I was around 12 when I first started listening to grunge. I think I called it rock, and wasn’t really aware of the “movement” happening around it yet because I was too young to get involved with it. I adored Nirvana, I worshipped Soundgarden, I idolized Pearl Jam, I was obsessed with Smashing Pumpkins and Alice in Chains, and I was convinced I was going to marry Anthony Keidis until Californication came out. I made many attempts to connect with Kurt Cobain’s spirit via homemade Ouija boards, sometimes successful.
What’s really wild for me now is watching 90s rock resurface in young bands in 2023 — now I get a second chance to be a part of underground grunge and alternative rock and shoegaze in my 40s because I missed out on it when I was a kid. I wasn’t able to see any of my favorite bands come up because, by the time I got into them as a young teenager in the early 90s, they were already stadium-level famous. Decades later, I can see the influence of that era in a lot of the music coming out today, and I’m excited about it. For a while, I thought the 90s shame would last forever, so seeing younger generations discovering and celebrating 90s music is both rad and relieving!
Through CVLT Nation and through being eternally curious about new music, my music tastes don’t live in the past, but I still enjoy exploring the music that moved me in my youth. So I really love @reels.grunge for sharing clips from some of the bands I loved most in the 90s. Check out some of their recent clips below…
