On June 30, 1992, the soundtrack to the upcoming film Singles was released. The Cameron Crowe-directed film would premiere almost three months later. Its plot heavily relied on the quickly growing Seattle grunge scene.
Putting out the soundtrack ahead of the film created more interest in the grunge scene. For the most part, it was sequestered in and around Seattle at the time. But it was quickly gaining traction, and Singles helped send it nationwide. The list included tracks from previously established Seattle artists like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, and Screaming Trees.
These bands are often considered pioneers of early grunge, which evolved in the 90s with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and others. Speaking of Pearl Jam, “Breath” and “State of Love and Trust” were featured on the soundtrack.
1992 Soundtrack Featuring Grunge Bands Helped Spread the Genre Nationwide
While Singles was instrumental in bringing grunge to a wider audience, the soundtrack wasn’t exclusively Seattle bands. The Smashing Pumpkins contributed the song “Drown”, while Paul Westerberg of The Replacements featured “Dyslexic Heart” and “Waiting for Somebody”.
Additionally, The Lovemongers, a later project for Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, contributed a live cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Battle of Evermore”. The 1967 track “May This Be Love” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was also used. Both the Wilsons and Hendrix were from Seattle, in keeping with the theme.
Upon its release, the soundtrack received high praise from critics and fans. Several publications gave it high ratings, and it went multi-Platinum in the U.S. Essentially, it helped solidify the idea of the Seattle grunge scene as we know it today. Much of grunge was considered underground, relatively under the radar at the time. If you were in and around Seattle, you knew all about it. But it didn’t really hit mainstream consideration until Singles.
In 2017, a deluxe edition of the soundtrack was released to commemorate the movie’s 25th anniversary. It included updated liner notes from director Cameron Crowe, as well as an 18-track bonus CD. Alongside acoustic tracks and demos, the bonus CD included a song by Citizen Dick, the fictional band from the movie led by Matt Dillon’s character. They played a song called “Touch Me I’m Dick”, a parody of the Mudhoney hit “Touch Me I’m Sick”.
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