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Throwback Thursday IX

It might be too early for the official wave of nostalgia to kick in, but I've been going through a bit of a grunge phase over the last couple of weeks. Since picking up a used copy of the Mudhoney compilation March To Fuzz, I've been spinning loads of bands from the late '80s and early '90s Pacific Northwest scene. It's a shame that the post-grunge bands like Creed and Nickelback gave the genre such a bad rap there for awhile because, really, a lot of this is worth investigating. To get you started, here's a four-pack of some of my very favorite grunge era tunes.

Mudhoney - "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More"
Despite distilling the insane Seattle hype of the early 1990s in a near perfect tune ("Overblown") and being name-checked by nearly every band remotely linked to the grunge scene, these guys never got the recognition they deserved. The may not have been as heavy as some of their contemporaries, but they more than made up for it with a wicked sense of humor and keen observational sarcasm.

Green River - "Queen Bitch"
Before there was Pearl Jam, there was Mother Love Bone. But before there was Mother Love Bone, there was Green River. Green River ended up being one of the most influential grunge bands in Seattle, if only because of the players involved and where they ended up. Lead singer Mark Arm and original guitarist Steve Turner ended up in Mudhoney, while second guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, and Turner's later replacement Bruce Fairweather all went on to form Mother Love Bone with Andrew Wood. Ament and Gossard are, of course, still members of the hugely popular Pearl Jam. Here they are with a Pacific Northwest take on a Bowie classic.

Tad - "Hibernations"
If grunge could be boiled down to its two most essential influences, metal and punk, Tad would be the band that emphasized the former with huge, crushing riffs that sounded as if they had crawled directly out of the primordial sludge. Tad was among the first wave of grunge bands to make a splash by being one of the first signees to the hugely influential Sub Pop label.

Pond - "Young Splendor"
Pond was another grunge-era band that never really reached the number of fans they deserved, but that may be partly blamed on unfortunate geography. While major labels and scene-riding hordes were descending on Seattle like so many vultures, Pond were cranking out their raucous noise in nearby Portland. Check out "Young Splendor" and see why they deserve to be remembered.

In other news, you might have noticed that I finally engaged in some long overdue organizing of the links to the left. I cut a couple dead links, but I added quite a few more of my favorite sites and blogs.

Also, my review of the debut record by NME buzz band The View is up over at Static.