Grunge By

Spencer Johnston

History of Genre• Grunge is a subgenre of Alternative rock originating in the 1980s and coming

to the mainstream in the early 1990s. • The sound of Grunge is a fusion of late 70s Punk and early 70s Hard Rock and

Metal. • Music wise, the trademarks of Grunge are power chords, loud drums, heavy

distortion and most importantly quiet to loud dynamics in terms of Verse into Chorus.

• The Pixies and Mudhoney are considered the earliest Grunge bands whose sound and style were mimicked and perfected by Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

• The majority of famous Grunge Bands came out of Seattle, however the movement and style moved throughout America and eventually to the United Kingdom.

• The reign of Grunges popularity is generally considered to be between 1991-94, from the time Nevermind was released to the suicide of Kurt Cobain.

Conventions of Grunge Music Video

• There is three trademarks of the typical Grunge Music Video.

• Black and White: In Bloom, Alive, Creep (Stone Temple Pilots).

• Surreal Imagery: Man In The Box, Black Hole Sun, Heart Shaped Box.

• Performance Based: Smells Like Teen Spirit, Touch Me I’m Sick, Here Comes Your Man.

Smells Like Teen Spirit• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg• This is arguably the song that brought Grunge into the mainstream. Following

its 1991 release, for over three weeks Smells Like Teen Spirit was played up to 7 times a day on MTV and helped catapult Nirvana to the top of the album charts in January 1992, knocking Michael Jackson off the top spot.

• The video takes place in a High School in front of a pep rally, whilst Nirvana perform and a riot ensues.

• Cinematography: The video is very darkly lit, in order to represent the sombre style of the music.

• Editing: The film cuts from close up of band members playing their individual instruments into audience members dance and shouting along with the music. Typical cuts are used opposed to any fade transitions ect, this could be done in order to represent the simplicity and rawness of the music.

• Camera Angles: Close Ups, Panning, Establishing Shots, Slow Motion.

Alive• http://www.vevo.com/watch/pearl-jam/Alive/USSM20400061• Considered Pearl Jams most popular song, the highest selling single

off their 1992 album Ten is just as famous for its performance based music video as its catchy riff.

• Cinematography: The music video is filmed in Black and White and the lighting is high contrast.

• Editing: Similarly to Smells Like Teen Spirit the video is performance based and switches from shots of the band playing to the audience singing and dancing. However close up shots of the band members are less prominent and there are more shots of the whole band.

• Camera Angles: Close Ups, Tracking shots, Panning shots, Long Shot, High Angle Shot.

Black Hole Sun

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mbBbFH9fAg• Black Hole Sun, from the Grammy Award winning album

Super unknown, won an MTV award for best Heavy Rock Music Video and is famous for its unique surrealism, often being compared to something from a David Lynch film.

• Cinematography: Unlike the majority of Grunge Videos, Black Hole Sun takes place at a Day Time Green Screen.

• Editing: Post Production surreal effects have been added in, to make strange face swirls and tongue effects to add a strange, yet humorous effect.

• Shots: Close Up, Aerial Shots, Tracking shots.

Summary• I think that in general Grunge music videos were very accurate in

portraying the weight of Grunge on a generation.• It has to be taken into consideration that in the 1980s music had

been dominated by Glam Rock and Pop. Grunge offered something different to people who were fed up of music that just didn’t mean anything.

• The raw, emotive sound of Grunge and how it made people feel is represented through the three trademarks of its music video. How it appealed to people longing for a step back to 60s and 70s Rock music through the use of performance based and black and white videos. The surreal imagery present within the videos was also important in showcasing the alienation of young Americans at the time, the crowd that Grunge most evidently appealed to.