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REDISCOVERING ALICE IN CHAINS..and the DIMINISHING RETURNS of GRUNGE BANDS

The other day, when I came across a Ryan Adams performance of Alice in Chains’ song ‘Down in a Hole,’ memories began flooding back to when I was younger and how much I listened to this music. Though I mostly look fondly at this era, a recent review for the new Nine Inch Nails record in Paste Magazine opened with a notion that got me thinking. They pondered, “Has any genre aged more poorly than grunge?”

The more I thought about it, the popularity and commercial peak of the alternative rock of the early 90s, that Seattle sound, in many ways set alternative music off course for the remainder of the decade. More and more, the cliche trappings of the genre — overwrought throaty vocals, the crunched wash of guitars played through Marshall stacks, the long haired drummers pounding with heavy metal gusto — are growing increasingly out of favor especially, as Paste put it, “in this era of effete rock stars.” Obviously, as time goes by, there will be gradual changes of taste, but has the impact of grunge bands has experienced diminished returns?

I often joke about longing for when the 90s return to favor so that I can finally pull all my flannels and Stone Temple Pilot tshirts from the bottoms of boxes in the basement (mind you I was barely in middle school then). Yet I honestly cannot imagine anyone actually wanting to go back to those oversized relics. Similarly, it’s hard to imagine many new artists revisiting the same tropes.

Up until the most recent indie rock explosion of bands like Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse Death Cab For Cutie, and The Shins breaking through, mainstream (not indie) rock music was still stuck in that brooding post grunge pit of despair. Certainly we cannot blame Eddie Vedder (or can we?) for later-day and lesser talents such as Creed, Staind, Lifehouse and all sorts of other dreck that still populates modern rock radio today (do these bands even exist anymore? Actually, I have no idea, so I might be completely off base on my whole argument).

Fans had to retreat to those underground and independent labels, scour your weird friend’s collections or dig through stacks for the quality indie rock (Pavement, Guided By Voices and so on and on and on…). And in my case, I devoted much of my attention to jazz as a savior of music as an art form and not a commercial venture brought to you by Budweiser and the Mattress Warehouses.

Anyway, while it’s not my place to give the final verdict on where grunge music (or any music from the 90s) fits into the realm of rock history, I think the reason grunge still induces some groans is perhaps because much of the worst mainstream rock hasn’t evolved much from that era. Perhaps we simply don’t yet have enough distance to filter the good from the bad.

In the span of that ‘twenty-year cycle’ fans and consumers can gain some wisdom and perspective on music, art and even fashion. And yet I certainly can appreciate that, at least in my mind, the creative height of grunge was probably the last time artists in the MTV radio mainstream were simultaneously critically praised…at least until the last few years.

Its interesting to note that of the big four from that era, only Pearl Jam remains (which is more a testament to Vedder and company’s devotion to its fans and endless touring). And these days they aren’t so much grunge anymore as a modern version of straight up classic rock. But where is everyone else? Almost everyone else has broken up, moved on to other bands or even more unfortunately, died off. Suffice to say, if the lingering legacy of grunge are bands of the Nickelback ilk, perhaps then the true art of the music died when Kurt Cobain did. But that’s not to say that there weren’t songs that still hold up to the tests of time.

Which brings us back to Alice in Chains. Alice in Chains’ popularity never quite reached the heights of their peers, and like Nirvana, their careers (and hopes of a reunion) were cut short when Staley died of an overdose in 2002. But as we qualify the lasting legacy of grunge, Alice in Chains will always be in that conversation.

Peaking around the same time in Seattle, the band was lumped in with those artists, yet probably owed more to heavy metal than classic rock or punk like Pearl Jam or Nirvana. Alice in Chains was definitely harder edged and thicker in sound but singer Layne Staley’s distinctive voice pierced through the often murky layers of crunchy guitars. Staley’s voice was quite influential as was his passionately personal, pain-filled, yet timeless songwriting.

As such, it will be interesting in years to come to see what artists emerge that attribute their sound to growing up with grunge bands in the same ways bands now are taking claim on Gang of Four and Joy Division. It could be that perhaps guys like Adams, or Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard performing Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies,’ by putting their own spin on the song, could bring attention to some of the great songwriting of the era and rediscover the potential of these songs. ‘Down In a Hole,’ much like Adams’ own rendition of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ displays a great reinterpretation of a timeless classic. Or at very least, provides a few minutes of music listening.

What is the legacy of grunge to the pantheon of music? Guess we’ll have to wait to find out…until then those old STP shirts will have to remain in those boxes.

Check out the Ryan Adams performance here and below the Alice in Chains’ live performance from MTV Unplugged.

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