Singles

Sony

Grunge took off thanks to a confluence of cultural artifacts coming out at the same time, not least of which was the pivotal soundtrack to an otherwise fluffy romantic film by Cameron Crowe that happened to be set in early-'90s Seattle. Though the film is tantamount to a trivia question at this point, the platinum-selling soundtrack remains a landmark document of the alt-era. The alternative revolution went from a whisper to a scream, with songs from Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Smashing Pumpkins and Mudhoney, whose song “Touch Me I’m Sick” was parodied in the movie band Citizen Dick’s song “Touch Me, I’m Dick.” Pearl Jam, who cameos as Matt Dillon’s bandmates, landed two songs plus the eight-minute epic “Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" by PJ precursor Mother Love Bone.