The Pacific Northwest's premiere comic + pop culture show Emerald City Comic Con returns soon - March 6 through 9 to be exact. Stay tuned to Popverse for all the ECCC 2025 news, and buy tickets now to find your place at the Seattle staple.

Grunge is the theme of this year's Emerald City Comic Con 2025. The Seattle comic con staple is harkening back to the Seattle sound, with various events such as a burlesque grunge show, a grunge karaoke night, and even a Grunge Prom hosted with local radio station 107.7 The End. And as someone who grew up in the grunge era will tell you, anything like that needs a proper mixtape - and I'm doing that just for you. 

For this list, I'm going to look past the staples like Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' 'Jeremy' by Pearl Jam, and anything by Alice in Chains (sorry, not sorry) in favor of some deeper cuts that'll give you a deeper appreciation for the genre outside of what mass media and top 40 radio stations would say is the pinnacle of grunge.

Take it from me as someone who went to high school in the heyday of grunge and has the photos and 4-track demos to prove it, grunge is one of the most honest genres of music you can enjoy - if you can get past the glitz and the MTV of it all. And I'm going to help you do that. 

'Where Is My Mind' by the Pixies

Here is where I anger everyone and say Nirvana isn't the epitome of grunge, but rather it's the Pixies - and 'Where Is My Mind' is the culprit. The song is deceivingly complex, with a great song and lyrics by Black Francis undercut with a lazy guitar line by Joey Santiago that weaves it all together not unlike (but completely not) Radiohead's Creep. Then when you throw in that haunting 'whooooo' background vocal recorded in a bathroom (because, yeah), this is it for grunge music.

'Midlife Crisis' by Faith No More

Although Faith No More predated the formation of what is known as the 'grunge' movement they had all the same influences - punk, metal, and a reaction against what was then popular at the time. While having a keyboardist might seem the antithesis to a grunge band, what Mike Patton and crew did here with 'Midlife Crisis' is the epitome of the grunge ethos with its push against pretentiousness and looking up (and down) at a celebrity who is at their most celebrity status.

'Feel the Pain' by Dinosaur Jr.

Three chords, reverb, and a grunge pallor over a pop beat. Dinosaur Jr.'s 'Feel The Pain' hit much the same way Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit' does in giving an honest and unvarnished view of someone trying to live life, for all its blemishes. While I hesitated on putting this here due to its heavy power-pop undertones, I am reminded of how Nirvana blended with their hit, that this is undeniable. 

'Joey' by Concrete Blonde

That amazing, trudging bassline setting the heartbeat to the wrenching voice and minor-key twang of guitar gives this cut from the 1990 'Bloodletting' album a firm place on my list here. The song, about a bitter love triangle between Concrete Blonde singer/bassist Johnette Napolitano, her then-lover, and his brutal alcoholism, gives it the stark humanity so needed at the time and even to this day.

'Curmudgeon' by Nirvana

This song came out of Nirvana's first recording session following the huge success of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' and this song was a reaction to that - recorded in Dave Grohl's basement and away from the Butch Vig glossiness. In some ways, this is the closest you'll get to Kurt Cobain in how he was feeling and what he wanted to express right after he became the face of grunge.

'Snakedriver' by the Jesus & Mary Chain

For some of us of the era, this song evokes the movie soundtrack it came from - 1994's The Crow. And while that carries its own baggage and exaltation, 'Snakedriver' brings the effortlessly cool post-punk vibes of the band's 80 roots into the reverb-laden Seattle sound.

'When You Sleep' by My Bloody Valentine

If you like running into brick walls, join me in running again and again into the wall of distortion that is My Bloody Valentine, and specifically 'When You Sleep.' This track from their 1999 magnum opus Loveless captures the late-night feelings of driving around after the 'fun' is over on a Friday night in the '90s, and finding yourself. Plus, the multi-track vocals here are entrancing.

'Pretend We’re Dead' by L7

As with many of the best songs in history, 'Pretend We're Dead' was written by Donita Sparks in the rawness immediately after a breakup. Mixed in there is the childhood game of 'playing dead' and the apathy at the time in US politics, and you've got it. Also, this is the closest to a love song you'll get out of L7. 

Seattle's ECCC 2025 is coming up faster than you think! Keep up to date with our guide to all the Artist's Alley & Writer's Block celebrities, all the major panels, a grunge-themed playlist for the grunge-themed con, and even what to do while you're in Seattle for the event. Reserve your passes as soon as you can!