Du, just because they are awesome
The point of the name dropping, is that by the end of the 80s most of these had developed into full on musical trends and no longer could you say that there was a kind of music that everyone listened to. Except perhaps U2 , and all should subsequently have hot pokers stuffed into their ears to take out any lasting memory of it!!! So Hair Metal , Guns and Roses dominated the charts outside of pop music, which we don't care about do we. The problem being that the scene had become so overblown, so full of itself. This was a scene that was based far more on image and style than actual musical substance anyway. So it was very predictable that a scene which was more stripped back and for want of a better word 'real'.
There are two landmark albums that will forever be associated with this rise. Nevermind by Nirvana and Ten by Pearl Jam. I will go through many of the other proponents of the , what is the right word, because it wasn't a scene, far too large for that. Let's say movement for the moment. The Grunge movement. Grunge is a terrible word for it. it as supposedly termed as the guitar sound was all grungy and the people dressed all grungy so it stuck. I don't like it, because even the major bands had very little in common musically.
Nevermind and Ten started the whole thing of. Absolutely huge in their impact not only on the music scene but also much more fundamentally as reflection of what was going on in the world. It is very obvious to say that the 80s were a decade of excess and as we went into 1990s that had to all change. It is a little more complex than that of course. A generation of people had watched the 80s unfold and as they turned into Teenagers and young adults they wanted a music scene for their own. When Nevermind came out it was so completely different that they got into it. Once of course everyone else did.
Here is smells like teen spirit.
It is 20 years this year since that came out. Which actually makes it classic rock now. Which is scary for all of us. Anyway, I was just starting university when this came out. Followed closely by Ten by Pearl Jam. Uni is the perfect time for an anti music scene. it fit perfectly to what I was into and about at the time. The whole anti mainstream, corporate rock etc. Of course, I was being fed this by large corporates.
here is Jeremy By Pearl Jam.
Good songs both, i think it is very fair to say. , But as you can clearly see , quite different. So, I think everyone knows what happened to Nirvana. They recorded another album, it was turned down, they then released In Utero, did MTV unplugged and then Kurt topped himself. Turns out Dave Grohl was an amazing musician and we then got Foo Fighters, who are still going strong to this day
This is Everlong. This is one of the best songs I have ever heard, i love this song.
Is it wrong to say that it was worth not having Kurt around to get that song? Yes it probably is, but you get the idea.
The best song by Nirvana to my mind is Dumb off of the in Utero album.
To my mind that is so good because it just has the whole self loathing thing wrapped up into the deception.
I 'm not like them , but I can pretend. That does sum up the whole outsider thing doesn't it. I think that you could make a good case for any of, Nevermind, In Utero and Unplugged being the best album by Nirvana. This is helped by the fact that there is absolutely no chance of them ever re-forming.
The best Pearl jam song to my mind is Black. This is a great song because it is just so heartfelt. it contains the lines
I know someday you'll find a beautiful life
I know you'll be a sun
In somebodies eles's sky
But why, why, whhhyyy
can't it be , can't it be
mine
That is a good lyric. In fact, that is a great lyric isn't it. If there is a better way to express the perceived loss of a girlfriend/ boyfriend because they were just not particularly on the same wave length,or actually interested in you, then that is it.
here is the song
So there are my two favourite songs by these bands. I think that Ten , is by far the best thing Pearl Jam ever did. They have gone on to release 10 albums, and are still going. None was even as close to the level that Ten touched. Which is disappointing. I actually went and bought the next album the day it came out I was so keen to hear what else they could do. There were moments of the heights , but not many on their next album. By the third I had stopped listening. Again, by then the entire world was listening, and as I have said in other posts that is my first tip that a band has lost it's edge.
So which band was better? That is of course very subjective and you will decide on the one you think. However this is my blog and unless you want to comment then my opinion rules. I think , and this is going back on what I said at the time, that Nirvana's music stands up a lot better than Pearl Jam's. Listening to Ten now it does seem quite dated. Nevermind and In Utero do as well. There is however an energy that still comes through them. Not so much on Ten. I guess because I only really rate Ten as opposed to any of the other albums by Pearl Jam that Nirvana were always going to win.
On that note then I end with one of the best covers, the man who sold the world, a David Bowie song, which appears on the Unplugged album by Nirvana.
But then for good measure, and in the interests of fairness, here is State of Love and Trust by Pearl Jam, a Neil Young cover
His name was KURT not KIRK you knucklehead. How do you profess to love a band, write an article on them .... and not even know the songwriter (who happens to be an ICON)'s name???
ReplyDeleteWow. I do agree with you though on my fav song of theirs being 'dumb' and of PJ's being 'Black'. Your taste is impeccable, but it's sad that you didn't even know Cobain's name.
That is a fair comment. Very embarressed about that very simle mistake. Thank you for pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteGood taste but bad editing skills.
I don't Know. I was into the whole scene then, but I always had a hard time listening to Nevermind all the way through. I kind of skipped to my favorite tracks like Teen Spirit, Breed, Territorial Pissings, Something In The Way,Endless Nameless. I liked In Utero better when it came out but I haven't listened to it in years. I listen to Bleach every once in a while and still enjoy it. I really think I was a fan because Teen Spirit rocked and their 'Live tonight Sold out' video was great. When ever I thought of why I like Nirvana, it was the video that did it for me more than the albums. I think it was more representative of why they were good as than the CDs were.
ReplyDeletePearl Jam. I hated 10. Everything I hate about record production was used on that album. I haven't heard the new re-mixed version. Maybe it's better and I could give a better assessment on the songs then. I'll get it. OK?
I adore vs.. I thought it was a real in your face rock album. Very exciting indeed. Full of intense energy from beginning to end. I'm not sure what you thought was lacking in it but I was blown away. My outstanding picks were, Leash, The Blood, WMA.
So which group was better? Neither. They're not in my list of top 10 favorite groups (like U2 is), BUT,, I still listen to vs. and Bleach to this day. And what does that mean? Absolutely nothing.
I am very surprised to read that you were more into the Nirvana videos than the music. i didn't get that at all, and in fact could really only recal two or three videos by them. The music lived a lot a lot more for me and still does.
ReplyDeleteI also have to say, i completely disagree with your comments about Vs. I thought that was very much an overblown corporate rock album. The angst and the isolation that came through so well on 10 just wasn't there on Vs for me. Plus the fact that everyone in the world seemed to like it. Everyone not really into music I mean.
I still listen to In Utero a bit, i really like Dumb, as i said in the post. I don't really listen to anythng else anymore by either band.
As you said, it doesn't mean anything, but it is interesting. .
I don't mean Nirvana's videos, I meant the long form live/doc "Alive Tonight, Sold Out". I bought it on VHS in '94 and I THINK it was released on DVD sometime in the last few years. It's a sort of mish mash video like The Who's "The Kids Are Alright". Very entertaining.
ReplyDelete