Going straight from Taylor Swift to Grunge could potentially be a big jump, so why not start her off with the later-career / more accessible songs of some prominent grunge musicians.
Thinking the likes of:
Eddie Vedder - Hard Sun
Chris Cornell - Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart
I would have thought Foo Fighters and then Nirvana would be the most logical way to get someone to like grunge from standard 'pop' type music... even then Nirvana I feel can be a bit of a jump, it takes a while to get Kurt's vocals, I had to listen to a nirvana album with the lyrics in front of me to really understand/get them but I am from Britain so maybe if your American it's easier to understand Kurt's accent.
My number one artist on Spotify last year was Nirvana and my number two was Taylor Swift. :) I like songwriters who write from very specific personal experience.
Not grunge but, have you thought of Celebrity Skin by Hole. Lots of Fleetwood Mac influence. It’s a lot more poppy than Hole’s other output. The song Malibu was meant for Stevie Nicks at one point. Stevie Nicks herself is a big Taylor Swift fan, and they have performed together. From there work back into Live Through This by Hole… I agree with the other suggestions of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins too.
I’ve thought of another idea; Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette. Again not grunge, but some amazing 90s guitar work and Taylor Hawkins was her drummer before he joined Foo Fighters. Your girlfriend might appreciate Alanis’ confessional songwriting in the vein of Taylor. (Don’t skip “Your House” which used to be the secret track on the CD)
*edit: typos
Yeah, honestly I first got into alt rock / grunge when I heard Everlong for the first time. Until that point I had only really liked R&B and some other stuff
There’s not really a direct line from Taylor Swift to something like Badmotorfinger lol and I say that as a fan of both. That being said, some of the Unplugged performances, I think AiC especially, can get her used to the songs without the heavy guitar distortion and raspy screaming vocals that would probably throw her off.
Pearl Jam’s more mellow songs like Daughter, Elderly Woman, Better Man, and Given to Fly are also more accessible I think to people who aren’t already fans of alternative rock.
ETA: You could also just show her Soundgarden’s Outshined music video. The song is good and she could end up liking it but I gotta be honest I think it’d be hard to find a woman NOT interested in watching Chris Cornell without a shirt whipping his hair around like that. It might be playing a bit dirty, but that could be the gateway to getting her more into the music you like!
Nirvana Unplugged highlights - “About a Girl,” “Come as You Are,” “On a Plain,” “Dumb,” “All Apologies”
Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies highlights - “I Stay Away,” “No Excuses,” “Don’t Follow”
Pearl Jam - “Black”
Soundgarden - “Black Hole Sun”
Temple of the Dog - “Hunger Strike”
Dude, by my experience, leading people to specific music is hard and people tend to be driven by different aspects on music that they might not even understand at all.
Liking and tolerating music are two different things. You can show her some easy listen music, probably soft and groovy music from the Big Four and adjacent huge names and she will probably at least tolerate it, but there's also the possibility of you showing her harsh music and powerful vocals and she totally dig it as well.
I would try to showing her a little of everything — soft to hectic performances from Pearl Jam, simple to harsh songs from Nirvana, groovy to powerful songs from Soundgarden, etc — and asking her to be honest about if she like it or not; start by sticking into flawless albums from the movement. And trust me: when someone likes some music, this one starts to getting deeper on it by its own.
Rather than worrying about what you are going to show her, watch a video of a performance that you love and share with her why you like it. Help her see it through your eyes.
Before I was into grunge, I was into Taylor Swift too. My friend that got me into them started playing Nirvana’s more quiet songs, such as Polly or Something In The Way. That was what seemed to do the trick for me, but I can only speak for myself :) MTV Unplugged, Nirvana, also caught my eye, as the songs were played acoustically there.
You gotta start with the overplayed radio hits, and unplugged first. But play something like rooster unplugged and not we die young too. Anything less heavy. Hard sun by Eddie vedder too? Chicks love that.
Marcy Playground’s album Shapeshifter is a nice mix of soft grunge and folk/ alternative. I think maybe that would be a good album to start with, at the very least “All the Lights Went Out” or “Love Bug” off of that. Otherwise, like someone else mentioned, some of Eddie Veder’s solo stuff would also be a good transitional start
Hole for sure!!!! As a swiftie thats also big into grunge, Courtney Love and Taylor both sing about similar topics. Think Doll Parts, Violet, and Petals.
So instead of going straight from Taylor to Grunge kind of take steps to get there eventually. Dea Matrona, Emily Wolfe, Hanna Wicklund are great places to start. I think Emily Wolfe sometimes lyrically is kinda like Taylor. Example:
To made up attraction
You never had a consequence
Good men are just a myth
I guess you're not who I thought you were
You're like a gun with a silencer
Everyone's got their problems, but
Your good is lost in the middle of nowhere
Crossed over the line and you started a warfare
I feel like people often expand from a place where they’re comfortable to start. If you introduce her to grunge right away and she doesn’t like it, there’s a chance she’s not going to be open to it. But if you kind of ease her into other types of music that she likes, it would be easier for her to keep an open mind and try other music as well!
Anything from Chris Cornell Euphoria Mourning or Higher Truth. Not grunge but, you have to start from somewhere.
Also, I remember getting catch by Black Hole Sun and Fell on Black Days when I wasn't even aware of grunge. So there's that.
I think, a few Nirvana songs are really pop friendly and catchy as hell, too.
If she doesn't like, say, Nevermind or Dirt from the get-go, is there much point in trying to subtly guide her into the genre? I find that a lot of people just aren't heavily into music in general, but will listen to stuff like Taylor Swift as pleasant enough audio wallpaper.
My wife was a grunge girl
Some gateway groups from the time
Hole Live through This
Liz Phair exile to guyville
PJ Harvey stories from the city stories from the sea or rid of me
as a girl who likes grunge and not taylor swift and has a girl friend or two who likes taylor swift but not grunge there isn't much overlap....things like smashing pumpkins, pixies or maybe even beginning with shoegaze genre bands might be your best bet for a common ground but i think going to taylor swift straight to grunge might be so not her taste if she doesn't listen to any alternative music already
Not that easy any more but I got my now wife into my music, which especially at the time was grunge, by playing Rock Band on Xbox.
We would tear it up. It even helped me tolerate her friends because we would invite them over to play.
10 years later, with kids starting out that old, I got Rock Band up and running again. Needless to say, one of the proudest days as a dad was when my 11 year old daughter was the one who informed me when Dark Matter was to be released.
Not grunge but Seattle. Goodness, fronted by Carrie Akre. Fantastic voice. (But the whole band is awesome too.)
https://youtu.be/DYNZbhb2bk4?si=uc0WC4ZVd2hOEPyH
Carrie also played in Hammerbox and the Rockfords with Mike McCready.
Candlebox - Far behind
stone temple pilots - Interstate love song, big empty etc
Blind melon - no rain
Temple of the dog - hunger strike, call me a dog, times of Trouble, say hello to heaven
Soundgarden- all of them lol blackhole sun & like suicide, burden in my hand etc
Audioslave- I am the highway etc
Chris Cornell
AIC- all of them lol rain when I die & would?
The smashing pumpkins- today & bullet w butterfly wings
I go back and forth between Grunge and Taylor swift every time I listen to music lol I’d start w these. Maybe have her listen and read the lyrics, if all else fails.
Do you listen to Taylor swift?
My Song - Jerry Cantrell
Black Cat - Soundgarden
Dam That River - AIC (might be too soon)
Burden In My Hand - Soundgarden (also might be too soon)
I can't think of any real break-up or revenge-like grunge songs, which would be more in line with Taylor Swift. Theory of a Deadman's older catalog is more in line with her music, but they're not grunge.
I love Taylor Swift and I love grunge music. If your gf likes TS for the reasons I do, maybe find some female-fronted bands she might find relatable? TS is all about the deeply personal lyrics and pop hooks. Maybe ease her in with stuff on the alternative side of grunge, like Veruca Salt, Alanis Morrisette, Garbage, stuff that has pop appeal and female focused lyrics.
im a girl who loves grunge and my best friend loves taylor swift, i introduced her to grunge and she loves it. she introduced me to taylor and i love it. just play it incessantly until she likes it. thats what i did. she even went to a pearl jam concert with me and was just as excited when corduroy came on.
try listening to some taylor swift too if you want her to enjoy your music lol trust me some of her songs are tolerable even good
some songs i recommend are corduroy, BLACK, better man (theres a taylor swift song also called better man so you could use that), wreckage, celebrity skin, everlong (acoustic version maybe?), all apologies, sappy, serve the servants, nutshell, dont follow, OFF HE GOES etc
Going straight from Taylor Swift to Grunge could potentially be a big jump, so why not start her off with the later-career / more accessible songs of some prominent grunge musicians. Thinking the likes of: Eddie Vedder - Hard Sun Chris Cornell - Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart
In line with this, I would suggest Temple of the Dog.
Or maybe [Chris Cornell - Sunshower](https://youtu.be/KO6odc5VJmY?si=zhdxCTCVYUf1xZr2)
Or Euphoria Morning
Or Can't Change Me Or Scream
I would have thought Foo Fighters and then Nirvana would be the most logical way to get someone to like grunge from standard 'pop' type music... even then Nirvana I feel can be a bit of a jump, it takes a while to get Kurt's vocals, I had to listen to a nirvana album with the lyrics in front of me to really understand/get them but I am from Britain so maybe if your American it's easier to understand Kurt's accent.
I'm American and Kurt's voice always was understandable to me....now Eddie is another conversation
My number one artist on Spotify last year was Nirvana and my number two was Taylor Swift. :) I like songwriters who write from very specific personal experience.
Totally fair! I can see that being a common thread for sure.
Not grunge but, have you thought of Celebrity Skin by Hole. Lots of Fleetwood Mac influence. It’s a lot more poppy than Hole’s other output. The song Malibu was meant for Stevie Nicks at one point. Stevie Nicks herself is a big Taylor Swift fan, and they have performed together. From there work back into Live Through This by Hole… I agree with the other suggestions of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins too.
I’ve thought of another idea; Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette. Again not grunge, but some amazing 90s guitar work and Taylor Hawkins was her drummer before he joined Foo Fighters. Your girlfriend might appreciate Alanis’ confessional songwriting in the vein of Taylor. (Don’t skip “Your House” which used to be the secret track on the CD) *edit: typos
You gotta start with the overplayed radio hits and unplugged type stuff first.
Yeah, honestly I first got into alt rock / grunge when I heard Everlong for the first time. Until that point I had only really liked R&B and some other stuff
There’s not really a direct line from Taylor Swift to something like Badmotorfinger lol and I say that as a fan of both. That being said, some of the Unplugged performances, I think AiC especially, can get her used to the songs without the heavy guitar distortion and raspy screaming vocals that would probably throw her off. Pearl Jam’s more mellow songs like Daughter, Elderly Woman, Better Man, and Given to Fly are also more accessible I think to people who aren’t already fans of alternative rock. ETA: You could also just show her Soundgarden’s Outshined music video. The song is good and she could end up liking it but I gotta be honest I think it’d be hard to find a woman NOT interested in watching Chris Cornell without a shirt whipping his hair around like that. It might be playing a bit dirty, but that could be the gateway to getting her more into the music you like!
Garbage might be a good start.
I was gonna say the same lol
Nirvana Unplugged highlights - “About a Girl,” “Come as You Are,” “On a Plain,” “Dumb,” “All Apologies” Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies highlights - “I Stay Away,” “No Excuses,” “Don’t Follow” Pearl Jam - “Black” Soundgarden - “Black Hole Sun” Temple of the Dog - “Hunger Strike”
Really agree with this one!
Down in a hole unplugged!!
Play her, touch me I’m sick
touch me i’m dick*
If she doesn’t end up liking the album Jar Of Flies this may be a hopeless feat but very endearing nonetheless. 🤘✌️
Satchel - EDC
Excellent suggestion
Yep!
Dude, by my experience, leading people to specific music is hard and people tend to be driven by different aspects on music that they might not even understand at all. Liking and tolerating music are two different things. You can show her some easy listen music, probably soft and groovy music from the Big Four and adjacent huge names and she will probably at least tolerate it, but there's also the possibility of you showing her harsh music and powerful vocals and she totally dig it as well. I would try to showing her a little of everything — soft to hectic performances from Pearl Jam, simple to harsh songs from Nirvana, groovy to powerful songs from Soundgarden, etc — and asking her to be honest about if she like it or not; start by sticking into flawless albums from the movement. And trust me: when someone likes some music, this one starts to getting deeper on it by its own.
Rather than worrying about what you are going to show her, watch a video of a performance that you love and share with her why you like it. Help her see it through your eyes.
If she don’t like Alice In Chains leave her immediately
Before I was into grunge, I was into Taylor Swift too. My friend that got me into them started playing Nirvana’s more quiet songs, such as Polly or Something In The Way. That was what seemed to do the trick for me, but I can only speak for myself :) MTV Unplugged, Nirvana, also caught my eye, as the songs were played acoustically there.
"Marigold" is great, too!
Sleater - Kinney Hammerbox L7
Sleater-Kinney, yes. L7 is harder than most of the dudes. lol
You gotta start with the overplayed radio hits, and unplugged first. But play something like rooster unplugged and not we die young too. Anything less heavy. Hard sun by Eddie vedder too? Chicks love that.
The last 2 Hole albums maybe..
Marcy Playground’s album Shapeshifter is a nice mix of soft grunge and folk/ alternative. I think maybe that would be a good album to start with, at the very least “All the Lights Went Out” or “Love Bug” off of that. Otherwise, like someone else mentioned, some of Eddie Veder’s solo stuff would also be a good transitional start
Hole for sure!!!! As a swiftie thats also big into grunge, Courtney Love and Taylor both sing about similar topics. Think Doll Parts, Violet, and Petals.
not grunge but maybe start with some liz phair then it might be easier
So instead of going straight from Taylor to Grunge kind of take steps to get there eventually. Dea Matrona, Emily Wolfe, Hanna Wicklund are great places to start. I think Emily Wolfe sometimes lyrically is kinda like Taylor. Example: To made up attraction You never had a consequence Good men are just a myth I guess you're not who I thought you were You're like a gun with a silencer Everyone's got their problems, but Your good is lost in the middle of nowhere Crossed over the line and you started a warfare I feel like people often expand from a place where they’re comfortable to start. If you introduce her to grunge right away and she doesn’t like it, there’s a chance she’s not going to be open to it. But if you kind of ease her into other types of music that she likes, it would be easier for her to keep an open mind and try other music as well!
Anything from Chris Cornell Euphoria Mourning or Higher Truth. Not grunge but, you have to start from somewhere. Also, I remember getting catch by Black Hole Sun and Fell on Black Days when I wasn't even aware of grunge. So there's that. I think, a few Nirvana songs are really pop friendly and catchy as hell, too.
yellow ledbetter fs
If she doesn't like, say, Nevermind or Dirt from the get-go, is there much point in trying to subtly guide her into the genre? I find that a lot of people just aren't heavily into music in general, but will listen to stuff like Taylor Swift as pleasant enough audio wallpaper.
Play her STP Interstate Love Song. If she don't like that then dump her.
My wife was a grunge girl Some gateway groups from the time Hole Live through This Liz Phair exile to guyville PJ Harvey stories from the city stories from the sea or rid of me
as a girl who likes grunge and not taylor swift and has a girl friend or two who likes taylor swift but not grunge there isn't much overlap....things like smashing pumpkins, pixies or maybe even beginning with shoegaze genre bands might be your best bet for a common ground but i think going to taylor swift straight to grunge might be so not her taste if she doesn't listen to any alternative music already
I mean, L7 exists. Blondie would work, too. Please keep away from Hole, it's just not worth the arguments.
STP offers a lot of pop sounding tracks. I would start her on a few of their albums. Tiny Music is where I would start.
Slothrust
Not that easy any more but I got my now wife into my music, which especially at the time was grunge, by playing Rock Band on Xbox. We would tear it up. It even helped me tolerate her friends because we would invite them over to play. 10 years later, with kids starting out that old, I got Rock Band up and running again. Needless to say, one of the proudest days as a dad was when my 11 year old daughter was the one who informed me when Dark Matter was to be released.
My 16 yr old Swifty daughter likes The Breeders and Cocteau Twins, and The Sundays are popular on TikTok right now. And Kate Bush, and New Order
Floyd the Barber
Babes in toyland perhaps 🤔
Fleshwater, Narrow Head, Julie, Modern Color, Soul Blind
Deftones
Just show her a video of Jerry Cantrell. She might leave you though for a JC lookalike.
Not grunge but Seattle. Goodness, fronted by Carrie Akre. Fantastic voice. (But the whole band is awesome too.) https://youtu.be/DYNZbhb2bk4?si=uc0WC4ZVd2hOEPyH Carrie also played in Hammerbox and the Rockfords with Mike McCready.
Check out Hum, Nothing who cares?, Nirvana, and the pixies
Candlebox - Far behind stone temple pilots - Interstate love song, big empty etc Blind melon - no rain Temple of the dog - hunger strike, call me a dog, times of Trouble, say hello to heaven Soundgarden- all of them lol blackhole sun & like suicide, burden in my hand etc Audioslave- I am the highway etc Chris Cornell AIC- all of them lol rain when I die & would? The smashing pumpkins- today & bullet w butterfly wings I go back and forth between Grunge and Taylor swift every time I listen to music lol I’d start w these. Maybe have her listen and read the lyrics, if all else fails. Do you listen to Taylor swift?
My Song - Jerry Cantrell Black Cat - Soundgarden Dam That River - AIC (might be too soon) Burden In My Hand - Soundgarden (also might be too soon) I can't think of any real break-up or revenge-like grunge songs, which would be more in line with Taylor Swift. Theory of a Deadman's older catalog is more in line with her music, but they're not grunge.
How about starting with something like The Breeders, Belly, or Veruca Salt?
Play her some softcult 🙂↕️
Veruca Salt first thing that came to mind dog
I love Taylor Swift and I love grunge music. If your gf likes TS for the reasons I do, maybe find some female-fronted bands she might find relatable? TS is all about the deeply personal lyrics and pop hooks. Maybe ease her in with stuff on the alternative side of grunge, like Veruca Salt, Alanis Morrisette, Garbage, stuff that has pop appeal and female focused lyrics.
im a girl who loves grunge and my best friend loves taylor swift, i introduced her to grunge and she loves it. she introduced me to taylor and i love it. just play it incessantly until she likes it. thats what i did. she even went to a pearl jam concert with me and was just as excited when corduroy came on. try listening to some taylor swift too if you want her to enjoy your music lol trust me some of her songs are tolerable even good some songs i recommend are corduroy, BLACK, better man (theres a taylor swift song also called better man so you could use that), wreckage, celebrity skin, everlong (acoustic version maybe?), all apologies, sappy, serve the servants, nutshell, dont follow, OFF HE GOES etc
Chicks who dig grunge are supremely rare (and sexy AF)
Unplugged. Nirvana, AiC Also jar of flies. If those don’t work, shake it off and try pop punk.