Jackson Knoll

Ch. 13 Grunge Reflection

This was a very interesting chapter for me to read because of all of the local ties that Nirvana and the grunge scene have. I was surprised that there really wasnt any gradual start to the movement, which pretty much came out of nowhere with the start of Nirvana. Before the grunge scene, Seattle wasnt really considered much of a music hotspot, but the insane popularity that Nirvana experienced put the area on the map as the birthplace of grunge. Now, after other popular bands from the area have developed, the grunge/alternative rock movement of the 90s is one of the things that Seattle is known for.

Like a lot of other emotionally intense musicians, Kurt Cobain the guitarist and lead vocalist of Nirvana, had a rough childhood. He grew up in the small town of Aberdeen near the coast, and was teased because he didnt fit the small logging town mold. His parents also divorced when he was 8, which caused a lot of trauma early on. However, what makes Cobain so great was that he used all of that pain and put it into his music, which gave Nirvanas sound its dark, broody, emotion.

The grunge movement, and Nirvanas success in particular also proves that even if youre from a small town, you can still make it big somewhere. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana literally started a whole new music movement overnight in a place not previously known as a music hotbed. The story of the Nirvanas success and the Seattle music scene is really unique, because they both came out of nowhere. When Nirvanas Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson out of the #1 spot, people were shocked. The band was unknown before that release in 1992, and unfortunately their success came and went quickly, with the death of Cobain in 1994.