Nirvana's final UW performance. Jan. 6, 1990 (photo by Charles Peterson)
Grunge is for Lo$ers
Seattle Alternative Music, 1964-2024
Spring 2024, M/W 3:30 to 5:20pm, Smith Room, Suzzallo Library 3rd Floor
John Vallier (curator & affiliate prof)
Office Hours: Tuesday 11-12:30 in Suzzallo 370A and by Appointment
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations (Learn more about this land acknowledgment and the UW Office of Tribal Relations at https://www.washington.edu/tribalrelations).
OVERVIEW
Stage dive into the history and current state of Seattle’s so-called alternative music scenes. We will start with the distorted R&B organ stylings of the Dave Lewis Trio, merge into the proto-punk garage rock of Tacoma’s The Sonics, move into the late 1960s by way of Ze Whiz Kidz--a queer glam performance art theater turn pioneering hardcore punk band The Screamers, fast forward into the 80’s with the vocalizations of Tina “Godmother of Grunge” Bell, and then up, into, and beyond such bands as the U-Men, Blackouts, Green River, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Sunny Day Real Estate, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Band of Horses, Tacocat, and The Black Tones.
Seattle’s role as a site for the music industry (e.g., Muzak, SubPop, Amazon Music) will also be investigated. Themes such a racial segregation and redlining, (mis)appropriation of black sounds, counterculture and DIY ethics, influence of queer performance art, notions of gender (esp. Riot Grrrl), race, class, and aesthetics will be core parts of our readings, discussions, and guest speaker presentations. Students will gain hands-on experience by contributing the development of Seattle Sounds music map.
At the core of the class is the Seattle Sounds Archival Project, or SSAP, an amalgam of local music recordings and other materials held by the UW Ethnomusicology Archives. Founded over a decade ago, SSAP holds music and sounds across genres and styles, from folk to rock, jazz to classical, hip-hop to shoe gaze, Hindustani to nerd-core metal. As described below, you will be asked to grow SSAP by helping develop a map and/or timeline of local music sites, as well identifying bands, musics stories, and related artifacts that you believe should be archived as part of the project. As part of this, you will also be introduced to the opportunities and challenges that underpin such archival work.
Note: This syllabus is a work in progress. It is subject to change. On that note, I’m open to your suggestions about how to make it more inclusive and representative of your interests.
OBJECTIVES, ASSIGNMENTS, SUPPORT...
LEARNING OBJECTIVES - By the end of this course, students should be able to
- Describe in some detail the history of music in and around Seattle.
- Expand appreciation for and understanding of a wide range of music and related cultures/histories.
- Explain some of the historical, social, and cultural dynamics that have shaped the development of music in and around Seattle.
- Develop a basic understanding of music criticism and scholarship.
- Collaborate in the production of a form of public scholarship (a timeline and/or map) that explores an aspect of Seattle music history.
REQUIRED MATERIALS - All course materials will be made available through Canvas, the Libraries databases, or by way of links to open and freely available sites such as HistoryLink.org or YouTube. I do link to music on Spotify but it is not required that you have a paid subscription to this streaming service. Similarly for SeattleTimes.com and other soft-paywall content (if you have questions about how to access such sites for free, please let me know).
CONSENTING TO LEARNING IN PUBLIC - We will be spending a lot of time together, engaging each other in thoughtful discussion on topics that many of us have not had a lot of experience discussing. This makes learning together a vulnerable act. We will spend the quarter practicing what Cherokee scholar Adrienne Keene calls “consenting to learn in public,” a risk-filled, consensus-based process that leaves the learner open, often vulnerably, to criticisms and rejections. This is an Indigenous feminist practice that unsettles the individualistic and privileged mode of Western knowledge production. With that in mind, we need to be mindful of how we behave and treat each other. We expect that you will:
- Put forth your best effort on a daily basis;
- Be respectful of each other’s ideas, beliefs, and questions;
- Maintain an open mindset to new challenges and experiences;
- Arrive prepared with course materials every day;
- Communicate with the teaching team (me!) about any concerns or challenges with the class.
HOUSING & FOOD INSECURITY - The Doorway Project offers resources specific to the U District, links to Emergency Food Resources Map and connections to Mutual Aid Solidarity Networks. The ROOTS Young Adult Shelter provides overnight shelter to people age 18-25. TeenFeed offers free meals in the U District everynight of the week, and Hungry Husky provides access to a UW food pantry. If you know other resources, please share them with me and I’ll post them for everyone.
EMERGENCY AID - Emergency Aid at UW-Seattle is also there to support students for emergency need. In addition to connecting students to resources, they offer short term loan funds and counseling.
ACCESS & ACCOMMODATIONS - Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at uwdrs@uw.edu. For more information, consult https://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form. Whether UW does not include your faith in the official religious holidays, please know I will happily make any accommodations to support you and your family.
GRADING - Your grade is based upon a possible total of 100 points. At the end of the quarter, I will convert your total points into a numerical grade point. This is what the Registrar asks me to submit. See this page for details about the assignments.
TECH - Headphones or earbuds will also be useful for this course. So will access to a laptop. I don’t want to assume that everyone has these items so let me know if this is an issue for you.
CONTENT WARNING - To serve the topic of the class justice, and to be sure you are getting an accurate portrayal of history, course content and discussion will from time to time engage with difficult and unpleasant topics, such as racism and incarceration. Some of it will be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with. I will do my best to flag graphic or intense content and make our classroom a space where we can engage genuinely, empathetically, and thoughtfully with difficult content. If you have concerns about how this is being handled, please let me know so that I can improve the way in which we are approaching such topics.