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53
Chapter 12
American Punk: The Second Wave (1987-1994)
Outline
I. Seattle underground
a. Sub Pop Records
i. Founders, Pavitt and Poneman
II. Seminal Seattle bands
a. The Melvins
i. Pioneered the slow, sludgy sound
b. Green River
i. Created the early grunge style
III. Mudhoney
a. Took the low-budget sound to a major label
IV. Soundgardern
a. Metal rock with a DIY mixture of punk
b. First grunge band to cross over to a major label
c. Drop-D guitar tunings
V. Nirvana
a. Seattle’s quintessential grunge band
b. Kurt Cobain
i. The reluctant teen idol
ii. Creative genius
c. The music
i. Pop sensibility
ii. Melodic tunes
iii. Well-crafted songs
d. Nevermind album
i. From underground to accessible
ii. Label pressure for a cleaned-up album sound
iii. The pressures of sudden success
iv. Inner conflict and suicide
VI. Pearl Jam
a. Sold more records than Nirvana
b. First LP, Ten, reached #2
VII. Women in Grunge
a. Evergreen State College
i. College where no grades are given
ii. Interconnected ideas are encouraged
b. Riot Grrrl movement—Seattle
i. Bikini Kill
ii. Seven Year Bitch
iii. Heavens to Betsy
iv. Sleater-Kinney
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c. Riot Grrrl—Oregon
i. Bratmobile
d. Riot Grrl—L.A.
i. Hole (Courtney Love)
ii. L7
e. UK female bands
i. Huggy Bear
VIII. Slacker rock bands
a. Pavement
i. Founded the slacker rock style
ii. DIY low-fi sound
b. Beck
i. “Loser” becomes a slacker anthem
ii. (UPDATE: A new 2009 project: Record Club)
IX. Brit Pop
a. Pop songs with dark lyrics
b. Bands
i. Suede
ii. Oasis
iii. Blur
iv. Pulp
X. Rock technology
a. The MP3 player
Suggested Activities and Discussion Topics
1. The drop D tuning. The lowest of the six strings on the electric is tuned downward
from E to D. This extra downward range lends a darker sound to the music. This
technique is widely used in heavy metal genres.
Further downward extension into the tonal depths is possible using 7-string
guitars which add a string for even deeper tones. On the ‘con’ side for metal artists,
however, is that the wider neck makes the guitar more difficult to play. The sound of the
7-string guitar was made prominent by Korn and it is heard on many modern nu metal
recordings.
2. Nirvana. Characteristic Seattle grunge, but with an element of surprise—strong
melodic lines. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has very nice melodic lines as well as the genre
characteristic alternating dynamic extremes, from quiet to intense. Listen for rising and
falling melodic lines. SEE: Suggested Listening.
3. Beck. “Loser” is the definitive slacker song. His blasé vocal performance and the
low-fi sound exemplify the DIY sensibility. The DYI sound is a perfect match for the
sardonic lyrics, and a match like this is not lost on listeners. A big hit for Beck.
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Chapter 12 – Suggested Listening
Artist
Song/iTunes Preview
Representative Style
The Pixies
“Bone Machine”
Abrasive sound; wide-
ranging dynamics
Green River
“10,000 Things” N/A
One of the first grunge
bands to record; eclectic,
with a hint of glam rock
The Melvins
“It’s Shoved”
A more focused, sludgy
grunge, underground style
The Butthole Surfers
“Pepper”
Melodic vocal lines contrast
with spoken word; slow,
sludgy music track
Soundgarden
“All Your Lies”
From their first LP, an
upbeat rocker
Nirvana
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Melodic lines; alternating
textures: quiet to intense
dynamic range
Mudhoney
“Touch Me I’m Sick”
Track that made the band
Sub Pop’s best known act
Pearl Jam
“Even Flow”
Dense grunge/pop sound;
Eddie Vedder’s lyrics are
heartfelt, but mumbled with
passion
Bikini Kill
“Rebel Girl”
A riot grrrl anthem
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Heavens to Betsy
“The Ones” N/A
The most important facet is
the subversive riot grrrl
message
Hole
“Miss World”
Grungy ballad with a
feminine perspective;
Courtney Love sings
“Doll Parts”
Beck
“Loser”
Definitive slacker song;
appealing DIY low-fi
sound; sampling technology
Oasis
“Wonderwall”
Title taken from a George
Harrison album; the song
won 2 Grammy Awards
Blur
“There’s No Other Way”
The song that put Blur on
the map; indie-dance style
