Can Grunge Icons Remain Relevant in 2010?

bill bodkin looks at soundgarden, stone temple pilots and alice in chains and if they can remain relevant in 2010.

Three of grunge rock’s titans; Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains will be making their return to the touring scene in the summer of 2010. For STP, it’s a reunion of a hot tempered foursome, for Alice in Chains, a new lead singer has energized their comeback and for Soundgarden — over a decade of side projects and silence has been put aside. These three bands were the biggest and (for the most part) critically acclaimed bands of the early-to-mid 90s “Seattle” sound of grunge and alternative rock. The classic hits that these three bands produced at the height of their careers still dominate modern and now classic rock radio. Their sound has inspired the new breed of hard rock; who sadly pale in comparison to their idols.

The question is can these three bands remain relevant in the popular music world?

The genre they were once rulers of has fallen on hard times — these bands are like kings returning from crusade only to find their kingdom in despair and ruin, wasted by the toiling of talentless replacements. So it will be very difficult for them to regain #1 billboard status on charts that are dominated by auto-tuned hip hop, sugar coated country pop and fist-pumping beats.

Yet, this is not the greatest concern.

The concern that one has to have for these three bands is — can they still produce music that matters or will they suffer from what “The Allman Effect.” This effect is when a band, like the Allman Brothers, a hugely popular act from a bygone decade, becomes a greatest hits touring band.

For example, every summer when the summer concert schedule for Jersey’s PNC Bank Art Center is released, you can bet all the money in the bank that The Allman Brothers will be performing. Same month, same line-up, same setlist. The same goes for bands like Rush, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Poison and others from the 60s-80s. They come to your town, play your local outdoor concert venue, scoring big pay days and playing the almost the exact same show year-in and year-out. The release new albums that pale in comparison to their glory years, just a bunch of filler that may take up a spot or two on a summer setlist in between the power ballad and the arena anthem.

This the biggest concern for STP, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Some of their grunge/alt contemporaries like Pearl Jam and Green Day have been able to score big time in both the record and touring fields. Granted, Green Day had to reinvent themselves and Pearl Jam has not attained the mammoth success they had in their heyday, but, both are still viable, current artists. Conversely, no one is clamoring for a Screaming Trees, Meat Puppets or Mudhoney reunion tour are they? Okay, maybe a little too obscure. But look at The Smashing Pumpkins, their reunion didn’t exactly light the world on fire. Their tours rake in cash, but their records have been poorly received by fans and critics alike.

Here’s my opinion on what the upside and downside of each band.

Alice in Chains- their newest singles are consistently played on mainstream rock radio. Songs like “California” are decent but no where near classics like “Man in the Box” and actually quite forgettable. As a band they’re still tight, thanks to the guitar work of Jerry Cantrell and the so-close-to-Lane Staley-it’s scary-vocals of new singer William DuVall. This one-two combination should keep the classic sound of Alice in tact. However, I don’t see them breaking past mid-level concert venues and larger festivals. Their sound, which inspired a lot of the middle of the road, okay sounding hard rock bands of today (Breaking Benjamin, etc) has marginalized them. Their sound is the same as everyone’s elses now and their song quality is not strong enough to allow them to break from the pack. This gives them the greatest chance of all the bands to feel The Allman Effect.

Stone Temple Pilots- they can go either way. The band has released a new single “Between the Lines” which went #1 on the billboard rock charts, despite its lackluster nature. The band is dynamic, charismatic, talented as anything and has an arsenal of diverse and awesome songs yet the big thing holding them back is their volatility. Is the clock already ticking for another break-up or another extended vacation to explore new side projects? This band keeps disappointing fans with their lack of consistency and it prevents them from becoming true rock royalty. Their summer tour will sell-out, it’s almost a given, their fans want to see them, and if they can deliver a follow-up album within a decent time frame, STP could become a relevant and viable band again. But this is all a big IF. I can easily see another three to four reunion tours and the fans should keep coming out to see them, but isn’t that the Allman Effect, right there?

Soundgarden- the true wild card of the three because they’ve been broken up since 1997. Chris Cornell has remained extremely relevant with his work with Audioslave and his guest vocal work, but his solo pop album (which he collaborated with Timbaland) was a monstrous flop. He’s still got amazing pipes so he’s ready to go. Drummer Matt Cameron has been drumming for Pearl Jam for four years, so he’ll be ready to go as well. As for the rest of the band — will touring rust settle in? Will the band be able to get back into the Soundgarden groove? My bet is they will and they have the potential to explode back onto the scene with a new album. We’ve been reminded of their genius by the years of their hits being played on rock radio and we’re all hungry for more. One just has to hope that this is not a short-lived reunion.

One has to hope that these three legendary grunge bands can produce original and engaging new music.