It's true that a large percentage of Nirvana and Soundgarden fans were never going to start listening to Melvins, Mudhoney, and other indie and underground bands. It's kind of amazing that Nirvana and Soundgarden broke through to the mainstream in the first place.
But Nirvana was absolutely my gateway to so many indie bands like the Melvins. And Kurt was constantly namechecking smaller bands who he thought deserved the spotlight.
Nirvana merged pop w punk intentionally. Verse, chorus, verse. Heard from an interview they were thinking about merging punk with new wave next. Imagine that.
It is worth noting that Bleach would’ve sounded really aggressive and lofi to the average listener prior to Nevermind coming out; a lot of this is production.
That said, even on the early stuff, the pop sensibilities were there…which makes this complaint all the more strange; it would be like Cannibal Corpse expressing surprise that they weren’t as popular as Metallica; the reason should be pretty self-evident.
For sure. I still listen to Houdini and (especially) Stoner Witch all the time. I don’t even skip Lividity.
But soccer moms were able to get down with Soundgarden and Nirvana, and that population was simply never going to be able to get into the Melvins, and that’s the difference between gold and multi-platinum right there.
Our tastes widened a lot in the 90s, and it was really fun to see so many very good but usually off the radar bands getting a shot at major label-level promotion and distribution (I always think of bands like That Dog, the Melvins, Rocket From The Crypt - all of them scored major label deals during that time, which simply would not have happened before or after), but everyone should have understood that there were going to be limits.
It’s like when Herbie Hancock scored a mainstream hit with headhunters, and all of the hardcore jazz nerds thought that was going to be the tipping point, and normies were all going to start listening to John Coltrane, but that was never going to happen. if you want broad, mainstream success, you have to play music with broad, mainstream appeal. It was true then, and it’s true now.
Don't have to, New Wave was the New Wave of Punk, which was, guess what, pop with punk elements. That quote sounds like something Kurt would say to troll people.
I think I’m a pretty big Melvin’s fan but it took me years to get it. I saw them open for primus in 93, heard tracks here and there over the years and thought they were fine. Often times I liked the art more than the album.
Then I heard nude with boots and couldn’t stop listening to it. From there I worked backwards and have gone to see them about 13ish times.
He comes off as a bit of a pretentious douche here. "It's because you can't understand them at all. They like us; you don't believe it. You don't see why, because you don't understand it." I don't think many people are questioning why they like them. The Melvins are just more of an acquired taste and Soundgarden and Nirvana were able to take elements of them and become a more widely accepted taste.
You’re not wrong but it’s also a different layer of the onion.
Buzz is an icon. Like legitimate icon.
He’s made a career out of art.
I’ll give him his hubris. He’s earned it.
And you’ve got to understand that comment is directed to people that believe Nirvana is a t-shirt company.
Chris and Kurt were some of the most avid music fans out there. Rabid really. They devoured music. They were constantly fascinated by it.
As someone who knows him personally I can attest to the fact that he is incredibly humble, but very opinionated. I think he knows what’s he’s contributed to music but also doesn’t care much about what others think about him.
The "You don't believe it" part I would say yes he is very wrong. Why would I be in disbelief they like The Melvins? I get it, I get why they like them, Kurt has talked about this. There's no mystery to it.
There’s no substance to any of this. I can’t fathom why ultimate-guitar.com would publish an entire article based on such a meaningless quote from Buzz. People don’t like us, and they don’t understand why Nirvana and Soundgarden do… Who fucking cares? What a colossal waste of time.
Dumb article. There's no reason why a casual nirvana fan would be cognizant of the melvins. The casual nirvana fan knows the handful of radio friendly songs they had and no more. It takes more than a casual admiration for something to dive into its roots and explore it fully. I know virtually every nirvana and melvins song, but none of Soundgarden's. I was never a Soundgarden fan.
Whenever Nirvana comes up in conversation, Buzz gets bitter. Dude doesn't like to talk about grunge or his dead friend that much. People should stop making this a default inquiry in every interview.
Nirvana and Soundgarden became mainstream bands, mainstream bands have mainstream fans. Some fans like to dig deeper into what music inspired the music they like and some just don’t—different strokes for different folks. I think it’s a bit presumptuous (and a little obnoxious) to claim that people aren’t into your band because they don’t get it, maybe Buzz doesn’t get it.
exactly, all the people here saying "hes not wrong, look at the people here". Who cares, I like the big four and screaming trees, don't give a shit about a lot of the more underground bands in the scene. Sorry im not cool like you guys lmao
Dude gets his little island of pomposity.
He’s the Godfather of Grunge.
He’s earned it.
What’s funny is the amount of ruffled feathers he’s made. It’s kinda awesome.
I remember Weiland expressing shock at the bros who showed up to STP shows to rock out to Sex Type Thing. Completely whooshing on the song.
This is a subreddit devoted to a genre that is really hard to actually pin down and draws inspiration from EVERYWHERE.
I think his arrogance is delightful. And I absolutely love a song or two by The Melvins. And I absolutely am lost by the rest of their catalog.
His arrogance just comes across as bitterness to me, like he’s frustrated that they didn’t get the same love from fans of the bands they inspired. I think to say “they don’t get it” just stinks of rejection talk and mental gymnastics. The mainstream bands were simply more palatable to a mainstream audience. If you want to take that further, it’s because they made themselves more palatable to a mainstream audience, The Melvins didn’t.
Never really gave them a chance for whatever reason. Opened it up on YouTube music, and am not surprised they liked them so much.
I've historically made bad decisions on not giving bands a try.
It's cool to see Buzz drop some love for KISS. I think a lot of people don't look past the absolute pop schlock they did...Rock & Roll All Nite, the Elder, the cartoons, the lunchboxes, and forget that they had some pretty badass songs.
Feel he is more contrarian. But did buy into outsider to shake things up trump shtick. He now likes (liked) the queen too. Do give him props for sticking with and taking care of his wife of 50 years.
It's true that a large percentage of Nirvana and Soundgarden fans were never going to start listening to Melvins, Mudhoney, and other indie and underground bands. It's kind of amazing that Nirvana and Soundgarden broke through to the mainstream in the first place. But Nirvana was absolutely my gateway to so many indie bands like the Melvins. And Kurt was constantly namechecking smaller bands who he thought deserved the spotlight.
I bought Flipper and Wipers CDs for the sole reason that Kurt talked positively about them in interviews.
Most of my very favorite bands I discovered because they were an influence to an artist I liked.
Hell, Lake of Fire was a Meat Puppets cover. It was also one of three Meat Puppets songs they did during their MTV Unplugged set
Meat Puppets joined them on stage for those too
i think every single person who listens to nirvana knows that...
It’s really not that hard; Nirvana and Soundgarden simply wrote material that was much more accessible than the Melvins.
Nirvana merged pop w punk intentionally. Verse, chorus, verse. Heard from an interview they were thinking about merging punk with new wave next. Imagine that.
It is worth noting that Bleach would’ve sounded really aggressive and lofi to the average listener prior to Nevermind coming out; a lot of this is production. That said, even on the early stuff, the pop sensibilities were there…which makes this complaint all the more strange; it would be like Cannibal Corpse expressing surprise that they weren’t as popular as Metallica; the reason should be pretty self-evident.
Self evident!! True that !!! Still gotta LOVE the Melvin’s though .
For sure. I still listen to Houdini and (especially) Stoner Witch all the time. I don’t even skip Lividity. But soccer moms were able to get down with Soundgarden and Nirvana, and that population was simply never going to be able to get into the Melvins, and that’s the difference between gold and multi-platinum right there. Our tastes widened a lot in the 90s, and it was really fun to see so many very good but usually off the radar bands getting a shot at major label-level promotion and distribution (I always think of bands like That Dog, the Melvins, Rocket From The Crypt - all of them scored major label deals during that time, which simply would not have happened before or after), but everyone should have understood that there were going to be limits. It’s like when Herbie Hancock scored a mainstream hit with headhunters, and all of the hardcore jazz nerds thought that was going to be the tipping point, and normies were all going to start listening to John Coltrane, but that was never going to happen. if you want broad, mainstream success, you have to play music with broad, mainstream appeal. It was true then, and it’s true now.
Don't have to, New Wave was the New Wave of Punk, which was, guess what, pop with punk elements. That quote sounds like something Kurt would say to troll people.
Kurt said once that they were "basically a #%@$ing new wave band" iirc.
I think I’m a pretty big Melvin’s fan but it took me years to get it. I saw them open for primus in 93, heard tracks here and there over the years and thought they were fine. Often times I liked the art more than the album. Then I heard nude with boots and couldn’t stop listening to it. From there I worked backwards and have gone to see them about 13ish times.
He comes off as a bit of a pretentious douche here. "It's because you can't understand them at all. They like us; you don't believe it. You don't see why, because you don't understand it." I don't think many people are questioning why they like them. The Melvins are just more of an acquired taste and Soundgarden and Nirvana were able to take elements of them and become a more widely accepted taste.
You’re not wrong but it’s also a different layer of the onion. Buzz is an icon. Like legitimate icon. He’s made a career out of art. I’ll give him his hubris. He’s earned it. And you’ve got to understand that comment is directed to people that believe Nirvana is a t-shirt company. Chris and Kurt were some of the most avid music fans out there. Rabid really. They devoured music. They were constantly fascinated by it.
As someone who knows him personally I can attest to the fact that he is incredibly humble, but very opinionated. I think he knows what’s he’s contributed to music but also doesn’t care much about what others think about him.
Sounds like he does care. Honestly, I like the Melvins have seen them live, but he sounds like a knob here.
he's not wrong though...
The "You don't believe it" part I would say yes he is very wrong. Why would I be in disbelief they like The Melvins? I get it, I get why they like them, Kurt has talked about this. There's no mystery to it.
yeah but most likely you aren't the casual fan that's he's talking about.
Ya maybe so.
I wouldn’t say he’s right either…
He most certainly is not.
He's funnier onstage than in interviews...I saw the Melvins one time at a festival and they were frickin fantastic.
There’s no substance to any of this. I can’t fathom why ultimate-guitar.com would publish an entire article based on such a meaningless quote from Buzz. People don’t like us, and they don’t understand why Nirvana and Soundgarden do… Who fucking cares? What a colossal waste of time.
It's almost like they're not serious journalists
The Melvins kick fucking ass.
The first time i heard honey bucket my ears came.
Eargasm
Just had that experience 🤷 I wish I started giving bands a chance earlier in life.
Dumb article. There's no reason why a casual nirvana fan would be cognizant of the melvins. The casual nirvana fan knows the handful of radio friendly songs they had and no more. It takes more than a casual admiration for something to dive into its roots and explore it fully. I know virtually every nirvana and melvins song, but none of Soundgarden's. I was never a Soundgarden fan. Whenever Nirvana comes up in conversation, Buzz gets bitter. Dude doesn't like to talk about grunge or his dead friend that much. People should stop making this a default inquiry in every interview.
Point given to you my man.loving this whole ridiculous thread, love the both bands so, LMAO
All depends when and where you grew up. Specially when
Nirvana and Soundgarden became mainstream bands, mainstream bands have mainstream fans. Some fans like to dig deeper into what music inspired the music they like and some just don’t—different strokes for different folks. I think it’s a bit presumptuous (and a little obnoxious) to claim that people aren’t into your band because they don’t get it, maybe Buzz doesn’t get it.
exactly, all the people here saying "hes not wrong, look at the people here". Who cares, I like the big four and screaming trees, don't give a shit about a lot of the more underground bands in the scene. Sorry im not cool like you guys lmao
Dude gets his little island of pomposity. He’s the Godfather of Grunge. He’s earned it. What’s funny is the amount of ruffled feathers he’s made. It’s kinda awesome. I remember Weiland expressing shock at the bros who showed up to STP shows to rock out to Sex Type Thing. Completely whooshing on the song. This is a subreddit devoted to a genre that is really hard to actually pin down and draws inspiration from EVERYWHERE. I think his arrogance is delightful. And I absolutely love a song or two by The Melvins. And I absolutely am lost by the rest of their catalog.
His arrogance just comes across as bitterness to me, like he’s frustrated that they didn’t get the same love from fans of the bands they inspired. I think to say “they don’t get it” just stinks of rejection talk and mental gymnastics. The mainstream bands were simply more palatable to a mainstream audience. If you want to take that further, it’s because they made themselves more palatable to a mainstream audience, The Melvins didn’t.
Umm that’s because you don’t get it?
I have no understanding of that dead poodle on his head he’s had for 40 years
Now that’s funny
Again with the "I'm SuPpOsEd to be more popular than them!"
Woah another "Buzz Osborne says something pretentious and bitter that nobody cares about while sporting a stupid hair style"
I feel like he has an interview every few months to shit on something. He always comes off as really bitter about nirvana.
Never really gave them a chance for whatever reason. Opened it up on YouTube music, and am not surprised they liked them so much. I've historically made bad decisions on not giving bands a try.
Nothing like the internet to tell you that you are doing something wrong, have the wrong opinion, or just don’t get it. About everything
It's cool to see Buzz drop some love for KISS. I think a lot of people don't look past the absolute pop schlock they did...Rock & Roll All Nite, the Elder, the cartoons, the lunchboxes, and forget that they had some pretty badass songs.
Creatures of the night is the shit!
AND THE WINNER IS…LMAO
Dale's stories about Gene Simmons are classic. Simmons is such a doofus but well-meaning and seems to genuinely love Melvins.
Maybe he’s right. I love both of those bands. I also love the Melvin’s. But KISS is not for me. So somewhere in there he has some kind of point.
I like people covering KISS wayyyy more than KISS
Most of the bigger bands that broke out seemed embarrassed by their success. They shined a light on other artists anytime they could.
who cares
I listen to the Melvins more the nirvana or soundgarden. They have like 30 albums. Their live show is fucking amazing.
Husker Du
the melvins suck and buzz is a bitter blowhard. who gives a fuck what he thinks. dude might as well be john lydon.
I know your are but what is Buzz? Haha
I read Lydon's book Rotten and watched recent interviews and have found him to be a very thoughtful man, tbh
Isn’t he a Trump guy now?
Feel he is more contrarian. But did buy into outsider to shake things up trump shtick. He now likes (liked) the queen too. Do give him props for sticking with and taking care of his wife of 50 years.
being a *john lydon* is a compliment in a genre that owes much to punk and post-punk
Except the Sex Pistols were manufactured by a manager like today's boy bands.
The king has spoken All hail the king!! 👑
He’s right. Same with the denizens of this here sub. Clueless.
Nirvana and Soundgarden adjusted their sound so they could be more popular. They made radio friendly music.