Back in the 90s, America was dominated by sweaty, angsty teens who loved mosh pits, flannel t-shirts, ripped jeans, and most importantly, grunge music.
Now, in 2025, the angst, music, fashion, and attitude of the grunge era is coming back.
The 90s were a time of shifting culture in America. The youth of the turbulent 70s were now teens and young adults, and the growing cynicism present in their childhoods was going to help mold the landscape of American culture.
Grunge music was a direct reaction to 80s hair metal and sanitized popular culture. Many people were tired of mainstream culture’s attempts to portray America as an idyllic society obsessed with partying and blissful ignorance.
Many Grunge musicians wanted to show the turmoil and social upheaval that America was experiencing, and they wanted to express the many personal problems they experienced, such as drug addiction and mental illness.
The intense music resonated with many teens and young adults who were disillusioned with the culture of the 1980s.
“I was a freshman at Penn State University, Main Campus, when the grunge scene erupted nationally. I still remember exactly where I was when I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit. I immediately stopped and was like ‘Dude! Mind blown!’ Pretty much my entire undergrad experience was marked by the grunge era,” Assistant Principal Dr. Bumsted said.
Grunge wasn’t just music; it was a lifestyle. Grunge influenced many aspects of popular culture, but one of the absolute biggest was Fashion. Many preppy teens went from sneakers and bright polo shirts to flannels and work boots.
“It truly felt like the world shifted almost overnight. Rock in the 80s was dominated by “hair metal”, tight leather pants, neon colors, opulence, and absurd gimmicks. I hated it, outside of a few exceptions. Grunge ushered in an era of casual, simple, grimy authenticity that was jarring at the time. Grunge felt real, raw, and it basically atomized many of the bands that immediately preceded it,” Counselor Jake Winemiller said.
Gen Zers today are experiencing grunge, especially through social media platforms.
Many teens who may not have been exposed to grunge music as children are now discovering the music of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and the Smashing Pumpkins through apps such as TikTok or Instagram.
Clothing items such as band tees, Chuck Taylor sneakers, ripped jeans and Doc Marten boots, are reappearing, but slightly altered to fit in 2025.
“I see all kinds of kids wearing band shirts designed to appear vintage, but are clearly new. I hope they’re actually listening to the music and not just grabbing a NIN or Nirvana shirt to “look cool.” Doc Martens are also here and there in the halls, though not as much. Plenty of kids are wearing Chucks, but Vans last longer,” English teacher Bethany Yuninger said.
Grunge came up in a turbulent time in America, and as society gets more chaotic and times get more unsure, many people are going back to not just the music and clothing, but also the attitude and the angst.
“Culturally, I see some of the cynicism making a comeback. I’ve always found it interesting that the Gen-X/Slacker designation was so intertwined with Grunge, but as I’ve gotten older, it’s become apparent that every new ‘generation’ gets the ‘lazy’ designation for a period of time until they grow up and take over the world. The only difference is Gen-X sort of embraced it for some reason while newer generations seem to bristle at it,” Winemiller said.
As Gen-X grows older, many adults who were teens in the 90s have experienced things they may not have been able to back in the grunge era.
“Once I got a full-time teaching job, I made a point to budget for seeing the bands I couldn’t see when I was younger, like Pearl Jam – that was a fantastic show. I really wish I’d have been able to see Chris Cornell…I wish he’d have been able to make it past his troubles. No one will ever match his sound or intensity,” Yuninger said.
Grunge’s return just mark a change in fashion or music; it also marks a change in society and culture.
Many modern musical artists, such as Chappell Roan or Kendrick Lamar, have adopted the same mindset and drive for social change that artists such as Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder had back in the 90s.
Teens have become more politically active in recent years, and the resurgence of grunge represents the cynical attitude that many youths have largely adopted in 2025.
The pressures of teen life have changed, and more and more young people have started to reject conformity and express themselves in their own way; just how many teens in the grunge era embraced “alternative” culture.
“There was no pressure to be anything but comfortable and authentic,” Yuninger said.
