The Honors Courses Have Always Been Fantastic. I Mean, A Class About The Musical History Of Seattle! Sounds Great, Sign Me Up
It took almost until the very last moments, but this could be my favorite class I have ever had the pleasure of taking while at UW. Music is one of my core passions, always has been, always will be. It also just so happens that some of my greatest musical inspirations are from Seattle taking the form of grunge bands like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden as well as Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, and albeit just passing through Ray Charles. With such a diverse set of tones this course teaches about the history of Seattle through the lens of music and as a musician and a history nerd, it is right up my ally.
It only took 12 quarters at the University of Washington but I think I have finally found my favorite course that I have ever taken. As a child of Seattle at least for a time, and having my parents come of age in the early 90's, grunge has always been a big influence on me and particular for the kind of music I like to play as a musician. When I saw that Seattle Sounds was being offered spring quarter 2023 I dropped all of the classes I was planning on taking and rebuilt me schedule accordingly to accommodate it, and I haven't been disappointed. I enjoy making connections between different artists and how they formed a particular sound as a result of the cultural moment they were in and this is what grunge is all about.
An increase in overproduced music sounding less and less authentic lead a movement to begin in the Pacific Northwest to achieve a unique genuine sound and the rest is history. An entire generation of musicians were inspired by wishing to harken back to a sound that had been lost and they revived bringing it front and center once again. On top of this the grunge sound is largely defined by the pain and anguish that the music evokes in its listeners as the musicians that created it were describing the darkness that they felt everyday, and the masses related to it. Nearly all of the most talented song writers of this cohort end up killing themselves deliberately or due to drug overdose further emphasizing the pain they illustrated in their art.
The most unique part of this course is not just the subject matter but in fact the people who we were fortunate enough to have in class including a journalist who was well acquainted with those associated with the grunge sound and hearing his first hand accounts was incredible. One of these first hand accounts was at the show that this image was taken at which was at the HUB ballroom and lead to Nirvana being banned from UW campus in perpetuity. Another interesting person we had come speak to the class was a film composer who spoke on his surreal experience as a Japanese American during the second World War and being interned in Minidoka. This harrowing experience didn't stop him but engendered a resilience that has stayed with him to this day. This notion of resilience is so integral as going through the world is so trying and as seen through the grunge artists it is quite easy to get off kilter, but my time at UW has taught me to persevere.
"Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music, any old way you choose it."