The Playlist: The Grunge Era

It put Seattle on the map as a musical hotbed and introduced the term “alternative” as a music genre. They called it grunge and its angst-filled lyrics and anti-establishment message dominated the charts in the early to mid 1990s.

The grunge movement was dead and buried by the time the boy band frenzy began in 1997 but the influence of such bands as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains left a lasting impact on the music scene. They went against the grain and touched a nerve with those tired of the glam rock that had, to that time, saturated radio.

Here are my picks for the top songs released during the height of the grunge era.

Alice in Chains
Song: Man in the Box
Album: Facelift (1991)



It was the signature song from a band that would go on to sale 15 million albums worldwide. The song peaked at No. 18 on the mainstream rock charts at the time but has since been featured in several movies and TV shows and was ranked one of VH1’s 40 Greatest Metal Songs.

Pearl Jam
Song: Black
Album: Ten (1991)

The sole group to survive the grunge movement and still be one of the most successful bands in the world. When people think Pearl Jam, they think ‘Jeremy.’ Either that or hating George W. Bush. And while ‘Jeremy’ will forever be the band’s signature song, I prefer the more anguished ‘Black.’ It peaked at No. 3 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1993 and has been covered in concert by such names as Staind, O.A.R., Tori Amos and Chris Daughtry.

Stone Temple Pilots
Song: Big Empty
Album: Purple (1994)



The San Diego band had already accomplished chart success with their debut album, 1992’s Core, and singles ‘Plush,’ ‘Creep’ and ‘Wicked Garden.’ That continued here with the hit single from the Brandon Lee film The Crow. ‘Big Empty’ reached No. 3 on the US Mainstream Rock charts.

Soundgarden
Song: Black Hole Sun
Album: Superunknown (1994)



The single, arguably the band’s most well known, earned a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1995 and reached No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks. It has been covered by the likes of Alanis Morissette, Peter Frampton and Audioslave and was on a list with 165 other songs compiled by Clear Channel Communications deemed possibly inappropriate for airplay following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Nirvana
Song: Smells Like Teen Spirit
Album: Nevermind (1991)



It’s the song largely responsible for the wave of grunge popularity. When ‘Nevermind’ bumped Michael Jackson from the top spot on the album charts, the world took notice of what was going on up in Starbucks country. Kurt Cobain's anthem for apathy features one of my all-time favorite song lyrics and a line that best summarizes the mindset of a generation, “Here we are now / entertain us.”

Those are mine. Have your own picks? E-mail me at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com and I might use them in a future column.