Grunge speak
Grunge speak was a
History
The words later labelled "grunge speak" were coined by Megan Jasper, then aged 25 and working for Caroline Records.[1] She had previously worked for Sub Pop Records, whose co-founder Jonathan Poneman referred journalists to her, ostensibly for her inside knowledge of grunge, but also because of her prankish streak.[1] She was telephoned first by UK magazine SKY and later by Rick Marin for The New York Times.[1] Poneman forewarned Jasper that Marin was seeking "a lexicon of grunge"; Jasper recalled Marin explaining, "Every subculture has a different way of speaking and there's got to be words and phrases and things that you folks say."[2] Jasper tested her interviewers' gullibility by supplying invented slang expressions of increasing ridiculousness.[1]
A
Grunge speak words
The following were in the Times lexicon:
- bloated, big bag of bloatation – drunk
- bound-and-hagged – staying home on Friday or Saturday night
- cob nobbler – loser
- dish – desirable guy
- fuzz – heavy wool sweaters
- harsh realm – bummer
- kickers – heavy boots
- lamestain – uncool person
- plats – platform shoes
- rock on – a happy goodbye
- score – great
- swingin' on the flippity-flop – hanging out
- tom-tom club – uncool outsiders
- wack slacks – old ripped jeans
Jasper had also offered tuna platter ("a hot date"), and regretted that it had not appeared in the article.[2][9]
Legacy
Daniel House, the head of C/Z Records commissioned Art Chantry to design a lexicon T-shirt after people started wearing the sidebar from the article pinned to their shirts at grunge shows. Chantry's design featured "Lamestain" or "Harsh Realm" on the front, with an enlarged copy of the lexicon sidebar on the back.[1]
Harsh Realm was a 1994 comic book series by James D. Hudnall and Andrew Paquette, set in a future of multiple virtual realities, one of which was a dystopia called "Harsh Realm".[10] In 1999 Chris Carter adapted the Harsh Realm comics into a television series of the same name.[11]
In Adam Warren's comic The Dirty Pair, the characters' futuristic slang includes "harsh realm" in the grunge-speak sense.[citation needed]
Bass guitarist Dave Brockie's stage persona in the band X-Cops was "Ex-Patrolman Cobb Knobbler".[12]
The 1996 documentary Hype! included Jasper's prank in its exploration of the early 1990s grunge scene.[13]
See also
- The Hipster Handbook, 2003 satirical guide to hipster culture
- Valspeak
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h Siegel, Alan. When Grunge Was Fake News, The Ringer. November 8, 2017.
- ^ a b Kurt Andersen; Megan Jasper (September 20, 2018). Swingin' on the flippity flop: the grunge speak hoax. Studio 360. Public Radio International. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ JSTOR 43554630.
- ISSN 0025-9012.
- ^ "The grunge look". Ottawa Citizen. December 10, 1992. p. G3.
- Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A9.; "Those Cob Nobblers at the N.Y. Times". The Globe and Mail. March 5, 1993. p. C1.
- ^ New York Observer.
- ^ Neyfakh, Leon (August 14, 2009). "Remember the Grunge Hoax". New York Observer.
- ^ Perry, Douglas (December 24, 2020). "Swingin' on the flippity-flop: Remembering the fake Northwest 'grunge lexicon' embraced by the New York Times". OregonLive. The Oregonian. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ Cronin, Brian (August 28, 2011). "Almost Hidden — Hudnall and Paquette's Harsh Realm". Comic Book Resources.
- ^ Kaplan, Don (October 19, 1999). "'Harsh' Creators Sue for Credit"". New York Post.
- ^ "CMJ '95". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. September 2, 1995. p. 106.
Into The Pit: Metal Artist Panel. Moderator: Dave Brockie of Gwar/X-Cops fame (aka Oderus Urungus. Ex-Patrolman Cobb Knobbler)
- ^ Pray, D., Helvey-Pray Productions. Hype!. 1996. Republic Pictures.
Sources
- Marin, Rick (November 15, 1992). "Grunge: A Success Story". The New York Times. Section 9, p. 9.
External links
- Sub Pop CEO Megan Jasper on The Grunge Hoax of Greatness, interview with Owen Murphy of KEXP-FM