Expert: Caleb - 5/29/2007

Question
Do you think grunge is an actual music genre that has definite musical characteristics or just a musical movement.  I ask because so many bands that are considered to be grunge sound so different, like Pearl Jam sounds very different from Mudhoney.

Answer
Well it's a musical movement, but the same goes for punk.  I define "rock n roll" as one genre (distinct from blues, country, jazz, hip hop etc - though sometimes these boundaries are blurred)... whereas the different styles within rock are quite fluid.

You can call a band grunge because they were from Seattle in the 80s and sat somewhere in between punk and metal, or you can call a band grunge because they sounded like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Nirvana in the early 90s, or you can call a band post-grunge cos they sound like a more commercial (and, generally speaking, worse) version in the late 90s or 00s.

Similar to how you can call a band punk because they came around at the start of the second wave of rock n roll, or cos they play rebellious, simple, loud, political rock, or because they have a "punk attitude", or because they try to fit into the punk scene.

So - i wouldn't call grunge a genre, but it's as distinct as punk, British Invasion, progressive rock, Madchester, indie, Britpop, or psychedelia.  (you'll note that half of those were styles, and half musical scenes. i did this on purpose to show how sometimes a style is associated strongly with a  particular time and place... as is the case with grunge).