How Did Grunge Change Rock ‘n’ Roll?
There've been various eras of rock 'n' roll throughout the course of history that have all differed from each other in some way, and Seattle grunge was definitely one of the more defining ones. So, in what ways did grunge change rock 'n' roll going forward?
Throughout our 30 Years of Grunge series, we've dissected the Seattle scene from its beginnings, and explored all of the groups who helped pave the way for it. Then we looked at its steady rise in popularity and which factors contributed to its explosion in the early 1990s. Next came a plateau period, where the spotlight began to taper off.
There were a lot of losses within that community from 1990 onward. There were a lot of mental health issues and battles with addiction. Andrew Wood, Mia Zapata, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Mike Starr and Chris Cornell were just a few of the casualties that the scene suffered.
However, we don't want to end our celebration of grunge by focusing on the tragedies. In this final episode, we explore how grunge influenced future generations of rock artists to write more introspectively, paved the wave for mental health and addiction conversations to be had — especially within the songs themselves — and how it was, indeed, a movement in music history.
You'll hear from Soundgarden's Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron, Melvins' Buzz Osborne, The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen, Shinedown's Brent Smith, Myles Kennedy, Dorothy, Matt Pinfield, artist manager Susan Silver, Sub Pop Records president Jonathan Poneman and Seattle-based photographer Charles Peterson and radio personality Cathy Faulkner.
Watch the final installment of 30 Years of Grunge below.