Chris Writing Anything

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What is your favorite genre of music?

If you asked me about my favorite genre of music, and told me to be fairly specific, my answer would be a no brainer. It harkens back to my young adult life, and, admittedly, it suited me perfectly. In this brief post, I’ll explain how I discovered it, and I’ll also tell you why I still love it.

It was spring of 1992, and I was frustrated with popular hard rock music. The giants of the eighties, well, due to fatigue…aging…drugs, hell, I don’t know what it was, but it seemed their music had become watered down. That edgy rock, because of recording label interference, had certainly lost its edge. Even Metallica, which produced the most intense stuff I ever heard, was suddenly bridled.

Then, one day, on a drive home from school, which happened to be in my mom’s Ford Escort….

This frenetic guitar riff jolted the car’s smoky interior. It was full of string mutes, and that attention grasping intro featured a catchy chord progression. Then, to add to the intensity, the most powerful drum intro, a fill I was intent to learn, pounded through the air.

Then, after the music had melded into a chaotic crescendo, this unknown rock trio belted out the best hard rock anthem I had ever heard.

The singer’s voice, well, he certainly didn’t sound as if he belonged in the school choir, but it fit the music perfectly.

What I loved about the song, and still do to this day, is the fact that this recording didn’t seem like it was intended for the masses. What it sounded like, and why I loved it so much, was that three young men, full of angst and testosterone, had decided to vent in their parent’s garage.

As I pulled into my parent’s drive, parking the car but leaving the accessories running, I waited till the song was over. I had hoped the DJ would inform his listeners, as I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to know, what the name of the song was, and I was also dying to know the name of the band that just rocked the crap out of me.

I found out the song was called, and I laughed aloud when I heard the title: ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ It made no sense, but, after hearing the singer’s barely decipherable lyrics, which were catchy but seemingly incoherent, it certainly fit. The name of the band was Nirvana.

Later that week, between class periods, I had asked a classmate, “Hey, have you ever heard of a band called Nirvana?”

This guy always wore black heavy metal t-shirts. His hard rock IQ, when thinking of the music scene, was a lot better than mine. So, I figured he’d be my best resource.

He answered quickly, “Yeah,” He then giggled, “They’re really weird.”

The fact that this guy, who I saw as a heavy metal extraordinaire, thought the band was weird, that caught me off guard. But instead of asking him why he thought they were odd, I asked what was really important, “Does all their music sound like Smells Like Teen Spirit?”

The boy answered with a smile, “Yep!”

After that conversation, I sought the nearest record store and bought Nirvana’s album Nevermind.

Shortly after I purchased that cassette, I discovered another band from Seattle. Front and center in this hard rocking band, the lead singer’s powerful vocals amped up my pulse rate. That band was known as Pearl Jam.

And following that, I discovered more bands, which were very similar, a few more being from the Emerald City, and they sealed my adoration for the grunge genre. I had never been so happy listening to music.

Today, even if I’ve departed from my teenaged angst, I still enjoy those raucous tunes. Almost daily, while cleaning house, I’ll ask Alexa to play ‘90’s Alternative and Grunge. Although, now, as a rather odd combination, I’ll also listen to Christian Rock.

Have an excellent day!