Hearing the term “grunge rock” for many instantly brings to mind a time (the early/mid ‘90s), place (Seattle), image (flannel shirts, Doc Marten boots), label (Sub Pop) appropriate “Big Four” acts (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains) and Scene Martyr (Kurt Cobain).
But the genre had a lot more to it—a lot more. In terms of musical styles, diversity, lesser-known players and bands, and a host of behind-the-scenes producers, record company execs, and even scribblers who all had hands in the sound and the scene.
Noted music journalist Gillian G. Gaar is uniquely qualified to pen a history of grunge because she was there. As a music writer and editor for the Seattle alt-weekly newspaper (yes, on actual printed paper!) The Rocket, Gaar was at the clubs, in the studios, and backstage, doing interviews and writing stories before, during, and after the reign of grunge.
And all that expertise coalesces quite nicely in Grunge! The Story of the Music That Redefined Rock (208 pp., $40, Motorbooks/The Quarto Group). Covering roughly 1986-96. it incorporates both archival and contemporary interviews with many of those involved.
Gaar begins with the pre-history of grunge and how the not-quite-punk and not-quite-metal sound coalesced in early groups like the U-Men, Skin Yard, and Green River. Later to mature in Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, and Screaming Trees, as well as the Big Four.
She also notes how grunge gave birth to the “riot grrrl” in all-female or female-fronted groups Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, 7 Year Bitch, and Hole (with Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love). Also detailed is the tragic rape and murder of Gits lead singer Mia Zapata—and the foresight of a music-loving coroner whose swabbing of a bite mark on Zapata’s body would years later through the advancements of DNA lead to the killer’s identity and incarceration.
The specter of heroin also haunts these pages, directly responsible for the deaths of Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone), Stefanie Sargent (7 Year Bitch), Kristen Pfaff (Hole), and Layne Staley and—years later—Mike Starr (both Alice in Chains).
Motorbooks is known for the lavish and all-encompassing visual design for their hardcover, large-sized coffee table offerings. But Grunge!goes even further beyond the usual record covers, backstage passes, live concert shots, and ephemera. Here, lots of zines, flyers, and hand-drawn handbills relate to the DIY nature of the music scene.
And photos of cassettes. From the fabled audition tape that got vocalist Eddie Vedder the gig with Pearl Jam (which he recorded over a Merle Haggard album) to Fecal Matter. That one, with a hand-drawn literal pile of shit on the cover insert, marks the (probably) first appearance of Kurt Cobain on a distributed tape, recorded in 1986 at his aunt’s house.
Grunge! makes for a complete and well-detailed history of the music, mainly due to Gaar’s fine writing and unique insight. And it will surely send readers to their favorite streaming services to investigate deeper cuts from the bigger bands, and any cuts from the others. Which is the best outcome that the author of any music history book could hope to achieve.
