10 Fascinating Niche Music Genres Which Need To Be Heard

9. Bubblegrunge

A somewhat contentious entry, here. The label, Bubblegrunge appears to have been invented by the music streaming platform, Spotify, in December 2021, who applied the term in its annual Spotify Wrapped list of most-listened-to genres.

The concept sounds exciting, but is it really new? Bubblegrunge is characterized by the blending of bubblegum-pop with, unsurprisingly, grunge. Both those labels have been around for a while. 'Bubblegum' was given its name during the late 60s, by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, who applied it to a particular brand of light, harmless and disposable music aimed squarely at teenagers, as epitomized by Ohio Express' 1968 hit, Yummy, Yummy, Yummy.

Grunge, of course, grew to prominence in the 90s, when Nirvana's heavy, grimy, sound took the world by storm, encouraging legions of imitators in its wake. The problem with Bubblegrunge, it has been argued, is that many of its supposed songs could equally fittingly be described as indie-rock. Indie-rock, after all, has long walked a tightrope between the edgy and the comfortable.

As ever, music is highly subjective, and it must be left to the individual listener to decide. What is beyond argument is that the Bubblegrunge umbrella covers many great acts.

In this post: 
Rock Music
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Chris Wheatley is a journalist and writer from Oxford, UK. He has too many records, too many guitars and not enough cats.