BLOODY ROOTS OF GRUNGE AND METAL
Week of December 14, 2013
Sat 12/14, 6PM ET
Sun 12/16, 2PM ET
Tues 12/18, 3PM ET
Thurs 12/20, 9PM ET
Though Seattle-area long-haired punk music and heavy metal once were uneasy bedfellows, the lasting impact of mostly Sub Pop Records grunge acts like Tad, Nirvana, Earth, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden merits a look at the thick sound of distortion and flannel. Inspired by the new book Experiencing Nirvana: Grunge in Europe, 1989, by Bruce Pavitt, host Ian Christe (“Sound of the Beast”/Bazillion Points) braves the rain and fog and extracts the heaviest moments of the bands above plus Fecal Matter, Green River, and the almighty pinnacle of sludge and heaviness, the Melvins. Also featured: grunge covers by S.O.D., Grave, Opeth, Machine Head, Impaled, Thou, and more. Slow your Roots!
PLAYLIST:
Tad – “Salem” from Salem EP
Melvins – “Heaviness of the Load” from Gluey Porch Treatments
Fecal Matter – “Downer” – from Illiteracy Will Prevail
The U-Men – “Dig It a Hole” from Solid Action
Soundgarden – “Head Injury” from Ultramega OK
Earth – “Tallahassee” – from Pentastar
Green River – “Hangin Tree” from Sub Pop 200
Mudhoney – “Sweet Young Thing Aint Sweet No More” from SINGLE
Nirvana – “Negative Creep” – Live at Rhino Records
Gruntruck – “Tribe” from PUSH
Alice In Chains – “We Die Young” from WE DIE YOUNG
Coffin Break – “American Dream” from CRAWL
S.O.D. – “Territorial Pissing” from Live At Budokan
Machine Head – “Negative Creep” from Take My Scars
Grave – “Them Bones” from As Rapture Comes
Impaled – “Tourettes” from Medical Waste
Thou – “Something in the Way” from The Archer & the Owle
Melvins – “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More” from Steel Pole Bathtub Split
Opeth – “Would” from Burden
Photo: Tad Doyle of Tad, by Steve Double
Bloody Roots is Sound of the Beast author (and Bazillion Points publisher) Ian Christe’s heavy metal history show on Sirius XM Liquid Metal channel 40. Since June 2004, each weekly show has examined another subgenre, band, movement, country, or theme in metal, punk, and heavy rock. The show is available on-demand online from SiriusXM.com.
Ian is the bomb, but I need to disagree that long-haired punk and metal were ever uneasy bedfellows. The beauty of grunge was the inherent contrarianism of bands like Soundgarden, and Mudhoney (one of the top 5 most important American bands ever) appropriating sonic and even at times visual cues from the likes of Sabbath and Budgie. Such contrarianism is akin to the Replacements playing ’70s AM radio staples for hardcore audiences in the ’80s. The whole point being, it’s often just as important to rebel against your own generation’s expectations as it is to rebel against the expectations of your parents’ generation.