Blog
09.22
The growl that changed the music world
Once upon a lifetime ago, I was in radio. Whether it was managing a newsroom or being an on-air producer, I was surrounded by music in one the best times for it - the 80s.
Micheal Jackson was king, Rock was far from dead and then there was this punk fusion stuff that was the thing in the clubs. From the advent of hip-hop to the descent of glam, music was at its peak.
And then, 20 years ago, came this visceral growl that changed the world.
Nevermind was the album. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the rally cry of a new, turbulent youth that hated their parents, except when they needed money to buy those potato sacks they called "clothes" I believe they were.
And of course, Nirvana was the band. Not since the Beatles has a band come along and rocked a nation like Kirk Cobain, Dave Grohl and Chris Novoselic. Think about it:
Folk were either practicing the moonwalk or rocking the rolled-up jeans at a Rave. From leather, studded gloves to flammable hair, the 80s had its place in fashion and folklore. Then a famous guitar riff changed everything.
I remember being on my lunch break talking with a couple of other guys at the station - a R&B/hip-hop station. MTV was on and here's this scene of hellbent youth beating the crap out of each other in a dimly lit basketball gym. Moshing, they called it. Crap, we called it.
Before you knew it, the 80s were over. Nirvana killed one genre and invented another one - over a weekend! Like them or not, that's stroke in the music world. Today, the CD (or downloads) still hold up.
This grunge thing was undiminished by time. Pearl Jam came up right behind them, and Eddie Vedder's morose melodies still earn Grammy awards. The music was galled and genius. The lyrics were indignant and indescribable. And that was 20 long years ago. That's a long time for the music scene to wait for another generation gap, huh?
Happy Birthday, Grunge. Pretty soon, that oily flannel will be traded in for... well, a crisp, ironed one.
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