I hate grunge.

[Mort Divine]

Lack of quality certainly doesn't separate them.

 

[The Ozzman]

This is slowly creeping into my Top 3 grunge albums of all time

Sweet Oblivion: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3OZIN19eUBT3Q0klhiFi3DKmDsNMmgYO

 

[Nick1975]

Lack of quality certainly doesn't separate them.

Lack of quality certainly doesn't separate them.

So, what about Van Halen? GN'R? Crue? They arguably were good songwriters and musicians and also experimented with different styles.
Everything "Hair Metal" did was first explored by Zeppelin, down to the power ballad structure. I also liked the sincerity and lack of irony in hair metal. When grunge and alternative came in, a sense of irony and we-know-better crept into rock that never really left.

Some ugly classism was present in all this too. Metal was the music of lower-class kids (mostly white guys), while grunge and alternative was music that kids from the colleges "approved" of. So college-educated rock critics, for the most part, dismissed the hair bands and offered high-holy praise for grunge.

But that just means they could relate to the latter better on a more cultural level; doesn't necessarily mean it was better. The dismissive attitude of critics is a large reason the music isn't thought of highly today. I'll grant you that the other big reason is the ridiculous hair and clothes the groups wore. But, then again, when didn't pop musicians trade in ridiculous styles?

Speaking of grunge, its politics might have been more "correct" and the lyrics better. But with a few notable exceptions, the songs themselves were simply not as catchy nor as pop-friendly. Which is why by 1998 we had a new wave of Disney-pop that pretty much wiped rock off the map as a cultural force. Permanently.

IMO the 80s/early 90s was the golden era of heavy metal and glam is the most honest genre in all of metal.

 

[Nick1975]

This is slowly creeping into my Top 3 grunge albums of all time

Sweet Oblivion: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3OZIN19eUBT3Q0klhiFi3DKmDsNMmgYO

"untalented" musicians

 

[Nick1975]

Lack of quality certainly doesn't separate them.

This band ruled during a period where you'd be at a concert standing next to a jock who was standing next to a preppie who was next to a head banger, etc., and no one gave a crap - we all enjoyed the fun, music and atmosphere and barely any crap ever happened. Funny how we live in a time of such political correctness but we've never been so biased, divided and prejudicial.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

This band ruled during a period where you'd be at a concert standing next to a jock who was standing next to a preppie who was next to a head banger, etc., and no one gave a crap - we all enjoyed the fun, music and atmosphere and barely any crap ever happened. Funny how we live in a time of such political correctness but we've never been so biased, divided and prejudicial.

Then explain the Pogrom of '88 during which seventeen Jewish members of the audience were beaten and burned alive at a Kix show.

 

[EternalMetal]

This band ruled during a period where you'd be at a concert standing next to a jock who was standing next to a preppie who was next to a head banger, etc., and no one gave a crap - we all enjoyed the fun, music and atmosphere and barely any crap ever happened. Funny how we live in a time of such political correctness but we've never been so biased, divided and prejudicial.

Thread title: I hate grunge.
"It was just a stupid fad that kids liked back then" (in reference to a genre you dislike)
"current hipster revisionist history"
"most modern music sucks, so I fully admit to being stuck in the past when it comes to what I listen to."

To me it sounds like you are the bitter old man who cant get over the idea that music scenes have expanded and diversified. People like you who grew up only listening to the hits and stadium bands are the most boring kind of music aficionado. So when trends change you can't see past charts and music sales and get all pissed off that 'kids these days' don't enjoy the shit you grew up with. Your ignorance of mostly any music outside of glam is particularly outstanding.

People might still keep killing it on the underground circuit and that might be better, but since Nirvana, rock has slowly exited mainstream consciousness.

It is better, especially when it prevents movements like glam that have to focus on pop hooks to remain relevant. Metal began to diversify and expand during the late 80's/early 90's, and thankfully didn't try to appeal to the mainstream. And im not even really sure if you are right, cause bands like GnR, Judas Priest, and Kiss can still sell out arenas. The fans still exist, even if some other genres of music are more "in vogue" at the moment.

Today, in 2018, rock songs almost never get anywhere close to the top 10, whereas from the 70s to about 1993, hard rock regularly topped the charts. It's an incredible failure to market the music.

Who cares? The music you liked back when you were a teen was hated by most adults of the era, so why should it be any different today? Streaming is killing the music industry far more than individual bands or music trends, but you don't even mention that once in your long stream of ramblings.

So what ended up happening is that almost every melodic rock fan just went back to their old CD and tape collection and gave up on new music. I'm sure most of you have dealt with this before, a metalhead who listens to Iron Maiden and Megadeth and Metallica, but as hard as you try, you can barely convince him to try listening to something new, because he gave up on new music 20 years ago!

Almost all of my friends from high school have stagnated on music, and I think the trend is mostly ubiquitous. Most people cling to the nostalgia of their youth, and it seems like you arent that much different. I am younger than you, and I have friends that pretty much exclusively listen to the music from the 90s that you hate with a vengeance.

It's very unusual behavior for the industry to just summarily end what worked for 20 years and then switch to something totally different.

So it is unusual for the pop industry to jump on trends? lol

i think that GNR is hard rock, not hair metal in which they are commonly categorized as. what do you think?

I think they are one of the most overrated bands of all time and are the epitome of 'trendy' music. Nobody gives a shit for anything but their debut, and their band history has as much drug and addiction problems as Nirvana, but your opinion excuses this because you like their music.

And what's great is that hair metal has aged well as a fun part of rock history, while grunge, by and large, died a quick death, and ended up having no more than a handful of bands that are still looked fondly upon. Iron Maiden to me, is one of THOSE bands that fills multiple musical needs for me. Metal, melody, and prog are all filled out in one convenient British package. I have enormous respect for that band. They have held up remarkably well through the years, never becoming caricatures of themselves. Their material may have aged better than Priest. Heavy metal over it's 50 years of existence has branched out into many sub genres.

Maiden arent hair metal...

But Metal is falling. After 50 years it has become nothing but distortion and screaming about death, sex and anti-religion. This is pathetic. And so metal is decaying and falling to pop music. Unless the next generation of heavy metal musicians have something NEW! to offer the genre it's going to become a thing of the past.

The metal we hear today has no distinct qualities. It's just this band trying to be as good as all the other bands, and so they end up sounding almost the same. There's no creativity involved. This saddens me to see metal die. I want to be able to enjoy newer music. But I can't unless new bands actually offer something original.

Anybody currently involved in the metal scene today would find this laughable. You are just an out of touch old timer clinging to a handful of classics while being bitter that glam metal isnt still popular today. Some of us here still even like some of the stuff you listen to, but your dismissive attitude of pretty much anything outside of what you call "hair metal" is pathetic, so fuck off.

I feel like I need to type more bullshit to be as longwinded as this pretentious out of touch glam metal faggot, but I cant find the words. Long live kurt cobain!

 

[Mort Divine]

So, what about Van Halen? GN'R? Crue? They arguably were good songwriters and musicians and also experimented with different styles.
Everything "Hair Metal" did was first explored by Zeppelin, down to the power ballad structure. I also liked the sincerity and lack of irony in hair metal. When grunge and alternative came in, a sense of irony and we-know-better crept into rock that never really left.

Van Halen, GNR, Motley Crue, and Led Zeppelin are bad. They cover up their lack of songwriting ability with excessive style and flashiness.

Some ugly classism was present in all this too. Metal was the music of lower-class kids (mostly white guys), while grunge and alternative was music that kids from the colleges "approved" of. So college-educated rock critics, for the most part, dismissed the hair bands and offered high-holy praise for grunge.

I'll grant you that due to a lot of metal fans coming from lower class backgrounds it has often been treated as a genre for trailer trash and the like which is certainly an unfair and ignorant stance. This doesn't apply to 'hair metal' though. It was never for the 'poor kids,' it was just pop with guitars (which don't get me wrong this doesn't mean its bad.)

But that just means they could relate to the latter better on a more cultural level; doesn't necessarily mean it was better. The dismissive attitude of critics is a large reason the music isn't thought of highly today. I'll grant you that the other big reason is the ridiculous hair and clothes the groups wore. But, then again, when didn't pop musicians trade in ridiculous styles?

I don't buy that critics have anything to do with the dismissive attitude towards glam, not today anyways. It is viewed as a cultural relic of the 1980s, but so is grunge with regards to the 1990s. This isn't the fault of critics, just new generations finding different things to listen to.

Speaking of grunge, its politics might have been more "correct" and the lyrics better. But with a few notable exceptions, the songs themselves were simply not as catchy nor as pop-friendly. Which is why by 1998 we had a new wave of Disney-pop that pretty much wiped rock off the map as a cultural force. Permanently.

Who cares if it is a 'cultural force' or not? If you like it then like it.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I'd love to see a Virgin Steele song that demonstrated the songwriting ability of Van Halen, GNR, Motley Crue, and Led Zeppelin.

 

[Mort Divine]

This is about as bad as most of those bands

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Those vocal filters are some real avant-garde shit. I like it.

 

[Nate Skalman]

Van Halen certainly fell apart around OU812 (despite awards) but DLR years?? C’mon...that shits Golden...

 

[Nate Skalman]

What’s so wrong with grunge??...I actually did NOT read all that...

 

[Nick1975]

This is about as bad as most of those bands

I love Winger but I'm convinced that the main reason Winger got slammed so hard was because of Kip's ballerina moves in videos. Certainly wasn't because they didn't have good songs or Reb Beach and Rod Morgenstein couldn't play. Acting like a jackass and/or exploiting the image du jour might enable a band to initially reach a high level of success, but ultimately it will bring that band down. I love Warrant. Check out their record Dog Eat Dog which many people say is their best work. It got kinda pushed under the rug because it came out right at the grunge explosion, sad because the direction they were headed was really cool. Great songwriter, killer guitarist, and certifiable pussy black hole (once it gets within his range, none can escape). Musically they were a pretty solid pop metal band. Jani Lane was an amazing songwriter .

 

[Nate Skalman]

Man, you spend a LOT of energy on shit you don’t like...

 

[Nate Skalman]

Certifiable pussy black hole...

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Blind Revolution Mad is legit great

 

[The Ozzman]

Van Halen certainly fell apart around OU812 (despite awards) but DLR years?? C’mon...that shits Golden...

5150 is better than most of the DLR material tbh

 

[Manic Ferocity]

The worst thing about grunge is what came from it (nu-metal, bad modern rock, etc.). The only old grunge band I wholly dislike is Pearl Jam.

I feel like it's some sort of trend among metal and punk fans alike to consider grunge the "death of rock n roll". I don't get it.

 

[no country for old wainds]

this is clearly h.p. lovecraft's alt btw