Meaning of grunge (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Grunge:

Grunge is a musical subgenre derived from alternative rock, whose name comes from the term grungy , a popular word used in the English language to say 'dirty'.

Grunge emerged in the late 1980s in Seattle, Washington state, which is why it is also known as "Seattle sound".

It has its roots in different musical genres, including sludge metal, punk, hard rock, hardcore, and noise rock.

It is characterized by the use of throaty voice, repetitive melodies, the role of the distorted guitar, the presence of a strong and marked battery and lyrics that express disappointment, frustration, sadness, depression and apathy.

Grunge music

Among its most prominent representatives are the group Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Green River, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, The Melvins and Mudhoney.

The first two were the protagonists of the launch stage of the genre in the radio media in the early 90s, at which time grunge reached its maximum international popularity.

Grunge as a musical genre had a very short path, because towards the end of the decade grunge began to decline.

One of the reasons was the many musical proposals that reacted against its aesthetics and spirit.

In addition, many grunge fans stop following gangs, as they were against what grunge proposed: never follow trends, reject the purchase and marketing of products and strive as little as possible for appearance.

For this reason, there were very few bands that managed to stay on their feet, like Pearl Jam, for example.

Grunge like urban tribe

Grunge creates a subculture with specific features, based on the pessimistic ideological models of a generation affected by heroin and boredom in the face of the consumer society.

In this way, it adopts a careless style and is characterized by the use of flannel shirts as clothing.

The suicide of Nirvana's vocal leader, Kurt Cobain, in 1994 would become one of the movement's most iconic myths.