Deep Tracks — Radio Misfits — # 11 Grungeasaurus Wrecks

Nineties rock was the last gasp of the pre-streaming technology era. Grunge killed hair metal, thank you. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great songs, the excessive use of hairspray and neon, sequined onesie outfits had to go. Grunge was a slow boil, late 80s there were a handful of bands pumping out the proto-grunge angst. The mid-90’s grunge was dominant on radio and MTV. One couldn’t go an hour without hearing “Teen Spirit” or “Hunger Strike”, both great songs, yet overplayed.

Down in my home state, California, a dearth of grunge rock groups made for a more challenging effort finding the bands fighting for their radio moment. The mid-90s in the San Francisco area was a peculiar era, thrash metal still electrified audiences, and Brit Pop was the new music rock invasion catching fire. In between, the locally based adult alternative rock acts packed venues without remorse.

A fervent music fan, the grunge sound appealed. Radio wasn’t spinning the best of the best south of the Pacific Northwest. Maybe a rock radio station in Phoenix or Denver was in on the Seattle music bonanza. Not in my town.

The best place to sample the goods, local record shops, talking with the other music heads in around town and scouring the local weekly rags for the fine print concert pages. Fortunately, most of Seattle’s rocker set toured down our way often. Bottom of the Hill and Slim’s, two San Francisco venues hosted grunge night line ups. Here’s a small serving of songs the radio programmers need to fit in their retro/legacy rock song rotation.

1. Tad — Lycanthrope

The (maybe) mythical being changes form, beast to human. A bridge-like jam is the song intro, making a listener do the audio double take, wait, whut? That was rad. A fuzzy, crunching bass guitar and piston drum attack, this song is going straight to hell, so says the lyrics. I saw this Seattle trio at Slim’s somewhere in the hazy 90s. The song is a perfect deep track to spin for your grunge loving audience.

2. Temple of the Dog — Your Savior

A (Pacific Northwest) PNW supergroup. One album and done. The song collection is an audio eulogy to Andy Wood, a much-admired musician who passed way too soon. The group is a fusion of all that’s great in grunge, part Soundgarden, part Pearl Jam. How could you go wrong? 30 years on, the group still gets radio love. How about changing it up, we all heard Hunger Strike a lot, and still love it. Your Savior is thumping bass, savage drum attack, rock n roll at its finest. Listen to the album start to finish, it is one of the best tracks on the entire album.

3. Screaming Trees — Sworn and Broken

The grunge version of a ballad. A group enduring the entire arc of grunge late 80s ascendency and its sunset in the late 90s, the group caught fire on radio and MTV post Nirvana. A three-album run in the mid-90s, the group appeared to have broken through to mega stardom. The group suffered some setbacks and faded away for years before resurfacing to tour in the 2000s. The song is a fusion of signature grunge angst, guitar fuzz and a next generation Jim Morrison vocal, lyrical poetry and perfectly- imperfect pitch.

4. The Melvins — Revolve

A proto-grunge band, still performing 3 plus decades on. The trio formed in the early 80s in the Seattle area. Many radio programmers are missing out in a big way. An alternative rock power trio, the group flirted with major stardom in the mid to late 90s. A rock n roll beast, the song is not fast, but heavy. For fans of rock n roll in general the track delivers. A solid graveled bass vocal. This might be the last song anyone chooses at karaoke, the chorus:

“Hey big bo day"

“He says deny but you’re for tin line"

“Head my shoulder”

“Big boast deloves, big boat denies”

The music leads. The cryptic sounding lyrics take a second place to the 5-minute rock jam. The bridge salutes you with a throw back 70s arena rock guitar jam. A hard rock song your deejay will thank you for requesting on “all request Friday”, they wanted to play it anyway.

*****

Thank you for indulging my writings.

I write about three topics: music, tourism, and sustainability.

By profession, I am a: Travel Designer. My goal is creating for you: a vacation, holiday, road trip or travels as epic as possible.

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