3 Unassuming Rock Songs From the 1980s That Predicted the Rise of Grunge

Before grunge took the world (and the charts) by storm in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were rock songs, albums, and bands from earlier in the 1980s that seemed to predict the direction that rock was taking. I think the following three songs are great examples of that. Let’s take a look!

“Swallow My Pride” by Green River from ‘Come On Down’ (1985)

Green River was one of the earliest grunge bands to make waves in Seattle, and they deserve so much more love in retrospect. The group’s EP Come On Down was a strong indicator of what grunge would sound like a half-decade away, and one of the best songs on that EP has to be “Swallow My Bride”. Mark Arm was not playing games with this one. Though, one can hear the heavy Blue Öyster Cult influence in the riff of “Swallow My Pride”. Naturally, grunge bands like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam would later cover the song.

“Youth Of America” by Wipers from ‘Youth Of America’ (1981)

This song by Wipers is perfect for this list. In fact, when I think of “proto-grunge,” this song (and the whole album it’s on, honestly) comes to mind first. This punk rock band was touching on grunge before it was even a thought in the flannel-wearing youths’ minds in 1981. I recommend listening to Youth Of America in full if you want to experience their magic properly. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana would later name this very record as one of his Top 50 of all time.

“Touch Me I’m Sick” by Mudhoney (1988)

This jam from alt-rock outfit Mudhoney dropped right when grunge started to pick up steam, and it’s defined as a grunge song by many. I still think it’s worthy of our list of rock songs from the 1980s that “predicted” grunge because it has all of the elements of what grunge would become in just a few short years. Those heavily distorted, fuzzy guitar tracks, those intense vocals, that high-energy drumming… It makes sense why “Touch Me I’m Sick” remains the band’s most famous song. If anything, Mudhoney (and Mark Arm in general) deserves more recognition for how much they influenced the era’s grunge outfits that became way bigger.

Photo by Frans Schellekens/Redferns