The “Seattle sound”, a phrase coined for music created by Alternative-style rock bands based in Seattle, is said to contain three (3) basic elements: it is loud, it is honest, and it is borne of musicians that have experienced a degree of difficulty in achieving recognition. The “Seattle sound”, often times referred to as “grunge”, is notorious for being performed at exceedingly high volume. It has been defined as honest music because it is performed in a raw and unrefined manner, without the aid of electronic polishing. Additionally, a common thread of grunge bands is said to be that they suffer from an uncommonly low rate of recognition
The affects of Seattle’s geographical location appears to be an ingredient of the music created by these grunge bands, whether expressed blatantly or subliminally. Seattle exists in a corner of our nation and a great distance from more prominent cities, therefore, a sense of isolationism amongst its citizens is to be expected. Seattle is also subject to an unusually high level of precipitation, most notably rain, one (1) of the few things that the city may be regarded as famous for. An abundance of gloomy days certainly plays upon the psyche of the human attitude. Musicians of grunge bands appear to express this geographical condition in the manner in which they choose their topics for lyrics and deliver their music. Isolation may be cited as an influence in their music with the respect to the style in which they deliver their product, well practiced, yet unrefined because of their lack of hope for recognition. Unrelentingly dreary weather may be responsible for depression among band members that may well be reflected in their music, possibly accounting for their extreme volume (frustration and yearning to be heard) and crude lyrics (unpolished because they expect to remain obscure).
As with any trend, grunge began to lose its followers within a relatively short period of time, or perhaps it simply became excepted to the extent that its label changed from “fad” to “mainstream“. Grunge, much like most trends or fashions, relied upon commercialization to exist as such. When newness fades, replacements are sought and new titles created that are designed to draw popularity to address the apparent human need to represent uniqueness, but at the same time fulfill a desire to be accepted by others with similar likes and dislikes. If one (1) views history with regard to fads, it may be observed that fads do not exist unless there is mass-marketing of a concept or series of events to attain the popular interest of people.
Philip Auslander’s book “Performing Glam Rock” talks about a type of music that until this class, I have not heard much about. When I think Glam Rock I think of artists like Prince and Kiss, ...
Rock n’ roll gave people the voice they did not have in the early years. As the genre of music became more wide spread, people actually began to speak out. Altschuler touches on the exploration of how the rock n' roll culture roughly integrated with replaced and conflicted with preceding cultural values. Many of these values were very touch topics. Besides black civil rights, sexuality were one of the most sensitive t...
Imagine attending a concert in which if you were to close your eyes, you would assume that the music you are hearing is being created by a cast of band members, each playing their respective instruments. Contrary to your assumptions, however, this band only consists of one member. Keller Williams, dubbed by critics as a one-man-band, is one of a kind both in his musical talent and his solo act. Very few solo musicians have mastered such a multi-dimensional sound and captivating live show as Keller, making him standout amongst today’s musicians. Keller’s ability to perform improvisational live shows, form a large and dedicated fan base, and share the beliefs and attitudes of the hippie generation has given him the musical identity of the jam band genre in addition to his personal identity of being a solo act.
Although the style of ‘Rock music’ is easily adaptable to many different sounds, it is still thoroughly identified by its definingly amplified rhythm. The sudden worldwide popularity of rock and roll resulted in an unparalleled social impact. Rock ‘n’ Roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. The social impact is so large that rock stars are worshipped worldwide. In its early years, many adults condemned the style of music, placing a stigma on its name, and forbid their children from listening and following its ways.
The biggest influential song on Nirvana’s Nevermind album was the first song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It reached number 6 on the Top 40 Charts. This song was groundbreaking for Nirvana and the alternative music scene as a whole. After the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” white, middle-class youth of the United States finally had a style of music to call their own and express their “teenage anthems” (Stuessy, Joe). This was the first song to emerge from alternative rock and to be known in the mainstream of rock and roll, expressing their generation’s expectations, “...here we are now, entertain us”(Stuessy, Joe). “Smells like Teen Spirit” was Curt Cobain’s “attempt to write the ultimate pop song”(Nevermind, Nirvana). He used the soft-loud dynamics of his favorite band, the Pixies. The insidious hooks also showed his admiration for the Beatle’s John Lennon(Nevermind, Nirvana). The style used in this song is simple, plain, loud, and straight-forward. Musically, there is nothing very “innovative” or difficult. However, the reason it is important to rock history is because it brought America’s attention to the once before underground style of grunge. “A driving drum beat, powered by Novelsek’s rhythmic bass, and a memorable guitar riff and solo, mix perfectly with Kurt Cobain’s depressing yet humorous lyrics” (Kastner, Patrick). While it has certainly been overplayed in the past years, it is still an essential part of Rock history.
Throughout the decades the face of rock music has changed drastically because of a series of small events that have occurred for example, the song that saw the birth of early rock music The Comets hit Rocket 66 a 50's classic that endeared audiences with its atypical crunchy guitar tone, this was brought about by Ike Turner who dropped his guitar amplifier outside of the recording studio causing the amplifier to break and distort the sound this small accident caused Rock and Rock if we fast forward around 20 years and you have a young man called Tony Iommi working in a steel factory in Birmingham when he loses concentration severing the tips of two fingers causing him to de-tune his guitar to make it playable for his injured left hand and this spawned the birth of Heavy Metal music or is this all just a music purists point of view? or is there more to this than the cute stories and our perception that all of these outcomes could have been predetermined by previous events? could it be that we as listeners, consumers and human beings have manipulated the evolution of rock music to suit our personal tastes to feed our hunger to feel at one with the music? which leads me to authenticity. A few aspects of the criteria for music to be deemed authentic can be broken down into two main categories these are what sub genre of rock music is it and how is it related to its social class and the common behaviour within that class, for a quick example if The Sex Pistols famed for their bond with the working class turned round only to sport a posh upper/middle class accent would they have been billed as the working class heroes? or would they have been merely cast as posh boys playing loud music but with nothing to shout about. The genres of mu...
Clark, D. (2003). The death and life of punk: The last subculture. Retrieved from http://utoronto.academia.edu/DylanClark/Papers/32839/The_Death_and_Life_of_Punk_The_Last_Subculture
In conclusion, the emergence of Rock and Roll was one of the most pivotal moments of our nation’s history. It challenged various racial barriers that existed during the 1950’s. With the ever increasing popularity of this genre, white supremacists feared the rise of black influence in the dominant white society. Also, the emergence of the Civil Rights movement fueled the expansion in the popularity of Rock and Roll among teenagers across the nation. This evoked protests from the parents of young teenagers who exhibited over sexualized mannerisms as a result of this genre. Furthermore, popular culture played an important role during the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the Cold War. It allowed society to escape the hardships of war and uncertainty while safeguarding the democratic freedom our nation was built upon.
Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from.
Loose sweaters, candles, and rugs that appear on set help to enforce the grunge reference and evidence of grunge influence can be heard in the songs “Soul To Squeeze”, “Strip My Mind”, and “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”. The twang of the guitar in all three of these songs is traditional of grunge music and the rhythmic chanting in “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” along with the melodic oh’s and yeah’s of “Strip My Mind” add to the underground vibe that exudes from grunge
The ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
DeRogatis, Jim. (2002). A piece of Kurt Cobain. In JimDero.com. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from
Growing up in a broken home where sturdy spirits of alienation was abound, music became his true escape. Punk rock’s rebellious nature, was the total appeal and inspiration, for creating Nirvana in 1987. He gave the band that name since it means a place of perfect peace and happiness, like heaven. This is also the highest state that a person can achieve; a state of clarification, where someone’s desires and suffering goes away. Nirvana reached number one on the charts with multiple hit songs, including the album “Nevermind”. This band managed to start a grunge, punk rock movement, in the music industry thus causing a whole forthcoming of new grunge rock bands not only in Seattle, but all over the
This article demonstatres how important Kurt Cobain was both as a rock and roll icon and a philosopher. His songs which he recorded himself are still popular today, over 20 years after his death. The author argues how Cobain influences other young artists and his effect on the direction of the music industry.
First, let us define what grunge is and where it comes from. Grunge as defined by web encyclopedia alt.culture is the cumulative influences of punk and ‘70s heavy metal (plus rain, coffee, cheap, potent beer, and occasionally heroin), a cohort of Seattle bands developed a soulful hard rock variant that was instrumental to alternative music’s early-‘90s move underground (altculture. com). Among the bands included in the definition Nirvana would be mainly the one that made this phenomenon popular. Released in 1991, Nevermind—a record by an obscure band working in a genre considered as hopelessly uncommercial—launched the grunge phenomenon and marked an era of unprecedented exposure for alternative acts. Then other bands like Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Candlebox followed the trail that Nirvana started in the grunge w...