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Same with Nirvana, easily the most overrated band ever to walk the face of the earth.
And I'll argue this with anyone, I'm not some bubble-gum pop user either, I have my fair collection of albums and music that most of you have never heard of.
The only resemblence of Grunge that can be associated with respectful music is early early Radiohead and that's even a stretch.
Most of those bands weren't what we think of as Grunge, they were more pop and punk.
Well yeah - here's what I said in my first post in this thread, when responding to someone who suggested Soul Asylum was grunge:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHIP72
To be more accurate, 1980s alternative/indie rock that influenced grunge was pretty popular in the Twin Cities, as exemplified by Husker Du, the Replacements, and to a lesser degree Soul Asylum.
Going back to my previous question, how did grunge as a musical subgenre develop then? How were "grunge" bands, especially early grunge bands, inspired? Did it develop in a vacuum?
While we're on the topic, being familiar with only the present state of the Pacific northwest, i find it odd that grunge came out of Seattle rather than Vancouver, BC.
Look at Vancouver's downtown east side and even some other areas in the lower mainland, total urban grunge aesthetic...grafitti, people openly doing drugs, **** puddles in the alleys, sex shops and strip joints, buildings looking like they're going to fall over, plaid-wearing homeless people and downtrodden starving artists......in comparison, Seattle looks so squeeky clean and corporate...even the alleys are clean...and the one actual rough-looking alley (post alley) is hopelessly tourist-fied. Overall, Seattle looks so big-business-oriented/Starbuck-ified/Microsoft-ified compared to Vancouver.
Secondly, Vancouver (actually Canada in general) seems to have more of the punky counter-culture liberal movement than Seattle. I know Seattle is liberal, but i think Vancouver is more so.
Thirdly, i admit i only know of what the two cities are like nowadays...was Seattle more blue-collar, grungy and gritty in the past, when grunge music was developing? If so, when did the city become so clean and commercialized-looking?
Well yeah - here's what I said in my first post in this thread, when responding to someone who suggested Soul Asylum was grunge:
Going back to my previous question, how did grunge as a musical subgenre develop then? How were "grunge" bands, especially early grunge bands, inspired? Did it develop in a vacuum?
Good point about Seattle being more blue collar and gritty in the past. People forget Seattle was, and still is to some extent, an industrial town, airplanes, shipping, fishing, logging way back. I believe things started changing around the mid to late 70's. By the 80's Seattle's cleaner, corporate image was taking shape quickly, and solidified in the 90's as close to what it is today.
To be more accurate, 1980s alternative/indie rock that influenced grunge was pretty popular in the Twin Cities, as exemplified by Husker Du, the Replacements, and to a lesser degree Soul Asylum.
I'm not sure grunge would have occurred without Husker Du (aka the best band of the 1980s). Husker Du helped begat the Pixies (who were highly overrated IMO, but that's besides the point), who helped begat Nirvana.
Great post.
Krist Novoselic once said Nirvana’s blend of pop, punk and metal was “nothing new, Hüsker Dü did it before us.”
I'm from Miami, obviously not known for it's grunge scene, but even there we had a good amount of followers. It was the 'basers' (Miami Bass) vs the Punks. Lol. I was a punk. Then I moved to Colorado where petty much everyone listened to alternative rock music. After all these years I still like the alternative/grunge scene the best. It was a bunch of middle class kids saying 'F it' to society and just doing whatever we wanted. Its was so different from the superficial, flashy and judgemental lifestyle of the hip hop scene.
To answer your question cuz ive been looking into it myself as far as what cities and regions STILL have a large punk rock following and I associate most with this scene are:
1- Portland (Last true bastion of the the grunge and punk scene)
2- Tucson (Another cheap outpost for non-conformists)
3-Austin (When the wannabe cowboys go to bed)
4- Sacramento (Where california's punks can afford to live safely. lol)
5- Olympia (Come as you are unless you hate Nirvana)
6- Eureka (Hippie State University and plenty of rain)
7- Seattle (By default although could never tell with all the bmw's)
8- Frisco (By default and for the same reasons stated for Seattle)
9- Missoula (Burrrrr.. But yeah its pretty liberal and grungy)
10- Denver (Mile 'HIGH'. I really want to say Breckenridge and those awesome snowboarding towns)
11- Manchester, NH (Small white city just north of boston full of punks)
12- Minneapolis (Burrrr... Rich, white, very liberal.. that spells grunge to me)
13 - Los.Angeles (If you can.afford to live there and not end up homeless or in compton)
15- Boston (By default bit also very yuppity)
So as you can see these cities are mostly in the WEST and NORTHEAST. Usually your smaller and more affordable suburban cities close to or in the same area as those I mentioned above.
The places I associate Grunge and Punk the very best with however are... small quirky and lively student.and drifter vacation outposts like:
Manitou Springs, CO
Arcata, CA
Astoria, OR
Park City, Utah
Madison, WI
Durango, CO
Olympia, WA
Santa Cruz, CA
Lake Tahoe, CA
Reno, NV
Providence, RI
Bangor, ME
Burlington, VT
Ann Arbor, MI
Sun Valley, ID
Flagstaff, AZ
There's just something about these towns. The live bands, The bars, the constant come and go of newcomers, the cool hole in the wall venues, half employed students, seasonal workers and very laid back atmpsheres are perfect for someone who enjoys the punk lifestyle and easy places to meet new people.
I study Anthropology by the way, so this subject is right up my alley (And all done from my smartphone :-))
It wasn't exactly grunge, but I was a big fan of the late 80s and 90s rock coming out of Boston and Amherst, Mass. My high school days were defined by the Pixies, Galaxy 500, Sabadoh, Dinosaur Jr., the Lemonheads, and Karate.
I've always thought Grunge was overrated for how important it was to music and culture in the 90s. I grew up and the 90s and had never even heard of grunge until the early 2000s, though granted, I was born in 1990.
I'm from Miami, obviously not known for it's grunge scene, but even there we had a good amount of followers. It was the 'basers' (Miami Bass) vs the Punks. Lol. I was a punk. Then I moved to Colorado where pretty much everyone listened to alternative rock music. After all these years I still like the alternative/grunge scene the best. It was a bunch of middle class kids saying 'F it' to society and just doing whatever we wanted. Its was so different from the superficial, flashy and judgemental lifestyle of the hip hop scene.
To answer your question cuz ive been looking into it myself as far as what cities and regions STILL have a large punk rock following and refuse to give it up in the name of Curt Cobain:
1- Portland (Last true bastion of the the grunge and punk scene)
2- Tucson (Another cheap outpost for non-conformists)
3- Austin (When the wannabe cowboys go to sleep)
4- Sacramento (Where california's punks can afford to live safely. lol)
5- Olympia (Come as you are, unless you hate Nirvana)
6- Eureka (Hippie State University and plenty of Rain)
7- Seattle (By default, although one could never tell with all the BMW's)
8- San Francisco (By default and for the same reasons stated for Seattle)
9- Missoula (Burrrrr.. But yeah its pretty liberal and grungy)
10- Denver (Mile 'HIGH' I really want to say Breckenridge and those awesome snowboarding towns)
11- Manchester, NH (Small white city just north of boston full of punks)
12- Minneapolis (Burrrr... Middle class, white, very liberal.. that spells grunge to me)
13- Los Angeles (If you can afford to live there and not end up homeless or in compton)
14- Spokane (Close to Seattle but alot grungier and since It's pretty lame everyone's pissed off)
15- Boston (By default, but also pretty uppity snuppity when it really comes down to it)
16- Eugene (Oregon. That says it all. Actually more liberal and Hipster-infested than Portland)
17- Rochester (Huge Music scene, College students, NYC Punk Refugees and... Snow?)
18- Vancouver (Awesome city, Awesome, Awesome, Awesome.. oh and it's close to Seattle)
19- Chicago (Biggest city in the Midwest, All rock bands stop here and wind makes the hair look cool)
20- Washigton D.C. (All those Rich Important People sure know how to raise some FU*KED UP KIDS!)
So as you can see these cities are mostly in the WEST and NORTHEAST. Usually your smaller and more suburban cities close to or in the same area as those I mentioned above.
The places I associate Grunge and Punk with at it's very best however are small quirky lively student and drifter vacation outposts or baked college towns like:
Arcata, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
Park City, UT
Astoria, OR
Lake Tahoe, CA
Manitou Springs, CO
Ann Arbor, MI
Florence, OR
Gainesville, FL
Durango, CO
Port Angeles, WA
Oshkosh, WI
Sun Valley, ID
State College, PA
Reno, NV
Burlington, VT
Flagstaff, AZ
Bangor, ME
Madison, WI
Salem, MA
Chico, CA
Providence, RI
Coos Bay, OR
Taos, NM
St. Cloud, MN
Telluride, CO
Bisbee, AZ
Mt Vernon, WA
Ukiah, CA
Bellingham, WA
Moscow, ID
Berkeley, CA
There's just something about these towns. The live bands, The bars, the constant come and go of newcomers, the cool hole in the wall venues, half employed students, stoned seasonal workers and laid back atmosphere. Perfect for someone who enjoys the punk lifestyle and also easy places to meet new people.
I study Anthropology by the way, so this subject is right up my alley..
And all done from my smartphone :-)
.
Last edited by MontyEX; 12-27-2013 at 04:44 AM..
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