In celebration of the life of Kurt Cobain (whose tragic suicide occurred 20 years ago this Saturday), we've compiled a short list of the top bands to come out of the Pacific Northwest music scene that Nirvana helped bring to the world's attention. In no particular order, here are eight incredible bands (other than Nirvana) to come out of the Pacific Northwest.
1. Beat Happening
When your metalhead friend complains about indie bands not being able to play their instruments, Beat Happening is probably the band he's thinking about. What it lacks in technical prowess, however (and it lacks a lot), Beat Happening more than makes up for with its insistently catchy songs and charming attitude. Almost more influential than the band itself, however, is K Records, the Olympia-based label founded by singer Calvin Johnson, and home to a few bands on this list.
2. Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains got its start before Nirvana exploded, but it was one of the countless Seattle bands that rode Nirvana's wave to success. What set Alice in Chains apart from its Seattle peers, however, was its haunting metallic sound, combining the riffs of Led Zeppelin with the darkness of Black Sabbath, aided in large part by their late vocalist Layne Staley.
3. Sleater-Kinney
Casual fans of Portlandia might be surprised to find that back in the '90s, Carrie Brownstein was a furious punk guitarist in a band that was named America's best by Time Magazine. Sleater-Kinney's feminist politics made it one of the most high profile bands from Olympia's "riot grrrl" punk movement.
4. Built to Spill
At a time in rock history when "guitar heroes" were thought to be old-fashioned, Boise's Built to Spill was making albums that were filled with Crazy Horse-styled guitar workouts, not to mention singing and songwriting that was just as ragged and beautiful as Neil Young's.
5. Modest Mouse
Being the only artist on this list to have a Kidz Bop version of one of its songs, Washington's Modest Mouse is the most mainstream of all of these bands, but you wouldn't know it listening to their early albums, especially their classic The Lonesome Crowded West. Modest Mouse was (and sometimes still is) an aggressive, paranoid, and otherworldly act that transcended the Northwest scene.
6. Sunny Day Real Estate
Back when "emo" was just a ridiculous term for a great style of music (instead of a ridiculous term for a ridiculous style of music), Seattle's Sunny Day Real Estate was given the label for its dark, bombastic style of post-hardcore. Though it spawned a thousand awful imitators (what great band hasn't?), its albums are definitely worth exploring.
7. Bikini Kill
Where Sleater-Kinney stayed towards the more melodic side of riot grrrl punk, Bikini Kill embraced the throat-shredding hardcore side, with more aggressive and confrontational politics to go along with it. Fun fact: it was Bikini's Kill's Kathleen Hanna who spray-painted the phrase "Kurt smells like teen spirit" onto Kurt Cobain's bedroom wall.
8. The Microphones/Mount Eerie
Definitely the strangest act on this list, the Microphones (later changed to Mount Eerie) is not so much a band as it is the project of Anacortes, WA's Phil Elverum. A typical Microphones album consists of off-kilter acoustic strumming, spooky tape hiss, surreal lyrics, and occasional blasts of fuzz.
