Yeah, I think the rock value of grunge gets overshadowed by its mopier side, which is really unfortunate.
I'm not even a massive rock or grunge guy, having been raised on Romantic classical and late-90s videogame electronica, but Alice in Chains is awesome (I like some Soundgarden stuff, too). "Dirt" has so many bangers. Even "Would?" being a little on the mopey side is still some great freaking rock, and it's my personal favorite of theirs.
Maybe I'm speaking as a casual grunge listener, but I feel like Nirvana is overrated. I've listened to everything I could find on the Internet from them to see what all the raving was about all these years, and I'll admit I really love "Smells Like," but otherwise I don't understand its legendary status.
I wouldn't call most of Nirvana bad by any means (and I guess it's basically sacred for mopey-music listeners), but I especially just don't get the superfandom for Cobain. Maybe painting a wall with your brains enhances your legacy more than wasting away from, and then dying to, heroine and cocaine overdosing, though.
Edit: Just watched OP's linked video and, in retrospect, maybe my opinions on Cobain formed from a natural aversion to faggotry.
If you like Dirt for the heaviness, I highly recommend listening to the entirety of their first album; Facelift.
I'm in the minority, but it's my favorite album by them. It's very heavy and more on the rock side compared to their other albums. Basically no non-rock songs on the album, save for maybe one.
But sea of sorrow, Sunshine, Bleed the Freak, are some highlights, but the whole album is excellent.
Oh, I've listened to all their stuff. Facelift is my no. 2 from them, Sea of Sorrows being one of my favorite AiC songs (and Man in the Box is great). I actually don't like the super dirty grunge all that much, like Jar of Flies doesn't hold too much that I like listening to, but even there the rock factor is excellent.
Are there any other grunge bands worth listening to? I know of Soundgarden and Audioslave, but I'd like more recommendations (your original comment mentioned Stone Temple Pilots, so I'll have to give them a listen).
The best Stone Temple Pilots song in my opinion is Big Empty. Before the chorus it sounds like the song is going to be slow and mopey, but stick around for the chorus.
Some other great STP songs are Wicked Garden, Plush, Dead and Bloated, and Creep.
Dead and Bloated is the most AIC sounding song, where it's got more of a heaviness to it.
Some other good grunge type bands are Kyuss, check out the song Demon Cleaner by Kyuss, and another one you'll love is the band Silverchair. The two songs you have to listen to are Tomorrow and Israel's Son. What's crazy is those two songs were performed when they were like 15 I think, and the guy wrote the songs when he was 14. Yet when you hear his voice he sounds like a 30 year old. Shows how much soy-ness there is today.
Now our 30 year old men sing and write like 14 year olds.
Yeah, I think the rock value of grunge gets overshadowed by its mopier side, which is really unfortunate.
I'm not even a massive rock or grunge guy, having been raised on Romantic classical and late-90s videogame electronica, but Alice in Chains is awesome (I like some Soundgarden stuff, too). "Dirt" has so many bangers. Even "Would?" being a little on the mopey side is still some great freaking rock, and it's my personal favorite of theirs.
Maybe I'm speaking as a casual grunge listener, but I feel like Nirvana is overrated. I've listened to everything I could find on the Internet from them to see what all the raving was about all these years, and I'll admit I really love "Smells Like," but otherwise I don't understand its legendary status.
I wouldn't call most of Nirvana bad by any means (and I guess it's basically sacred for mopey-music listeners), but I especially just don't get the superfandom for Cobain. Maybe painting a wall with your brains enhances your legacy more than wasting away from, and then dying to, heroine and cocaine overdosing, though.
Edit: Just watched OP's linked video and, in retrospect, maybe my opinions on Cobain formed from a natural aversion to faggotry.
If you like Dirt for the heaviness, I highly recommend listening to the entirety of their first album; Facelift.
I'm in the minority, but it's my favorite album by them. It's very heavy and more on the rock side compared to their other albums. Basically no non-rock songs on the album, save for maybe one.
But sea of sorrow, Sunshine, Bleed the Freak, are some highlights, but the whole album is excellent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EcqOR5gt_M&list=PLrcrQrQ6GVEyQtO3Ih65cE991SgEUU0Ty
Oh, I've listened to all their stuff. Facelift is my no. 2 from them, Sea of Sorrows being one of my favorite AiC songs (and Man in the Box is great). I actually don't like the super dirty grunge all that much, like Jar of Flies doesn't hold too much that I like listening to, but even there the rock factor is excellent.
Are there any other grunge bands worth listening to? I know of Soundgarden and Audioslave, but I'd like more recommendations (your original comment mentioned Stone Temple Pilots, so I'll have to give them a listen).
The best Stone Temple Pilots song in my opinion is Big Empty. Before the chorus it sounds like the song is going to be slow and mopey, but stick around for the chorus.
Some other great STP songs are Wicked Garden, Plush, Dead and Bloated, and Creep.
Dead and Bloated is the most AIC sounding song, where it's got more of a heaviness to it.
Some other good grunge type bands are Kyuss, check out the song Demon Cleaner by Kyuss, and another one you'll love is the band Silverchair. The two songs you have to listen to are Tomorrow and Israel's Son. What's crazy is those two songs were performed when they were like 15 I think, and the guy wrote the songs when he was 14. Yet when you hear his voice he sounds like a 30 year old. Shows how much soy-ness there is today.
Now our 30 year old men sing and write like 14 year olds.
I love Big Empty, best song on the awesome crow soundtrack. Also FYI Silverchair are from Australia.