Grunge Music

A music genre and a more commercially successful offshoot of Punk rock and [Hardcore Punk Music]? in the late, late 1980s and early 1990s. It was bands from Seattle that made grunge popular with a large audience. Many of the more successful bands of the era we're associated with the [Sub Pop]? record label.

Grunge music was a reaction to the long slow movement from [Hard Rock Music]? of the 1970s to [Soft Rock Music]? in the 1980s.

This trend in music came about in the early 1990's known as grunge. The forerunners of this rock genre were primarily Seattle based bands, such as, "Nirvana", "Pearl Jam", 'Sonic Youth", and "Soundgarden". Other major contributors were "Stone Temple Pilots" and "Alice in Chains". These bands promoted a raw style of music, that was unlike the eighties hair rock and the heavier stylings of bands like "Metallica" or "Anthrax". The grunge wave took control of the airwaves in both popular and rock stations. It was the ushering in of a totally new mindset about music. It broke the back of what was epitomized as good music in the eighties and changed the entire culture of America's youth.

The grunge period really began with the release of "Nirvana's" Nevermind in 1991. The album created one of the biggest bands the world has ever seen. The grunge period was resting on their shoulders. When frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 the group "Nirvana" and the grunge era died with him.

Prominent bands:

• Mudhoney?
• Nirvana
• Pearl Jam
• Sonic Youth
• Hole
• Soundgarden?