Once upon a time in Seattle Rock
Welcome to the first issue of Intersection!
Lens
The lens through which I will write will be powered by my own experiences: growing up and studying industrial engineering in Peru, moving to Seattle, having the privilege to work with, travel to meet, and learn from people from all over the world.
“Seattle... is currently to the Rock ‘n’ Roll world what Bethlehem was to Christianity…” - SPIN, December 1992
Undoubtedly, that was a global turning point in the music. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains put Seattle and its music scene on the map. They were called grunge bands. Whether the term was loved or hated, these local bands were onto something and became part of pop culture.
Unpacking
Let’s unpack this a little bit. There was something fresh about powerfully blending punk rock and heavy metal with distorted guitars and angst-filled lyrics. For young people like me, the very moment music history changed was when I saw MTV’s Sunday night staple 120 Minutes premiered the Smells Like Teen Spirit video in September 1991. As a 16-year high school senior, I was blown away. So blown away that I bought Nevermind after hearing just one song for the second time.
Not only did these bands receive critical acclaim, but they also became successful in the art of knocking pop and R&B artists off the charts. However, shortly after that became a business opportunity for many people…. When the NY Times jumped on the bandwagon, it became the object of an inspired prank by a former receptionist of Sub Pop Records: the grunge-speak hoax. 1
Fast forward to 2021
For decades, I have argued that music artists have it easier now with less competition, especially since the late 90s. I might not be entirely correct there. In any case, while technology has helped transform the industry, I believe it has minimized the human factor in the final product. So, I will develop that topic in a future post.
In the meantime
Whether you want to dig deeper or enjoy a trip down memory lane, I would love to share this curated material:
· Watch the documentary Hype (1996) - A solid 92% according to Rotten Tomatoes. That will help you learn about other influential bands the Pacific Northwest spawned earlier such as TAD and Green River, which split into Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone, which in turn was the basis for Pearl Jam. A hidden gem for a music nerd like me was Leighton Beezer presenting an interactive family tree of Seattle music. Note to self: Gotta finish that Python coding course to build one myself.
· Watch the film Singles (1992) and listen to its influential soundtrack. This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It was released when I was a college freshman, was coming of age, and featured my favorite Seattle bands right before they started making their impact.
· Read the history of Sub Pop Records (Going Out of Business since 1988) - an Independent record label that signed Green River, Nirvana, and Soundgarden in their early days.
· Listen to the compilation album Deep Six (1986) - Hidden gem featuring the early recordings of the bands that paved the way: Green River, Melvins, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, Soundgarden, and U-Men. February 2022 Update: Skin Yard commented on my post!
Until next time!
Want to bypass the NY Times paywall? Copy and paste the URL on the Wayback Machine and click on any blue circle.