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The mastermind anchors of anti-establishment, the wailing criers of revolution: Kurt Cobain, and Eddie Vedder, and their respective bands: Nirvana, and Pearl Jam, clouded out the fame of any other 90's act. Nirvana held the scene of grunge in a snare for four years, pressing heavily upon other music genres, competing for fame with Pearl Jam. Neither Cobain, nor Vedder desired fame in any way, and often tried to escape it, void it, or destroy it, as it flung itself upon them. Fame snuffed the life of one, and made the other a survivor; but which man, and his group, captivated us the most?

The Seattle area was to say the least-odd, for it's musical taste in the late 80's. Punk and metal fused in the area to spawn bands such as The Melvins, Green River, and Soundgarden. From both punk and metal music, snippets of melody, tempo, and mood were stolen to form the hybrid genre: grunge. From punk the restless tempo, screaming, and chaotic, percussive beat were arranged with the brooding, dark mood and pessimistic lyrics of metal. Seattle, throughout the late 80's stayed rather isolated from the rest of the musical world, appearing to be an oddball locale fascinated with morbid, depressing music. Flannel shirts, torn jeans, and long, ratty hair solidified the scene as anti-fashion, and non-conformist. Though insanely popular throughout the northwest, grunge made no advances into mainstream thought-until 1991.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" sent Generation X's revolution against authority into a frenzy. Complete with anarchy-sign wearing cheerleaders, a dusty gymnasium, and bored, frustrated teenagers, the video was the spark plug the movement needed. Nirvana's calling card launched Michael Jackson off of a billboard top 100 chart, and suddenly, three nobodies from Aberdeen, Washington had ignited a movement that would destroy one of them. Kurt Cobain wrestled frequently with depression, temper, and disenfranchisement. The media hounded Kurt, forcing him to photo shoots and opening his life up to the public. A natural introvert, Kurt hated his involvement in all of this; above all, he hated being a rock-star. Gorging on heroin, to which he had been involved with since his teens, sustained him; the terrible stomach pains he said afflicted him, only seemed to fade away after his use of the opiate. Meanwhile, "Come as you are", "Lithium", "In bloom", and the haunting,"Something in the way" drew curious listeners to Nirvana and grunge; Kurt's fame, and his hatred

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