Fans of grunge will never get sick of the genre, even though it’s been years since the heyday of Nirvana and Soundgarden. Personally, I think the following grunge songs from 1995 have aged pretty well musically. And they still make it to my regular rotation often. Add these gems to your alt-rock playlist.
“Violet” by Hole
Whether you like her or not, it’s hard to disagree with the notion that Courtney Love has a great voice for grunge. “Violet” was one of several singles released after the release of their beloved album, Live Through This. It’s one that I still find myself returning to again and again.
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Fun fact: Courtney Love wrote this song about her short and tumultuous relationship with Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins.
“I’m Above” by Mad Season
Ah, the grunge supergroup that should have lasted way longer. Mad Season was made up of Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Layne Staley of Alice In Chains, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, and bassist John Baker Saunders. You really got the best of grunge in this outfit, and it’s a shame they were only together for a handful of years. They only released one album, Above, in 1995. “I’m Above” is one excellent song from that record that features guest vocals from Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan.
“Grind” by Alice In Chains
Alice In Chains’ 1995 self-titled album is considered by many to be one of the last “true” grunge albums. I listen to the whole of this record regularly, but I’m particularly fond of the song “Grind”. Not only was this the perfect song to open the album, but those sludge metal elements and that top-notch harmonization between Staley and Jerry Cantrell are next-level.
“Glycerine” by Bush
Sixteen Stone by Bush is the subject of a lot of debate in the alt-rock community, even today. Some say it’s grunge, some say it’s post-grunge. I think there are enough grunge elements to make this album worthy of this list. And even though this entry on our list of grunge songs from 1995 might get called “corny” by some, I still really love “Glycerine”. This grunge (or post-grunge) ballad was released to the radio in 1995 and was one of the finest singles to come out of Sixteen Stone, in my opinion.
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