Perhaps, another reason grunge worked so well on the acoustic guitar, aside from the songs being great songs, and therefore easily transferable to the acoustic guitar, was the use of alternate tunings. Other significant influences on the grunge scene aside from Black Sabbath, The Ramones, and The Pixies (to name a few) were The Beatles and Led Zepellin.īoth bands used the acoustic guitar extensively, and both were a significant influence on the songwriting of Chris Cornell of Soundgarden especially. “Rust Never Sleeps” was an eclectic mix of bare acoustic tracks such as “Thrasher”, and “Ride My Llama”, coupled with electric guitar tracks such as “Hey Hey, My, My (Into the Black)”, delivered with a punk rock attitude that fit the 90s grunge era like a glove. While the flannel-wearing Young was certainly responsible, in part, for the aesthetic of grunge, his 1979 release with Crazy Horse “Rust never Sleeps” was seen by many as the precursor to the music of grunge 10 years later. The influence Young’s music had on Alice in Chains is also evident in songs such as “Over Now”. Much to his dismay, Cobain even referenced the Neil Young lyric “It’s better to burn out than fade away” from the song “Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black)” in his suicide note. Neil Young, often referred to as the godfather of grunge, folk grunge (and any other label you want to put on it) was often cited as a major influence by both Nirvana and Pearl Jam, who both recorded material with him at different stages of their careers. Why Does the Acoustic Guitar Work so Well with Grunge?
While it’s true the grunge sound could be best summed up by the legendary Boss DS-1 distortion pedal grunge also had a distinct acoustic side, as many of the artists mentioned above performed, and released a trove of acoustic material. So what’s all this got to do with the acoustic guitar? Once Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” hit the airwaves, this (mostly regrettable) era of pointy guitars, and self-indulgent over-produced pop fell instantly out of favor, and bands including Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, The Screaming Trees, and Stone Temple Pilots, were thrust into the spotlight. While record execs didn’t see it coming, the style over substance approach to hard rock and popular music (best demonstrated by hair bands such as Poison, Cinderella, and Motley Crue) of the late 80s had well and truly passed its use-by date. Grunge, aka “ The Seattle Sound” was more or less, a musical revolution emanating from one American city, Seattle, and initially through one local Seattle record label, SUB-POP Records.Īt its inception “grunge” represented a massive cultural shift in popular music that was best exemplified by Nirvana’s “Nevermind” replacing, then King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” at the top of the Billboard charts. The grunge era exploded out of Washington, Seattle in the late 80s, peaking during the early 90s before becoming gradually diluted into post-grunge typified by artists such as the Foo Fighters, Bush, and Collective Soul. “ All Apologies” (acoustic version) – NirvanaĬontinue reading for more great songs and iconic acoustic performances from the grunge era.“ The Shelf in the Room” – Days of the New.“ Penny Royal Tea” (acoustic version) – Nirvana.“ Plush’ (acoustic version) – Stone Temple Pilots.“ Black” (acoustic version) – Pearl Jam.“ Crackerman” (acoustic version) – Stone Temple Pilots.“ Like Suicide” (acoustic version) – Soundgarden.“ Touch Peel & Stand” – Days of the New.
In particular, we’ll be looking at the significance of the acoustic guitar and its contribution to grunge during the 90s. Today we’re going to revisit one of my favorite periods of music, the grunge era.
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