The Seattle Public Library 1000 4th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104 Seattle Grunge Collection, 1989‐2005
CREATOR Staff of The Seattle Public Library
EXTENT 1 box
COLLECTION NUMBER: 2019‐001
COLLECTION SUMMARY The Seattle Grunge Collection contains local and national newspaper clippings, magazine articles, fanclub newsletters, and other printed ephemera from 1989 through 2005 that focus on Seattle’s Grunge music and musicians, concerts, record labels, recording studios, and music festivals.
LANGUAGES English
PROCESSING ARCHIVIST Jason Davis, May 2019
Collection Details
Historical Note
Grunge music is a sub‐genre of rock music that formed in the late 1980s in and around Seattle, Washington. Grunge was the combination of various styles of rock music, especially punk, heavy metal, and hard rock. Early bands in the genre such as Green River, Skin Yard, and the Melvins gave way to Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, and Soundgarden which all reached national notoriety in the early to mid‐1990s. Distorted guitars and wailing vocals evolved into smart songwriting, skillful musicianship, Grammy awards, and for Nirvana and Pearl Jam, acceptance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Collection Description
The items in this collection consist of Seattle Grunge music ephemera collected by The Seattle Public Library Staff. The ephemera includes concert notices and reviews, record reviews, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden fan club newsletters, general articles written about Seattle Grunge artists, record labels – specifically Sub Pop, recording studios, and the Seattle Grunge scene. The majority of materials are newspaper clippings and magazine articles.
Arrangement Description
Items are arranged in folders, alphabetized by musical group and subject heading. Items in each folder are in chronological order.
Separated Materials
The items in the Seattle Grunge Collection were extracted from the Seattle Music and Arts file folders and scrapbooks located in the Arts, Literature and Recreation Department. This collection includes several hundred uncatalogued folders and 42 scrapbooks on a variety of topics and genres.
Related Materials
Music CDs, Concert DVDs, and books created by and written about Seattle Grunge music groups and individuals are located throughout the library system. All of them are discoverable in the catalog by searching under the Subject Heading: Grunge Music – Washington (State) – Seattle.
Location of Originals
Some of the items included in this collection are photocopies. In many cases, originals copies of the same periodicals are also available at the Central Library. They can be found by searching the periodical title in the library catalog and checking the availability details to determine the floor where they are held.
Subject Headings
These records are indexed under the following headings in the catalog of The Seattle Public Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Grunge music – Washington (State) – Seattle.
Musical landmarks – Washington (State) – Seattle.
Grunge groups – Washington (State) – Seattle.
Rock groups – Washington (State) – Seattle.
Alternative rock music – Washington (State) – Seattle.
Rock music – 1981‐1990.
Rock music – 1991‐2000.
Rock music – Northwest, Pacific – 1981‐1990.
Rock music – Northwest, Pacific – 1991‐2000.
Using the Collection Access Statement
Collection is open and available for use. Rights Statement
Copyright restrictions apply.
Preferred Citation
[ITEM DESCRIPTION], Seattle Grunge Collection, 1989‐2005
Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA Collection Inventory
Box Folder Description Date(s) 1 1 Alice in Chains (Musical group) 1991‐1992 1 2 Lollapalooza (Music festival) 1992‐2004 1 3 Melvins (Musical group) 1993 1 4 Mudhoney (Musical group) 1992‐1994 1 5 Nirvana (Musical group) 1989‐2004 1 6 Pearl Jam (Musical group) 1991‐2004 1 7 Recording Studios 1989‐2005 1 8 Screaming Trees (Musical group) 1991‐1998 1 9 Soundgarden (Musical group) 1989‐1997 1 10 Sub Pop (Record label) 1989‐1990 1 11 Tad (Musical group) 1991 1 12 Miscellaneous 1992‐2001