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Strip Nirvana – and possibly Mudhoney – from the genre and really you are left with nothing of any great musical value, just a bunch of Americans whinging about how miserable their lives are, even though they’ve got more cash than Pete Doherty’s got court appearances. If I want to listen to that, I’ll watch The OC, thanks – and the soundtrack will be much better too.

Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, (shudder) Bush … this was music so dull it made even the hair metal it replaced seem preferable. This was rock so dreary it could be blown away even by the entirely invented flimsiness of the New Wave Of New Wave. And this was musicianship so limited no one ever seemed to progress beyond Nirvana’s trademarked quiet bit/loud bit dynamic.

Sure, all these bands sold millions of records and no doubt there are loads of people out there who will claim grunge changed their lives. But really, what they mean, is Nirvana changed their lives. The rest couldn’t even change their lumberjack shirts.

Ironically for a movement that prided itself on its slackerdom, other genres from the era (Shoegazing? Fraggle? Camden Lurch?) may have proved less successful – meaning that, irony of ironies, grunge even under-achieved when it came to under-achievement - but at least we remember them with a degree of affection. Surely no one mourned when grunge was put out of its literal misery?

Still, it did get Sonic Youth a deal with a major and inspire Blur’s Modern Life Is Rubbish. Don’t you just love a happy ending? Unless you’re a grunge fan obviously …

Mark Sutherland

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