Mudhoney

Although Mark Arm is sometimes credited with coining the term “grunge,” all of his bands have been informed by a keen sense of humor as well as the great raw sound of the garage-rock bands of the Pacific Northwest. Forming Green River in 1984 with friend and guitarist Steve Turner alongside future members of Pearl Jam, Arm had a direct hand in bringing together ’70s rock and a more primal sound. In 1988, Arm and Turner formed Mudhoney and created an aesthetic that proved influential, with a sludgy guitar sound driven by tumultuous rhythms. Although Nirvana and others were more commercially successful, Mudhoney is having the last laugh precisely because it didn’t fit in with grunge — despite being a pioneer of the movement — and emerged with its credibility intact.