"What we've got here is failure to communicate. See, some men you just can't reach. So, you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it! And i don't like it any more than you men."
Grunge (as per wikipedia):
"Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle Sound) is a subgenre of alternative rock that was created in the mid-1980s by bands from the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down compared to other forms of rock music, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics."
ALSO:
"Grunge is generally characterized by a sludgy guitar sound that uses a high level of distortion, fuzz and feedback effects. Grunge fuses elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. Grunge bands were noted for their punk / indie attitudes; and the music shares with punk a raw sound and similar lyrical concerns. However, grunge also involves slower tempos, dissonant harmonies, and more complex instrumentation, often reminiscent of heavy metal."
AND THE DECLINE (besides Kurdt dying):
"A number of factors contributed to grunge's decline in prominence. During the latter half of the 1990s, grunge was supplanted by post-grunge, which remained commercially viable into the start of the 21st century. Post-grunge bands such as Candlebox and Bush emerged soon after grunge's breakthrough. Post-grunge artists lacked the underground roots of grunge and was largely influenced by what grunge had become, namely 'a wildly popular form of inward-looking, serious-minded hard rock.' Post-grunge was a more commercially viable genre that tempered the distorted guitars of grunge with polished, radio-ready production."
ACCORDING TO DICTIONARY.COM:
Grunge Music: a style of rock music featuring harsh guitar chords, heavy riffs and drumming, and whose performers wear sloppy clothes
EDITORIAL:
So, label me post-grunge, I guess. The music of Gunshy has more in common with bands like Blur (Britpop) and Weezer (Post-grunge Pop) than it does with Mudhoney or Bikini Kill. The influences of Nirvana and Alice in Chains are obvious, and completely purposeful.
Because of all this, and the contentions of what is and isn't grunge that seem to be going on in the heated fight for the Top Ten and Number 1 slots in the genre here on NG, I have started to view the concept of "grunge rock" as being entirely subjective, and perhaps a new genre is in order, one that fuses Grunge and Techno. Technogrunge or Electrogrunge would seem to fit. The best example here on NG of this fusion of genres is "22 Hours" by LST, and CalPal's review has it right in this sense. I apologize for my seemingly negative review of this song in particular.
Artists like the Butthole Surfers and Beck have been doing this act for at least 10 years, fusing elements of Electronica into their otherwise grungy repertoire. Beck could do a hell of a version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," that's for damn sure. And there are many artists here that do the same thing, such as Nessbeatsfox. But there are others that I would consider purists, like me, who seem like they can't stand the sound of a real guitar and vocals up against what is obviously techno drums, like Sixty Cycle and Scribbler.
I am in the same category as them trying to carry on the legacy of grunge in its true form, even if we are making the songs with FruityLoops and Cubase or even Garageband.
The point I'm getting at is there is an inherent string through all of these artists I've mentioned, a factor in the music that makes it all 100% grunge and not some cheap attempt at imitation.
That is: REAL GUITAR!
There is no way a synthesizer (even FLSlayer) will ever replace the sound a real live electric guitar. So, yes... it does piss me off when I hear songs that are 100% electronically-produced set in the grunge genre. My ears can hear that there are no real instruments being played, and no attempt at even making the drums sound real at all. My bias is towards the real, the concrete, not the plastic sound of an AKAI drum loop or a distorted MIDI synth.
Without bias, none of us would be artists. None of us would willingly make grunge rock if it wasn't for the love of a harsh, discordant sound with vocals that Simon Cowell would have an aneurysm over.
If me or Nessbeatsfox walked into an American Idol audition, we would be stopped halfway through and told to leave and never sing again outside of our houses, and THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!
None of us in Grunge should be "expertly proficient" at playing the guitar, because that's not what grunge is about. It's about being half-rate, and not caring. None of us SHOULD be able to trade licks with SRV or Jimi Hendrix, because they're bluesmen and that's their thing. Their timing should be perfect (and was), but grunge shouldn't be perfect. It shouldn't seem plastic or overproduced, either. It shouldn't sound a thing like battle music for some video game, and it shouldn't EVER sound like chill-out downtempo electronica.
So, what should grunge sound like?
What IS grunge, if it's so clear what is not?
Grunge should sound like shit, because that's how the genre came to be named Grunge.
It should switch things up, surely, but always return to the hard, sludgy, shitty guitar that we all love.
Grunge should sound grungy, not "good" or "radio-friendly."
If I ever write a radio-friendly song, I'll shoot myself in the face just like Kurdt did... if you believe that.
