Editing Grunge (section)

=== 1965–1985: Roots, predecessors, and influences ===
[[File:Neil Young 1976.jpg|alt=Young in 2006.|thumb|275x275px|[[Neil Young]] has been called the "Godfather of Grunge". His albums ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'' and ''[[Ragged Glory]]'' have been described as proto-grunge and grunge.]]
The term proto-grunge has been used to describe artists as having elements of grunge well before the genre appeared in the mid- to late-1980s. Perhaps the earliest proto-grunge album is ''[[Here Are the Sonics]]'', released in 1965 by [[the Sonics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/albums-led-grunge/|title=10 Albums That Led to Grunge|website=[[Loudwire]]|date=15 February 2018}}</ref> [[Neil Young]]'s albums ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]'' (1979) and ''[[Ragged Glory]]'' (1990) have been proclaimed examples of proto-grunge and grunge music.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-grunge-albums-798851/neil-young-and-crazy-horse-ragged-glory-1990-798864/|title=50 Greatest Grunge Albums|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=April 2019}}</ref> Additionally, he has been cited as an influence by [[Pearl Jam]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/35283-pearl-jam-explore-and-not-explode|title=Pearl Jam – Explore and Not Explode |last=Kerr |first=Dave |date=May 16, 2006 |work=The Skinny}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kqed.org/support/membership/onq/webexclusives/article-pearljam.jsp |title=Pearl Jam Unmic'ed |publisher=KQED |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228152554/http://www.kqed.org/support/membership/onq/webexclusives/article-pearljam.jsp |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref> which led to them backing Young for the ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]'' album, released in 1995. Other acts described as proto-grunge include [[Wipers (band)|Wipers]] and their album ''[[Youth of America]]'' (1981), [[Elvis Costello]] and his ''[[Blood & Chocolate]]'' album which [[Will Birch]] hailed as "6 or 8 years ahead of its time" (1986),<ref name="Birch">{{cite book |last1=Birch |first1=Will |title=Cruel To Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe |date=15 August 2019 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=978-1-4721-2914-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t32IDwAAQBAJ |access-date=30 March 2020|pages=234–235}}</ref> and [[the Stooges]] and their album ''[[Fun House (The Stooges album)|Fun House]]'' (1970).<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-grunge-albums-798851/stooges-fun-house-1970-798900/|title = 50 Greatest Grunge Albums |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=April 2019}}</ref>

Grunge's sound partly resulted from [[Seattle music scene|Seattle's isolation]] from other music scenes. As Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman noted, "Seattle was a perfect example of a secondary city with an active music scene that was completely ignored by an American media fixated on Los Angeles and New York [City]."<ref>Aston, Martin. "Freak Scene". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 12.</ref> Mark Arm claimed that the isolation meant, "this one corner of the map was being really inbred and ripping off each other's ideas".<ref>[[Mick Wall|Wall, Mick]]. "Northwest Passage". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 9.</ref> Seattle "was a remote and provincial city" in the 1980s; Bruce Pavitt states that the city was "very working class", a place of deprivation, and so the scene's "whole aesthetic – work clothes, thriftstore truckers' hats, pawnshop guitars" was not just a style, it was done because Seattle "was very poor."<ref name="Hunter-Tilney">{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/32fd8cf0-b42c-11e3-a102-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/32fd8cf0-b42c-11e3-a102-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=What Kurt Cobain teaches us about the American way of failure |last=Hunter-Tilney |first=Ludovic |date=March 28, 2014 |newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=February 12, 2017}}</ref> Indeed, when "''[[Nevermind]]'' reached number one in the U.S. charts, Cobain was living in a car."<ref name="Hunter-Tilney" />

Bands began to mix metal and punk in the Seattle music scene around 1984, with much of the credit for this fusion going to [[the U-Men]].<ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 418.</ref> However, some critics have noted that in spite of the U-Men's canonical place as original grunge progenitors, that their sound was less indebted to heavy metal and much more akin to {{nowrap|post-punk.}} However the idiosyncrasy of the band may have been the bigger inspiration, more than the aesthetics themselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/u-men-mw0003104006 |title=U-Men – U-Men |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref> Soon Seattle had a growing and "varied music scene" and "diverse urban personality" expressed by local "[[post-punk]] [[garage band]]s".<ref name="Felix-Jager, Steven 2017. p. 135" /> Grunge evolved from the local punk rock scene, and was inspired by bands such as [[the Fartz]], the U-Men, [[10 Minute Warning]], [[the Accüsed]], and the [[Fastbacks]].<ref name="Hype" /> Additionally, the slow, heavy, and sludgy style of the [[Melvins]] was a significant influence on the grunge sound.<ref>Wall, Mick. "Northwest Passage". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 8.</ref> Roy Shuker states that grunge's success built on the "foundations ... laid throughout the 1980s by earlier [[alternative rock|alternative music]] scenes."<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 183">Shuker, Roy. ''Understanding Popular Music Culture, 4th Edition. Routledge, 2013. p. 183''</ref> Shuker states that music critics "... emphasized the perceived purity and authenticity of the Seattle scene.<ref name="Shuker, Roy 2013. p. 183" /> [[File:U-Men at the Bat Cave Seattle.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A rock band, the U-Men, playing onstage in a small venue with low ceilings. The band members are wearing matching grey suits and bow-ties.|Seattle band [[the U-Men]] performing in Seattle]]

Outside the Pacific Northwest, a number of artists and music scenes influenced grunge. Alternative rock bands from the Northeastern United States, including [[Sonic Youth]], [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]], and [[Dinosaur Jr.]], are important influences on the genre. Through their patronage of Seattle bands, Sonic Youth "inadvertently nurtured" the grunge scene, and reinforced the fiercely independent attitudes of its musicians.<ref>Everley, Dave. "Daydream Nation". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 39.</ref> Nirvana introduced into the Seattle scene the noise-inflected influences of [[Scratch Acid]] and the [[Butthole Surfers]].<ref name="Gina Misiroglu 2015. p. 343" /><ref>Azerrad (2001), p. 439.</ref>

Several Australian bands, including [[the Scientists]], [[Cosmic Psychos]] and [[Feedtime]], are cited as precursors to grunge, their music influencing the Seattle scene through the college radio broadcasts of Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman and members of Mudhoney on [[KEXP-FM#KCMU: The early years|KCMU]].<ref>Hennesy, Kate (August 11, 2013). [https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/cosmic-psychos-uberblokes-punked-pumped-and-primed-20130811-2rpt8.html "Cosmic Psychos: Uber-blokes punked, pumped and primed"], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. Retrieved October 8, 2015.</ref><ref name="zan">[[Zan Rowe|Rowe, Zan]] (September 26, 2008). [http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/zan/blog/s2374282.htm "Jonathan Poneman from Sub-Pop takes five with the albums he wishes he'd released..."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426200316/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/zan/blog/s2374282.htm |date=April 26, 2016}}, ''Mornings with Zan''. Retrieved October 8, 2015.</ref> The influence of Pixies on Nirvana was noted by [[Kurt Cobain]], who commented in a ''Rolling Stone'' interview, "I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard."<ref>Fricke, David. "Kurt Cobain: The Rolling Stone Interview". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. January 27, 1994.</ref> In August 1997, in an interview with ''[[Guitar World]]'', [[Dave Grohl]] said: "From Kurt, [[Krist Novoselic|Krist]] [Novoselic] and I liking [[the Knack]], [[Bay City Rollers]], [[The Beatles|Beatles]] and [[ABBA|Abba]] just as much as we liked [[Flipper (band)|Flipper]] and [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] ... You listen to any Pixies record and it's all over there. Or even [[Black Sabbath]]'s "[[War Pigs]]"—it's there: the power of the dynamic. We just sort of abused it with [[pop rock|pop songs]] and got sick with it."<ref>{{cite book |title=Guitar World Presents Nirvana and the Grunge Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4R0xtoz_gQ8C |author=Guitar World |author-link=Guitar World |year=1998 |publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]] |location=Milwaukee |isbn=0-7935-9006-X |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4R0xtoz_gQ8C&pg=178&dq=%22Beatles+and+Abba+just+as+much+as+we+liked+Flipper+and+Black+Flag%22%22You+listen+to+any+Pixies+record+and+it's+all+over+there.+Or+even+Black+Sabbath's%22%22War%20Pigs%22%22it's+there:+the+power+of+the+dynamic.+We+just+sort+of+abused+it+with+pop+songs+and+got+sick+with+it.%22 170–1]}}</ref>

Aside from the genre's punk and alternative rock roots, many grunge bands were equally influenced by heavy metal of the early 1970s. [[Clinton Heylin]], author of ''Babylon's Burning: From Punk to Grunge'', cited Black Sabbath as "perhaps the most ubiquitous pre-punk influence on the northwest scene".<ref>Heylin, p. 601.</ref> Black Sabbath played a role in shaping the grunge sound, through their own records and the records they inspired.<ref>Carden, Andrew. "Black Sabbath". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 34.</ref> Musicologist [[Bob Gulla]] asserted that Black Sabbath's sound "shows up in virtually all of grunge's most popular bands, including [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Soundgarden]], and [[Alice in Chains]]".<ref>[[Bob Gulla|Gulla, Bob]], ''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: The grunge and post-grunge years, 1991–2005'', [[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]], 2006, p. 231.</ref> Black Sabbath's 1971 album ''[[Master of Reality]]'' in particular has been noted as a key influence on grunge, largely in part due to the sound, as a result of guitarist [[Tony Iommi]] down-tuning his guitar a step and a half.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/doom-generation-inside-black-sabbaths-master-of-reality |title=Doom Generation: Inside Black Sabbath's Master of Reality |date= 19 February 2021|website=[[Rhino Entertainment]]}}</ref> The influence of [[Led Zeppelin]] is also evident, particularly in the work of Soundgarden, whom ''Q'' magazine noted were "in thrall to '70s rock, but contemptuous of the genre's overt sexism and machismo".<ref>Brannigan, Paul. "Outshined". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 102.</ref> Jon Wiederhorn of ''Guitar World'' wrote: "So what exactly is grunge? ... Picture a supergroup made up of [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]], Black Sabbath and [[the Stooges]], and you're pretty close."<ref>{{cite book |author=Guitar World |chapter=Seattle Reign: The Rise and Fall of Seattle Grunge|author2=Jon Wiederhorn |pages=1–12|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guitarworldprese0000nirv/page/n9/mode/2up|title=Guitar World Presents Nirvana and the Grunge Revolution |year=1998 |publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-0-7935-9006-3|quote=}} – [https://archive.org/details/guitarworldprese0000nirv/page/2/mode/2up Quote]</ref> Catherine Strong stated that grunge's strongest metal influence was [[thrash metal]], which had a tradition of "equality with the audience", based on the notion that "anyone could start a band" (a way of thinking also shared by US [[hardcore punk]], which Strong also cites as an influence on grunge) which was also taken up by grunge bands.<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18" /> Strong stated that grunge musicians were opposed to the then-popular "[[hair metal]]" bands.<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18" />

Strong stated that "sections of what was [US] [[Hardcore punk|hardcore]] became known as grunge."<ref name="Strong, Catherine 2016. p.18" /> Seattle songwriter Jeff Stetson states that "[t]here is no real difference ... between Punk and Grunge."<ref name="Stetson" /> Like punk bands, grunge groups were "embraced as back-to-basics rock 'n' roll bands which reminded the public that the music was supposed to be raw and raunchy".<ref name=popmatters /> One example of the influence of US hardcore on grunge is the impact that the Los Angeles hardcore punk band [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] had on grunge. Black Flag's 1984 record ''[[My War]]'', on which the band combined heavy metal with their traditional sound, made a strong impact in Seattle. Mudhoney's [[Steve Turner (guitarist)|Steve Turner]] commented, "A lot of other people around the country hated the fact that Black Flag slowed down ... but up here it was really great ... we were like 'Yay!' They were weird and fucked-up sounding."<ref name="Azerrad419">[[Michael Azerrad|Azerrad, Michael]]. ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991''. Boston: [[Little, Brown and Company]], 2001. {{ISBN|0-316-78753-1}}, p. 419.</ref> Turner explained grunge's integration of metal influences, noting, "Hard rock and metal was never that much of an enemy of punk like it was for other scenes. Here, it was like, 'There's only twenty people here, you can't really find a group to hate.'" Charles R. Cross stated that grunge was the "culmination of twenty years of [[punk rock]]" development.<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012" /> Cross states that the bands most representing the grunge genre were Seattle bands [[Blood Circus (band)|Blood Circus]], Tad, and Mudhoney and Sub Pop's Denver band [[the Fluid]]; he states that Nirvana, with its pop influences and blend of Sonic Youth and [[Cheap Trick]], was lighter-sounding than bands like Blood Circus.<ref name="Cross, Charles R 2012" />

[[File:CosmicPsychos2007.jpg|thumb|alt=An Australian rock band, the Cosmic Psychos, performing onstage. The dark stage is lit up by coloured lights. Three performers are visible: an electric bass player, an electric guitarist, and a drummer behind a drumkit.|[[Cosmic Psychos]], one of several Australian bands which influenced and interacted with the Seattle scene]]

[[Neil Young]] played a few concerts with Pearl Jam and recorded the album ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]''. This was grounded not only in his work with his band [[Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse]] and his regular use of distorted guitar—most notably on the album ''[[Rust Never Sleeps]]''—but also his dress and persona.<ref>McNair, James. "''Rust Never Sleeps'' – Neil Young". ''Q: Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. December 2005. p. 36.</ref> A similarly influential yet often overlooked album is ''[[Neurotica (album)|Neurotica]]'' by [[Redd Kross]], about which Jonathan Poneman said, "''Neurotica'' was a life changer for me and for a lot of people in the Seattle music community."<ref name="ew rk">{{cite magazine |title=This is the most important band in America? |date=December 3, 1993 |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/12/03/this-most-important-band-america/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=June 15, 2007 |archive-date=July 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706094522/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308818,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The context for the development of the Seattle grunge scene was a "golden age of failure, a time when a swath of American youth embraced the ... vices of indolence and lack of motivation".<ref name="Hunter-Tilney" /> The "idlers of Generation X [were] trying to forestall the dread day of corporate enrollment" and embrace the "cult of the loser"; indeed Nirvana's 1991 song "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" "opens with Cobain intoning 'It's fun to lose.'"<ref name="Hunter-Tilney" />