R&R History Lesson - GRUNGE

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What was Grunge and where did it come from?

OVERVIEW

"There's a feeling of burnout in the culture at large. Kids are depressed about the future."

-- Music critic Simon Reynolds, 1992, about Generation X

The pre-Grunge era of the early 1980s was a time of media saturation, but many young people did not see themselves or their concerns accurately reflected in the slick music videos offered by MTV or in other mass media. The resulting alienation and apathy helped pave the way for the emergence of a new sound that became known, simply, as Grunge.

Sometimes called the “Seattle Sound,” Grunge began in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980s and early 90s. The Grunge generation grew up on Heavy Metal, Punk, and Hardcore, drawing on elements of each to define its sound. The resulting aesthetic combined the droning, distorted guitar tones of Metal, the alienation and anti-authority attitude of Punk, and the edgy, physical stage shows of Hardcore. Like Punk, Grunge was full of anger, but with a dose of angst, self-deprecation, and depression added to the mix. And though the intimacy and spontaneity of live performances often gave it a similar feel to Punk, Grunge was more musically complex. More varied instrumentally, Grunge also accentuated dynamic shifts that evoked the frustrations of youth. Grunge musicians tended to reject the latest fashions and projected a feeling of indifference that was reflected in everything from their lyrics to their disheveled appearance. Adopting a thrift-store look, artists embraced lumberjack-style apparel -- most notably flannel shirts -- while pushing back against the exaggerated masculinity it often implied.

In its early years, Grunge was largely a localized phenomenon, emerging out of the club scene in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle had been deeply affected by the economic recession of the early 1990s, when unemployment was at a high and Starbucks did not yet have the ubiquitous presence it does today. Grunge, with its dour visuals and indifferent lyrics, seemed to encapsulate the grey and depressed mood of the region at the time. As the 90s progressed, the commercial success of groups such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam catapulted the Grunge sound into a national spotlight for which its creators and adherents were largely unprepared.

Today's Lesson:
You will be working to create a  three-paragraph review of early Grunge music. The class will watch several music videos together, and students will be given a set of documents that they will use as source material for their review.

VIDEOS

• Black Sabbath, “Paranoid” (1970), example of Heavy Metal
• Black Flag, “Rise Above” (1981), example of Hardcore Punk
• Mudhoney, “Touch Me I’m Sick” (1988)
• Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
• Pearl Jam, “Alive” (1991)

Procedure:
1. Carefully review the following handouts: Handout 1: Document Set; Handout 2: Discussion Questions; Handout 3: Graphic Organizer, and Handout 4: Music Review Template.

2. Use the discussion questions in Handout 2 to help you analyze the documents in Handout 1. As you do so, you should take notes, using the graphic organizer in Handout 3. It is not necessary to fill in every bubble on the graphic organizer; conversely, they should feel free to create additional categories and bubbles.