The Popular Classics of Grunge: A Stock Report

Nirvana: Nevermind
There is no expiration date for these tunes, however overcooked. “Lithium” slays. That “yeah, yeah, yyeeaahh, yyyeeeaaahhhh” chorus perfectly encapsulates the kind of inchoate angst that rock 'n' roll has always been about. But what’s up with Butch Vig’s production? I don’t remember the bass, guitar and drums melting into gooey blah. It’s hard to take. In Utero is better.
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Nevermind

Alice in Chains: Dirt
Are you effing kidding me? This record drops one piledriver after another. Not only that, the songwriting is sick. From the sidewinder riffage to the contorted vocal work, everything about this album feels twisted, inverted and gutted. Vedder’s teen-drama shenanigans on “Jeremy” feel sophomoric when compared to the anguish that is “Rain When I Die.” Exposing myself to this kind of pain gets harder and harder with age, however.
Stock: UP
Listen: Dirt 

Pearl Jam: Ten
Spinning Epic's Legacy Edition is cheating, I suppose. E.V. sounds silly ranting about loving himself on “Once” -- or is it me lacking that youthful angst? Another thing about this opening track: what’s up with the fretless bass? It’s smooth jazz. Kind of funny how my friends and I thought Ten was a major break from hair metal. Production-wise, it and Nevermind -- the two titans of grunge -- are awfully slick. But hey, “Black” is gorgeous. (Note to Kerry: At Lollapalooza II Eddie Vedder, a real man of the people, made his way through the sweaty masses. You saw him and ditched us. I got all pissed off, as you have often reminded me. But what you have to understand is this: I had a huge crush on you. There, I finally said it.)
Stock: HOLDING STEADY
Listen: Ten or try the Legacy Edition

Stone Temple Pilots: Core
Core came out in 1992, yet it really is the first post-grunge album. Culturally speaking, the Pilots didn’t fly the flannel. Had they been around a decade earlier they would’ve been chasing pop-metal stardom on the Sunset Strip. Still, the production here beats both Nevermind and Ten. That’s because S.T.P. weren’t hung up on authenticity (Pearl Jam) or afraid of sounding too "big business" (Nirvana). After cranking Dirt, however, “Wicked Garden” and “Sex Type Thing” feel like the Spinal Tap of grunge. “I wanna run through your wicked garden”? What in the hell does that even mean?
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Core

Nirvana: In Utero
This record scared me in 1993, and it scares me now. Nirvana sounds unhinged, particularly on the hellish “Scentless Apprentice.” Steve Albini’s production comes from the “punch you in the face and gouge out your eyes” school. Unlike so many underground bands, Nirvana’s major-label output was far more challenging than their indie stuff. Both sonically and emotionally, In Utero just might be the most extreme album to ever top the Billboard.
Stock: UP
Listen: In Utero

Hole: Live Through This
Though the following statement could land me on Courtney’s hit list, I subscribe to the theory that Kurt wrote most of this album. Even if he didn’t, Ms. Love totally ripped off her hubby’s songwriting tricks. Though I do have to admit: there is no denying Courtney’s howl. It’s a rusty shiv plunged into the base of the spine, especially on “Plump.” Then again, whenever I’m in the mood for tormented grunge full of stop/start dynamics and Pixies-inspired hooks, In Utero is my first choice.
Stock: HOLDING STEADY
Listen: Live Through This

The Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion
Despite Cobain digging them, the Trees aren’t loved like their peers. Moody Mark Lanegan is too tall and detached, while the Connor brothers are too large and detached. Too bad, because they are my fave of all the grunge gods. Sweet Oblivion, which includes “Nearly Lost You,” the band’s killer hit off the Singles soundtrack, is one prescient album. It possesses the same balance of alternative cool, neo-metal heft and classic rock that Queens of the Stone Age have since taken to the bank.
Stock: UP
Listen: Sweet Oblivion

Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger
Because Superunknown feels more like Soundgarden’s “we’re not grunge; we’re classic rock” album, I went with this slab of thunderous man-jams. With a newish album featuring Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Chris Cornell is lost in the wilderness. The Hollywood suit who convinced him to try and play the genre-hopping solo artist angle needs to be escorted from the building. He’s no Mark Lanegan -- he’s a handsome dude with a preternatural roar tailor-made for neo-Zep bombast best performed shirtless. This is an unfortunate development. Badmotorfinger, a play on Montrose’s “Bad Motor Scooter,” is an insanely visceral listen. One of Cornell's good friends needs to lock him in a room with a copy, so he rediscovers the path.
Stock: HOLDING STEADY
Listen: Badmotorfinger

Mudhoney: Piece of Cake
Reprise never would’ve signed Mudhoney had grunge not gone global. They’re just not marketable. That’s why Piece of Cake doesn’t click. Ditching their Neanderthal sludge for sometimes-catchy alternative rock, Mudhoney sound neutered. Not surprisingly, the group released stuff both before and after that’s far better. But if any band deserved a little fame and money, it’s the group that more or less invented grunge!
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Piece of Cake

Singles soundtrack
To answer your question: yes, I wore a flannel button-up the night Singles opened at the local cineplex. I can say with absolutely zero sarcasm that it turned my life, as well as my wardrobe, upside down. You see, I didn’t know anything about Sub Pop or grunge or Seattle before it all blew up. Anyway, this soundtrack contains ace tunes from Pearl Jam, AiC, Soundgarden and the Trees. It also has an intriguing, but ultimately irrelevant, track from Mother Love Bone, a band that wasn’t grunge. They were more “painter’s cap alt-rock” a la Jane’s Addiction, Faith No More and Ugly Kid Joe. Billy Corgan, Inc. also make an appearance with the gorgeous psych-jam “Drown.” I don’t consider the Pumpkins grunge either. In the band’s pre-Siamese Dream days -- and this is something a lot of folks don’t seem to remember -- the group had one foot planted firmly in the neo-hippie scene. In fact, Corgan circa 1991 looks like the kind of shady longhair you’d buy weed off of at a Phish concert in Ithaca, New York.
Stock: HOLDING STEADY

Temple of the Dog: Temple of the Dog
An odd backstory: it’s a one-off tribute to a fallen comrade, Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood, who was barely known outside the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, Temple of the Dog was released on a major label, A&M, before Nevermind, Ten and Badmotorfinger. So all the musicians involved were barely known outside the Pacific Northwest as well. The album then proceeded to go platinum. There are a few chestnuts here, including “Say Hello 2 Heaven” and “Wooden Jesus.” But these guys produced better material in their respective bands, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Temple of the Dog

Even More Listening: The Popular Classics of Grunge playlist