Music Fans Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for music historians, critics, and fans. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
You often hear of early 90's Seattle music as having "Th Seattle Sound". What, exactly, are they talking about? Seattle has birthed Heart, Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Queensryche, among others. None o fthem really sounds very similar to me, even if you're just looking at PJ/Soundgarden/Nirvana/Mother Love Bone.
So, what is the "sound" they're talking about?
I have listened to a lot of music from the list you named and if I am not mistaken this is what it means:
From Wikipedia:
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in Seattle.
From Wikipedia Grunge is generally characterized by:
Heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics
"Growling" vocals and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics.
Many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics.
Sludgy guitar sound that uses a high level of distortion, fuzz, and feedback effects
Grunge fuses elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal
Lyrics are typically angst-filled, often addressing themes such as social alienation, apathy, confinement, and a desire for freedom.
And while it may seem as if none of the musicians you named have anything in common, they do appear to share many of the characteristics listed above.
