Tunes with Tate: grunge music shapes generations past and present
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All genres of music can be related to each other when it comes to history and influences, but some have a stronger influence than others. Certain genres and groups have direct, but niche, impacts on how musical developments allow new artists to take these changes in stride. Grunge music and music from the modern emo phase are a prime example.
Grunge music is a subgenre of alternative rock that spread in the mid-80s and remained in the 90s. This musical category includes bands such as Pearl Jam, Green Day, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains , Stone Temple Pilots and Smashing Pumpkins. Hailing from the American Pacific Northwest, grunge music is a combination of punk rock and heavy metal. Additionally, lyrics in the genre are known to be scary, covering topics such as isolation, abuse, social alienation, trauma and more. The word “grunge” itself ways “one who is dirty” Where “Lousy or dirty in character or condition,” something not far removed from the negative descriptions of the biggest listeners of grunge music: Generation X.
Generation X in general understand anyone born 1965 to 1980 called Gen X for short. Generation X is also referred to as the ‘key generation’, which stems from the changing functions of society at the time, such as women joining the workforce at increasing rates and divorces becoming more frequent. As a result, after-school nursery figures have evolved into children having to enter their homes using keys to unlock the latches on their front doors, hence the nickname. Being a child of divorce and / or being forced to learn to function independently of any parental figure at a young age has had many emotional repercussions which are reflected in the subject of grunge music. Gen X’s frustration with how they often were portrayed as dropouts, pessimism and discontent were also reflected in grunge music.
The word “emo” comes from “emocore”, a genre of hardcore punk focused on emotion, but which has evolved to describe the modern emo phase. Emo phases are integral to the growth of many people, usually occurring between the ages of 13 and 18. Usually occurring during the period of self-discovery in adolescence, they are an important part of the stage of development of identity and taste for music.
For young adults and Gen Z teens – including me – there is some very specific music that my age group remembers as being the center of our emo phases. The artists everyone listened to could vary depending on the group of friends, hometown culture, family, school environment, etc., but there was widespread and tacit agreement on the need. of the kind. Even if your favorite music does not always belong specifically to the emocore genre, it does made falling into the same genre that grunge music evolved at a different time: alternative rock.
In the 2010s, Gen Z bowed to alternative groups because of how they fueled our angst and made us feel seen during our emo phases. This includes, but is not limited to: Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Twenty One Pilots, Paramore, All Time Low, Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, The Neighborhood, Imagine Dragons, The Black Keys and The Killers. Late 90s post-grunge alternative rock bands that would have been influenced by the grunge era – such as The Strokes, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Blink-182, Three Days Grace, etc. – have also made their way into our ears.
Because Gen Z is made up of the kids of Gen X, it’s interesting how their angst was apparently passed on, even though it wasn’t intentional. My parents and I fit into that categorization, and while I remember listening to grunge music, it wasn’t until recently that I began to understand why they have such a strong connection to it.
The feelings of anger and dysfunction that shaped grunge music and made Gen X feel understood to have those same feelings are very similar to how Gen Z’s favorite emo-alternative rock music we are. gave us something to cling to as we understood our teenage angst.
For both generations, there was (and still is) a solace in knowing that someone you never met rose to fame by writing music about going through the same things as you. Connecting to music in general is therapeutic, albeit not a bleak and angst-filled context, but there is something special about how grunge music has shaped emo-alternative rock and how it is. have each shaped two distinct generations.
Tate Raub is a sophomore strategic communications student at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the Columnists do not reflect those of The post office. Want to talk more about it? Let Tate know by tweeting her @ tatertot1310.
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