S E A T T L E

T H E  R E C O R D S

Well, we have been here before, and will most likely return to it, mostly because Grunge is not dead, at least in this house, and I like to remind people of that every now and then. All cool? Great. From the get-go: Grunge is much more than just Nirvana, ok? More than a flannel shirt and a pair of Chuck Taylors, a specific mood or an unattended haircut, much more than a fashion statement. But what did a kid from Portugal know about Grunge back then? Very little besides what MTV played in the 90s. it did help fuel the fire, but we needed more. The magazines, the scarce we were able to put our hands on, gave us the pictures and the words, and start status began. But, not going down this road… what was my idea? To look at some of the album, from the Seattle scene, that had the biggest impact on me, and besides the more known ones, Seattle had an amazing era in music. Where to start? It seems easy, no?

Green River and Mudhoney. No bio, just music and some words. Well, Green River, later Mudhoney, were the basis for the genre, and probably one of the few that, years later, still had a sound that resembled their initial. “Dry as Bone/Rehab Doll” (1988) might just be what we label as Grunge, right? “Bleach” took a few hints from Mark Arm’s music, and that is why it is one of the most quintessential releases to come out of Seattle, but we are taking this in chronological order, sort of. Green River took the stage – literal and metaphorical – and the scene blew. It had Punk, it had Rock n’ Roll, and it had something else, dirty and harsh, sleazy and smelly… it had Grunge, right? The label has always been very fuzzy for me, honestly. Green River is a powerband with great melodies, if that is Grunge or not, I could not care less about it. But yeah, this is how I like my Grunge, Green River style.

And what came next? Well, Green River imploded, Mudhoney was born, and the train kept on rolling. And where do they actually differ? Well, Mudhoney always sounded more polished and cleaner, but in a very dirty way, of course. Can I say that “Superfuzz Bigmuff” sounds more accessible than whatever Green River put out? Not that we could call it radio friendly, but easier to “digest”, less harsh and murky. Still, Mudhoney holds a very special place in the History of Seattle’s alternative scene, and Grunge specifically. Anyway, this album is a pearl, no doubt! It has that sound I want to hear whenever I see the label Grunge.

Another act that changed their sound along the years, but that had THE sound, is Soundgarden. Known mostly for the “Badmotorfinger” and “Super Unknown” records, I have always had this closer connection to their initial stages. Raw and dark, I guess, a slower and thicker sound. More in your face with power and hate and all that! “Screaming Life” is their 1^st release, and oh boy it rocks. Far from the more… mainstream (?) sound they would acquire along their career, this 6-track EP is the bomb! I love it, simple as that. I love most of their releases, but I just connect more with this type of sound: raw, organic, straight to the face. “Hunted Down” has this amazing start, hard as fuck, heavy as all, and Cornell’s vocals are just what you needed and had no idea of. Just perfect! Might be one of Soundgarden’s best lesser-known-tracks, easy. The band would go on to higher platforms, as we all know, and have the end we all, unfortunately, also know of…

I was never able to get into The Melvins. Yeah, they had a major role in the Grunge scene, and Buzz was instrumental in “teaching” Cobain the ropes, but, however, nonetheless, and numerous synonyms… I was never capable of “understanding” The Melvins. With that, I cannot consider their work as fundamental for my understanding of the genre, but will add a band that also has that heavy, rusty like sound. “Rusty sound” looks cool, right? TAD. Thomas Andrew Doyle is the behemoth that started the band in 1988. I love this! I love the fact that the genre lives so much beyond the 4 names the common person knows of. This is a genre that was born before “Nevermind” came out, and has never lived at the expenses of one band, even if the capitalist music machine has always given us that idea. TAD is a great example of how Grunge should sound like, and it shows how much Pearl Jam was never a Grunge band. Kill me for having an opinion. But that is cool, as “Ten” is one of those perfect records and a must hear by everyone that loves good music. But TAD and “God's Balls”, released in 1989, is a massive piece of music that quickly places the listener in rainy Seattle, flannel shirt and the grumpy face, trucks and sleazy roadside bars. Man, that is America right there! Chainsaw and a pick-up truck. “The band's goal was to create an album lacking harmony and melody”. Oh man, oh man! They failed big time. This record has plenty of melody, maybe not the one people – and maybe critics – were expecting in the late 80s. But what do they know? “God’s Balls” is one of the perfect examples of Seattle’s thriving 80s/90s alternative music scene, and how much it would grow. 

1989 was a special year. TAD’s debut came out, Mother Love Bone’s “Shine” EP came out, and Nirvana’s first record came out. We have checked-in on TAD, let’s dwell into MLB now. MLB is another great example of how a band can be labelled incorrectly, just to be associated with a scene or whatever. In all honesty, I seriously doubt these lads gave a fuck if they were considered A or B, as all they wanted was to jam! MLB was, almost clearly, Glam Rock, and that is fine, although I tend to dislike Glam Rock for the… non-existent quality. Exceptions there are, I know. This EP featured “Chloe Dancer - Crown Of Thorns”, undoubtedly one of the best tracks that I have ever heard in my life. It is just beautiful, delicate, and eerie. MLB was created after Green River said bye-bye (Jeff Ament, Bruce Fairweather and Stone Gossard), with the addition of Andrew Wood and Greg Gilmore. An unexpected sound, right? Green River was that creature, and MLB a different type. Nonetheless, they blew! Positive and negative blow. “Apple”, their first and only LP, set to come out few days after the demise of Wood, on drugs. A surprise for the Seattle scene, right? Yeah. “Apple” is an odd album, in the sense that it does not fit the genre it was placed in, but again, media had to feed people what they wanted to eat, and maybe it was using the hype that other bands had, trying to set up the name, I do not know, and not that it matters, in all honesty. “Apple” has Hard Rock, Funk, Rock n’ Roll, and a bit of everything. I hear 0% of Grunge, personally, and this is not the only case of releases that do not sound like they label it, but “Apple” is a great album, dynamic and fun to listen to. It has moments that really hit you, and others that pump everyone up! “Stargazer” is a very good example of its quality. This is where it started, this is where it ended.

Out goes MLB, in comes AIC, and we need to mention the track “We Die Young” as the one that made Alice in Chains known to the World. Man, some bands take a lifetime to write something as good as that, and others cannot ever reach that point, and these lads did it with their debut one. AIC was never a Grunge band, taking more inspiration from Heavy Metal bands than their peers. I do not recall the first time I heard them, but I quickly developed a connection with the band’s music, mostly due to the melancholic facet of the music. They kicked it hard, yes they did; they were emotional, of course; it brought you to tears, plenty of times. And I love AIC for all these things. I always felt that Grunge was all about emotions and the melancholic side of the artist, depressive, even. The dark weather, the concrete, the drugs and all those factors that surrounded the music, the fact that these artists did not pay attention to what they wore, focusing solely in their craft, made them very relatable, approachable even. And AIC had this aura of cool guys, even if they did look sad and on the dark side of life. I could focus on any of their releases, but there is one that hits harder: “Jar of Flies”. This 7-track album is superb in all its magnificence. We could talk about “Dirt” or “Facelift”, which are magnificent releases, but this album, this one, all that surrounded the band at that moment, the 7-day time period, everything. “Don’t Follow” is one of those tracks that will live in my heart rent free, forever and ever.

Now, let us go back to 1991, August 27, to be more precise. A band that was born from the ashes of MLB, with the addition of drummer Dave Krusen, vocalist Eddie Vedder, and guitarist  Mike McCready, the man that would put together what we might call supergroup, in the form of Mad Season. But wait, the idea of a supergroup takes me to another name. Leaving Pearl Jam rest for a bit, checking on Temple of the Dog. Long story short: Chris, after Wood’s dead, put together a few bangers, called in some lads of his, and recorded some of the best pieces of music that ever left the Washington area. I wrote about this release on this blog in the past, but needed to mention it on this piece. Not Grunge in its entirety, but perfection. Cornell and Vedder turned a track into a hymn, but the album has better tunes, if you ask me. Nonetheless, “Hunger Strike” is amazing in all its glory. The album is an homage to Andy, as we all know, and ended up being one of the best pieces of art Cornell ever worked in. I mean, all of those musicians, man! “Call me a Dog” is, again, one of Cornell’s best work ever, it is right up there next to “Don’t Follow”.

And then we got Pearl Jam, and “Ten”. This is the band’s best work ever, and I will fight you on that! Not one filler, not one bad track, not one… and it has “Even Flow”, which although not their best, has that video which has been stuck in my mind since I first saw it. Hanging Vedder is the best Vedder. Always. People tend to “fall” for “Black”, which is an amazing track, but I have a hard time in deciding which one is the best track on this record. It sounds so smooth, so “naturally flowing down a stream”. This is a great example of how 90ies music was amazing, and Seattle played a big part in that. “Oceans” might be one of my favourites, yes! It has that Pearl Jam dark aura, d’you know what I mean? And then “Porch”. Nah, this record is a true reflection of that 90ies not-yet-but-almost mainstream Seattle sound.

Now, Seattle’s biggest export: Nirvana. Like it or not, Nirvana became a household name in the 90ies, and never left. Musically speaking, I believe they reached their peak with “Bleach”, but the media – and the fans – loved “Nevermind”, which is not a bad record in any way, but… it is not “Bleach” or even “In Utero”. In short: I feel it is the weakest of the 3. Not counting with “Insecticide”. I never felt like Nirvana sold out to the mainstream. I feel the media, and society, “surrendered” to Nirvana and embraced their sound. True, they became very big for such an alternative band, and their sound in “Nevermind” might be a bit softer than their previous one, but I never saw that as a strategic manoeuvre to reach a bigger audience. Maybe the music was less dirty and ugly. But “Bleach” is their Grunge persona, and I love it. All about it is adorable and emotional… but all in a very rebellious way. The simplified approach, very Punkish, very stripped down of gimmicks and unnecessary accessories. With Dave they gained a different sound, but maybe this change made their sound dissimilar to what was the beauty of the band, I do not know if this is the correct way to put it. The bottom line is: “Bleach” came after Green River and Mudhoney’s debut releases, and that shows in the sound we get on this record. Take a track like “School”, that is the Grunge sound, and that is one of their best tracks ever. Although the band reach a point of popularity as high as it was, no one can ever take away from them the importance of this record and all they achieved.

And we end it with another of my favourite records ever, and one of the best albums to ever come out of Seattle: Mad Season’s “Above”. Again, a supergroup, with people from Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, and Alice in Chains. Is this Grunge? You are not asking the right question. The right question should be: how brilliant is this record? Brilliant is not the word, in my modest/honest opinion one thinks of when this starts playing. I think of magnificent, celestial, work of art, something in those lines. In the end, this record is so BIG that I am lacking the words to accurately describe its weight, its influence, its impact on me. Layne’s voice is, in this specific record, harsh and full of pain, and Mike McCready shows that is much more than just the guitar player for Pearl Jam and lays down some of the most epic moments I have ever heard in contemporary music. But this does come as a surprise for those that know Temple of the Dog. In short, this is a mandatory record if you want to understand the Seattle alternative music scene. Is it Grunge? Still with that question? Come on!

Grunge is not dead, and you know it.