DEFINING THE MINDSET GRUNGE:

To many, grunge is Nirvana, flannel, band t-shirts, ripped jeans, Seattle Washington, and some fad in the 1990’s that was entirely overhyped and short lived. It can be difficult at times trying to pinpoint exactly what grunge is about and what is the message this group is trying to say. With an uncertain foundation coupled with the fact that bands like Nirvana hated being associated with the term, many argue that grunge was never substantial enough to be a subculture at all. Especially with it’s come down from the high in the 90’s, grunge seems to have diffused and nothing seems to be left except for the romanticisation of it. Why talk about grunge now and what is there left to be said especially when the topic is such a loose concept?

it led to thrift stores carrying lots of flannel, heavy jackets, distressed t-shirts, work boots, and other common items associated with grunge fashion. Grunge fashion is often characterized as loose-fitting, worn, unkempt, everyday wear, and at times androgynous.

It seemed like overnight grunge went from a local subgenre to dominating MTV. With its sudden burst into the mainstream, the qualities of grunge were being dissected with the purpose of making it marketable with many trying to cash in on the sudden trend. The media and others trying to profit off it turned grunge into this movement that was anti-fashion, anti-consumerism, rebellious, and concerned with authenticity to the point of policing it. More and more artists who fell under the grunge genre disliked being associated with it and felt it was a marketing scheme that was never a real movement in the first place. There became a surplus of grunge bands popping up out of nowhere that lied about being from Seattle but were unable to capture the sound. Famous fashion designers were making grunge-inspired clothing lines that used expensive materials and were so overpriced, the people they were imitating couldn’t even afford them. This became the over saturation and fall of grunge.

The term grunge had been around to describe music for years but the first time it was referenced as a genre towards a Seattle band was July 1987. This was when Bruce Pavitt of Sub Pop, the notorious record label that eventually became the lead of the gunge movement, was reviewing Green River’s Dry as a Bone EP. He described the sound as “gritty vocals, roaring Marshall amps, ultra loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation”. Branching off from punk and heavy metal, grunge was much more subdued, slower, heavier, and oftentimes darker. Lyric content was about nihilism, angst, self doubt, isolation, trauma, and a wish for freedom. Regardless of the negative self reflective lyrics, the music created a community that brought together others who felt on the edge of society.

Behind the music was a fashion style that was unofficially becoming a uniform amongst the community. This wasn’t due to trends but due to the fact that everyone was shopping at the same places: thrift stores. Many members of the collective were musicians who were struggling to get their music produced let alone buy clothes. Considering the region and that many of the locals were working class,

Over the years, many from the originating scene left, recording their final albums as the genre was evolving into something else. Grunge became linked to the 90’s as an iconic characteristic of the time period but in doing this, it also seemed to trap itself in the era. Every couple of years since, grunge is remembered and discussion is had about its former glory which always leads to bitter thoughts of its lost potential. In Jason Heller’s 2013 article, “Did Grunge Really Matter?” for AV Club, Heller wrote about grunge’s decline leaving an impression that all that’s left are failed revivals and “little more than a museum exhibit”. Heller’s line “It stood for nothing and was built on nothing, and that ethos of negation was all it was about.” gives a first impression that grunge was nothing but contrarian edginess. But upon ruminating on it, the line does encapsulate what grunge is all about but not in the way Heller meant.

It is undeniable that the grunge that existed in the 90’s does not exist anymore. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t evolved since then though. Needing to adapt to a constantly changing cultural environment due to the internet, the new grunge is more of a concept than a movement. Modern grunge hones in on the fundamentals of what grunge was and transforms nihilism into inner peace. The mission statement of grunge has always seemed elusive but that is only because its paradoxical nature makes it seem like there’s nothing there at all. Simple yet complex, at the core of grunge is the idea of being true to oneself.

Modern grunge stands for being authentically oneself despite what anyone may think. It’s confronting the dark realities of life and rebelliously carrying on despite it all. It’s not caring about making a statement and it’s doing things for self-fulfillment, not the admiration of others. Modern grunge finds hope in existentialism and nihilism in that if nothing matters, then one becomes free. Caring less about fictitious societal rules and making decisions that feel righteous, will eventually lead to authentic expression because what else is there to lose?