Weren't they all though? A 3-piece who played simple power chords (Nirvana) has little in common with a prog-rock type bank like Soundgarden who were all masters in their craft, or Pearl Jam who had a big ballsy sound and played epic songs. "Grunge" was supposed to show that if we wanted, you and I could buy some guitars, make a band and be famous because it wasn't about being technically outstanding on your instrument, it was about the music, man. Yet, I bought a tab guide for Superunknown, every song had a different tuning pretty much. No way anyone could do a Soundgarden song justice either on the guitar, drums or vocally without being very ****ing good.
When looking at old Mother Love Bone stuff, it's hair metal. Andy Wood wouldn't have looked out of place at a Poison concert. And yet he's one of the key people in the birth of "grunge" that put an axe to that whole hair metal scene.
Going to see Mudhoney and PJ this Friday at the Big Day Out. I'm biased, but I think Pearl Jam are the best live band in the world (and Arcade Fire are getting close as well, good thing they are 2nd headliner!). Have Alice in Chains in a month for Soundwave along with STP (playing with the Linkin Park bloke - not sure what to make of that, but I'll check it out).
One band from that era that we havent talked about is Smashing Pumpkins. Would be interested if you ever dealt with them Steff. I really liked Siamese Dream, but Mellon Collie never grabbed me. Some good songs, Bullet with Butterfly Wings was always good, and Zero is a 90's classic hands-down, but the whole double album thing was a massive barrier to entry. Too much filler.
