The grunge era was a big deal to us 90s kids. I mean, I was about 10—in the mid 90s—before I discovered it, to be fair. Even that late, it still meant a lot to me, and there are a ton of songs I know we all still know by heart.
I’m not talking about the most popular ones. The ones that EVERYONE knows. I’m also not talking about the deep DEEP cuts. The B-side demos that purists give you s**t for not knowing.
This is all about those important songs that made real grunge fans out of a generation of Gen-X/Millenial inbetweeners. These are the songs for us.
“I Stay Away” by Alice in Chains
Everybody loves “Rooster” and “Man in the Box”. You’re a real 90s grunge kid, though, if you can still sing along to Alice in Chains’ 1994 tune “I Stay Away”.
It’s really a lovely track, honestly. There’s a beautiful melody to it, and the string arrangement just really drives it home. You almost feel classy belting this one out in the car.
“Animal” by Pearl Jam
The third single off of Pearl Jam’s sophomore album, Vs., “Animal” is hands down one of the best songs they ever released to radio. It’s very rock ‘n’ roll; borderline not even grunge, but if it’s got Eddie Vedder’s distinct vocals, it’s grunge as f**k.
“Jesus Christ Pose” by Soundgarden
Some of you are going to reject this, I can already feel it, but: “Jesus Christ Pose” by Soundgarden is one of these songs. It’s huge with 90s kids, but in the mainstream fandom, it gets overlooked quite a bit.
Even though the song was technically written about rock stars with god complexes, I think, maybe, there’s an element of the song that speaks to the religious trauma of late Gen-Xers/Elder Millennials. I’m not gonna get into a whole thing, but suffice it to say: if you know, you know.
Also, it’s just a killer song with such a memorable riff.
“Drain You” by Nirvana
It’s tough because Nirvana is almost split down the middle, with songs everyone knows on one side of the line and songs only hardcore fans know on the other side. So, what are the songs right on that line?
For me, “Drain You” is one of those songs. It’s not super well-known to just anyone. But it’s also not an obscure track. It’s one that real 90s kids remember and love just as much as “Smells Like Teen Spirit“.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
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