Originally Posted by Ki

I find that listening to the "pioneers" of the genre would be a better way to understand the genre. Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Mudhoney would be a great start. Though I wouldn't say Mudhoney was much of a pioneer, though i've been proven wrong before.

Originally Posted by Forward To Death

Probably because they were the most prolific band of the sub-genre that took over rock after hair metal was starting to die off. I don't think they killed it, hair metal was becoming popular in the early half of the 1980s, and if you consider it an extension of glam rock even longer than that.

Grunge and hair metal aren't really all that different. Alice In Chains actually started out as a hair metal band in the late 80s.

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Let me explain this by way of my firsthand experience: I started high school in the fall of of 1991 and at that time the biggest, most popular new music among my classmates was Guns 'n Roses simultaneous album releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II and the Van Halen song "Right Now". Nobody in my high school except myself and my friends listened to alternative music at all. Then Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came out, and at first it was only popular among my friends, but suddenly it spread like wildfire, in a way that was completely unprecedented for an alternative type song to do at the time, and by the time winter rolled around everyone at my school loved Nirvana. After that came groups like Pearl Jam and the hair metal and hard rock that had totally dominated the consciousness of my classmates rapidly began to fade away. It was really pretty incredible how fast it happened. In retrospect, hair metal was kind of running out of steam, and changing to be a lot less flashy, by the time Nirvana came along, but it's definitely true that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the thing that really knocked it out of the game.

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ?

I can remember stuff like Janes Addiction, Faith No More, RHCP, Pixies, Soundgarden, Fishbone, Sonic Youth, Monster Magnet & Nine Inch Nails, hell even Neil Young edging out hair metal on rock shows on TV & radio long before I ever heard of Nirvana around 1989/90.
If Nirvana were the death blow those bands did the damage first.

I also think Hip Hop's role in this has kind of been ignored too, I know a hell of a lot of rock music fans bored of rock music who basically turned their backs on it to listen exclusively to hip hop around that time too.
Imagine you're a pissed off angry 14 year old Urban Hatemonger, are you going to pick up that Warrant album or are you going to pick up It Takes a Nation Of Millions.
No fucking contest.

Plus Hair Metal was never a really huge deal in the rest of the world as it was in the States. You look at the UK before Nirvana yes Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi and the bigger Hair Metal bands sold a lot of records but the most popular bands at that time here were bands like The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, Carter USM, Inspiral Carpets The Wonderstuff & Ride.

Originally Posted by Soulflower

I really would like to know why Grunge was such a big deal because every time I go on other boards or discuss music with people, they always make it seem as though Nirvana was the most important rock band in the 90's.

Maybe they were but there were other really good bands as well in my opinion.

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah

Who said this!? I have never ever heard this Jen.

Originally Posted by Psy-Fi

Good indeed!

Originally Posted by Musicwhore A-Z

Great questions 'Soulflower'. To answer the thread question first, Nirvana simply received the most airplay not only on radio, but on MTV's 'Headbanger's Ball' AND '120 Minutes', respectively. Truth be told, there were only a handful of bands that "crossed over" like that at the time.

Also, a new generation of teens had emerged in 1991 and simply couldn't get behind what the hard rock bands of the 80's were doing. The tide was turning, so naturally the music of the era would follow suit. The music went into a darker direction, and rightfully so. You had the Gulf War, the Rodney King beating/police brutality in general, and the ultra conservative Bush/Quayle years. The social/political climate of the early 90's was our "late 60's", so to speak. Frankly, young people were searching for "the real deal" in popular music and many found it in bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and for myself, Warrior Soul. A band ( from New York by the way..., but who cares? Their scathing social commentary in the songs preceded the "heavier" direction rock would take in the coming decade in my opinion ) that got lost in the shuffle because they were somewhat on the cusp of "hair metal" and "grunge". Two labels that I despise by the way. But I digress ( ).

Having said all that, I think the BANDS of the era "blame" Nirvana more than the "people" do, so to speak. Personally, I blame the RECORD LABELS more than anyone else. Yes, the formula became tiresome, however, that "genre" made a SELECT few in the industry MILLION$! One could argue that "hair metal" suffers the same stigma not unlike disco a decade earlier. Fad or not, time has been kind to the music more than it's given credit for. Some in the radio business have deemed it "the new classic rock", rightly or wrongly.

Be that as it may, YES, the Seattle scene was definitely a breath of fresh air! It was a great time, and the shot in the arm that rock NEEDED at the time without question. While I can't say I was a huge fan of Nirvana, I loved Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and the Melvins to name a few. Dark or not, the music simply ROCKED, and that's all that mattered to me. As a prodigy of the "hair metal" era, I absolutely embraced the early 90's with ease. Then again, I had just turned 21 a few weeks prior to Nirvana's 'Nevermind' release ( Sept. 1991 ), so clearly I was young enough to enjoy what was to come at that time. No qualms whatsoever from this Gen X-er! Good times, and GREAT thread ( ). Interesting comments everybody both pro and con.

Originally Posted by Soulflower

Why do you think Grunge music had such a short run? Do you think it made a negative impact on rock music overall?

Originally Posted by Soulflower

I think Hair/Metal is not regarded the same as Disco. I think Hair metal gets way more respect. I actually think Disco deserves more respect than Hair Metal in in some ways but it is an underrated genre overall, fad or not.