Originating in Seattle, grunge took America by storm in the late ’80s and early ’90s — and became just as much a lifestyle as it was a music genre.
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17 Pictures Of When Seattle Grunge Took Over The World
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These 55 Pictures From The 1990s Perfectly Capture The End Of The 20th Century
1 of 56The first Pearl Jam show ever, with the band calling itself Mookie Blaylock, at the Off Ramp Cafe.
“I will always remember when I heard ‘Alive,’ ‘Once,’ ‘Evenflow,’ and ‘Black,’ in that order, for the first time ever that night,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was mind-blowing!”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 2 of 56Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell in his element.Karen Mason-Blair 3 of 56Devon Gummersall and Jared Leto during their My So-Called Life days, before Leto’s love of grunge inspired him to make music of his own.
Dec. 2, 1994. Los Angeles, California.Facebook 4 of 56Alice In Chains posing in flannel while catching the holiday spirit.
- Instagram 5 of 56Mother Love Bone was yet another hugely promising act to come out of the burgeoning Seattle grunge scene. Tragically, frontman Andrew Wood died only a few days before the band’s debut album Apple was set for release.
Two of the band’s members, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, subsequently formed Temple of the Dog with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Cornell even recruited Eddie Vedder — then an up-and-coming musician — to join. It was after this tumultuous reorganization that Vedder finally formed Pearl Jam with Gossard and Ament, and broke out into mainstream success.
“Rocking those colorful thrift shop threads!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “These publicity photos were for the upcoming Apple album.”
March 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 6 of 56Mother Love Bone on stage at The Vogue.
“We never dressed up more than when we were going to the Vogue,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was always packed, and often you would see the owner in a dress dancing on the bar!”
- Seattle, Washington. Karen Mason-Blair 7 of 56Everybody wants to be left alone once in a while, including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Mid-1990s. Seattle, Washington.Reddit 8 of 56Believe it or not, these three iconic bands toured together for one week in December 1991. From L.A. and San Francisco to Arizona and New York City, a few thousand lucky fans saw Pearl Jam and Nirvana open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Salem, Oregon.Facebook 9 of 56Soundgarden is not impressed with the anti-grunge sentiment ebbing into the mainstream.
Early 1990s.Twitter 10 of 56Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley singing his heart out, a little over a decade before he died of an overdose in his Seattle home.
“Classic Layne,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “This is how I’ll always remember him. Just another night in Seattle.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 11 of 56The light shines on a young Kurt Cobain performing at The Paramount a few years before his death.
“The greatness of Kurt, and the loneliness of being Kurt,” said Karen Mason-Blair. “We miss you, friend.”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 12 of 56An iconic photo captured during the making of 1992’s grunge-centric romantic comedy Singles in Seattle. From left to right: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Matt Dillon, Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley, and director Cameron Crowe.
Seattle, Washington.Reddit 13 of 56By 1993, grunge had already taken over the globe — as evidenced by the masses of grunge fans at this north London festival.
May 9, 1993. Stoke Newington, England.Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 14 of 56Three skater girls sticking it to the man in typical ’90s fashion.
1992.Pinterest 15 of 56Eddie Vedder’s first public appearance as lead singer of Pearl Jam.
“I remember thinking it must be really hard to be the follow up to Andrew Wood, but he did it!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “When I heard ‘Black’ that night, I thought, ‘This guy can really sing, and he sings from his heart!’”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 16 of 56Gods of the genre like Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain called Suzi Gardner (left) and her grunge band L7 their peers.
The band was often raunchier than their male counterparts, as well — with Donita Sparks (right) throwing her bloody tampon at a Reading Festival fan who threw mud onstage.
- Suzi Gardner 17 of 56Alice In Chains during their Facelift years — which became the first grunge album to be certified gold on Sept. 11, 1991.
“The forever famous Seattle layered look was so good,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “The service elevator soon became iconic to grunge era photos. This one went viral! You can’t search Alice in Chains and not find it. So much so, that my attorney gave up chasing it down!”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 18 of 56Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon having lunch during Sonic Youth’s 1991 tour across Europe. The experience was chronicled in Dave Markey’s 1991: The Year Punk Broke documentary.
London, England.Tara Films 19 of 56The Screaming Trees at Pioneer Square in Seattle.
“This is an outtake from the photo session for the album Sweet Oblivion,” explained photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “‘Shadow of the Season’ is one of my favorite songs ever.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 20 of 56With a lineup from Mudhoney and L7 to the Melvins and Nirvana, the 20th Reading Festival was a grunge fan’s dream.
Aug. 28 to Aug. 30, 1992. Reading, England.Twitter 21 of 56Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland giving Lori Barbero of Babes In Toyland a backstage smooch.
Aug. 10, 1994. St. Paul, Minnesota.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 22 of 56"I think this might have been at the RCK CNDY, a popular Seattle night club," recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “Jerry, Mike, and Layne [of Alice In Chains] were always goofing off. It was hard to believe that they were signed to a major label and going on a national tour! The rest was history, too.“Karen Mason-Blair 23 of 56Before he was Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage sang in a band called Whizzy — and regularly performed in bars across New York City.
Early 1990s.Twitter 24 of 56"We were all on this wild ride, none of us knowing what would happen next,” recalled Karen Mason-Blair while photographing Chris Cornell. “When we made eye contact in this shot, I felt like that is what his look said to me.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 25 of 56When two reigniting grunge bands clash — they casually hang out and have fun. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden clearly enjoyed their time backstage together at Lollapalooza.
July 1992. Irvine, California.Reddit 26 of 56Drew Barrymore welcomes Courtney Love’s embrace, with both women having survived harrowing childhoods.
1990.Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images 27 of 56An icon to countless rock, punk, pop, grunge, and alternative artists, Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth started in the 1980s — and were already legends when grunge took off.
- Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images 28 of 56Mudhoney rocking the show as openers for Soundgarden at The I-Beam.
Feb. 13, 1989. San Francisco, California.Instagram 29 of 56While Nevermind skyrocketed Nirvana into global stardom, the band’s 1989 release Bleach saw a cult following spread from Aberdeen, Washington throughout the emerging grunge scene as a whole.
Early 1990s.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 56Grunge fans squeeze together at the Off Ramp Cafe to catch a show.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 31 of 56Kiss guitarist and singer Gene Simmons grimacing for the camera with mischievous Stone Temple Pilot, Scott Weiland.
April 1993. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 32 of 56Sonic Youth’s performance at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater ended with Kim Gordon playing on her back as friends of the band watch from backstage.
Sept. 26, 1992. Castaic, California. Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 33 of 56Kurt and Courtney celebrating the festive December 1992 holiday season by attending a Mudhoney concert.
Dec. 4, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 34 of 56Nirvana had just released their 1989 debut Bleach, with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell a clear fan. Left to right: Cornell, Andy Wood of Seattle grunge band Mother Love Bone, and Ian Astbury of British hard rock group The Cult.
- Seattle, Washington.Facebook 35 of 56Pond performing at The Oz in Seattle.
1992-1993. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 36 of 56Seattle was unquestionably the birthplace of grunge, with numerous successful groups vying for the spotlight. Despite their apparent competition, Dave Abbruzzese (left) and Stone Gossard (right) of Pearl Jam got along swimmingly with Jerry Cantrell (center) of Alice In Chains.
December 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images 37 of 56Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, well aware that a proper rock show must end with a bang.
Aug. 25, 1991. Hasselt, Belgium.Niels van Iperen/Getty Images 38 of 56Eddie Vedder is pulled back onstage after hurling himself into the crowd.
Sept. 20, 1992. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 39 of 56While partying with Kurt Cobain on New Year’s Eve, Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm (left) OD’d. A frantic Courtney Love called Sub Pop Record’s Jonathan Poneman and yelled, “What should I do? One of the guys on your label is OD’ing.” Fortunately, Arm was saved by paramedics.
Early 1990s.Twitter 40 of 56L7’s Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks would purposefully urinate in public or drop their pants to make it clear they weren’t a tame grunge act.
- Seattle, Washington. Instagram 41 of 56Grunge fashion was a common sight on mainstream TV shows like My So-Called Life starring Jared Leto.
Early 1990s.ABC 42 of 56Mudhoney’s Mark Arm (left) being thoroughly appreciated by fellow band member Steve Turner.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 43 of 56A highly amused Dave Grohl smiles for the camera as drag queen RuPaul holds Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean.
Sept. 2, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc./Getty Images 44 of 56Cobain stage diving at the University of Washington ballroom — with the masses in sweat-soaked flannels below preparing for what’s to come.
Jan. 6, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 45 of 56Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea hanging out with Kurt Cobain. Cobain’s shirt is inspired by an album from one of the most cherished singers and visual artists of the alternative music scene — Daniel Johnston.
Sept. 9, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Kevin.Mazur/INACTIVE/Getty Images 46 of 56Just over a month before Kurt Cobain’s death shocked the world, Pearl Jam is rocking the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
March 4, 1994. Atlanta, Georgia.Reddit 47 of 56Grunge king Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
Mid-1990s.HBO 48 of 56Depending on who you ask, grunge was just as political as punk or hip-hop. At least, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder didn’t seem to mind announcing his distaste for George H.W. Bush.
1991.Anna Krajec/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 49 of 56A ’90s triumvirate hanging out with unpredictable results: Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains licks Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea’s chest as Krist Novoselic of Nirvana silently begs for help.
April 5, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images 50 of 56Kurt Cobain admitted there was just “no way I couldn’t have let the Melvins influence me, they’re just such a great band.” Hailing from just outside of Seattle like Cobain, the Melvins were seminal in the creation of both grunge and sludge metal.
London, England.David Corio/Getty Images 51 of 56After a solid decade with Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon formed alternative rock group Free Kitten. They’re seen here at an English venue called The Charlotte, one year after forming.
Leicester, England.Flickr 52 of 56Though celebrated like a god by his grunge disciples, Kurt Cobain nonetheless checks his wallet chain while crowdsurfing.
Nov. 12, 1991. Frankfurt, Germany.Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images 53 of 56Chris Cornell bringing energy to a Rip Magazine show as the frontman of Soundgarden — one of the most seminal grunge bands of the genre.
October 1991. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images 54 of 56Pearl Jam performing at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle. Foundational in bringing grunge to the masses, the group’s debut album Ten dropped a few weeks before Nirvana’s — and has since sold more than 10 million copies.
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 55 of 56Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5, 1994 arguably put an end to the heyday of grunge. Here lie a few of the worldly possessions Cobain had on his person before he left this world.
April 8, 1994. Seattle, Washington.Seattle Police Department 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
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55 Grunge Pictures That Capture The Height Of Generation X View Gallery
With the 1990s receding ever further from memory, it’s a good time to stop the clock for a second and reflect. The grunge pictures in this gallery explore the emergence of the music genre in the early ’90s — and its impact on everything from fashion to pop culture to society at large.
Like this gallery?Share it:
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And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
17 Pictures Of When Seattle Grunge Took Over The World
‘Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair’: 33 Pictures Of The Summer Of Love In San Francisco
These 55 Pictures From The 1990s Perfectly Capture The End Of The 20th Century
1 of 56The first Pearl Jam show ever, with the band calling itself Mookie Blaylock, at the Off Ramp Cafe.
“I will always remember when I heard ‘Alive,’ ‘Once,’ ‘Evenflow,’ and ‘Black,’ in that order, for the first time ever that night,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was mind-blowing!”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 2 of 56Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell in his element.Karen Mason-Blair 3 of 56Devon Gummersall and Jared Leto during their My So-Called Life days, before Leto’s love of grunge inspired him to make music of his own.
Dec. 2, 1994. Los Angeles, California.Facebook 4 of 56Alice In Chains posing in flannel while catching the holiday spirit.
- Instagram 5 of 56Mother Love Bone was yet another hugely promising act to come out of the burgeoning Seattle grunge scene. Tragically, frontman Andrew Wood died only a few days before the band’s debut album Apple was set for release.
Two of the band’s members, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, subsequently formed Temple of the Dog with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Cornell even recruited Eddie Vedder — then an up-and-coming musician — to join. It was after this tumultuous reorganization that Vedder finally formed Pearl Jam with Gossard and Ament, and broke out into mainstream success.
“Rocking those colorful thrift shop threads!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “These publicity photos were for the upcoming Apple album.”
March 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 6 of 56Mother Love Bone on stage at The Vogue.
“We never dressed up more than when we were going to the Vogue,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was always packed, and often you would see the owner in a dress dancing on the bar!”
- Seattle, Washington. Karen Mason-Blair 7 of 56Everybody wants to be left alone once in a while, including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Mid-1990s. Seattle, Washington.Reddit 8 of 56Believe it or not, these three iconic bands toured together for one week in December 1991. From L.A. and San Francisco to Arizona and New York City, a few thousand lucky fans saw Pearl Jam and Nirvana open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Salem, Oregon.Facebook 9 of 56Soundgarden is not impressed with the anti-grunge sentiment ebbing into the mainstream.
Early 1990s.Twitter 10 of 56Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley singing his heart out, a little over a decade before he died of an overdose in his Seattle home.
“Classic Layne,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “This is how I’ll always remember him. Just another night in Seattle.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 11 of 56The light shines on a young Kurt Cobain performing at The Paramount a few years before his death.
“The greatness of Kurt, and the loneliness of being Kurt,” said Karen Mason-Blair. “We miss you, friend.”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 12 of 56An iconic photo captured during the making of 1992’s grunge-centric romantic comedy Singles in Seattle. From left to right: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Matt Dillon, Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley, and director Cameron Crowe.
Seattle, Washington.Reddit 13 of 56By 1993, grunge had already taken over the globe — as evidenced by the masses of grunge fans at this north London festival.
May 9, 1993. Stoke Newington, England.Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 14 of 56Three skater girls sticking it to the man in typical ’90s fashion.
1992.Pinterest 15 of 56Eddie Vedder’s first public appearance as lead singer of Pearl Jam.
“I remember thinking it must be really hard to be the follow up to Andrew Wood, but he did it!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “When I heard ‘Black’ that night, I thought, ‘This guy can really sing, and he sings from his heart!’”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 16 of 56Gods of the genre like Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain called Suzi Gardner (left) and her grunge band L7 their peers.
The band was often raunchier than their male counterparts, as well — with Donita Sparks (right) throwing her bloody tampon at a Reading Festival fan who threw mud onstage.
- Suzi Gardner 17 of 56Alice In Chains during their Facelift years — which became the first grunge album to be certified gold on Sept. 11, 1991.
“The forever famous Seattle layered look was so good,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “The service elevator soon became iconic to grunge era photos. This one went viral! You can’t search Alice in Chains and not find it. So much so, that my attorney gave up chasing it down!”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 18 of 56Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon having lunch during Sonic Youth’s 1991 tour across Europe. The experience was chronicled in Dave Markey’s 1991: The Year Punk Broke documentary.
London, England.Tara Films 19 of 56The Screaming Trees at Pioneer Square in Seattle.
“This is an outtake from the photo session for the album Sweet Oblivion,” explained photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “‘Shadow of the Season’ is one of my favorite songs ever.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 20 of 56With a lineup from Mudhoney and L7 to the Melvins and Nirvana, the 20th Reading Festival was a grunge fan’s dream.
Aug. 28 to Aug. 30, 1992. Reading, England.Twitter 21 of 56Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland giving Lori Barbero of Babes In Toyland a backstage smooch.
Aug. 10, 1994. St. Paul, Minnesota.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 22 of 56"I think this might have been at the RCK CNDY, a popular Seattle night club,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “Jerry, Mike, and Layne [of Alice In Chains] were always goofing off. It was hard to believe that they were signed to a major label and going on a national tour! The rest was history, too.“Karen Mason-Blair 23 of 56Before he was Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage sang in a band called Whizzy — and regularly performed in bars across New York City.
Early 1990s.Twitter 24 of 56"We were all on this wild ride, none of us knowing what would happen next,” recalled Karen Mason-Blair while photographing Chris Cornell. “When we made eye contact in this shot, I felt like that is what his look said to me.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 25 of 56When two reigniting grunge bands clash — they casually hang out and have fun. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden clearly enjoyed their time backstage together at Lollapalooza.
July 1992. Irvine, California.Reddit 26 of 56Drew Barrymore welcomes Courtney Love’s embrace, with both women having survived harrowing childhoods.
1990.Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images 27 of 56An icon to countless rock, punk, pop, grunge, and alternative artists, Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth started in the 1980s — and were already legends when grunge took off.
- Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images 28 of 56Mudhoney rocking the show as openers for Soundgarden at The I-Beam.
Feb. 13, 1989. San Francisco, California.Instagram 29 of 56While Nevermind skyrocketed Nirvana into global stardom, the band’s 1989 release Bleach saw a cult following spread from Aberdeen, Washington throughout the emerging grunge scene as a whole.
Early 1990s.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 56Grunge fans squeeze together at the Off Ramp Cafe to catch a show.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 31 of 56Kiss guitarist and singer Gene Simmons grimacing for the camera with mischievous Stone Temple Pilot, Scott Weiland.
April 1993. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 32 of 56Sonic Youth’s performance at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater ended with Kim Gordon playing on her back as friends of the band watch from backstage.
Sept. 26, 1992. Castaic, California. Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 33 of 56Kurt and Courtney celebrating the festive December 1992 holiday season by attending a Mudhoney concert.
Dec. 4, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 34 of 56Nirvana had just released their 1989 debut Bleach, with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell a clear fan. Left to right: Cornell, Andy Wood of Seattle grunge band Mother Love Bone, and Ian Astbury of British hard rock group The Cult.
- Seattle, Washington.Facebook 35 of 56Pond performing at The Oz in Seattle.
1992-1993. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 36 of 56Seattle was unquestionably the birthplace of grunge, with numerous successful groups vying for the spotlight. Despite their apparent competition, Dave Abbruzzese (left) and Stone Gossard (right) of Pearl Jam got along swimmingly with Jerry Cantrell (center) of Alice In Chains.
December 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images 37 of 56Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, well aware that a proper rock show must end with a bang.
Aug. 25, 1991. Hasselt, Belgium.Niels van Iperen/Getty Images 38 of 56Eddie Vedder is pulled back onstage after hurling himself into the crowd.
Sept. 20, 1992. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 39 of 56While partying with Kurt Cobain on New Year’s Eve, Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm (left) OD’d. A frantic Courtney Love called Sub Pop Record’s Jonathan Poneman and yelled, “What should I do? One of the guys on your label is OD’ing.” Fortunately, Arm was saved by paramedics.
Early 1990s.Twitter 40 of 56L7’s Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks would purposefully urinate in public or drop their pants to make it clear they weren’t a tame grunge act.
- Seattle, Washington. Instagram 41 of 56Grunge fashion was a common sight on mainstream TV shows like My So-Called Life starring Jared Leto.
Early 1990s.ABC 42 of 56Mudhoney’s Mark Arm (left) being thoroughly appreciated by fellow band member Steve Turner.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 43 of 56A highly amused Dave Grohl smiles for the camera as drag queen RuPaul holds Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean.
Sept. 2, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc./Getty Images 44 of 56Cobain stage diving at the University of Washington ballroom — with the masses in sweat-soaked flannels below preparing for what’s to come.
Jan. 6, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 45 of 56Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea hanging out with Kurt Cobain. Cobain’s shirt is inspired by an album from one of the most cherished singers and visual artists of the alternative music scene — Daniel Johnston.
Sept. 9, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Kevin.Mazur/INACTIVE/Getty Images 46 of 56Just over a month before Kurt Cobain’s death shocked the world, Pearl Jam is rocking the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
March 4, 1994. Atlanta, Georgia.Reddit 47 of 56Grunge king Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
Mid-1990s.HBO 48 of 56Depending on who you ask, grunge was just as political as punk or hip-hop. At least, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder didn’t seem to mind announcing his distaste for George H.W. Bush.
1991.Anna Krajec/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 49 of 56A ’90s triumvirate hanging out with unpredictable results: Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains licks Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea’s chest as Krist Novoselic of Nirvana silently begs for help.
April 5, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images 50 of 56Kurt Cobain admitted there was just “no way I couldn’t have let the Melvins influence me, they’re just such a great band.” Hailing from just outside of Seattle like Cobain, the Melvins were seminal in the creation of both grunge and sludge metal.
London, England.David Corio/Getty Images 51 of 56After a solid decade with Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon formed alternative rock group Free Kitten. They’re seen here at an English venue called The Charlotte, one year after forming.
Leicester, England.Flickr 52 of 56Though celebrated like a god by his grunge disciples, Kurt Cobain nonetheless checks his wallet chain while crowdsurfing.
Nov. 12, 1991. Frankfurt, Germany.Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images 53 of 56Chris Cornell bringing energy to a Rip Magazine show as the frontman of Soundgarden — one of the most seminal grunge bands of the genre.
October 1991. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images 54 of 56Pearl Jam performing at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle. Foundational in bringing grunge to the masses, the group’s debut album Ten dropped a few weeks before Nirvana’s — and has since sold more than 10 million copies.
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 55 of 56Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5, 1994 arguably put an end to the heyday of grunge. Here lie a few of the worldly possessions Cobain had on his person before he left this world.
April 8, 1994. Seattle, Washington.Seattle Police Department 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
17 Pictures Of When Seattle Grunge Took Over The World
‘Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair’: 33 Pictures Of The Summer Of Love In San Francisco
These 55 Pictures From The 1990s Perfectly Capture The End Of The 20th Century
1 of 56The first Pearl Jam show ever, with the band calling itself Mookie Blaylock, at the Off Ramp Cafe.
“I will always remember when I heard ‘Alive,’ ‘Once,’ ‘Evenflow,’ and ‘Black,’ in that order, for the first time ever that night,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was mind-blowing!”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 2 of 56Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell in his element.Karen Mason-Blair 3 of 56Devon Gummersall and Jared Leto during their My So-Called Life days, before Leto’s love of grunge inspired him to make music of his own.
Dec. 2, 1994. Los Angeles, California.Facebook 4 of 56Alice In Chains posing in flannel while catching the holiday spirit.
- Instagram 5 of 56Mother Love Bone was yet another hugely promising act to come out of the burgeoning Seattle grunge scene. Tragically, frontman Andrew Wood died only a few days before the band’s debut album Apple was set for release.
Two of the band’s members, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, subsequently formed Temple of the Dog with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Cornell even recruited Eddie Vedder — then an up-and-coming musician — to join. It was after this tumultuous reorganization that Vedder finally formed Pearl Jam with Gossard and Ament, and broke out into mainstream success.
“Rocking those colorful thrift shop threads!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “These publicity photos were for the upcoming Apple album.”
March 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 6 of 56Mother Love Bone on stage at The Vogue.
“We never dressed up more than when we were going to the Vogue,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was always packed, and often you would see the owner in a dress dancing on the bar!”
- Seattle, Washington. Karen Mason-Blair 7 of 56Everybody wants to be left alone once in a while, including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Mid-1990s. Seattle, Washington.Reddit 8 of 56Believe it or not, these three iconic bands toured together for one week in December 1991. From L.A. and San Francisco to Arizona and New York City, a few thousand lucky fans saw Pearl Jam and Nirvana open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Salem, Oregon.Facebook 9 of 56Soundgarden is not impressed with the anti-grunge sentiment ebbing into the mainstream.
Early 1990s.Twitter 10 of 56Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley singing his heart out, a little over a decade before he died of an overdose in his Seattle home.
“Classic Layne,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “This is how I’ll always remember him. Just another night in Seattle.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 11 of 56The light shines on a young Kurt Cobain performing at The Paramount a few years before his death.
“The greatness of Kurt, and the loneliness of being Kurt,” said Karen Mason-Blair. “We miss you, friend.”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 12 of 56An iconic photo captured during the making of 1992’s grunge-centric romantic comedy Singles in Seattle. From left to right: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Matt Dillon, Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley, and director Cameron Crowe.
Seattle, Washington.Reddit 13 of 56By 1993, grunge had already taken over the globe — as evidenced by the masses of grunge fans at this north London festival.
May 9, 1993. Stoke Newington, England.Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 14 of 56Three skater girls sticking it to the man in typical ’90s fashion.
1992.Pinterest 15 of 56Eddie Vedder’s first public appearance as lead singer of Pearl Jam.
“I remember thinking it must be really hard to be the follow up to Andrew Wood, but he did it!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “When I heard ‘Black’ that night, I thought, ‘This guy can really sing, and he sings from his heart!’”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 16 of 56Gods of the genre like Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain called Suzi Gardner (left) and her grunge band L7 their peers.
The band was often raunchier than their male counterparts, as well — with Donita Sparks (right) throwing her bloody tampon at a Reading Festival fan who threw mud onstage.
- Suzi Gardner 17 of 56Alice In Chains during their Facelift years — which became the first grunge album to be certified gold on Sept. 11, 1991.
“The forever famous Seattle layered look was so good,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “The service elevator soon became iconic to grunge era photos. This one went viral! You can’t search Alice in Chains and not find it. So much so, that my attorney gave up chasing it down!”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 18 of 56Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon having lunch during Sonic Youth’s 1991 tour across Europe. The experience was chronicled in Dave Markey’s 1991: The Year Punk Broke documentary.
London, England.Tara Films 19 of 56The Screaming Trees at Pioneer Square in Seattle.
“This is an outtake from the photo session for the album Sweet Oblivion,” explained photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “‘Shadow of the Season’ is one of my favorite songs ever.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 20 of 56With a lineup from Mudhoney and L7 to the Melvins and Nirvana, the 20th Reading Festival was a grunge fan’s dream.
Aug. 28 to Aug. 30, 1992. Reading, England.Twitter 21 of 56Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland giving Lori Barbero of Babes In Toyland a backstage smooch.
Aug. 10, 1994. St. Paul, Minnesota.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 22 of 56"I think this might have been at the RCK CNDY, a popular Seattle night club,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “Jerry, Mike, and Layne [of Alice In Chains] were always goofing off. It was hard to believe that they were signed to a major label and going on a national tour! The rest was history, too.“Karen Mason-Blair 23 of 56Before he was Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage sang in a band called Whizzy — and regularly performed in bars across New York City.
Early 1990s.Twitter 24 of 56"We were all on this wild ride, none of us knowing what would happen next,” recalled Karen Mason-Blair while photographing Chris Cornell. “When we made eye contact in this shot, I felt like that is what his look said to me.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 25 of 56When two reigniting grunge bands clash — they casually hang out and have fun. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden clearly enjoyed their time backstage together at Lollapalooza.
July 1992. Irvine, California.Reddit 26 of 56Drew Barrymore welcomes Courtney Love’s embrace, with both women having survived harrowing childhoods.
1990.Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images 27 of 56An icon to countless rock, punk, pop, grunge, and alternative artists, Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth started in the 1980s — and were already legends when grunge took off.
- Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images 28 of 56Mudhoney rocking the show as openers for Soundgarden at The I-Beam.
Feb. 13, 1989. San Francisco, California.Instagram 29 of 56While Nevermind skyrocketed Nirvana into global stardom, the band’s 1989 release Bleach saw a cult following spread from Aberdeen, Washington throughout the emerging grunge scene as a whole.
Early 1990s.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 56Grunge fans squeeze together at the Off Ramp Cafe to catch a show.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 31 of 56Kiss guitarist and singer Gene Simmons grimacing for the camera with mischievous Stone Temple Pilot, Scott Weiland.
April 1993. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 32 of 56Sonic Youth’s performance at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater ended with Kim Gordon playing on her back as friends of the band watch from backstage.
Sept. 26, 1992. Castaic, California. Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 33 of 56Kurt and Courtney celebrating the festive December 1992 holiday season by attending a Mudhoney concert.
Dec. 4, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 34 of 56Nirvana had just released their 1989 debut Bleach, with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell a clear fan. Left to right: Cornell, Andy Wood of Seattle grunge band Mother Love Bone, and Ian Astbury of British hard rock group The Cult.
- Seattle, Washington.Facebook 35 of 56Pond performing at The Oz in Seattle.
1992-1993. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 36 of 56Seattle was unquestionably the birthplace of grunge, with numerous successful groups vying for the spotlight. Despite their apparent competition, Dave Abbruzzese (left) and Stone Gossard (right) of Pearl Jam got along swimmingly with Jerry Cantrell (center) of Alice In Chains.
December 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images 37 of 56Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, well aware that a proper rock show must end with a bang.
Aug. 25, 1991. Hasselt, Belgium.Niels van Iperen/Getty Images 38 of 56Eddie Vedder is pulled back onstage after hurling himself into the crowd.
Sept. 20, 1992. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 39 of 56While partying with Kurt Cobain on New Year’s Eve, Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm (left) OD’d. A frantic Courtney Love called Sub Pop Record’s Jonathan Poneman and yelled, “What should I do? One of the guys on your label is OD’ing.” Fortunately, Arm was saved by paramedics.
Early 1990s.Twitter 40 of 56L7’s Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks would purposefully urinate in public or drop their pants to make it clear they weren’t a tame grunge act.
- Seattle, Washington. Instagram 41 of 56Grunge fashion was a common sight on mainstream TV shows like My So-Called Life starring Jared Leto.
Early 1990s.ABC 42 of 56Mudhoney’s Mark Arm (left) being thoroughly appreciated by fellow band member Steve Turner.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 43 of 56A highly amused Dave Grohl smiles for the camera as drag queen RuPaul holds Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean.
Sept. 2, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc./Getty Images 44 of 56Cobain stage diving at the University of Washington ballroom — with the masses in sweat-soaked flannels below preparing for what’s to come.
Jan. 6, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 45 of 56Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea hanging out with Kurt Cobain. Cobain’s shirt is inspired by an album from one of the most cherished singers and visual artists of the alternative music scene — Daniel Johnston.
Sept. 9, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Kevin.Mazur/INACTIVE/Getty Images 46 of 56Just over a month before Kurt Cobain’s death shocked the world, Pearl Jam is rocking the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
March 4, 1994. Atlanta, Georgia.Reddit 47 of 56Grunge king Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
Mid-1990s.HBO 48 of 56Depending on who you ask, grunge was just as political as punk or hip-hop. At least, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder didn’t seem to mind announcing his distaste for George H.W. Bush.
1991.Anna Krajec/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 49 of 56A ’90s triumvirate hanging out with unpredictable results: Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains licks Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea’s chest as Krist Novoselic of Nirvana silently begs for help.
April 5, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images 50 of 56Kurt Cobain admitted there was just “no way I couldn’t have let the Melvins influence me, they’re just such a great band.” Hailing from just outside of Seattle like Cobain, the Melvins were seminal in the creation of both grunge and sludge metal.
London, England.David Corio/Getty Images 51 of 56After a solid decade with Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon formed alternative rock group Free Kitten. They’re seen here at an English venue called The Charlotte, one year after forming.
Leicester, England.Flickr 52 of 56Though celebrated like a god by his grunge disciples, Kurt Cobain nonetheless checks his wallet chain while crowdsurfing.
Nov. 12, 1991. Frankfurt, Germany.Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images 53 of 56Chris Cornell bringing energy to a Rip Magazine show as the frontman of Soundgarden — one of the most seminal grunge bands of the genre.
October 1991. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images 54 of 56Pearl Jam performing at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle. Foundational in bringing grunge to the masses, the group’s debut album Ten dropped a few weeks before Nirvana’s — and has since sold more than 10 million copies.
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 55 of 56Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5, 1994 arguably put an end to the heyday of grunge. Here lie a few of the worldly possessions Cobain had on his person before he left this world.
April 8, 1994. Seattle, Washington.Seattle Police Department 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
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1 of 56The first Pearl Jam show ever, with the band calling itself Mookie Blaylock, at the Off Ramp Cafe.
“I will always remember when I heard ‘Alive,’ ‘Once,’ ‘Evenflow,’ and ‘Black,’ in that order, for the first time ever that night,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was mind-blowing!”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 2 of 56Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell in his element.Karen Mason-Blair 3 of 56Devon Gummersall and Jared Leto during their My So-Called Life days, before Leto’s love of grunge inspired him to make music of his own.
Dec. 2, 1994. Los Angeles, California.Facebook 4 of 56Alice In Chains posing in flannel while catching the holiday spirit.
- Instagram 5 of 56Mother Love Bone was yet another hugely promising act to come out of the burgeoning Seattle grunge scene. Tragically, frontman Andrew Wood died only a few days before the band’s debut album Apple was set for release.
Two of the band’s members, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, subsequently formed Temple of the Dog with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Cornell even recruited Eddie Vedder — then an up-and-coming musician — to join. It was after this tumultuous reorganization that Vedder finally formed Pearl Jam with Gossard and Ament, and broke out into mainstream success.
“Rocking those colorful thrift shop threads!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “These publicity photos were for the upcoming Apple album.”
March 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 6 of 56Mother Love Bone on stage at The Vogue.
“We never dressed up more than when we were going to the Vogue,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was always packed, and often you would see the owner in a dress dancing on the bar!”
- Seattle, Washington. Karen Mason-Blair 7 of 56Everybody wants to be left alone once in a while, including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Mid-1990s. Seattle, Washington.Reddit 8 of 56Believe it or not, these three iconic bands toured together for one week in December 1991. From L.A. and San Francisco to Arizona and New York City, a few thousand lucky fans saw Pearl Jam and Nirvana open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Salem, Oregon.Facebook 9 of 56Soundgarden is not impressed with the anti-grunge sentiment ebbing into the mainstream.
Early 1990s.Twitter 10 of 56Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley singing his heart out, a little over a decade before he died of an overdose in his Seattle home.
“Classic Layne,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “This is how I’ll always remember him. Just another night in Seattle.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 11 of 56The light shines on a young Kurt Cobain performing at The Paramount a few years before his death.
“The greatness of Kurt, and the loneliness of being Kurt,” said Karen Mason-Blair. “We miss you, friend.”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 12 of 56An iconic photo captured during the making of 1992’s grunge-centric romantic comedy Singles in Seattle. From left to right: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Matt Dillon, Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley, and director Cameron Crowe.
Seattle, Washington.Reddit 13 of 56By 1993, grunge had already taken over the globe — as evidenced by the masses of grunge fans at this north London festival.
May 9, 1993. Stoke Newington, England.Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 14 of 56Three skater girls sticking it to the man in typical ’90s fashion.
1992.Pinterest 15 of 56Eddie Vedder’s first public appearance as lead singer of Pearl Jam.
“I remember thinking it must be really hard to be the follow up to Andrew Wood, but he did it!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “When I heard ‘Black’ that night, I thought, ‘This guy can really sing, and he sings from his heart!’”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 16 of 56Gods of the genre like Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain called Suzi Gardner (left) and her grunge band L7 their peers.
The band was often raunchier than their male counterparts, as well — with Donita Sparks (right) throwing her bloody tampon at a Reading Festival fan who threw mud onstage.
- Suzi Gardner 17 of 56Alice In Chains during their Facelift years — which became the first grunge album to be certified gold on Sept. 11, 1991.
“The forever famous Seattle layered look was so good,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “The service elevator soon became iconic to grunge era photos. This one went viral! You can’t search Alice in Chains and not find it. So much so, that my attorney gave up chasing it down!”
Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 18 of 56Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon having lunch during Sonic Youth’s 1991 tour across Europe. The experience was chronicled in Dave Markey’s 1991: The Year Punk Broke documentary.
London, England.Tara Films 19 of 56The Screaming Trees at Pioneer Square in Seattle.
“This is an outtake from the photo session for the album Sweet Oblivion,” explained photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “‘Shadow of the Season’ is one of my favorite songs ever.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 20 of 56With a lineup from Mudhoney and L7 to the Melvins and Nirvana, the 20th Reading Festival was a grunge fan’s dream.
Aug. 28 to Aug. 30, 1992. Reading, England.Twitter 21 of 56Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland giving Lori Barbero of Babes In Toyland a backstage smooch.
Aug. 10, 1994. St. Paul, Minnesota.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 22 of 56"I think this might have been at the RCK CNDY, a popular Seattle night club,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “Jerry, Mike, and Layne [of Alice In Chains] were always goofing off. It was hard to believe that they were signed to a major label and going on a national tour! The rest was history, too.“Karen Mason-Blair 23 of 56Before he was Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage sang in a band called Whizzy — and regularly performed in bars across New York City.
Early 1990s.Twitter 24 of 56"We were all on this wild ride, none of us knowing what would happen next,” recalled Karen Mason-Blair while photographing Chris Cornell. “When we made eye contact in this shot, I felt like that is what his look said to me.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair 25 of 56When two reigniting grunge bands clash — they casually hang out and have fun. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden clearly enjoyed their time backstage together at Lollapalooza.
July 1992. Irvine, California.Reddit 26 of 56Drew Barrymore welcomes Courtney Love’s embrace, with both women having survived harrowing childhoods.
1990.Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images 27 of 56An icon to countless rock, punk, pop, grunge, and alternative artists, Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth started in the 1980s — and were already legends when grunge took off.
- Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images 28 of 56Mudhoney rocking the show as openers for Soundgarden at The I-Beam.
Feb. 13, 1989. San Francisco, California.Instagram 29 of 56While Nevermind skyrocketed Nirvana into global stardom, the band’s 1989 release Bleach saw a cult following spread from Aberdeen, Washington throughout the emerging grunge scene as a whole.
Early 1990s.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 56Grunge fans squeeze together at the Off Ramp Cafe to catch a show.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 31 of 56Kiss guitarist and singer Gene Simmons grimacing for the camera with mischievous Stone Temple Pilot, Scott Weiland.
April 1993. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 32 of 56Sonic Youth’s performance at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater ended with Kim Gordon playing on her back as friends of the band watch from backstage.
Sept. 26, 1992. Castaic, California. Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 33 of 56Kurt and Courtney celebrating the festive December 1992 holiday season by attending a Mudhoney concert.
Dec. 4, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Getty Images 34 of 56Nirvana had just released their 1989 debut Bleach, with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell a clear fan. Left to right: Cornell, Andy Wood of Seattle grunge band Mother Love Bone, and Ian Astbury of British hard rock group The Cult.
- Seattle, Washington.Facebook 35 of 56Pond performing at The Oz in Seattle.
1992-1993. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 36 of 56Seattle was unquestionably the birthplace of grunge, with numerous successful groups vying for the spotlight. Despite their apparent competition, Dave Abbruzzese (left) and Stone Gossard (right) of Pearl Jam got along swimmingly with Jerry Cantrell (center) of Alice In Chains.
December 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images 37 of 56Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, well aware that a proper rock show must end with a bang.
Aug. 25, 1991. Hasselt, Belgium.Niels van Iperen/Getty Images 38 of 56Eddie Vedder is pulled back onstage after hurling himself into the crowd.
Sept. 20, 1992. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 39 of 56While partying with Kurt Cobain on New Year’s Eve, Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm (left) OD’d. A frantic Courtney Love called Sub Pop Record’s Jonathan Poneman and yelled, “What should I do? One of the guys on your label is OD’ing.” Fortunately, Arm was saved by paramedics.
Early 1990s.Twitter 40 of 56L7’s Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks would purposefully urinate in public or drop their pants to make it clear they weren’t a tame grunge act.
- Seattle, Washington. Instagram 41 of 56Grunge fashion was a common sight on mainstream TV shows like My So-Called Life starring Jared Leto.
Early 1990s.ABC 42 of 56Mudhoney’s Mark Arm (left) being thoroughly appreciated by fellow band member Steve Turner.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram 43 of 56A highly amused Dave Grohl smiles for the camera as drag queen RuPaul holds Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean.
Sept. 2, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc./Getty Images 44 of 56Cobain stage diving at the University of Washington ballroom — with the masses in sweat-soaked flannels below preparing for what’s to come.
Jan. 6, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Instagram 45 of 56Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea hanging out with Kurt Cobain. Cobain’s shirt is inspired by an album from one of the most cherished singers and visual artists of the alternative music scene — Daniel Johnston.
Sept. 9, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Kevin.Mazur/INACTIVE/Getty Images 46 of 56Just over a month before Kurt Cobain’s death shocked the world, Pearl Jam is rocking the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
March 4, 1994. Atlanta, Georgia.Reddit 47 of 56Grunge king Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
Mid-1990s.HBO 48 of 56Depending on who you ask, grunge was just as political as punk or hip-hop. At least, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder didn’t seem to mind announcing his distaste for George H.W. Bush.
1991.Anna Krajec/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 49 of 56A ’90s triumvirate hanging out with unpredictable results: Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains licks Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea’s chest as Krist Novoselic of Nirvana silently begs for help.
April 5, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images 50 of 56Kurt Cobain admitted there was just “no way I couldn’t have let the Melvins influence me, they’re just such a great band.” Hailing from just outside of Seattle like Cobain, the Melvins were seminal in the creation of both grunge and sludge metal.
London, England.David Corio/Getty Images 51 of 56After a solid decade with Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon formed alternative rock group Free Kitten. They’re seen here at an English venue called The Charlotte, one year after forming.
Leicester, England.Flickr 52 of 56Though celebrated like a god by his grunge disciples, Kurt Cobain nonetheless checks his wallet chain while crowdsurfing.
Nov. 12, 1991. Frankfurt, Germany.Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images 53 of 56Chris Cornell bringing energy to a Rip Magazine show as the frontman of Soundgarden — one of the most seminal grunge bands of the genre.
October 1991. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images 54 of 56Pearl Jam performing at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle. Foundational in bringing grunge to the masses, the group’s debut album Ten dropped a few weeks before Nirvana’s — and has since sold more than 10 million copies.
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 55 of 56Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5, 1994 arguably put an end to the heyday of grunge. Here lie a few of the worldly possessions Cobain had on his person before he left this world.
April 8, 1994. Seattle, Washington.Seattle Police Department 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
1 of 56The first Pearl Jam show ever, with the band calling itself Mookie Blaylock, at the Off Ramp Cafe.
“I will always remember when I heard ‘Alive,’ ‘Once,’ ‘Evenflow,’ and ‘Black,’ in that order, for the first time ever that night,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was mind-blowing!”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
2 of 56Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell in his element.Karen Mason-Blair
3 of 56Devon Gummersall and Jared Leto during their My So-Called Life days, before Leto’s love of grunge inspired him to make music of his own.
Dec. 2, 1994. Los Angeles, California.Facebook
4 of 56Alice In Chains posing in flannel while catching the holiday spirit.
5 of 56Mother Love Bone was yet another hugely promising act to come out of the burgeoning Seattle grunge scene. Tragically, frontman Andrew Wood died only a few days before the band’s debut album Apple was set for release.
Two of the band’s members, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, subsequently formed Temple of the Dog with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Cornell even recruited Eddie Vedder — then an up-and-coming musician — to join. It was after this tumultuous reorganization that Vedder finally formed Pearl Jam with Gossard and Ament, and broke out into mainstream success.
“Rocking those colorful thrift shop threads!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “These publicity photos were for the upcoming Apple album.”
March 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
6 of 56Mother Love Bone on stage at The Vogue.
“We never dressed up more than when we were going to the Vogue,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “It was always packed, and often you would see the owner in a dress dancing on the bar!”
- Seattle, Washington. Karen Mason-Blair
7 of 56Everybody wants to be left alone once in a while, including Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
Mid-1990s. Seattle, Washington.Reddit
8 of 56Believe it or not, these three iconic bands toured together for one week in December 1991. From L.A. and San Francisco to Arizona and New York City, a few thousand lucky fans saw Pearl Jam and Nirvana open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Salem, Oregon.Facebook
9 of 56Soundgarden is not impressed with the anti-grunge sentiment ebbing into the mainstream.
Early 1990s.Twitter
10 of 56Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley singing his heart out, a little over a decade before he died of an overdose in his Seattle home.
“Classic Layne,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “This is how I’ll always remember him. Just another night in Seattle.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
11 of 56The light shines on a young Kurt Cobain performing at The Paramount a few years before his death.
“The greatness of Kurt, and the loneliness of being Kurt,” said Karen Mason-Blair. “We miss you, friend.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
12 of 56An iconic photo captured during the making of 1992’s grunge-centric romantic comedy Singles in Seattle. From left to right: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Matt Dillon, Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley, and director Cameron Crowe.
- Seattle, Washington.Reddit
13 of 56By 1993, grunge had already taken over the globe — as evidenced by the masses of grunge fans at this north London festival.
May 9, 1993. Stoke Newington, England.Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
14 of 56Three skater girls sticking it to the man in typical ’90s fashion.
1992.Pinterest
15 of 56Eddie Vedder’s first public appearance as lead singer of Pearl Jam.
“I remember thinking it must be really hard to be the follow up to Andrew Wood, but he did it!” Karen Mason-Blair recalled. “When I heard ‘Black’ that night, I thought, ‘This guy can really sing, and he sings from his heart!’”
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
16 of 56Gods of the genre like Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain called Suzi Gardner (left) and her grunge band L7 their peers.
The band was often raunchier than their male counterparts, as well — with Donita Sparks (right) throwing her bloody tampon at a Reading Festival fan who threw mud onstage.
- Suzi Gardner
17 of 56Alice In Chains during their Facelift years — which became the first grunge album to be certified gold on Sept. 11, 1991.
“The forever famous Seattle layered look was so good,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “The service elevator soon became iconic to grunge era photos. This one went viral! You can’t search Alice in Chains and not find it. So much so, that my attorney gave up chasing it down!”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
18 of 56Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon having lunch during Sonic Youth’s 1991 tour across Europe. The experience was chronicled in Dave Markey’s 1991: The Year Punk Broke documentary.
- London, England.Tara Films
19 of 56The Screaming Trees at Pioneer Square in Seattle.
“This is an outtake from the photo session for the album Sweet Oblivion,” explained photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “‘Shadow of the Season’ is one of my favorite songs ever.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
20 of 56With a lineup from Mudhoney and L7 to the Melvins and Nirvana, the 20th Reading Festival was a grunge fan’s dream.
Aug. 28 to Aug. 30, 1992. Reading, England.Twitter
21 of 56Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland giving Lori Barbero of Babes In Toyland a backstage smooch.
Aug. 10, 1994. St. Paul, Minnesota.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
22 of 56"I think this might have been at the RCK CNDY, a popular Seattle night club,” recalled photographer Karen Mason-Blair. “Jerry, Mike, and Layne [of Alice In Chains] were always goofing off. It was hard to believe that they were signed to a major label and going on a national tour! The rest was history, too.“Karen Mason-Blair
23 of 56Before he was Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage sang in a band called Whizzy — and regularly performed in bars across New York City.
Early 1990s.Twitter
24 of 56"We were all on this wild ride, none of us knowing what would happen next,” recalled Karen Mason-Blair while photographing Chris Cornell. “When we made eye contact in this shot, I felt like that is what his look said to me.”
- Seattle, Washington.Karen Mason-Blair
25 of 56When two reigniting grunge bands clash — they casually hang out and have fun. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden clearly enjoyed their time backstage together at Lollapalooza.
July 1992. Irvine, California.Reddit
26 of 56Drew Barrymore welcomes Courtney Love’s embrace, with both women having survived harrowing childhoods.
1990.Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
27 of 56An icon to countless rock, punk, pop, grunge, and alternative artists, Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth started in the 1980s — and were already legends when grunge took off.
- Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images
28 of 56Mudhoney rocking the show as openers for Soundgarden at The I-Beam.
Feb. 13, 1989. San Francisco, California.Instagram
29 of 56While Nevermind skyrocketed Nirvana into global stardom, the band’s 1989 release Bleach saw a cult following spread from Aberdeen, Washington throughout the emerging grunge scene as a whole.
Early 1990s.Wikimedia Commons
30 of 56Grunge fans squeeze together at the Off Ramp Cafe to catch a show.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram
31 of 56Kiss guitarist and singer Gene Simmons grimacing for the camera with mischievous Stone Temple Pilot, Scott Weiland.
April 1993. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
32 of 56Sonic Youth’s performance at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater ended with Kim Gordon playing on her back as friends of the band watch from backstage.
Sept. 26, 1992. Castaic, California. Lindsay Brice/Getty Images
33 of 56Kurt and Courtney celebrating the festive December 1992 holiday season by attending a Mudhoney concert.
Dec. 4, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Lindsay Brice/Getty Images
34 of 56Nirvana had just released their 1989 debut Bleach, with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell a clear fan. Left to right: Cornell, Andy Wood of Seattle grunge band Mother Love Bone, and Ian Astbury of British hard rock group The Cult.
- Seattle, Washington.Facebook
35 of 56Pond performing at The Oz in Seattle.
1992-1993. Seattle, Washington.Instagram
36 of 56Seattle was unquestionably the birthplace of grunge, with numerous successful groups vying for the spotlight. Despite their apparent competition, Dave Abbruzzese (left) and Stone Gossard (right) of Pearl Jam got along swimmingly with Jerry Cantrell (center) of Alice In Chains.
December 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images
37 of 56Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, well aware that a proper rock show must end with a bang.
Aug. 25, 1991. Hasselt, Belgium.Niels van Iperen/Getty Images
38 of 56Eddie Vedder is pulled back onstage after hurling himself into the crowd.
Sept. 20, 1992. Seattle, Washington.Instagram
39 of 56While partying with Kurt Cobain on New Year’s Eve, Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm (left) OD’d. A frantic Courtney Love called Sub Pop Record’s Jonathan Poneman and yelled, “What should I do? One of the guys on your label is OD’ing.” Fortunately, Arm was saved by paramedics.
Early 1990s.Twitter
40 of 56L7’s Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks would purposefully urinate in public or drop their pants to make it clear they weren’t a tame grunge act.
- Seattle, Washington. Instagram
41 of 56Grunge fashion was a common sight on mainstream TV shows like My So-Called Life starring Jared Leto.
Early 1990s.ABC
42 of 56Mudhoney’s Mark Arm (left) being thoroughly appreciated by fellow band member Steve Turner.
- Seattle, Washington.Instagram
43 of 56A highly amused Dave Grohl smiles for the camera as drag queen RuPaul holds Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean.
Sept. 2, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc./Getty Images
44 of 56Cobain stage diving at the University of Washington ballroom — with the masses in sweat-soaked flannels below preparing for what’s to come.
Jan. 6, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Instagram
45 of 56Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea hanging out with Kurt Cobain. Cobain’s shirt is inspired by an album from one of the most cherished singers and visual artists of the alternative music scene — Daniel Johnston.
Sept. 9, 1992. Los Angeles, California.Kevin.Mazur/INACTIVE/Getty Images
46 of 56Just over a month before Kurt Cobain’s death shocked the world, Pearl Jam is rocking the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
March 4, 1994. Atlanta, Georgia.Reddit
47 of 56Grunge king Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
Mid-1990s.HBO
48 of 56Depending on who you ask, grunge was just as political as punk or hip-hop. At least, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder didn’t seem to mind announcing his distaste for George H.W. Bush.
1991.Anna Krajec/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
49 of 56A ’90s triumvirate hanging out with unpredictable results: Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains licks Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist Flea’s chest as Krist Novoselic of Nirvana silently begs for help.
April 5, 1993. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
50 of 56Kurt Cobain admitted there was just “no way I couldn’t have let the Melvins influence me, they’re just such a great band.” Hailing from just outside of Seattle like Cobain, the Melvins were seminal in the creation of both grunge and sludge metal.
- London, England.David Corio/Getty Images
51 of 56After a solid decade with Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon formed alternative rock group Free Kitten. They’re seen here at an English venue called The Charlotte, one year after forming.
- Leicester, England.Flickr
52 of 56Though celebrated like a god by his grunge disciples, Kurt Cobain nonetheless checks his wallet chain while crowdsurfing.
Nov. 12, 1991. Frankfurt, Germany.Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images
53 of 56Chris Cornell bringing energy to a Rip Magazine show as the frontman of Soundgarden — one of the most seminal grunge bands of the genre.
October 1991. Los Angeles, California.Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images
54 of 56Pearl Jam performing at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle. Foundational in bringing grunge to the masses, the group’s debut album Ten dropped a few weeks before Nirvana’s — and has since sold more than 10 million copies.
Oct. 22, 1990. Seattle, Washington.Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
55 of 56Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5, 1994 arguably put an end to the heyday of grunge. Here lie a few of the worldly possessions Cobain had on his person before he left this world.
April 8, 1994. Seattle, Washington.Seattle Police Department
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55 Grunge Pictures That Capture The Height Of Generation X View Gallery
55 Grunge Pictures That Capture The Height Of Generation X View Gallery
55 Grunge Pictures That Capture The Height Of Generation X View Gallery
55 Grunge Pictures That Capture The Height Of Generation X View Gallery
55 Grunge Pictures That Capture The Height Of Generation X
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From flannel shirts and ripped jeans to unkempt hair and indoor smoking, grunge was just as much a lifestyle as it was a genre. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain arguably embodied that ethos the most. While grunge was born before Nirvana, it definitely started in Cobain’s native Seattle.
Karen Mason-Blair was right in the thick of this exciting new movement. The young Seattle native managed to go from an eager face in the crowd to a professional photographer that captured some of the most iconic imagery of the era. Her award-winning work is compiled in a collection of previously unreleased images, The Flannel Years, with some of the most engaging ones included in our gallery.
The alternative scene soon took America by storm, and ultimately became a mainstream form of entertainment around the world. From Jared Leto’s flannels on My So-Called Life to Nirvana’s legion of devoted youths, ’90s grunge was unspeakably influential. Here’s how it all began.
The Story Behind The Iconic Grunge Pictures
YouTubePearl Jam at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle on Oct. 22, 1990. This is just one of many grunge pictures from the era.
“You gotta understand Seattle,” said Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan. “It’s grungy. People are into rock and roll and into noise, and they’re building airplanes all the time, and there’s a lot of noise, and there’s rain and musty garages. Musty garages create a certain noise.”
Grunge as a term was coined in 1987, when Sub Pop Records founder Bruce Pavitt described his client Green River’s music as “ultra-loose grunge that destroyed the morals of a generation.” The five-letter word’s connotation of dirt and trash certainly blended in with the angry state of Seattle’s disillusioned and creative youths.
With local acts like Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and Nirvana, Sub Pop’s 1988 debut featured celebrities who would be heralded as legends within a handful of years. In those days, it was a network of college radio stations, indie distributors, and fanzines that allowed the music to spread.
“Jone Poneman and Bruce Pavitt were the first people that ever told me that this scene was going to be huge,” said Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.
By the time Nirvana released its debut album Bleach in 1989, the Seattle music scene had become a bonafide phenomenon. It seemed as though every night there’d be another fledgling supergroup on the Off Ramp Cafe stage ready to deepen and expand grunge’s sound and aesthetic.
“There are no brakes on the hype at this point,” said Pavitt. “It’s just going through the roof.”
’90s Grunge Goes Mainstream
Kurt Cobain’s thoughts on the grunge movement and what it means to him.
“We have a pretty big role in spreading something from the underground to the heartland,” said John Canelli, MTV’s senior vice president of music. “We’re always looking for whatever the next thing is.”
Kurt Cobain’s thoughts on the grunge movement and what it means to him.
The next thing was undoubtedly Nirvana — chaotic but melodic, internalized but expressive, experimental but intensely appealing. The band’s sensibilities, sometimes expressed in their music, were progressive and helped foster notions of gender equality among its impressionable fans.
Cobain made his beliefs especially clear in 1992, in a direct appeal to the people listening to his music: “If any of you, in any way, hate homosexuals, people of a different color, or women, please do this one favor for us — leave us the f*ck alone. Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.”
While grunge music doesn’t have a reputation for being quite as political as other genres, it’s clear that Cobain’s views resonated with many of his fans — and his words are often admired to this day.
“Kurt Cobain was the antithesis of the macho American man,” said Alex Frank of The Fader. “He was an avowed feminist and confronted gender politics in his lyrics. At a time when a body-conscious silhouette was the defining look, he made it cooler to look slouchy and loose, no matter if you were a boy or a girl. And I think he still represents a romantic ideal for a lot of women.”
By the time Nirvana’s Nevermind was released, Cobain’s statements were just as consequential as his music and style of dress. Cobain’s love of thrift-store attire often reflected the aesthetic seen in grunge pictures.
“Kurt Cobain was just too lazy to shampoo,” said Cobain biographer Charles Cross. Sup Pop founder Jonathan Poneman said Cobain was “dirt poor” and looked like a guy who slept on friend’s couches.
And yet America loved this look. From flannel-clad Matt Dillon in Cameron Crowe’s Seattle-based Singles to Jared Leto on My So-Called Life, the ’90s grunge look spread far and wide in American culture. Ironically, countless young people were embracing a dress code that was originally born out of simple convenience.
“This stuff is cheap, it’s durable, and it’s kind of timeless,” said Poneman. “It also runs against the grain of the whole flashy esthetic that existed in the ’80s.”
The Legacy Of A Subculture
Chris Cornell reflects on the ’90s grunge movement, drugs, and Kurt Cobain’s death.
While promising acts like Mother Love Bone disbanded and bands like Pond were relegated to the underground, Nirvana broke records and dominated MTV. In 1994, Cobain was even thanked in the liner notes of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction soundtrack.
Chris Cornell reflects on the ’90s grunge movement, drugs, and Kurt Cobain’s death.
That same year, Cobain reflected on just how far he’d come: “I just hope I don’t become so blissful I become boring. I think I’ll always be neurotic enough to do something weird.”
For millions of casual music fans, Nirvana remains at the very forefront of ’90s grunge. But without Seattle’s nurturing musical scene, none of it would have happened.
In the early days, influential Seattle acts like The Melvins influenced Green River — which, in turn, helped Sub Pop Records become successful. And without Soundgarden helping a fledgling Alice In Chains with managerial issues, who knows what would have become of the group?
Grunge is responsible for hundreds of millions of records sold to date, and setting global fashion, music, and film trends throughout the early 1990s. And it was all borne out of a drizzly Pacific Northwest town where local acts helped each other.
Tragically, it all ended there too — at least for Kurt Cobain. His growing heroin addiction had purportedly gotten the better of him, along with his alleged depression. After Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head on April 8, 1994, the cultural movement that he helped promote soon faded and died out as well.
Reflecting on the grunge era, Poneman noted, “Some say that what happened in Seattle was just dumb luck. But the thing that’s wonderful about dumb luck is that it will happen again. Right now, there’s a new scene being born somewhere.”
After exploring these ’90s grunge pictures that capture the height of Generation X, take a look at 29 raw images of the 1990s rave scene at its zenith. Then, discover Woodstock in 69 wild images that’ll transport you to the summer of 1969.
