The 40 greatest grunge songs (30-26)

(Click here for the whole list.)


30. Sonic Youth - Kool Thing

Pure rock 'n' roll.




29. Beck - Loser

You might say this is hip-hop as much as it is grunge, but I'm including it because it defined the era with its self-effacing refrain. Oh, and it was the song that got me interested in music in 7th grade.




28. Temple of the Dog - Hungerstrike

What could be more perfectly grunge than Soundgarden's Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder both singing lead in the same song?




27. Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs

Yeah, I know: Nine Inch Nails is "industrial," not "grunge."

But this is a special case. They took the unusual step of not using the album version of the song for the music video, but instead just shooting a live performance on a bare studio floor and using the audio from that performance. The result is as grungy as NIN gets.

7/8! 7/8! 7/8! 4/4!




26. Shudder to Think - X-French T-shirt

This band unfortunately never really made it, probably because their music was just too dissonant, too asymmetrical, too disorienting. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I believe this song was the closest they came to mainstream success. I love the unpredictable melody and the "Hey Jude"-like song structure.



If you like this kind of thing, I highly recommend the album Pony Express Record.

>>> Go to #25-21 >>>