In the late 1980s and early 1990s, grunge was the biggest musical movement in the world. Thanks to bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, arenas were filled to capacity for concerts all over the world, posters hung from bedroom walls, and MTV had more content than it knew what to do with.
But after the height of the sound and style there was a great deal of sadness and mourning after several of the genre’s big players had passed away. What was Seattle, the home of grunge, to do? Well, in the wake of all that, the city quickly produced a plethora of new music, some of which has become iconic in and of itself.
Here below, we wanted to explore a trio of those rock songs that came out post-grunge that have continued to subsist on the radio waves and stereos of music listeners everywhere. Indeed, these are three hit classic rock songs from Seattle that made a splash post-grunge.
[RELATED: Nirvana’s Former Soundman Craig Montgomery Talks Music Festivals with Grunge Icons]
“Float On” by Modest Mouse from Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
The Issaquah, Washington-born band Modest Mouse is known for its often gruff sensibilities. Lead singer Isaac Brock is rough around the edges, someone who takes life in, chews it up, and spits it out into a spittoon. But when the band wrote the hit song “Float On,” Brock and company were trying to write something happy and appealing. It was an exercise as much as it was a work of inspiration. And the effort was a triumph, resulting in what is perhaps the group’s signature song. It even earned Modest Mouse a Grammy nomination. And on the bright, even happy number, Brock sings,
I backed my car into a cop car the other day
Well, he just drove off, sometimes life’s okay
I ran my mouth off a bit too much, oh, what did I say?
Well, you just laughed it off, it was all okay
And we’ll all float on, okay
And we’ll all float on, okay
And we’ll all float on, okay
And we’ll all float on anyway, well
“Peaches” by The Presidents of the United States of America from The Presidents of the United States of America (1995)
After the tragedy of the grunge movement, which included the death Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, among others, the city and the world at large needed a respite, a bit of joy, something happy to sink their teeth into. And the band that helped bridge the gap between Nirvana and others like Modest Mouse or Death Cab for Cutie was the funky and fun rockers The Presidents of the United States of America. Led by lead singer Chris Ballew, the band put out imaginative songs like “Peaches” that were as silly as they were sticky, as metaphorical as they were joyous. And on this Grammy-nominated song, Ballew sings,
Movin’ to the country,
Gonna eat a lot of peaches
I’m movin’ to the country,
I’m gonna eat me a lot of peaches
Movin’ to the country,
Gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin’ to the country,
I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches
Peaches come from a can,
They were put there by a man
In a factory downtown
“Everlong” by Foo Fighters from The Colour and the Shape (1997)
When Nirvana dissolved after Cobain’s death, its remaining members were left with the question of what to do next. To answer that question, drummer Dave Grohl began writing songs of his own and even started his own group, Foo Fighters. Formed out of the Nirvana rubble in Seattle, Foo Fighters made it big with their second LP The Colour and the Shape. That LP included the hit song “Everlong,” a love song with enough heart and passion to move poets like William Shakespeare. On the track, Grohl sings,
Hello
I’ve waited here for you
Everlong
Tonight, I throw myself into
And out of the red
Out of her head, she sang
Come down and waste away with me
Down with me
Slow, how you wanted it to be
I’m over my head
Out of her head, she sang
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Photo by Chris Lopez/Sony Music Archive via Getty Images
Local News
