Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s classic Nevermind, an album that sparked the rise of grunge in popular culture.
Dr Catherine Strong, a lecturer at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, is about to release a book reflecting on the legacy of grunge, titled Grunge: Music and Memory.
Grunge, a sub-genre of rock, was an alternative music movement that occurred in the early 90s which was known for its dark sound, back-to-basics musicianship and often ironic lyrics.
“When I started doing my Ph.D, I considered studying punk, although I discovered a lot of work had already been published on it,” Dr Strong said.
“There were only a handful of academic articles on grunge, and no books, and I thought it was something worth looking at.”
Interest in grunge remains strong today, almost 20 years after the death of its most recognisable icon, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who shot himself in 1994.
“Kurt was a contradictory figure, on one hand he had the reputation of being really pure, of being only about the music,” Dr Strong said.
“But he also enabled Nirvana to be marketed to a mass audience, with his choice of producers, record labels and so on.
Grunge: Music and Memory explores how grunge has been remembered by fans who grew up with it, and asks how memory is both formed by and forms popular culture, Dr Strong said.
“It looks at the relationship between media, memory and music fans and demonstrates how different groups can use and shape memory as part of an ongoing struggle for power in society.
“Grunge epitomised such a struggle, as popular music so often does, when the young people of the time ask questions about their place in the world and the way society is organised.
“Grunge had anti-commercial and anti-capitalist messages, yet those things ended up getting lost along the way.
“Grunge also had a strong message of equality, supporting gay rights and women’s rights, yet this political aspect isn’t discussed much these days.”
“The book shows that although grunge challenged many social structures, the way it, and youth itself, are remembered often work to reinforce the status quo.”
Grunge’s punk and rock sounds famously made an impact in the early 90s after heavy music had been dominated in the 80s by metal acts.
“It appealed heavy music fans, when people were getting sick of hair metal, and also pop fans as the mainstream charts were getting pretty tired around that time,” Dr Strong said.
“The thing about (Nirvana anthem) Smells Like Teen Spirit is that it’s very catchy.
“It managed to catch the attention of lots of different groups at the same time.
“Pearl Jam and Nirvana also made some very clever moves about where to put their albums out.”
Grunge: Music and Memory is Dr Strong’s first book, and it is based on the work she did while completing her Ph.D.
It is available at academic bookstores and via www.ashgate.com in hardback and ebook form.