Editing Grunge (section)

{{Short description|Genre of rock music}}
{{About|the music genre}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Grunge
| image             = Nirvana around 1992.jpg
| caption           = American rock band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] (pictured in 1992)
| stylistic_origins = 
{{hlist|[[Alternative rock]]<ref name="nelson2018">{{Cite news|last=Nelson|first=Kim|date=December 10, 2018|title=How St. Paul punk pioneers Hüsker Dü paved the way for grunge music|work=[[MinnPost]]|url=https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2018/12/how-st-paul-punk-pioneers-husker-du-paved-the-way-for-grunge-music/|access-date=August 19, 2020}}</ref>|[[noise rock]]<ref>{{cite book |last= Azerrad|first= Michael|date= 2018|title= Our Band Could Be Your Life|page= 439}}</ref>|[[punk rock]]<ref name=anderson2007C1/>|[[garage rock]]|[[indie rock]]<ref name="DiBlasi, Alex 2013. p. 520"/>|[[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]<ref name=anderson2007C1/>|[[hard rock]]<!--please don't change the genre after citation--><ref name="DiBlasi, Alex 2013. p. 520">DiBlasi, Alex. "Grunge" in ''Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars and Stories that Shaped Our Culture'', p. 520-524. Edited by Jacqueline Edmondson. ABC-CLIO, 2013. p. e520</ref>}}
| cultural_origins  = Mid-1980s, [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
| subgenrelist      = 
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Post-grunge]]|[[nu metal]]}}
| fusiongenres      = 
| regional_scenes   = [[Music of Washington (state)#Grunge|Washington]]
| other_topics      = [[Generation X]]
}}
'''Grunge''' (sometimes referred to as the '''Seattle sound''') is an [[alternative rock]] [[Music genre|genre]] and [[subculture]] that emerged during the {{nowrap|mid-1980s}} in the U.S. state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], particularly in [[Seattle]] and [[Music of Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], and other nearby cities. Grunge fuses elements of [[punk rock]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]].<ref name=anderson2007C1/> The genre featured the [[Distortion (music)|distorted]] [[electric guitar]] sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. Like these genres, grunge typically uses [[electric guitar]], [[bass guitar]], [[drums]], and vocals. Grunge also incorporates influences from [[indie rock]] bands such as [[Sonic Youth]]. Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective, often addressing themes such as [[social alienation]], [[doubt|self-doubt]], [[abuse]], [[neglect]], [[betrayal]], [[social isolation|social]] and [[emotional isolation|emotional]] isolation, [[addiction]], [[psychological trauma]], and a desire for [[Liberty|freedom]].<ref name=4volumes>{{cite book|first=James E.|last=Perone|title=The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations [4 Volumes]: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313379079|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gzl1lBFXKhQC&pg=RA2-PT1133|date=October 17, 2012|access-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref><ref name=AlanisMorissette>{{cite book|first=Karen|last=Fournier|title=The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1440830693|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HhwUBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|date=January 16, 2016|access-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref>

The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label [[Sub Pop]] and the region's [[underground music]] scene, with local bands such as [[Green River (band)|Green River]], the [[Melvins]], and [[Mudhoney]] playing key roles in the genre's development. Sub Pop marketed the style shrewdly, encouraging media outlets to describe the Seattle sound as "grunge"; the style became known as a hybrid of [[punk (subculture)|punk]] and [[metal (music)|metal]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goldberg|first1=Danny|author-link=Danny Goldberg|title=Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2019|edition=1|chapter=Ch.4-Nevermind|pages=76|isbn=978-0062861504|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=64lLuQEACAAJ|page=76}}}}</ref> By the early 1990s, its popularity had spread, with grunge bands appearing in California, then emerging in other parts of the United States and Australia, building strong followings and signing major record deals. 

Grunge broke through into the mainstream in the early-to-mid-1990s, led by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s ''[[Nevermind]]'' in 1991, and followed by other seminal crossover successes including [[Pearl Jam]]'s ''[[Ten (Pearl Jam album)|Ten]]'', [[Soundgarden]]'s ''[[Badmotorfinger]]'', [[Alice in Chains]]' ''[[Dirt (Alice in Chains album)|Dirt]]'', and [[Stone Temple Pilots]]' ''[[Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)|Core]]''. The success of these bands boosted the popularity of alternative rock, eventually making grunge the most popular form of [[rock music]].<ref name="AllMusic grunge">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/grunge-ma0000002626 |title=Grunge |access-date=August 24, 2012 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

Several factors contributed to grunge's decline in prominence. During the {{nowrap|mid-to-late 1990s}}, many grunge bands broke up or became less visible. Nirvana's [[Kurt Cobain]], labeled by ''Time'' as "the [[John Lennon]] of the swinging Northwest", struggled with an addiction to heroin before [[Suicide of Kurt Cobain|his suicide]] in 1994. Although most grunge bands had disbanded or faded from view by the late 1990s, they influenced [[modern rock]] music, as their lyrics brought socially conscious issues into [[pop culture]]<ref name="Danaher">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?a=1 |title=The 50 Best Grunge Songs |last=Danaher |first=Michael |date=August 4, 2014 |magazine=Paste |access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080330/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?a=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and added introspection and an exploration of what it means to [[Authenticity (philosophy)|be true to oneself]].<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 134">Felix-Jager, Steven. ''With God on Our Side: Towards a Transformational Theology of Rock and Roll''. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017. p. 134</ref> Grunge was also an influence on later genres such as [[post-grunge]].