Favourite Grunge band?

hyn-zie

Alice In Chains by far! Stone Temple Pilots 2nd (Core), i wouldn't consider Smashing Pumkins Grunge ! ! ! ! ! ! Nirvana wouldn't even be in my top 10 bands of all time, over rated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell one of the best duo's from the 90's

Den_M

Smashing Pumpkins are not grunge.
Nirvana gets my vote.

Civilian_Target

Do Tiamat count?

Then Soundgarden, but with much appreciation for Nirvana, Screaming Trees and Alice in Chains.

spaceboy

Alice in chains or soundgarden

nij

Alice In Chains, Nirvana.

Pearl Jam sound bland and boring IMHO

Shryke

Probably Nirvana. They get far too much praise, especially Cobain (whiny ****ing heroine addict), but I still loved there music once upon a time. I have Dirt but I find it a bit boring although everyone tells me I should love AiC. I haven't given it much of a chance I guess. I agree with Pearl Jam being bland but I still like them enough. I wouldn't call the Pumpkins grunge but if I did they'd be in there.

tubedude

I dunno why people are saying they wouldnt call the pumpkins grunge, they're one of the pioneers! I know they're albums can be schizophrenic and may not be what some people think grunge is, but as a genre there was no typical sound, it was the opposite, some had theyre own new kinda sound and some bands embodied elements of different styles, from punk(fitz of depression) to classic(screaming trees)(pearl jam) to metal(aliceinchains)(melvins) and even country(supersuckers!?) and then just grunged it up. But they all shared the same kind of attitude and ideals that defined them more so than the actual music did.

A Primal Nut

Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins.

I don't really know what's grunge and what isn't so I'm really just naming my two favourite early-mid 90's hard rock bands.

Its kinda silly arguing about what is grunge and what isn't - its not really a style of music - I don't see what sets any of the bands mentioned in this thread apart from any other style of hard rock tbh. If anything its just a term for a scene - any rock music that came out of Seattle early-mid 90's. In which case, I guess the Pumpkins don't count coz they're from Chicago - nothing really to do with the style of music though.

matrim

Alice in Chains followed by Screaming Trees and Pearl Jam.

eoin5

Pearl Jam

Double C

Pearl Jam, in terms of a band that outlived grunge, adapted and improved as time went on. Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Alice in Chains really embodied the grunge sound imo, especially albums like Badmotorfinger and Dirt. Of all the grunge bands my favourite albums are the more relaxed ones like No Code, Nirvana & Alice in Chains Unplugged and Jar of Flies/Sap.

Smashing Pumpkins are not grunge, Siamese Dream was grunge tinged but there is far too much going on in their music to pigeon-hole them.

nij

I think Alice In Chains have the edge over most of those bands. They have so much richness and melody in their sound. Excellently creepy vocal harmonies, menacing riffs and outstanding musicianship. Just 'metal' enough to kick ass, and 'grunge' enough to know not to take themselves TOO seriously.

Dave H

Not meaning to get too serious about this, but I think the term grunge (early 90's grunge) really applied to location rather than musical style.
It seemed that most bands that emerged from Seattle in the early 90's were labelled grunge,yet apart from crooning vocals, most of the music was completely different. Nirvana had the late 70's punk vibe to them, Soundgarden were like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin having a fist fight, Alice in Chains,bless 'em, were like nothing anyone had ever heard before. I even heard Mother Love Bone been described as grunge before, yet they were pure over the top operatic rock.
A lot of people say grunge is defined by the moody style of music with vocalist that have a deep voice but can move it all over the vocal spectrum, but if that's the case why are'nt bands like Life of Agony lumped in the same category? Have a listen to "This Time" and you'll see what I mean.
Sorry for dragging that out so long, what I meant to say is Alice in Chains are the best grunge band, they piddled from a height on the rest:p .

DerekSmalls

I know they're not "grunge" per se, but what do ye all think of Temple Of The Dog? Favourite songs? I do believe "Hungerstrike" was the first song Eddie Vedder did with Pearl Jam. Fantastic song. My favourites are Times of Trouble and Wooden Jesus.

gucci

in terms of who i still listen to and who makes me flick to the next track in my mp3 player, alice in chains, screaming trees and pearl jam.
Seen alice in chains a while back, eveny without stanely it was one of the happiest days of my life to hear them play some of the great old tracks

Dragan

I like Pearl Jam and Nirvana, but for me it will always be Alice in Chains.

It's pretty funny, if you listen to them Unplugged and follow that with Nirvana the Nirvana one sounds almost bad! :eek:

Moneymaker

Alice in Chains and Blue October.

nij

Dragan wrote:

I like Pearl Jam and Nirvana, but for me it will always be Alice in Chains.

It's pretty funny, if you listen to them Unplugged and follow that with Nirvana the Nirvana one sounds almost bad! :eek:

I'll agree with that. Nirvana Unplugged had lots of covers too. Of the non-covers, I'd say About A Girl was one of the best. Pennyroyal Tea was ghastly - even worse than the studio version. In fact, I think the In Utero album in WAY overrated. I personally think it's rubbish, apart from one or two. It's just a bunch of whiny, screaming noise.

AIC Unplugged, on the other hand, is pure musical pleasure, and they didn't need to do a single cover.

Dragan

nij wrote:

AIC Unplugged, on the other hand, is pure musical pleasure, and they didn't need to do a single cover.

That entire album for me is what the Unplugged sessions were all about. Fantastic musicianship, amazing vocals, savage atmosphere.....and the harmonies they pulled off....live?

Awesome stuff.

JC 2K3

nij wrote:

AIC Unplugged, on the other hand, is pure musical pleasure, and they didn't need to do a single cover.

What about Enter Sandman?

nij

JC 2K3 wrote:

What about Enter Sandman?

LOL yeah I forgot about that. Plus one of the songs from the old TV show Heehaw!

gucci

yeah i always thought it was the best unplugged album ever recorded in that series, the harmonies, wow!
could never understand how none of the tracks made it on to the best of unplugged, think there were two volumes of them albums too!maybe it was for some issues regarding ownership of the material or something.

Dragan

By the time the "best ofs" rolled around Unplugged was the home of the likes of Seal, The Corrs, Clapton etc.

It was a changed beast.

Creature

gucci wrote:

yeah i always thought it was the best unplugged album ever recorded in that series, the harmonies, wow!
could never understand how none of the tracks made it on to the best of unplugged, think there were two volumes of them albums too!maybe it was for some issues regarding ownership of the material or something.

Actually there's three Best Of albums, and Would is on the third one.

Anyway I'm agreed with the above sentiments, AIC unplugged is the best live album I've ever heard.

gucci

Creature wrote:

Actually there's three Best Of albums, and Would is on the third one..

typical!!!
didnt know there was a third one, just remember flicking through them in a shop one day and noticing AIC wasnt on "either" of them, probably was all that was on sale that time

byte

Pearl Jam, Pumpkins or Nirvana.

s8n

Such a difficult question as the Grunge term is so broad and some bands don't fit it quite as well as others.
I do agree that that period ( late 91 - 96ish) was such a great time for music and videos.
Anyway.... My preferences would be...

1) Screaming Trees - Amazing, underrated band. "Dust" was my favourite 90's album and to this day still gets a spin a couple of times a month. Their fusion of almost beatles like melodies with Rock and Lanegans voice was a fantastic combination. To this day, Lanegan is one of my favourite singers.
Greatest Song : "Gospel Plow"

2) Nirvana - Amazing groundbreaking band and possibly the greatest American Rock icon since Jim Morrison. "In Utero" was their greatest album for me
Greatest Song : "Aneurysm"

3) Soundgarden - "Superunknown" was such a great album and possibly where the whole Seattle scene peaked. If any band has come close to Led Zepp, it has been Soundgarden
Greatest Song : "Like Suicide"

4) Alice in Chains - Another band soaked in Tragedy (how many of them was there back then ?). Stayley was such a frail frontman like Cobain, but what an incredible voice. Am I going to far if I suggest that he and Cantrell were grunge's Lennon and McCarthy ? Also, their unplugged performance was the greatest one produced by that series (yes, even better than Nirvana's)
Greatest Song : "Man in a Box"

5) Stone Temple Pilots - Criminally underrated and dismissed at the time as they weren't from Seattle. Great frontman once again and "Purple" is another classic album from that time.
Greatest Song : "Still Remains"

6) Pearl jam - They might now be a shadow of their former selves but no Grunge list would be complete without them. "Ten" and "vs" were essential listening, but "no Code" was, in my opinion, their greatest achievement
Greatest Song : "Black"

nij

s8n wrote:

2) Nirvana - Amazing groundbreaking band and possibly the greatest American Rock icon since Jim Morrison. "In Utero" was their greatest album for me
Greatest Song : "Aneurysm"

4) Alice in Chains - Another band soaked in Tragedy (how many of them was there back then ?). Stayley was such a frail frontman like Cobain, but what an incredible voice. Am I going to far if I suggest that he and Cantrell were grunge's Lennon and McCarthy ? Also, their unplugged performance was the greatest one produced by that series (yes, even better than Nirvana's)
Greatest Song : "Man in a Box"

I'd say more Mercury/May than Lennon/McCartney :D

Just a couple of other thoughts here -

I think Cobain was a tad overhyped and overrated, and if he hadn't stuck a shotgun in his mouth, he never would have passed into legend. Nirvana was the coolest thing since sliced bread back in the day, but their songs have a really short lifespan (his poor musicianship and overuse of powerchords didn't help). They just don't have that replay value. I think Teen Spirit is how he really made his mark on the world - the sheer 'angstiness' coupled with the commercial polish really hit home.

As for albums, I firmly believe that a lot of the songs on In Utero are some of the worst ever produced. You could hear the same sound by holding your guitar next to your amp and then stabbing yourself in the foot...

Anyway, rant over. I have to say though, I've always been impressed with his lyrics and quite fascinated by what made him tick. I read his biography 'Heavier than Heaven' and I do recommend it.