10 Times Musicians Trolled Their Audience
5. Overblown - Mudhoney
Out of all the grunge bands coming from Seattle, no other act was as self-aware as Mudhoney. With Mark Arm coming from a punk rock background, everything the band did seemed to be rooted firmly in the DIY ethic of organic scene-building. Once a big budget director like Cameron Crowe came up with a concept for a Seattle-based soundtrack for his movie Singles, the band took the opportunity to have some fun with their featured spot.
Most of "Overblown" is about the band reacting to the craziness of the Seattle hype machine, with the lyrics starting off with how mainstream the town has gotten. With flannel shirts starting to become en vogue and copycat bands appearing left and right, this song is both a celebration of the authentic Seattle sound and a lambasting of every clueless record exec who thought they understood what grunge was about.
Since grunge's reputation was rooted in irony, it's almost too perfect that this song got to be featured on the soundtrack to a major motion picture. Out of all the more introspective lyrics coming from bands like Nirvana or Pearl Jam, "Overblown" may be the most meta song ever to come out of the alternative rock explosion.