Nirvana found: Grunge finds its way back
Some of the hottest grunge bands from the mid-90s, like Pearl Jam, are back this fall with new albums.
The Seattle-spawned grunge of the early ’90s is resurfacing in newly released music by the genre’s biggest names:
* You Know You’re Right, the last known song recorded by Nirvana before singer Kurt Cobain’s suicide, recently emerged on the Internet and then jumped to radio where it’s No. 22 on the modern-rock chart. It will be included in a best-of album Nov. 12.
* Pearl Jam’s I Am Mine, due in stores today, is No. 6 after two weeks. It’s the first single from Riot Act, the band’s seventh studio album, due Nov. 12.
* Audioslave’s Cochise, sung by former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, is No. 30. The band, featuring remnants of Rage Against the Machine, releases its self-titled debut on Nov. 19.
“After five to 10 years of synth bands, it was a shock to hear a modern-rock act that rocked,” says Airplay Monitor editor Sean Ross, noting that all three records are getting spins nationwide. “Because rap-rock has faded just a little and because more straight-ahead harder stuff like Nickelback is moving into the void, we were already seeing the return of 1993. It’s interesting that Nirvana, not known for power ballads, had something in its outtakes that sounds a lot like what’s on radio this year.”
Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden reigned during the golden era of grunge before losing ground to the late-’90s influx of teen pop and rap-rock. The repeat of history doesn’t surprise Seattle scene experts.
“Melodic guitar-based rock never goes out of style for very long,” says music writer Charles Cross.
In researching his 2001 Cobain biography, Heavier Than Heaven, Cross got wind of You Know and wondered why it had never been released.
“The fact that it’s Nirvana’s last song adds a spooky element that makes it even more emotional, but it would be a very powerful song even recorded by Dave Matthews,” he says.
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