Kim Thayil , guitarist for Soundgarden , knows a thing or two about grunge and has chosen a band that perfectly encapsulates the "archetype" of the dominant musical style of the 1990s – and it's not Nirvana .
In a recent interview with Lifeminute (via Ultimate Guitar ), Thayil discussed how the term "grunge" never truly represented the musical effervescence that originated in Seattle, in the United States.
“Grunge was this generic label for Seattle bands in general, but it also included bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots who blended a lot with grunge – they were in Los Angeles and Pumpkins in Chicago. Certainly there’s a cultural aesthetic that we share with all these bands, but I think musically, the idea of a big chord is all muddled and distorted,” he commented.
Which band could best define this genre, then? “I think Nirvana probably embodies the musical identity of grunge, perhaps – the band that best sums up grunge, I think, is Mudhoney , the Mudhoney sound, and their style and attitude. That’s the archetypal grunge band,” he said.
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