Best Grunge Music Videos of the ’90s
In honor of the music videos that ruled the ’90s, Audio Ink Radio presents its tally of the best grunge music videos of all time. – Author: Anne Erickson, Photo via Chris Cuffaro
Grunge music isn’t necessarily known for its music videos, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the decade before grunge became mainstream, the 1980s, was the MTV era and celebrated for it’s flashy music videos. While it’s true that the 1980s are synonymous with blockbuster, hair metal-happy clips, the ’90s also had some fantastic music videos in the grunge realm. In honor of the music videos that ruled the ’90s, Audio Ink Radio presents its tally of the best grunge music videos of all time. For more, take a look at some of the greatest grunge songs of all time.
Great Grunge Music Videos From the 1990s
Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
It would be impossible to do a roster of the best grunge music videos and leave off the one that started it all. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” put not only Nirvana on the map when it arrived in 1991, but the song and music video also propelled grunge music to becoming the “it” genre in the 1990s. Hair metal musicians who were around then remember how quickly the change came. Almost overnight, hair metal bands went from playing packed arenas to record companies having cardboard cutouts of people in the audience to make it look more packed. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is based on the concept of a high school pep rally which concludes in a wild riot, and it takes from Jonathan Kaplan’s 1979 film, “Over the Edge,” and the Ramones’ movie, “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.”
Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun”
Soundgarden were one of the greatest bands of the grunge era, and while all their songs have a place in music history, the metal-influenced “Black Hole Sun” is among their most popular. The music video for the track is legendary, with Chris Cornell and company seeing people throughout the neighborhood with creepily exaggerated grins. At the end, Cornell has one, too. The band was apparently happy with the video, which wasn’t always the case for Soundgarden. It’s eerie and one of the best grunge music videos of the 1990s.
Temple of the Dog, “Hunger Strike”
In 1991, just as grunge was blooming, Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder duetted on a track that really tugged at the heartstrings of those who missed Andy Wood of early grunge band Mother Love Bone. Wood passed away of a drug overdose, and afterwards, the remaining members of Mother Love Bone formed Pearl Jam with Vedder. The video for “Hunger Strike” from Temple of the Dog is chill-inducting and serves as a tribute to Wood, with both Cornell and Vedder singing in a field and expressing their confusion and emotions about the situation.
Alice in Chains, “Would?”
In 1992, another tribute to the late, great Wood was released in Alice in Chains’ “Would?” The song, which was also the lead single for the grunge-era film “Singles,” features the band performing in a raw setting. The clip’s lo-fi, bare-bones look really showed how different grunge was from its hair metal peers.
Pearl Jam, “Alive”
While Pearl Jam are perhaps most famous for their controversial “Jeremy” video, “Alive” shouldn’t be overshadowed. Off “Ten,” this is an epic song about Vedder finding out that someone who he only met a few times in life was his father, and that that man had passed away, and the music video featured a bevy of raw and exciting performance footage. It’s a classic and one of the best grunge music videos ever.
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