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Before Nevermind: How Grunge Became Grunge

Trash Theory

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In 1991 music changed forever. Three misfits from Aberdeen, Washington unleashed “Smells Like Teen Spirit” onto the world and alternative rock became the mainstream. Grunge wasn’t so much a genre as a close knit selection of bands that came from the same approximate area, its epicentre being Seattle. The Sabbathy-doom of Soundgarden sounded little like the Garage Rock bluster of Mudhoney. But at the same time they were all tied together with a sense of exi-stential angst, unhurried tempos and dirty, sludgy, grungy audio qualities. But what was this scene? What were the essential steps along the way, the key tracks and influencers? And how did it get to the point where Nirvana could dethrone Guns N’ Roses as America’s biggest rock band. This is the journey to Nevermind: how Grunge became Grunge.

#Nirvana #Grunge #MusicDocumentary

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Additional writing and research by Serenity Autumn

More information on Bam Bam from A Grrl's Two Sound Cents: Tina Bell | The Woman Who Invented Grunge

Soundtrack
Luar - Clouds (SoundCloud: luarbeats)
B-Side - Pen Unubis
Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
Jesse Galagher - Spirit of Fire
Luar - Anchor (SoundCloud: luarbeats)

00:00 Introduction
01:58 The Prehistory of Grunge
04:59 Bam Bam
06:47 Green River & Deep Six
09:05 Melvins
10:37 The Influence of Alternative Rock
13:18 Screaming Trees
15:04 Mudhoney & Sub Pop
17:05 Soundgarden
19:33 Nirvana & Bleach
21:18 Mother Love Bone & Temple of the Dog
24:26 Alice in Chains
27:00 Outside Washington
29:21 Pearl Jam
31:41 Nevermind and Everything After

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Sources
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground by Michael Azerrad, 2003, Little, Brown US
Everybody Loves Our Town by Mark Yarm, 2011, Faber & Faber
“Soundgarden: 'Kashmir — I Always Thought It Was A Type Of Sweater'” Roy Wilkinson, Sounds, May 1989
“Soundgarden: The Mutate Gallery” Everett True, Melody Maker, Jun 1989
“A Seattle Slew” Dave DiMartino, Rolling Stone, Sep 1990
“Smashing Pumpkins: Pumpkin Iron” Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, Sep 1991
“Life Rules” Katherine Turman, RIP, Oct 1991
“Smashing Their Heads on the Punk Rock” Darcey Steinke, Spin Magazine, Oct 1993
“The Father the Son and the Holy Grunge” Kim Thayil, Guitar World, Feb 1995
“Ten Past Ten” Eric Weisbard et al., Spin Magazine, Aug 2001
“Lament For a Star Child” Lonn M Friend, Glam Punk, 2004
“Q&A: Kirk Hammett” David Fricke, Rolling Stone, Jun 2008
“Going Out of Business Since 1988!” Mark Yarm, Blender Magazine, Jul 2008
“The story of the psychotic debut single that kick-started the grunge revolution” Sleazegrinder, Classic Rock, 2008
“The Story of The Screaming Trees” Philip Wilding, Classic Rock, Feb 2012
“Indie Rock & Roll Over: The Alternative Nineties’ Obsession With Kiss” Christopher R. Weingarten, Rolling Stone, Mar 2014
“Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Talks Kiss Obsession and Influence” Mike McCready, Rolling Stone, Apr 2014
“Dave Jerden: 'When the 'Facelift' Record Came Out, Radio Stations Wouldn't Play It for Nine Months'” Ultimate Guitar, Apr 2015
“Pearl Jam’s ‘Ten’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know” Dan Epstein, Rolling Stone, Aug 2016
“Deep Sixed: The Making of the First Grunge Compilation” Northwest Passage, Revolution Come and Gone, Dec 2018
“Grunge at Ground Zero: The Story Of Bam Bam” The Sonic Mosquito Soup, Apr 2018
“Green River and the Birth of Seattle Grunge: The Oral History” Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, Feb 2019
“The Rise And Fall Of Screaming Trees, Through The Eyes Of Gary Lee Conner” James Hickie, Kerrang!, May 2020
“Tina Bell’s Hidden Legacy: The Black Woman Who Created The Sound Of Grunge” Jen B Larson, Please K Me, Sep 2020
“"People were spitting at us": How one of Alice In Chains' worst gigs ever earned them the respect of hardcore Slayer fans” Paul Brannigan, Louder, 2020
“How Soundgarden's Louder Than Love turned up the volume on Seattle's grunge scene” Paul Brannigan, Louder, 2021
“Pearl Jam Release Their Album Ten” Loudwire, Aug 2021
“The making of Pearl Jam's Ten: from the depths of despair to a bold and defiant debut” Nina Pearlman, Guitar World, Aug 2021
“Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ at 30: a track-by-track guide from your favourite musicians” NME Staff, NME, Sep 2021

20 Comments

@TrashTheory Creator 5 years ago (edited) Pinned

So what proto-grunge songs do you think I missed out? Comment down below!

Trash Theory playlists - Spotify: tinyurl.com/yxp32pjf Deezer: tinyurl.com/y2mdp8h2
Also if you want to access the Grunge playlist, here's my patreon link: patreon.com/trashtheory

@AbbeyRoadkill1 5 years ago

It was a magical time to be a music fan living in Seattle. I was there and I can't help but feel like I won my generation's musical lottery.

@PAfats 5 years ago (edited)

That’s the first time I’ve heard “Alive” compared to “Free Bird” and I’m perfectly okay with it.

@bzradiohead18 5 years ago (edited)

It would be interesting if you made a sister video called “after grunge” and how a lot of these bands formed or took a different direction after Kurts suicide, talking more about Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, etc.

@starscott22 2 years ago

I lived with the lead guitarist of Mudhoney for about a year, and one of my favorite stories I ever heard from him was when Nirvana was originally going to open for them for a show, but then Nevermind came out, went to #1 overnight, and they were like “…Yeah, I think we’re opening for them now.” Lol

@dawidklucz849 3 years ago

It's required genius touch to make a combination of Yardbirds with Stooges and record ultimate Seattle anthem "Touch me I'm sick" .Thank You Mark

@simon_carrick8198 5 years ago

I feel like Soundgarden is that big brother archetype that nobody really talks about, but was always the best

@AmyDaisy69 4 years ago

It's incredibly sad, and tragic, that so many talented people have died from this relatively small scene. I am just glad they got to share their gifts with us all before they passed. They will live on forever.

@davidellis5141 5 years ago

Bam Bam are a real discovery here. What a shame they were not able to put out a 45 or LP.

@JamesBartlett-u2o 1 year ago

When I was a kid living in the backwoods of Texas, I would walk miles to the next city over to buy magazines at a grocery store to read about bands I could never hear. So you can just imagine how much your Work means to me. Thank you.

@cogito7 4 years ago

I saw Nirvana play a gig in a music store. Two weeks later, they were HUGE. Before that, if I heard the word ‘grunge’ it meant the sound and attitude of Mudhoney more than anything.

@Dechral 5 years ago

I remember seeing Guns'n'Roses in 91, some band I never heard of was opening. It was Soundgarden. They were amazing and made Guns'n'Roses look like a artifacts from the past. I never turned back after that, it was a new age of rock for me.

@embunchofnumbers 5 years ago

People underestimate the diversity of influences and how these bands (Nirvana, Hole, the Pixies etc) were honest to god music fans and of music that transcended genres. Kurt and Courtney loved Tracey Thorn’s Marine Girls (early 80s), a rather obscure DIY post punk band from the backwaters of the UK. Most of the people in these bands were in it for the music, the politics, the DIY energy, the connection with other musicians.

@DougBohm 5 years ago

This is a master thesis on grunge. Very informative.

@sole__doubt 2 years ago

The change was really as dramatic as people say. It was like Def Leppard and Bon Jovi were being played everywhere and then all of a sudden it wasnt. It wasnt overnight but it was noticeably quick. Seismic shift is an accurate way of putting it.

@jaxfuneatsevents 3 years ago

When I grew up, Rolling Stone magazine had a little section at the end of their charts that was labeled "College Rock". It was on that chart that I first heard of bands like the B-52s, RHCP, 10000 Maniacs and so many others before the media decided to label it "alternative"

@skullhorse2286 5 years ago

Im really glad you included Bam Bam, its a shame Tina never got the credit she deserved. RIP 🖤

@hawsrulebegin7768 5 years ago

This is an excellent run through of grunge and it’s background. Can’t believe it’s 30 ish years ago.

@devilaverage6718 5 years ago

I never forget the sheer awe, when I first saw Soundgarden's Hands All Over on Headbangers Ball, somewhere around 1990.
Then came AIC and PJ. My life changed. AIC is still my all time fav.