The Grunge Factor

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness."

-- Charles Dickens, famous author, noted grunge fan

In 1995, Charles Dickens was very dead and the alt-rock boom was close to joining him.

Oh sure, there were some heady years there in the early '90s, when bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam were topping the charts, "Alternative Nation" became one of the more popular shows on MTV and Lollapalooza was a big summer draw.

But it would all end almost as quickly as it began, with a surplus of opportunistic hacks burying the scene in a flannel shroud.

Still, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has managed to be one of the few survivors of that era, starting his own band, the Foo Fighters, and racking up a slew of platinum discs.

In honor of the band's stop at The Joint today, let's see how the Foos have stacked up to their many peers from the long lost grunge years.

Foo Fighters

Claim to fame: One of the few post-Nirvana bands, like Pearl Jam, who didn't quickly become as embarrassing as your high school yearbook picture.

Where are they now: As big as ever. The '90s didn't give us that many tried-and-true arena rock acts with any kind of staying power, but the Foos still pack the big halls and the strides they've made from their so-so debut is like going from Natty Light Ice to Guinness.

Seven Mary Three

Claim to fame: With a singer who sounded like a constipated Joe Cocker trying to grunt out last night's burrito supreme, the band scored a breakout hit with "Cumbersome," a radio-friendly slab of grunge-lite with that immortal chorus: "Too heavy, too light, too black-a, too white."

Umm, we're thinking it's the latter, dudes.

Where are they now: Still kickin' around. They dropped a new album earlier in the year, "Day&nightdriving," though Yeti sightings occur more frequently than someone actually buying it.

Sponge

Claim to fame: "In a world of human wreckage," bands like this get signed to major labels, have one hit album -- in this case, the appropriately titled "Rotting Pinata" -- then linger in rock dives for years like the scent of stale beer.

Where are they now: Warming the stage for bands like Seven Mary Three. Seriously. And you thought Spinal Tap taking second billing to a puppet show was bad. That's like opening for a Carrot Top impersonator.

Bush

Claim to fame: They sounded just like Nirvana -- you know, if you took a power sander to Kurt Cobain's frontal lobe and then neutered his band of any kind of meaning, relevance, etc. They made Rocky Mountain Oysters out of Nirvana's catalog and then sold it to your kid sister.

Where are they now: We hear their former frontman -- who was much more skilled in the fine art of not wearing a shirt than he was penning quality songs -- married someone famous or something. He was last seen carrying a diaper bag and demanding his weekly allowance.

Alice in Chains

Claim to fame: They prefaced the grunge boom with their first disc, 1990's "Facelift," then became the poster boys for the scene's dark side, with frontman Layne Staley descending into drug addiction and madness. Their sophomore album, "Dirt," is still a highlight though, even if it did launch the careers of scads of scrubs like Godsmack, who took their name from one of its songs.

Where are they now: Currently recording their first album with new frontman William Duvall. Hey, AIC's repertoire shouldn't die just because Staley did.

Days of the New

Claim to fame: By "new," they actually meant "a lame, dated attempt at picking the bones of grunge's moldering carcass for the last few scraps of flesh before fading from view like an anvil tossed into a septic tank." But "new" is slightly more succinct.

Where are they now: Earlier in the year they issued "Day of the New: The Definitive Collection." At long last, the grunge era has its laugh track.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.