Already Gone

Around thirty years ago, Seattle became the epicenter of the rock scene, largely thanks to grunge music. The grungy, ‘I don’t care’ attitude rose from the ashes of punk, heavy metal and alt-rock, and instantaneously went from an underground movement to a worldwide success. Perhaps too quickly embraced by the very system it rebuffed, it almost became a caricature of itself by the end of the 1990s. Let’s look back at ten albums that defined the genre.

Pink Floyd's ground-breaking album The Dark Side of the Moon was the result of a long creative process that began around 1968. A Saucerful of Secrets (the main track from the eponymous album) was, for Nick Mason at least, where it all began. Their next album Ummagumma (1969) gave each band member the opportunity to create a solo piece, though they would have to combine their talents if they wanted to hit the jackpot. Pink Floyd continued to search for the perfect record with Meddle, an album which highlighted their skills in the studio, and Atom Heart Mother, before they reached nirvana with The Dark Side of the Moon. And the album’s perfection hasn’t faded one bit.

“If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I'm getting rid of grunge.” It was with this sentence from Damon Albarn in 1993 that England invaded the stage previously dominated by Nirvana and Seattle grunge. Britpop is deeply linked to politics and local identity and emerged just as Tony Blair and New Labour were entering the scene. English romanticism was once again becoming attractive compared to the American identity, which was considered too hollow in the UK. Make way for “Cool Britannia”.