Charlene's Homework

Grunge Subculture
The grunge scene appeared in America in the late 80’s, started originally in Seattle and spread to other parts of the united states, finally influencing many bands internationally in England. The genre is characterised by ‘sludgy’ guitars and heavy screams. The name of the genre has connotations of dirt, which reflects the stripped down nature of the music as well as the physical aesthetics of the band members at the time.

The Music
Grunge is a sub genre of rock, a ‘hybrid’ between punk and metal. Bands were quite raw and rejected the glamour associated with the music industry. This reflected in the way they dressed, their songs and their lifestyle.

Nirvana
The term grunge is synonymous with the 3 piece band from Seattle, Nirvana. The band was led by front man Kurt Cobain, whose controversial lyrics put him in the spot light and is what may have been what set Nirvana apart from the other grunge bands during the time, as they gained the most commercial success. Drugs were also a big part of Nirvana’s image as they usually filmed interviews stoned and were known for their drug abuse.

Kurt Cobain was known for his relationship with Courtney Love, who was a singer in her own grunge band, hole. Together they made rockstar royalty. Hole was one of the pioneering bands in the ‘Girl Grunge’ genre amongst Babes in Toyland and L7 amongst others. The girl grunge bands show no lack of anger in both lyrics and performance, as this is a fundamental feature in grunge music. Courtney Love continuously gained negative press for her heroin addiction and aggressive attitude, which gave her a marmite reputation.

The style.
The authentic grunge style was completely different to what passes in stores today as grunge, as a ‘grunge’ dress can be sold for £150 when in reality, the clothes were predominantly from American thrift stores (charity shops) and were very cheap. Kurt Cobain is synonymous with his red and blue striped jumper and jeans combination. The style did not evolve out of a conscious attempt to create an appealing fashion; music journalist Charles R. Cross said, "[Nirvana frontman] Kurt Cobain was just too lazy to shampoo," and Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman said, "This (clothing) is cheap, it's durable, and it's kind of timeless. It also runs against the grain of the whole flashy aesthetic that existed in the 80s."

The clothing usually consisted of oversized jeans and jumpers, as most grunge teenagers could not afford new clothes all the time, they would have to wear the same clothes over and over, gaining holes, ripped from the wear and tear of going to gigs and everyday life. The boys usually had long greasy hair, to express a lack of care in appearance and the girls were often the same, sometimes with curls or waves in their hair. Courtney love expressed in an interview that her hair was often cut by accidently holding a cigarette too close to her curls.
Both Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland are known for the kinderwhore style, a feminine derision of grunge style which consisted of babydoll dresses, ripped tights or socks and heavy dark red lipstick, usually smeared. The effect of this style is to create a morbid take on childlike clothing.