Just today, Pear jam’s Stone Gossard made a controversial statement published by LoudWire magazine. It’s about whether Grunge killed the careers of many hard rock bands of the 80s. I know this statement will raise eyebrows. Bong Tan of The Sunday Sound Tour Group even dubbed this statement “shots fired.” This means it will get strong opinions from both sides of the spectrum depending on where you belong. I was about to say I could not care less because I don’t consider myself a rocker or part of the community. However, I have reviewed alternative rock albums in the past in this blog. So, I thought of posting something in the blogosphere instead of on Twitter and Instagram. This way, I can expound on my thoughts about the matter. As a kid who grew up in the 90s, I arrived late in the rock scene. I was more into this slick British sophistipop; my genre was smooth Jazz, 70s pop, and New Age. Yes, they are on the softer side and also what many people would refer to as “uncool,” depending on which side of the spectrum you belong. Then Radiohead happened. Nirvana, Pear Jam followed this, and other bands like Toad The Wet Sprocket, Pearl Jam, Cranberries, Soundgarden, Garbage, and a whole bunch more, if you get the picture…
Now at this point, I also had to listen to post-punk and its other subgenres because these bands get played on the radio stations that play those bands I mentioned. In that sense, my musical know-how grew and soon embraced other bands left off the field and not associated with top 40 radio.
Something about the sound of these new bands appealed to me. Yes, they are loud, and getting around them was met with caution on my part. However, something about the style of how they played the instruments and how they performed vocally caught my attention. As an introvert, I gravitated towards their kind of thing. These guys weren’t glam and flash, unlike the previous hair metal bands and other hair rock bands that dominated the scene. They were singing about something else. Their image of casual thrift shop attire looked hip to me. I was not too fond of that spandex and big hair. I also love the fact that the way they sing is relatable.
So my record collection grew. Although I also listened to other bands like The Chieftains, Clannad, October Project, INXS, Swing Out Sister, Sade, etc., they also became part of my collection. They are like these goofy friends that you want to bring home with you on the weekend on top of your other preppy friends. So that’s how I saw the whole movement. And thanks to them, I came to appreciate the sound of the electric guitar, the pulsing bass, the pounding drums, and the rough singing. They became a bridge for me to appreciate other musical forms. Genres like Heavy Metal, Black metal, and classic rock like Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Velvet Underground, etc.
Believe it or not, these emerging bands might have been responsible for my open-mindedness towards 1980s hard rock and heavy metal. So yeah, please don’t pick on Stone Gossard for saying those words, but he might be right.