Grunge vs BritPop!! The eternal argument? Not really.

So this guy, Simon Sweetman, has a blog on music on stuff.co.nz and a guest blogger (Joe the Boxer?/) posed the question above.

Please have a read and then I'll tell you how it is.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/blog-on-the-tracks/8661700/Grunge-Vs-Britpop

Firstly there is no such thing as Grunge vs Britpop. Britpop is a sad joke, BritPopRock on the other is a legit genre that people who enjoy rock music can come to terms with.

Mr Boxer makes a valid point in that calling something iconic is done way too much.

Also, in writing this Blog I HAVE noticed that everything comes from America or England. We know that there are some brilliant Aussie bands around. Silverchair comes to mind along with INXS if you want to go a bit old school on it.

I enjoy Kiwi Rock Music as well and I can only imagine that no matter where you live, or what language you speak there are a few local bands you love and you can't understand why they never hit the big time. The Exponents always come to my mind when my fragile little brain wanders off down that set of tracks...

Historically the general music purchasing public are to blame. We only wanted to spend $30 on something we knew (or thought we knew) would be a good investment. So we went along with what everyone else was buying. Sure, singles were available, but not a particularly good investment.

I-tunes is great for combating this problem. You can pick up pretty much any song for $2.37 or so. The only problem with that is people then stay away from albums which will in turn destroy the art of making an 'Album' and that is truly depressing. Just last night I was putting together my new home theatre system and to check the speakers i needed music playing constantly so I fished out Throwing Copper - Live and had that playing in the background as I wired up the speakers one by one.

I learnt two things. (1) it is very cool to listen to the depth of sound improve as you add speakers randomly all over the lounge. (2) Throwing Copper is a god damned sensational album.

Now that I'm over that, lets read quietly while I explain another view on the Grunge vs BritPopRock argument. Mr Boxer looked at the situation from 5 different perspectives. Worldview/philosophy; aesthetic, bands, tunes, legacy/influence and eventually gave the win to BritPop(Rock). I think we can tackle this one.

Firstly let me reiterate my opinion on arguments. Everyone is allowed an opinion, it's not my fault that your opinion is wrong.

Worldview/philosophy

The feeling of cynicism and anger/frustration that grunge interred simply appealed more to me and my social group that the whinging that accompanied the BritPopRock scenario. No matter how much you love Oasis, there is always that spoilt brat quality that they dragged around. Whereas as most of the grunge guys just seemed pissed off with everything and couldn't be bothered complaining about it. As Mr Boxer said, simply easier to have stoned/drunk DAM's (Deep And Meaningful) with all around. But it wasn't whingy.

I agree with the political stuff. I think however, that politics was nowhere near as big a factor with grunge and BritPopRock than it was with Punk back in the 70's. No idea why, but I also associate politics and music with The Police, a band that couldn't be further from grunge or BritPopRock if it tried.

Aesthetic

Well Mr Boxer, you got it right again. Lets see: a bunch of skinny, pasty, mismatched English blokes wearing tight denim and skinny ties vs the rebellious, don't give a fuck, ripped jeans, big sweaters, skate shoes of Grunge. It was like being at school again, it was uniform that you could wear and everyone knew what you were about and you didn't need to iron it on a Sunday night.

The first image I think of when I hear the word grunge is probably the back of the CD insert of Nevermind with a blurry picture of the band with Kurt Cobain giving the finger

As for BritPopRock, I can't really think of a defining image of the genre, but if I stretch my mind I could use this one

or this one

Tunes/Bands

Grunge has far better band names for starters. Although to be fair, which every side had Stone Temple Pilots on it was always going to win because that is the best band name ever.

I'll use the same list Mr Boxer used but by fuck, I couldn't disagree with him further. Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, The Verve, Elastica, Supergrass AND RADIOHEAD. For grunge: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Hole, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney AND THE MEAT PUPPETS AND CANDLEBOX AND DINOSAUR JNR

The difference is that while the Iconic (muahahah) songs (Wonderwall, Song 2, (suede??) Common People, Bittersweet Symphony, (Elastica??), Alright & Creep of BritPopRock are still great, the iconic songs of Grunge are better (Smells Like Teen Spirit, Alive, Today, Plush, Black Hole Sun, Would?, (Mudhoney??), Backwater, Far Behind and Feel The Pain.

Also the periphery around grunge had more penetration. REM got involved, Red Hot Chili Peppers were there and there abouts and bands like Cracker would never have been able to do what they did without the massive impact of grunge.

Legacy / Influence (which really is the conclusion, lets be honest)

Ultimately grunge took out Heavy Metal/Glam Rock in one movement and a short, explosive lifespan while BritPopRock was simply trying to hang on to relevancy once grunge went ballistic.

It might just be me, but I hear more new bands trying to ride the grunge train (Rise Against, Seether) than bopping along to a pseudo BritPopRock beat.

It seems to me that while Grunge died in a fiery, epochal moment, the memory lives on because of its untimely end rather than the sad wasting death of BritPopRock.

Maybe if Kurt Cobain was still having hissy fits at Dave Grohl and Dave Novoselic about who gets to use what percentage of the band name in their solo projects and people made pilgrimage's to the lamp post that a drunk and drugged Gallagher brother had wrapped his Jeep around a few years after releasing What's The Story, Morning Glory? I might be singing a different tune.

Play on Mr Boxer, play on!!