When I moved to Washington State in 1993, it was under a bit of turmoil, plenty of which had started before the actual move. Only a few days after my brother and I had arrived, we were greeted with the Inauguration Day windstorm, one of the state’s famous cyclonic storms that killed five people and whipped up hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. But the biggest shock to the system to the young kid wasn’t any of that…it was the culture, one that in the six years I lived there during my first stint in the state, I never fit into. This is the Seattle area in 1993…and I hadn’t heard so much of an ounce of grunge music. The only Seattle-based artist I knew was Sir Mix-A-Lot, purely from his “Baby Got Back” hit.
Over time, I started adapting to the music a little. It took time…I was raised on hair-metal and 1970s rock and roll, and had enjoyed some rap music and learned that country music, for the most part, was not my thing, but the music of the time was something else. It fit with the mindset I had at the time…anger, confusion, a feeling of isolation…but over time the music started to make sense. It wasn’t happy, fast rock like I knew, but it spoke to me and the strongest speakers had to be Alice In Chains. Maybe it was because their songs were in constant rotation on the rock stations, but I dug the dual-vocal approach and the quality muscianship of the band.
“No Excuses” might be considered a staple classic now, but back then it was a weird song for the scene. It wasn’t an angry, dark song. It was positive. It sounded positive. The lyrics are from the mind of Jerry Cantrell, who seemed to be reflecting on his relationship with co-vocalist Layne Staley. As a kid, I only knew that I loved the music to the song…it always came on as I was working in the shed, usually fetching tools as engine blocks were going together, or repairs were being made. It’s a song that I can listen to anytime, regardless of how I’m feeling, and can find something to like about it every time. The guitar is one of the most iconic sounds to come out of Seattle in the 1990s, a calling card for both the happy and sad times, but for me it’s the song that was always there when I was learning more about the machines I loved.
As you read this, I’ll be up to my armpits in a car, once again knocking out a project I haven’t done by myself yet. You can bet this song will be on the playlist.
Growing up I listened to surf music and I lived in NJ! It was the skateboarding craze back then. But in the 90’s when this style of music hit the scene, it was unique and I really enjoyed it. It was mostly the music part and no so much the lyrics that set it apart. Nirvana, Janes Addiction, Pearl Jam to name a few were my favorites.
I was older than that crowd but dug Grunge right off, probably due to my teen son. Most was pretty dark and that appealed to my cynical self. After the recent passing of my wife of 38 years, I find myself listening to”Don’t Follow” a couple times a week.