Hey everyone,
Don't want to belabor the point or hijack the other relevant recruiting or football threads.
We are engaged in a debate - GNR vs. Nirvana
Who's side do you take?
Do you love 90s grunge? What about the 80s and the glam scene? Let's also talk about the millenials and Gen-Zers and their great music/s please dont
For context and I will update soon with quotes - Kurt Cobain hated GNR and they got in a big feud. But it was kind of stupid - those guys are all wealthy and friendly today. But why? Why did Kurt hate their lyrics? What about Alice in Chains? Who was the leader of the grunge movement?
I'm running out of things to say - just discuss music!!
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I'll start! - Alice in Chains was the link between 80s metal and 90s grunge. This was the beginning. My goodness this song gives me chills - even when I was a young boy and my older brother first played AIC for me on cassette. Layne Staley's vocals are phenomenal here.
Don't forget the Melvins!!! They might have been the true first grunge band out there.
And for anyone looking into early grunge you have to look into Kyuss (several members later ended up forming Queens of the Stone Age). The Kyuss album Welcome to Sky Valley is still way up there in my top albums of all time.
John Baizley (Baroness) grew up where I did, and I was best friends with his brother in law growing up. John burned us a CD back when we were in high school and got us into the Melvins. The Bit is where its at - god I miss those times.
John also burned this on the CD
Also this demo was recorded not far from where I sit in Lexington - the beginning.
Not a huge grunge fan (AIC, Soundgarden et al is more crossover rock and i do like them) but there was one grunge band named Mudhoney I really liked. Let It Slide is probably up there in my top 100 songs of all time.
I discovered this album (and band) just a few years ago. If I found it in my youth when I was impressionable it would have been a Mount Rushmore album for sure.
I had a whole post typed out at the bottom but I'll just reply to you here, you are
800%1000% correct, my dude (and as DFW said, can't discount the Melvins as well). And I personally like AIC and Soundgarden more than GNR, and a good bit more than Nirvana (though I don't necessarily strongly dislike any).Now for a hot take that will ruffle some feathers: when it comes to vocalists, Layne > Chris Cornell. *ducks*
You aint lying my friend - Layne could wail! This is his vocals totally isolated. I get chills still.
This and MITB are eternal bangers, love it
An underrated aspect of Alice in Chains was their vocal harmonies. Haunting and beautiful.
Thats what we try to emulate with my dudes - here the similarities to AIC 1-3-5 vocals on the chorus.
"Johhhhooonnes"
Is that your band? That's really good stuff! Just listened to It's Coming Down and American Dream.
I play with the stumblers on and off, I went to high school with them. Bryce is the lead guy and I play acoustic shows and such with him.
Thanks! He is a heck of a songwriter. We have played many different renditions of those songs.
As a millennial...
I am a millennial myself - and I just can't cope.
Kurt was a gatekeeping dick.
axle is a clown.
I'll take STP, AIC, or soundgarden all day long before either of those two.
I love STP - I wrote my sophomore English paper about this song. About this song being the most honest words ever spoken about being in love. Unashamed love. And then acknowledging Scott Weiland the author was a heroin addict. But I will always remember writing that paper for Lit class and passing with flying colors. I might upload it if I find it.
OMG have you heard Taylor's new song #SwiftiesUnite!!!! /s 🤮
Also lets not forget about the man/myth/legend SRV. He might be the world's greatest lost talent. Gone way before his time.
If you're a guitar nut - try to play this. Good lawd
I love SRV too, but I think calling him the world's greatest lost talent is a disservice to Hendrix, who walked so Stevie Ray could run.
My three favorite guitarists are Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and David Gilmour.
SRV was probably the most skilled. Gilmour played the best solos. But Jimi Hendrix is in a different category than any guitarist who ever lived.
For my money this is the greatest single performance on guitar that I've ever heard:
I'll go with those 3 and add Mark Knopfler and Carlos Santana. All great for very different reasons.
Recently discovered how good Prince was with a guitar.
My brother's band was a popular one for out of town talent to come play some music after their shows in the Va. Beach area back in the 70s and 80s. He said Stevie Ray was fantastic, but said he knew that he would be. Wish I could have been there.
The guitar player that surprised me the most in concert was Frank Zappa. He was incredibly versatile and technically flawless regardless of what crazy thing the band was doing at the time. Germany, 1971.
I know Zappa isn't for everyone, but he was a phenomenal musician.
I agree on Zappa. I was lucky enough to see him at Constitution Hall in 1974 after 'Apostrophe' was released. He was phenomenal, and always had a fantastic band. George Duke and Jean Luc Ponty was playing in his band when I saw him.
Another note: Zappa had a very distinct playing style. Feet together, legs straight, & only the top half of his body moved while shredding. No 'guitar god' posturing for him.
Now that's a name I have not heard in decades.
Flo and Eddy were with him too, and it was a thoroughly entertaining show. Not a fan, I mainly went because my Army buddies chipped in for my ticket if I'd drive, having one of the few cars on base. That '56 VW bug got me a lot of freebies in the couple of years I had it.
That's right! Flo and Eddie was the opening act when I saw him too. I agree, not a huge fan, but it was all good.
Yep, I was mightily entertained and while I enjoyed hearing a Zappa tune occasionally, my respect for his musicianship has remained a highlight of my live music experiences.
Instaleg, fully agree. 3 very solid favorites, too. As much as I love SRV, I'd probably swap out either Jimmy Page or Eddie Van Halen (or maybe even a dark horse like John Mayer or James Young from Styx) as my 3 faves, but Hendrix and Gilmour are definitely the other two.
I'm a child of the 90s but my dad made sure I got a big dose of classic rock growing up, he had all of Hendrix's albums on cassette tape and I wore them all out. I was also in kindergarten/first grade when First Rays of the New Rising Sun and South Saturn Delta came out, those were big staples in the car to and from school so there's still some nostalgia there for me. Recently revisited his discography on Spotify for the first time in years and years, and I was not disappointed, it all still holds up absurdly well.
This popped up on my YouTube feed about a week ago. This video is from 5 years ago. After a quick Google search I learned this girl now plays in a K-Rock band called Rolling Quartz, and she's still an amazing guitar player.
The only mainstream(ish) guys that come close today are John Mayer and maybe Warren Haynes. Both guys are so different stylistically that you can't really compare. SRV is a GOAT though,
How does Kurt vs GNR (who is GNR?) compare to Drake vs Kendrick? Any good diss tracks?
Money vs. Real money
Old dude to Drake: "Are you famous?"
Guns N Roses my brotha
Oh! I saw them live a few years ago, but axel performed in a wheelchair.
GnR vs Nirvana is apples vs oranges tbh. I mean I def spent a little time with both in my youth but neither crack my top 200.
Grunge had peaked long before my time with music started so I didn't discover STP until way late in their career, but that band (and Dean DeLeo's riffs) was big for me.
They're still touring with a new singer, and while I get it and not gonna judge, it just not for me.
Love this Biggie remix with Sinatra as well
Pac was a poet. I missed out on the 90s rap wars and only recently went on a deep dive into Pac's music. It's better than I have him credit for back in the day.
One of my fav records I came across was a Pac and Nikki Giovanni collab on Def Jam. It was an instant buy.
Please share if you can find Nikki Giovanni and Pac rap. That would be awesome.
Not exactly a rap, but here.
Anybody remember these dudes jamming in Radford? Thats Allen Blickle of Baroness and his bro Brian Blickle on guitar. Lex Vegas!
That wasn't in Radford IIRC. That was the brodello on main st bburg. Lotsa great memories in that basement (Lex Vegas included).
I am mentioned in the liners of the Lex Vegas album. "Lil Jake" - Big Jake was in Valkyrie.
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Not related to the original question. But, I am happy in the music department right now. I finally found an in stock copy of a House of Freaks album I've been after for a while.
So if we're talking 80's to 90's bands and their influence on music I think we're obligated to bring up this cornerstone of metal/hardcore.
I'm going to honest... if Metallica comes on the radio, I'm changing the channel. I just burned out. I might listen to something from S&M. But otherwise, not interested.
The same thing happened with bands like ac/dc, Tom petty and the heartbreakers, Springsteen, and others. I've just reached a point where I've heard it enough.
A lot of my early electric guitar days involved playing those. And that may have contributed.
I get it. I am hot and cold on Metallica since I hear it all the time. I respect the hell out of Tom Petty, but I really have to be in the right mood for him anymore.
I feel some type of way about this song, as a Hokie fan. It's special. But it's funny that as a music fan it's not even in my top 20 favorite 'Tallica songs, haha.
Probably on an island here; but Kendrick vs Drake these past few weeks has been a treat for those that are fans of hip-hop(nasty allegations aside)
Seeing one of the biggest pop artist on the planet get dismantled by my favorite artist was something else.
I seriously had a 4 paragraph break down typed up but deleted all that to say; Kdot killed em. Euphoria is my favorite song out the bunch, but I've got Not Like Us on repeat too. Meet the Graham's was ridiculously vicious.
J Cole dodged a nuclear blast, but I never thought less of him for bowing out.
Its just nice having a meaningful rap beef going on.
Amen.
Drake showed his teeth on Family Matters, good track. Only took a beef with a goat to bring it out of em.
It's been amazing to watch I've always fucking hated Drake's music, and been a KDot fan since Section.80. I just feel vindicated.
Also, Cole has to drop The Falloff soon. He's been teasing his magnum opus for a half decade now. Were getting to Detox levels of hype
Honestly, I still need to listen to Might Delete Later
It's classic J. Cole. Just as good as every project post FHD
The best part of the beef, as a KDot fangirl, is that it got him out of his high minded concept album bullshit and back to dropping banger after banger.
I mean, euphoria was definitely straight out of his high minded phase - the amount of metaphors and double/triple/quadrupal entendres in that song is mind boggling.
Kendrick dropping the Not Like Us video was absolutely savage. The amount of call backs, easter eggs, and subliminal shots in the video is mind boggling. Drake's dead and kdot is just beating the corpse.
Also that intro 👀 maybe signaling a new album drop 🤞
I'm just going to leave this here, although it's not related to anything previously discussed per se. I can't stop listening to this band, and I've got floor seats to see them in Roanoke later on this year. One of the best acts going right now, they're Southern rock-flavored y'allternative and if you like what you heard here, please dive all the way into their stuff, they're on the come-up and I hope they'll be around a long time.
Treaty Oak Revival.
For the folks that like the Stapleton, whiskey Myers, et al, type stuff, give Ghost Hounds a try. I stumbled across them through a cover of Devil Woman. But, the rest of the catalog is pretty decent.
I think they lean more towards rock than country. They probably aren't enough of either one to find their way into major radio play.
Hitting the Greta Van Fleet show tonight in Pittsburg. Talk about a band with an electric sound.
Saw em at Welcome to Rockville back when it was still in Jaxvegas. Awesome live show
I used to be on that bandwagon, but more than any band or artist with maybe the exception of Taylor Swift, all their songs sound exactly the same. Their first album had at least some variety, but everything since has been the same Zep-infused ballad over and over.
Off to see Sum 41 on their farewell tour tonight. First concert of what should be a busy year of live music for me.
It's weird that bands from middle school are already retiring when bands from when my parents were in middle school insist on touring.
Well, they don't listen to anyone telling them to act their age. They'll retire when they want!!
It's honestly surprising how long bands like Sum41 lasted. Kudos to them. Fat Lip still charges me up every time it comes on.
To address the beginning post of the thread: that poor shotgun shell.
Started life with such promise, only to end up putting Kurt Cobain in the same breath as Jimi Hendrix, company with which he doesn't belong. Nirvana is one of the most overrated bands of all time, and if Kurt stayed alive, they'd have underperformed their way into mediocrity before 2000. Thankfully, we live in a world where Dave Grohl became a frontman for a superior band.
GNR had one good album, and a couple other good songs sprinkled in. Axl Rose is a twat and we should all pour one out for Slash, Duff, Izzy, and Steven for having to put up with him. Frankly, I'm glad Tracii Guns backed out of the project, as he managed to have a relatively solid career (LA Guns is still too notch live BTW).
In terms of grunge vs glam (or hair bands more broadly), I'll take the catsuits, makeup, and guitar solos. Either way, the music is kinda shit (I enjoy both), but at least the hair bands were fun.
I get a bit of what you're saying on grunge vs glam. But, I gotta throw the STP hat into the ring. They're not proper "grunge", but that's because they're just better. Listen to the actual compositions. The DeLeo brothers have more musical inclination in their pinky fingers that most of the 90's bands ever thought about having.
This
Although that talent caused their music to drift pretty significantly for my tastes. I own all of their albums, and Core and Purple and top-10 lifetime albums for me, but everything since with the exception of High Rise has had only a couple rockin' songs and nothing else that I really enjoyed from start to finish.
AIC >>>>>>>>>> Nirvana
Different legacies.
Nirvana absolutely ushered in a seismic shift in rock music and altered the direction of rock
Guns 'n' Roses made arguably the greatest album of the entire 1980s with Appetite. Sure they burned out fast, but that is a top 5 rock record ever made
I was never much of a Nirvana fan. However, Pearl Jam's 'Ten' and Smashing Pumpkins 'Siamese Dream' were legendary. Unfortunately, most of what followed for both bands were very forgettable, IMO. Some hits, a lot of misses.
I loved a lot of the so-called grunge music of the early-mid 90's, which I believe was a very important era for music.
These AI spoof tracks crack me up
Man, I despair at the state of country music. But there is a ton of good stuff out there. Just don't listen to the country trash coming out of Nashville.
This song might be some of the most poetic words ever spoken about a breakup on a hunting trip with his best friend. And no mentions of beer or floating down the river and chilling with his buddies. There is great Americana music out there.
"Well the covey took wing
Shotguns a singing
The pointing dog down in the old logging road
Danny got three
He looked back a grinnin
I fumbled around and I tried to reload
The country was cold, the sun westward sinking
It's good to be back in this place.
With my hands around a Belgian-made Browning
And my mind on the lines of her face."
Just epic words. Troubadours are sick but playing one of the best cover versions I've seen.
Since you brought up Turnpike and covers, worth checking out their cover of My Hometown with Reckless Kelly in tribute to Charlie Robison a week or so after he died. I was fortunate enough to see it live in DC last fall. I cried and my wife still gives me shit for it.
Saw Turnpike at Railbird Festival, my third time seeing them. Always a great show. Definitely a ton of great artists and different styles.
It's already been said, but the comparison as far as music goes isn't comparable. Both were at the top of their genre and defined a generation, and it was easy to be a fan of both. Both had long-standing generational and cultural/ musical impacts, but they were in different circle.
If you had said GnR vs Motley Crue / Poison / White Snake / Ratt or Nirvana vs STP / Pearl Jam / Soundgarden etc then we can kick back with some beers and have an thought provoking exercise :-)
New Eminem album drop on Friday 👀