Grunge Forum

Luciditypro wrote:

Canucker wrote:Ok I'll give my spin on all the heroin jokes around here. Its a form of backlash against drug use. Mocking it to show you think its not cool. We're all fans of a music style that set in the past. I bet a lot of people here have had people stupidly ask them "Why are you obsessed with a style of music thats made by a bunch of junkies?"....so its a backlash to that generalization that we've faced.

^totally made my day, glad you understand.

The "bunch of junkies" thing, happens to me all the time, I just play people the music, usually they still don't get it

PJAICfan wrote:

Luciditypro wrote:

Canucker wrote:Ok I'll give my spin on all the heroin jokes around here. Its a form of backlash against drug use. Mocking it to show you think its not cool. We're all fans of a music style that set in the past. I bet a lot of people here have had people stupidly ask them "Why are you obsessed with a style of music thats made by a bunch of junkies?"....so its a backlash to that generalization that we've faced.

^totally made my day, glad you understand.

The "bunch of junkies" thing, happens to me all the time, I just play people the music, usually they still don't get it

Yeah really, as if the Rolling Stones weren't "a bunch of junkies", as if all the rap people of today talking about drugs aren't "a bunch of junkies", stupid people. I don't freaking care who is or isn't a junkie (I mean obviously if it's a big problem for them or they die from it I'll think it's sad but I'm not going to base my musical taste on who is or isn't a drug user), it's not like I'm stupid enough to become one because some of my idols are. And really, how many plumbers or doctors or construction workers or teachers are "a bunch of junkies"? People seem to single out musicians when the person right down the street could be even worse of a junkie. Though yes I do tend to joke around with the stereotypes because they are just stereotypes (though I do fit in with a lot of them, but it's not like nearly everyone did). I'm always thinking if anyone asked me why I wear flannel I'll say "Oh yeah well they make you sign a waver that you'll always wear flannel, or else you can't be a grunge fan, and if you break the deal, they'll sic Courtney Love on you and she'll annoy you with her craziness."

KristinNirvana wrote: "Oh yeah well they make you sign a waver that you'll always wear flannel, or else you can't be a grunge fan, and if you break the deal, they'll sic Courtney Love on you and she'll annoy you with her craziness."

And lo, not for the first time, Dylan did foam at the nostril due to forum based comedy greatness mixing most unfavourably with beer.

Paul1966 wrote:

Luciditypro wrote:Like THIS: http://soundcloud.com/jmusic01234/i-sho ... in/s-Q5kTX

Wrote and recorded this in like, one hour.

Not bad, sounds more punk than grunge to me, but that's cool.

Whats with the heroin references at this forum? You people joke about it like it's cool or something. The vocalists for two of grunges most influential bands died from heroin overdoses! There's nothing "cool" or "funny" about heroin. For that matter, there's nothing cool about any drug use. Drugs kill, period. You don't need them, you are talented. Rely on your talent and when life sucks, rely on your friends. Never try to escape with drugs.

Had Andy waited for Xana to come home from work rather than going back to the needle, he might still be here. Had Layne sought is friends when life was going down the toilet, he might still be here as well.

Drugs are not cool, but there wouldn't be Sgt. Pepper's, Are You Experienced, The Doors, Exile on Main St, Led Zeppelin IV, Appetite for Destruction, Nevermind without them.

Elektra Foxx wrote:

Paul1966 wrote:

Luciditypro wrote:Like THIS: http://soundcloud.com/jmusic01234/i-sho ... in/s-Q5kTX

Wrote and recorded this in like, one hour.

Not bad, sounds more punk than grunge to me, but that's cool.

Whats with the heroin references at this forum? You people joke about it like it's cool or something. The vocalists for two of grunges most influential bands died from heroin overdoses! There's nothing "cool" or "funny" about heroin. For that matter, there's nothing cool about any drug use. Drugs kill, period. You don't need them, you are talented. Rely on your talent and when life sucks, rely on your friends. Never try to escape with drugs.

Had Andy waited for Xana to come home from work rather than going back to the needle, he might still be here. Had Layne sought is friends when life was going down the toilet, he might still be here as well.

Drugs are not cool, but there wouldn't be Sgt. Pepper's, Are You Experienced, The Doors, Exile on Main St, Led Zeppelin IV, Appetite for Destruction, Nevermind without them.

Not to mention...
Dirt
Loveless
Stone Roses
24 Hr. Party People
Superunkown
Houdini
Dopesmoker
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Unknown Pleasures
Siamese Dream
The House of Love
The Velvet Underground and Nico
Power Corruption + Lies
Psychocandy
The Grandeur of Hair

Musicians get centered out because...well if they're famous they're under a microscope...and in many cases they are just honest about it and let it inspire they're work. Following that quite a number of them go on to talk about how they never had any inspiration or productive times during drug use. All in all it can make them sound pretty stupid. We hear so much about it cus really how many people listen to joe schmoe down the street talk about his experiences? One of the professions that are NOTORIOUS for drug use and alcoholism is roofing. Seasonal work thats totally based on the weather...you make good money one day and then for lord knows how long your stuck at home looking at the rain out the window....so have a burst of cash and then it dries up and you can worry about the upcoming bills. I was made aware of this by a guy who had his own roofing business...he had trouble keeping employees. Then when my sisters nieghbourhood was being built and once it was time for all the roofs to be built there were empty beer bottles in the front yard of all the houses that were worked on. Great your drinking in the sun on a two story building and then your throwing your bottles down into the yard of your customers.

Luciditypro wrote:

Canucker wrote:Ok I'll give my spin on all the heroin jokes around here. Its a form of backlash against drug use. Mocking it to show you think its not cool. We're all fans of a music style that set in the past. I bet a lot of people here have had people stupidly ask them "Why are you obsessed with a style of music thats made by a bunch of junkies?"....so its a backlash to that generalization that we've faced.

^totally made my day, glad you understand.

Glad to know people think I'm right about something for change! I'm surpised this kinda conversation didn't happen sooner.

Paul1966 wrote:Okay, I've been playing guitar since 1981 and I lived in Seattle during the grunge explosion, but I just can't seem to put together a chord progression that sounds like grunge. Any tips?

If listening to Jerry Cantrell or Kim Thayil doesn't get you there, you could look at some artists that have inspired these bands.

When playing around with alternate tunings, listen to some Joni Mitchell but think Soundgarden. It will probably end up sounding a bit like "The Battle Of Evermore" in your head and take you right to Led Zeppelin, shedding some light on the blues side of things, though Joni, your starting point, is pretty much folk. But is she really just that? I don't think so. Neither are Soundgarden just grunge.

What I'm saying is think outside the box. Music is all connected, there is no code or recipe, unless you want to sound generic. Don't get too caught up with the 'grunge' thing, just be yourself. A good song is a good song, and if you're feeling grunge, that will probably end up as a form of poetry coming out of you 'the right way' anyway. Take it easy.

sacomusic wrote:

Paul1966 wrote:Music is all connected

This.

Almost anything can sound grungy, TBH. Take "Here She comes Now" by the Velvet Underground, the original from 1968 doesn't sound very grungy, but Nirvana's cover version from 1990 does because its not the chords or the key, its the distortion and guitar sound.

I find that certain chord changes have a slightly grungier vibe to them than others. A good one on a minor scale is jumping from your 1 chord to your 3 chord or 4 chord to 6, as heard on the riffs to Nirvana's "Rape Me" and "About a Girl", also "Angel Eyes" by Jerry Cantrell.
To a lesser extent, say you're in E minor, substituting your 3rd chord on the minor scale for the 3rd in E Major (in other words going from Em to G#) produces a grungy sound too, although if you're just getting started with songwriting (it takes decades to fully make sense of), then its better to stick within standard scale patterns.

Since it was common for grunge artists, and proto-grunge artists like Neil Young, to record in half stepdown tuning, this should not be overlooked either.

Also, remember this: Nobody owns a chord progression.
For almost every chord progression you hear in grunge, there is guaranteed to be one (almost) exactly alike elsewhere:
- Nirvana's "Polly" is The 4-Skin's "On the Street" (minor: 1st-3rd-7th-6th)
- Alice in Chains' "Don't Follow" is a modified the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" (major: 1st (x2)- 4th - 5th)
- Bush's "Glycerine" is a million different things, including Manic Street Preachers "Motorcycle Emptiness", Misfits' "Skulls" and Jorney's "Don't Stop Believing" (major: 1st-5th-6th-4th)

Regardless of whether it's accidental or not, there is nothing (within reason) wrong with using a chord progression that has already been used - so long as you find a new rhyming pattern when it comes to the lyrics, and it doesnt hurt to add on a hammer note or two.

But, if you're plagarising chord progressions, firstly don't do it too often, and second, best stick to standard 4 chord sequences. If you're directly ripping something really distinctive like Eagles, "Hotel California" (granted that sounded a lot like a Jethro Tull song from 7 years prior), the less likely you are to pull it off successfully.