Rob Janicke's Blog: Generation Riff

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Can a band that never existed reunite?

Ok, so the title of this article is a bit misleading!

If you’re like me, and continue to see the world through the eyes (and in this case, hear it through the ears as well) of a 19-year-old in 1992, then yes… a band that never existed can absolutely reunite. Especially if that band is called Citizen Dick, the flannel-clad creation of filmmaker/journalist, Cameron Crowe.


If the band sounds familiar, good! That means you likely saw Crowe’s 1992 romantic comedy and grunge music showcase, Singles, which also means that we can be friends. If you haven’t seen it, there’s still hope for a friendship, but it will require some work on your end.

It’s not heavy-lifting by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m even willing to bet you’ll thank me for the suggestion afterward.


Singles, a film about the perilous romantic relationships of several twentysomethings all living in the same apartment complex in Seattle, Washington, during the early 1990s grunge scene, is an absolute must-see if that era, music, and culture resonate with you in the least.

Nostalgia, like an old and true friend who may no longer be in your day-to-day grind, but can easily (and gladly) drop in to say hello at a moment’s notice, is exactly what watching the film Singles is like.


This will certainly ring true if you are at least 45 years old or older. If you’re younger than that, and the early 90s are difficult to remember, (or perhaps you weren’t even alive in ‘92) well, nostalgia be damned I guess.

You’ll still enjoy the movie, though, if you’re a fan of 90s grunge and alternative music and culture, albeit without the bonus of living through it yourself.



Brings back all the feels

For me, someone who was a full-fledged fan of grunge music and culture dating back to the late 80s, before it even had that moniker, it’s difficult to write a review of this film without using that embedded lens.


So, although the film stands up on its own as a romantic comedy, it’s impossible for me (or millions like me) who saw the movie solely for the fact that it took place in Seattle, and had members of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains in it, to judge it any other way.


I wrote a piece about the incredible soundtrack to the film back in 2021. You can read that here.

Outside of MTV, radio, and magazine articles, music fans didn’t have a ton of access to our favorite bands or artists.


You have to consider that back in those days, we didn’t have the luxury of streaming movies whenever we wanted, binge-watching, or Netflix and chill.


When a film of interest was released, you picked the day you wanted to go, gathered up some friends, went to your local movie theatre, bought tickets, popcorn, candy, and soda, and spent the next two hours in childhood bliss.





I wrote this piece as both an exercise in nostalgia for my favorite era and as a promotional vehicle for an incredible, week-long event surrounding my new book, SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created. (Inspired By You Books)


Don’t worry…Crowe’s Singles is a major part of the event.


If you like books, music, trivia, film (Singles), beer, food, BBQ, and parties, SLACKER WEEK at Alternate Ending Beer Co. is for you.


As my SLACKER “book tour” continues, I’m humbled by the people and organizations who want to include me and the book in their activities.


I know that the grunge, alternative, and hip hop music from the late 80s through the mid to late 90s is massively important to millions of Gen Xers the world over.


Getting to talk about the era, music, and culture that shaped a generation, as well as made its way through each generation that came after, is a dream come true.


To have the film Singles be a part of this is such a cool addition for me. I wanted to be all the characters in the film in 1992. It didn’t matter which ones. I was living that “grunge” lifestyle as a 19-year-old anyway, why not make believe I was famous too?


Cameron Crowe was a hero of mine as a writer, music fan, and filmmaker. He was the only person in my estimation who could have and should have made this movie.


Some information about this cult classic:


Very early drafts of the script (circa 1984) had the movie set in Phoenix, Arizona.

In addition to Singles, other early script titles included Love & Confusion, Twister Street, and Blues For A T-Shirt (and other tales of love, luck, and lust).

Warner Bros was not sold on the film’s title. They came up with a few alternatives, including Addicted to Love, In the Midnight Hour, Love in Seattle, Leave Me a Message and Come as You Are.

Cameron on Singles: “It’s about the lengths people go to make a connection with another person, the good advice and bad advice they get along the way.”

William Arnold, film critic for the Seattle PI, votes Say Anything and Singles as one of the Top 10 Landmark Events in Seattle Movie History.

Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament & Stone Gossard) play Matt Dillon’s bandmates in the fictional group Citizen Dick.

Citizen Dick perform the song “Touch Me I’m Dick,” which is just the Mudhoney song “Touch Me I’m Sick” with a few lyrical alterations.

The fictional Citizen Dick CD is called Smarter Than You, and its design is an obvious parody of Soundgarden’s Louder Than Love; track 7 is entitled “Louder Than Larry,” a spin-off on “Loud Love,” which is also track 7 on Soundgarden’s 1989 release.


Cameron said this to Spin magazine in August 2001:

“Singles was in the can for a year before it came out. But the success of the so-called “Seattle sound” got it released. Warner Bros. said, “If you can get Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam to play the MTV party that we can use to publicize the movie, we’ll put it out.” So I painfully had to try and talk the bands into doing it. Pearl Jam said that they’d do it as a favor to me. “It was meant to be Manhattan, a movie I loved, set in Seattle. It stayed in the can for a year until the studio released it on the heels of the so-called “grunge explosion,” which created some problems of perception. But there were also some casting issues and some screenwriting problems I never quite solved. Pulp Fiction solved the vignettes issue in a way that made my jaw drop. I thought, “Fuck!” [Laughs.] If I had done Singles later, I might not have made some of those mistakes. I would have been one of the many movies that ripped off Pulp Fiction instead. [Laughs.] Singles didn’t aspire to define a generation. It aspired to be my tribute to Manhattan. So there’s a little frustration there. I hope that someday, as time goes on, it can live on as a snapshot of that period, because Seattle is not the same anymore.”



If you find yourself in the NY/NJ area between 4/28/25 - 5/3/25, join us at Alternate Ending Beer Co. in Aberdeen, NJ, and let's party like it's 1992!

Nostalgia, like an old and true friend who may no longer be in your day-to-day grind, but can easily (and gladly) drop in to say hello…

Proof that punk rock DIY ethos still exists...and thrives

It's been a minute since I last wrote a piece on a new band. This isn't the fault of new bands, many great ones are touring the world as we speak. The delay stemmed from putting the finishing touches on my book, SLACKER - 1991-Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books 2024), which was just published two weeks ago.

The last time I covered a new band that I stumbled upon and fell in love with was in 2022 with Bad Nerves. The article came out in Medium for the publication, The Riff. They were getting some notoriety then but since, well, they're blowing up. The band reached out to me and thanked me for "getting what they're doing" so ya know, I will take some credit.

I'm only half joking. They did reach out and we shared a few extremely nice messages. I'm glad they liked the piece. But I'm obviously joking about receiving credit. They've earned everything they're getting now by being an awesome band with heart, grit, passion, and a relentless touring schedule which continues through the writing of this piece.

All that to say this, I stumbled upon another band I felt compelled to write about. So, Winona Fighter, if you take off after this article is released, hit me up!

Based out of Nashville, Tennessee, Winona Fighter is made up of singer Coco Kinnon, guitarist Dan Fuson, and bassist/producer Austin Luther. The trio caught my attention with their aggressive fusion of melodic punk rock and heavy (ish) alternative leanings. The band delivers its songs with enough pop sensibility for mass consumption yet sprinkles in a fair amount of boot-stomping chaos for old-school punk fans to jump aboard.

Kinnon's vocals have an Olivia Rodrigo feel (which I love) but with more angst and grit while Fuson and Luther supply frenetic riffs and big, catchy choruses to keep the crowd moving throughout each track.

Music for me is always about feeling, emotion, and passion, as most readers of mine know, and Winona Fighter lands in that wheelhouse. Songs like "HAMMS IN A GLASS" and "ATTENTION" off their forthcoming debut album, My Apologies To The Chef (due out on February 14, 2025, via Rise Records) hit hard sonically and lyrically.

Both songs draw you into the fold immediately. They're ferocious but catchy and memorable as well. They have a heaviness attached to them that is familiar and refreshing at the same time. Coco Kinnon has the type of voice and delivery that straddles the line of desperation and rage. You root for her throughout each track and nothing about her style is forced. The band provides the perfect vehicle to carry her angst across the finish line.

With humble beginnings and a DIY attitude, Winona Fighter released its first EP, Father Figure, in 2022. The band has been self-producing and touring constantly since. Their dedication and perseverance eventually paid off as they were signed to the popular indie label, Rise Records in March of 2024.

Rise, founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson, as an independent label, is home to the likes of punk and alternative bands such as AFI, Alkaline Trio, Sum 41, Flogging Molly, and others. In 2015 the label was purchased by BMG but is essentially left alone to be run as an indie. This is a good fit for Winona Fighter.

Discovering new music these days is a bit too random for me and I know so many great artists can and do, fall through the cracks. I'm glad Winona Fighter is one band that I'm able to learn about right before their spotlight gets hotter.

Check them out on their Website, Spotify, and IG pages.

A big part of Seattle’s MoPOP is a celebration of and destination for 90s grunge and alternative music and the culture it helped create

Pearl Jam display as part of MoPOP’s Grunge Collection.

The International Council of Museums defines “Museum” as:

“A not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible, and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”

While the entirety of the definition is important, my favorite part is “permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage,” as it captures my sentiment regarding how culture should be appreciated and, consequently, chronicled and displayed. I’ve always felt that conserving popular culture is one of society’s more important obligations to itself. This is particularly true in the arts.

People from all walks of life, from different countries, landscapes, philosophies, and eras, have leaned on creating and distributing art in all forms. Human beings are inherently artistic, with the need to share our creations with those around us. Museums are there to make sure that what is created and shared during any period will stand the test of time to teach and inspire others decades and centuries down the line.

MoPOP, (Museum of Pop Culture) Seattle, Washington’s 24-year-old museum dedicated to contemporary pop culture is not simply a building that houses “things”, but it’s also a sanctuary for those of us who consider the preservation of art, music, film, and the like to live in a place that cares as much for its inhabitants as the artists who created what’s being held there in the first place. In other words, we should all be glad it exists.

The museum was founded by Microsoft’s Paul Allen in 2000 under the moniker The Experience Music Project, which remained until 2017 when it was changed to MoPOP. The change was made to reflect its mission better: to make creative expression a life-changing force by offering experiences that inspire and connect communities.

As it exists today, MoPOP is a leading-edge, non-profit museum, nestled amid the backdrop of the iconic Space Needle. The structure, a 140,000-square-foot building, was designed by internationally acclaimed architect Frank O. Gehry.

MoPOP creates private experiences for groups of 10–2,500+. They offer several exciting collections of exhibitions, rich pop culture content, state-of-the-art technology, and a myriad of unique spaces for an unforgettable occasion.

Growing up in New York City, museums are as common as traffic and lines at the supermarket. Currently, NYC has over 170 museums spanning dozens of themes. Sometimes, you take for granted the things you’re most used to, and I would say I, unfortunately, fall into that category. I didn’t realize museums' importance and cultural significance, even living in a melting pot such as New York City, until I visited one over 3,000 miles away from my home town.

It was 2013, and my wife and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary. I had a pre-scheduled work trip planned for Seattle, and my wife joined me a few days into the trip so we could celebrate. Anyone who knows me, particularly during the early and mid-1990s, would know that I’d always considered Seattle my adopted hometown. Not that I had been there before because I hadn’t, it was solely due to the grunge and alternative music scene that had taken over the world in the early 90s which I had also adopted as my own. So being there to celebrate my anniversary and finally get to see my adopted hometown seemed like a no-brainer.

I realized that my interest in museums took a huge uptick once I was in one that championed the things I was particularly fond of. The music and culture of the Seattle scene from the late 80s/early 90s was my life. Being inside a building that collected and displayed so many of the things I’d seen on TV or read about in magazines was all it took to understand the importance of museums. This New Yorker would never again take museums for granted.

Fast forward to 2024, MoPOP is as important a destination as there is if you’re interested in pop culture. As a true museum of cultural impact, MoPOP understands that the culture of the past has a distinct and profound impact on the present and future. It’s all connected. The links and threads exist from one to the other, and an institution such as MoPOP takes preserving it all quite seriously.

A glance at their current exhibits explains just how deep the connection between society and culture at MoPOP goes. Exhibits such as Massive: The Power of Pop Culture, Guest Curator Program, Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction, Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses, Indie Game Revolution, Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic, Hendrix: Wild Blue Angel, Guitar Gallery, Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Sound Lab, and Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film (temporarily closed), showcase just how far the museum has gone to bring as much of pop culture to the rest of the world.

In March 2023, Michele Smith was named MoPOP’s Chief Executive Officer, thus being tasked with bringing the museum to the next level. The early returns are excellent. Reporting to the Board of Directors, Smith manages an annual operating budget of $20M, and the senior leadership team (currently seven (7)), supervises finance, people + culture, exhibitions/collections, sales/marketing, museum operations, education, and public programs. As the lead spokesperson and fundraiser of the museum, Michele Smith leads external engagement, community building, and direction of MoPOP’s presence and impact on the greater Seattle arts community.

In an interview conducted by Christa Terry in the Observer in January ’24, Smith had this to say when describing her attraction to the role of CEO of MoPOP:

“Arts and culture have been an integral part of my life. My mom was one of the first Black ballerinas in Philadelphia and instilled in me a passion for the arts. I always had a passion for music and learned to skillfully play both the piano and violin.

My DNA is infused with pop culture. I have an immense love for fashion, music, and film. Being a part of the arts community has been a lifelong journey for me, and this personal connection drives my desire to lead an organization that aligns with my values. I have always dreamed of a job that allows me to be creative, drive revenue, and provide extraordinary experiences. This aspiration is not just about passion but also about infusing a business lens to drive profit.”

Michele Smith Photo credit — Natalie Post

Pop culture may be a common phrase in today’s society, but it wasn’t always the case. The term “Popular Culture” dates back to the 18th or 19th century. It was originally meant to describe the lower class and less educated in society, with major cultural and social changes after the conclusion of World War II brought on by innovations in mass media, “Popular Culture” or “Pop Culture” as it was being called, developed a new meaning. The ideas of mass consumption, media, image, and consumer culture leaked their way into the new definition. This is where the term has thrived ever since.

As I mentioned, I have a newfound love and appreciation for museums. While all museums play a significant role in society, my personal bias lies with those who understand the importance of art as it intersects with culture. Our society is only as strong as its collective creativity and inspiration. MoPOP knows this and seems dedicated to fostering that sentiment tenfold.

MUSEUM OF POP CULTURE

HOURS

Open daily 10:00 am–5:00 pm

Events ▸ | Exhibitions ▸

MoPOP

325 5th Avenue N Seattle, WA 98109

Directions ▸

206–770–2700

info@mopop.org

Learn more about me and my writing by visiting my website. My first book, SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books, 2024) will be out this Fall. You can pre-order a signed, first-edition copy here.

This article first appeared in The Riff on Medium.

Beastie Boys’ sophomore album, Paul’s Boutique, turned 35 this year, and without it, the band would’ve faded into oblivion

Paul's Boutique Album Cover (1989)

For those of you who've been following my writing in The Riff on Medium, you're not wrong if you think I've written about this album before. I have. It was published on February 21, 2021, and you can read that article here if you'd like.

I'm a sucker for album anniversaries, though, and 35 is a big one. Not only has Paul's Boutique stood the test of time (it was released on July 25, 1989, by Capitol Records), but I would argue that had the Beastie Boys not made this album, their career would've quickly and quietly ended and they would've been remembered as a one-hit wonder, fratboy rap act.

After Licensed to Ill, the debut album (released on November 15th, 1986 on Def Jam/Columbia Records) by New York City trio Beastie Boys, rap music changed forever. Dubbed by some as "goofball" and "fratboy" parody rap, the reception to the record was largely positive by fans and critics alike, despite the band's look and antics on stage, video, and in interviews.

I was 13 years old when this record came out, and like millions of other white kids accustomed to listening to hard rock, heavy metal, and punk, I was simultaneously stunned, confused, and excited about what I was hearing.

The only black music I was familiar with then was blues and Motown, which I was a fan of. Neither genre was popular with my generation in the 1980s however and those sounds were considered "old music", and not something teenagers were talking about at school. Rap, though, was the complete opposite. It was the most unique-sounding music I'd heard at that point in my life and I knew I immediately wanted more.

Living in Brooklyn, NY, rap music had entered my consciousness earlier than most back then. Rap music is a product of the streets of New York, specifically The Bronx and Queens, eventually making its way to the three remaining boroughs. By the time Beastie Boys burst onto the scene, I had already owned cassette tapes by bands and artists such as Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow, and Doug E. Fresh. Beastie Boys were something altogether different though. They utilized heavy guitar and rock drum samples which were different in style from other bands using drum machines and samples by disco and R&B records. Run-D.M.C. used rock music at times as well, but not as often as the Beasties did. The fact that they were white rappers, performing a new style of music that was created and performed exclusively by black artists was unheard of at that time. Because of this, and because of the prevailing sentiment then that rap music was just a fad, some people did look at the Beastie Boys as nothing more than a novelty act.

Licensed to Ill achieved both commercial and critical success. It was the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 chart and the second to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Raising Hell by Run-DMC was the first.

At the time of its release, Licensed to Ill was one of Columbia’s fastest-selling debuts of all time. Despite its extreme popularity with fans and most rap artists alike, the sophomoric lyrics and, perhaps even more so, the band’s antics in their music videos, misogynistic stage presence, and overall clownish behavior looked like a recipe for a precipitous fall from grace. Even the members of the Beastie Boys agreed with this assessment.

Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz wrote a letter to Time Out New York decades after their debut, publicly apologizing for the homophobic lyrics in the trio’s first album.

Regarding Licensed to Ill (which was originally supposed to be titled ‘Don’t Be a Fa**ot’):

“I would like to formally apologize to the entire gay and lesbian community for the s — ty and ignorant things we said on our first record. There are no excuses. But time has healed our stupidity…. We have learned and sincerely changed since the ’80s…. We hope that you’ll accept this long overdue apology.” — Adam Horovitz/Time Out New York

Adding to this sentiment, Rick Rubin, famed producer, label owner, music guru, and one of the creators of the Beastie Boys had this to say in XXL Magazine:

“The fact that so many people liked it was really a shock to us because it’s such an inside album. There’s so many inside jokes and it’s such a personal album. And it’s ridiculous. The stuff they talk about is really ridiculous, and it entertained us, but we never imagined that it would entertain anyone else.”

Produced by The Dust Brothers (E. Z. Mike and King Gizmo), along with the Beastie Boys, Paul’s Boutique, the much-anticipated follow-up to Licensed to Ill, was released almost three years after the band’s massive debut on July 25th, 1989. The record was a complete departure from everything on its debut, confusing the fan base and disappointing their new label, Capital Records. Compared to its predecessor, Paul’s Boutique was a commercial failure. The album peaked at #24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #14 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Critically, though, the album was a huge success. Lauded for its mastery of using samples (105 in total) and its experimental sound and lyricism, Paul’s Boutique eventually became an all-time classic record.

Mojo would say about Paul’s Boutique, “It shredded the rulebook” and called it “one of the most inventive rap albums ever made”.

Pitchfork called the album, “A landmark in the art of sampling, a reinvention of a group that looked like it was heading for a gimmicky early dead-end, and a harbinger of the pop-culture obsessions and referential touchstones that would come to define the ensuing decades’ postmodern identity”.

Not to be outdone, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone would add, “A celebration of American junk culture that is still blowing minds today — even fourteen years of obsessive listening can’t exhaust all the musical and lyrical jokes crammed into Paul’s Boutique.” While Mark Kemp of the same magazine simply stated, “hip-hop masterpiece” when describing the effort.

One of my favorite quotes regarding Paul’s Boutique, however, has to be from music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine (former senior editor for AllMusic), in which he said:

“Musically, few hip-hop records have ever been so rich; it’s not just the recontextulations of familiar music via samples, it’s the flow of each song and the album as a whole, culminating in the widescreen suite that closes the record. Lyrically, the Beasties have never been better — not just because their jokes are razor-sharp, but because they construct full-bodied narratives and evocative portraits of characters and places. Few pop records offer this much to savor, and if Paul’s Boutique only made a modest impact upon its initial release, over time its influence could be heard through pop and rap, yet no matter how its influence was felt, it stands alone as a record of stunning vision, maturity, and accomplishment”

As you can see, the record was largely seen as a creative and influential masterpiece by the critics, even if the beer-spilling, fratboy contingency wouldn’t or couldn’t get on board with the Beastie’s new and improved brand of hip-hop.

It’s rare in modern music to find a band or artist that will shun just about everything that made them famous, risk alienating their original fan base, and financially take a gamble that, if lost, could wreck your career. Beastie Boys did all of this on Paul’s Boutique.

Too often, we forget, or just won’t take the time, to think about the circumstances that go into making an artistic statement (music, books, film, paintings, etc.) and releasing it to the public. Most of the time, the individuals who do this are quite young the first time they appear in the public eye. The Beastie Boys, for example, were 14/15 years old when they met Rick Rubin, who was just a college student then. The Beastie Boys were all between 20 and 22 years old in 1986 when Licensed to Ill was released. Most of the material on the record had roots in the years before the release. They were kids.

I am not making excuses for some of the content and behavior displayed on the record; I’m simply stating facts. We can all probably think back to when we were between the ages of 14 and 20(ish) and be glad our lives were not known to a global audience.

By the time Paul’s Boutique was written, produced, recorded, and released, the Beastie Boys had some time (about three years) to think about their direction, hone their craft, and yes, even mature…a bit.

This record could have only been made once the band found this new direction and purpose. They had left NYC for the chiller, more laid-back vibes of L.A., switched record labels, and had new people around them. All of that played a role in creating Paul’s Boutique.

According to Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boy producer, DJ, insider & friend) in 2003,

“The songs were really about the life we were living. Staying at fancy hotels, eating at fancy restaurants, renting Beemers, chucking eggs at people…a lot of those stories are true. On “Egg Man” the words go, Chuckin eggs from the Mondrian Hotel at the cars goin by” and they did that. “Chillin’ with Bob Dylan”…yeah we were. We went to a Christmas party Dolly Parton had at her house. There were all these celebs, and there was Bob Dylan! We were like, “Fuck, let’s spark a joint! So we sparked a joint with Bob!” (Rolling Stone )

Although it's a Beastie Boys album, Paul's Boutique could've been a Dust Brothers album featuring the Beastie Boys. The Dust Brothers or Mike Simpson and John King, or E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo (or other aliases they may or may not have) had made the bulk of the music that landed on the album before ever meeting the Beastie Boys.

The story of how the factions came together goes like this. Matt Dike, CEO of Delicious Vinyl Records had heard two tracks by the Dust Brothers and for all intents and purposes, lost his mind over them. Dike loved the tracks so much that he included them on albums by his artists, Tone Loc and Young MC.

In addition to those tracks, there were others with endless samples that just didn’t make sense for other rap artists or songs out at that time.

They were these crazy megamixes with tons of samples and scratches. Most of them were too dense to fit another rapper on them. — Mike Simpson/HHV Mag

The Beastie Boys knew Matt Dike as a DJ in the Los Angeles underground of the 1980s. They were enamored with his ability to make people go nuts with a strange mix of punk rock, hip-hop, metal, and obscure music. When Mike D and MCA were invited to Dike’s apartment in ’88 to hang out, Dike played two of those Dust Brothers mega-mixes for them: “Full Clout” and “Dust Joint” which became “Shake Your Rump” and “Car Thief” respectively, two of Paul’s Boutique’s better-known songs.

Those two tracks were harbingers for things to come. Between the Beastie’s newfound creative ideas and wanting to distance themselves from Licensed to Ill as much as possible, the Dust Brothers’ ridiculous beats, samples, and production skills, and Matt Dikes’ never-ending record collection, the stage was set for the magic to happen. The world would be witness to that magic soon enough.

Back then, music was sampled, or more accurately described, lifted, and stolen, without the proper accreditation.

Paul’s Boutique is the exception. The Dust Brothers did get licenses for each of the 105 songs they sampled, which cost them around $250,000 at the time. Although they did everything right, they and the band were still sued. Estimates suggest that those same samples today would cost over $20 million for an album that went on to sell just over 2 million copies worldwide. Ouch.

Whatever the investment, the record wound up on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list and SPIN’s 100 Greatest Albums from 1985–2005.

Everything that took place regarding the creation of the masterpiece that is Paul’s Boutique had to have happened exactly as it did for the Beastie Boys to fulfill their musical and artistic rebirth and pave the way for one of the most important careers in music history.

This piece was first published in The Riff Magazine and can be found on my Medium profile.

My first book, SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books, 2024) is now available for pre-order here.

You can follow everything I write about on my website.

(This article first appeared in The Riff Magazine on Medium https://medium.com/@robjanicke)

Photo by Sinitta Leunen on Unsplash

Art is subjective. Or as the Beastie Boys once said, “Cause one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor” on “What Comes Around” off 1989’s Paul’s Boutique. The point is, if you’re creating something, it’s hard to tell if your artistic expression will resonate with people because everyone is different.

Unless…

You allow yourself to give zero f&cks and be as open, naked, and vulnerable as possible. That’s why art, be it music, writing, painting, acting, etc. touches people as deeply as it does.

I wrote my first piece, "I Turned 44, Quit My Job, Started aRecord Label, and Went to Therapy...You Should Too" on this platform over four years ago, in early 2020. I’ve been writing since the 1980s (poetry, song lyrics) and started writing about music as a freelancer in 2004 or so. Music has always been a part of who and what I am.

Medium was relatively new to me, and if I was going to enjoy writing here, I knew it had to be genuine. I had to be authentic. I can fake many things and even get away with some of them, but if I’m not truthful and raw in my writing, I cannot stand myself and will never continue.

As you can probably guess from the title, my first article contained a dark theme surrounded by enough lightheartedness to make it relatable to most people who get lost along the way. After this piece, I became even more open and vulnerable, taking on many difficult topics and even publishing dozens of poems that certainly weren’t easy to share.

Authenticity though…it’s a must.

As I began sharing this article on social media, I started getting messages from people I knew and many I didn’t, thanking me for being brave enough to discuss such a personal part of my life. What they saw as bravery, I saw as necessary. I wasn’t being brave at all, just honest. Either way, most notes also noted that after reading my brief story, they were inspired to start telling their stories. Some wrote pages worth of information to me right then and there.

I was humbled beyond words.

In the Spring of 2020, I had an idea for a book about the music and culture of the late 80s/early 90s grunge and alternative movement that would shockingly take over the world for almost a decade and become one of the most important genres and eras in the history of music. It’s not just about the music and culture (although it spans 1984–1999, so there’s a ton of it there). It also discusses the heavy emotions that Gen X kids, the artists included, were feeling and relating to at the time.

Throughout the book, I told many personal stories about how certain bands and cultural and societal norms back then affected me. It gets a bit deep. I interviewed musicians who sold millions of records in the 90s, writers, sociologists, and professors who study art and culture, and scientists who used some of that music as therapy and potential cures for Dementia and Alzheimer’s, along with many others who did amazing things with their lives all based on the inspiration they felt because of the music and culture of the 1990s.

After four long years of blood, sweat, tears, fears, laughs, fun, insecurities, confusion, doubt, and ultimately excitement, SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books, Fall 2024) is available for pre-sale.

Therapy was tough enough to write about in the article I mentioned earlier, but that became easy throughout the book-writing process. I was so inspired by the people who told me that my article helped them and, in some cases, gave them the courage and push they needed to change their lives that I knew I had to share even more in the book.

If Alice In Chains and Soundgarden could openly write and sing about suicide and addiction, and Pearl Jam and Nirvana felt confident enough to share stories of broken homes, depression, and rage, I could do the same. Music and vulnerability go hand in hand.

For the first time in my life, SLACKER allowed me the platform to discuss the two times in my life when I had suicidal thoughts and sought help because I didn’t think I was capable of fixing myself.

Spoiler alert…I made it!

I didn’t do the things I wrote down in a letter I sent to my parents asserting I’d do. Other people just like me weren’t as lucky. I felt a responsibility to tell the story to others who love and still live with grunge and alternative music every day, three-plus decades later, that there is a way out. Just because some of the music discusses the darkest depths of the human soul, it doesn’t mean the listener has to stay there. The music can be enjoyed without the emulation.

I can sum it up with a passage from the book…a declaration really:

"Hi, my name is Rob and I’m a SLACKER . A card-carrying member of Generation X with the musical DNA to prove it. I’m a product of divorce, single-parent upbringing, therapy, and MTV.

I’m a latchkey kid who was left alone to figure it all out by myself, but never quite did. I’m still full of questions and teen spirit angst with more targets for my slings and arrows now, but the problem is, no one bleeds from the puncture wounds anymore. 

I’m a remnant of the forgotten generation as the spoiled meat between the doughy sides of baby boomer and millennial bread. I rot in the middle as they argue over who has the bigger slice .I’ve been looking California and feeling Minnesota for over three decades now (if you know, you know), but I’m still alive…we’re all still alive, and I’d have it no other way.

A reluctant icon once sang, “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old”, almost prophesying how this unlikely magic carpet ride would end. I’ve referenced it before, but that is the first line, from the first song off In Utero by Nirvana, the follow-up to the biggest album of the era, Nevermind.

Kurt wasn’t shy about his feelings regarding his newly anointed sainthood but we didn’t care, we only wanted more.

Kurt never did grow old though, he left that to the rest of us.

Now that we’re more than 30 years on from the start of the improbable success story that was the early 90s grunge and alternative movement, we should relish in the fact that we were there for it all, and still have the music to wash over us, get to introduce it to our children, and somehow morph into the best version of a slacker that anyone could’ve ever imagined."

Pre-order SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books, Fall 2024) here and receive a signed First Edition Copy.

Check out my website for all of my social media pages and dates of appearances where I read excerpts from the book, tell stories about some of the interviews, discuss the book writing process, and more.

Why the Grunge movement exploded when it did

Sometimes, as things age, important pieces get left out of the stories that are told. When people discuss music from the early 90s, specifically what was known as grunge and alternative, the story almost always begins with Nirvana. To be fair, Nirvana put that scene on the map commercially with their second album, Nevermind (1991), but the story started about a decade before that release.

I go into a very detailed discussion of this in my forthcoming book, SLACKER - 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books 2024) which you can reserve a signed, first-edition copy for here, but this particular article is about something a bit different.

Many things come together to define culture. One of the most important as far as I'm concerned is popular music. Sometimes culture influences music, and sometimes music influences culture but they are certainly attached at the hip. Seeing as 1991 was the year that grunge "broke", we would need to go back in time and analyze what was going on in culture before Nirvana changed everything.

This is also discussed in SLACKER, but I want to shed some light on it here as well. I mentioned that music is an important determining factor as it relates to culture and which direction it goes. In addition, and equally important in my view, is the state of the economy, social issues of the day, education, and the political climate, both nationally and globally. When you mix all of these ingredients and look into the cauldron of boiling water that is society, you will see the type of culture you're living in.

In the following excerpt from SLACKER, you'll see what music was like one year before Nirvana's Nevermind was released. If you know the bands and artists on this list, you'll understand where music was at the time and just how unexpected a band like Nirvana was. If you don't know the music on this list, do a quick search on your favorite streaming service and you'll see where I'm coming from. Or just keep reading.

" The year prior to Nevermind coming out, during the very same week, the Top 10 artists (in order) whose albums topped the Billboard  200 were as follows:

Week of September 22nd,1990:

M.C. Hammer, Wilson Phillips, Jon Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Bell Biv DeVoe, Prince, Poison, Anita Baker, Keith Sweat and Michael Bolton. 

If you’re not familiar with some or all of the artists on this list, here’s why I wouldn’t have them fighting my revolution. You may feel otherwise…who knows? M.C. Hammer, the Oakland A’s ball boy turned rapper, wore baggy pants probably three sizes too big and shuffled across the stage while performing his gigantic hit, “Can’t Touch This”. Great for him, not so much for my infantry. Jon Bon Jovi, successful beyond all recognition, but musically, not exactly the bulldog I’d want on the front lines. Wilson Phillips, a supergroup of sorts, was the offspring of the legendary Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mammas and the Popas. Pop music gold, but edgy is not in their vocabulary. As far as Michael Bolton is concerned, well, you can just figure that one out for yourself.

Let’s head back to September of 1991 now, shall we? During that same week, just one year later, (the week Nevermind was released), the Top 10 artists, in order, on the Billboard 200 were:

Week of September 21st, 1991

Metallica, Natalie Cole, Rush, Bonnie Raitt, Color Me Badd, Boyz II Men, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Van Halen, Michael Bolton, C+C Music Factory.

(If you’re wondering where Nevermind landed, it debuted at #144.)

As you can see, there wasn’t much of a difference between the charts from 1990 and 1991. One can certainly make a case that Metallica should be included in the heavy rock explosion that was 1991 but they were already very well-known and the self-titled (most people refer to it as the “Black Album” due to its all-black cover) record they released was largely dismissed by longtime Metallica fans for what they deemed as “selling out” because the new songs were much shorter than the seven-minute plus marathons from past albums. In addition, they wound up with five singles paving the way for the band to ultimately sell more than 17 million copies of the “black album” in the U.S alone. So although there were four rock artists in the Top 10 as opposed to just two the year before, there’s nothing all that earth-shattering here. Bob Seger was from decades earlier, Rush was respected but looked at as old progressive metal/rock and not what teenagers in 1990/91 were excited about, and Van Halen, with their infamous in-fighting and lead singer swaps, represented the old-school of cool rock music."

As you can see, grunge/alternative music wasn't a blip on the radar...yet.

If you study society at any moment in time, you'll find that you can put your finger on the pulse of where civilization is. Are people comfortable, happy, prosperous, and breaking new cultural ground? Or, does life feel stale, uninspired, and hopeless with little to look forward to? Music (and most forms of art) can be a telling barometer of what life looks like to most people. You saw what the U.S. Billboard Top 40 charts looked like in September of both 1990 and 1991. I think it's fair to call the popular music during those times safe at best, and soulless at worst. At least that's how I felt at the time.

Let's go back just one more year to get a sense of why, in late 1991 and into 1992, the youth culture was ready for a massive, loud, and honestly, angry change. Another excerpt from SLACKER:

"With the Seattle music scene still segregated from the rest of the world, commercial music was bathing in a sea of uninspired mediocrity. The Billboard 200 Number One Albums chart of 1989 points to this. Number-one albums throughout the year by artists such as Anita Baker, Bobby Brown, Debbie Gibson, New Kids on the Block, Milli Vanilli, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, and others aren’t exactly the type of artists that would be natural lead-ins to heavy, dirty, sludgy, metal/punk rock bands that would take over these very charts in a few short years. The heaviest rock music that enjoyed commercial success were albums by bands like Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith. The Red Hot Chili Peppers did make it to 53 with Mother’s Milk but it didn’t make enough noise to signal to the world what was on the horizon.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit” was officially released as the first single off of Nevermind on September 10th, 1991. It was given to radio shortly before this on August 27th. Record companies typically release songs with a solid plan and strategy in mind, this release was no different. Nirvana’s label DGC Records, (their first major label after beginning their career with a small, at that time, indie label called Sub Pop Records) had the intention of releasing “Teen Spirit” to both strengthen their current fan base in the Pacific Northwest, and expand on it. Then, the plan was to release “Come as You Are” as the main single due to what the record company saw as its “crossover to the mainstream” potential. Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men...The reality is, despite “Smells Like Teen Spirit” being an all-time great rock song, its timing was impeccable. A perfect storm was brewing and Nirvana, along with their debut single off of Nevermind, were destined to become the eye of that storm. If you think about it, great music by itself, rarely, if ever, can start a cultural revolution. So many outside factors, most having little or nothing to do with music itself, play massive roles in birthing that revolution. The world is a strange place with many strange things happening in it. When those strange things get stranger or just played out, and the youth of any generation decides it’s time for a change, things tend to happen. Add a corrupt political and societal climate, and oppression of any kind to a group (or groups) of people, as well as the stifling of true creativity, and finally, radio towers blasting soulless music to the masses, that my friends, is a recipe for a cultural revolution. All of this, in one form or another, was occurring just as Nirvana had released Nevermind and the kids responded the way they always do during times like these, with raised fists and screams of rebellion."

Back in those days, radio airplay, along with a music video in heavy rotation on MTV (yes, they used to play music videos 24 hours a day) was what was needed to turn musicians into icons. In the case of Nirvana, the dark, grimy-looking video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" appeared on televisions worldwide, and the images within that video mirrored the angst and frustration of the song so perfectly that kids everywhere clung to it for dear life. The revolution was televised and the rest, as they say, is history. I write at length about the impact of this video in the book, but this should give you an idea of why it was so monumental in defining this new and angry youth culture.

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Reserve your signed copy of my forthcoming book, SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books 2024) here.