Grunge speak was ahoax series ofslang words purportedly connected to thesubculture ofgrunge inSeattle, reported as fact inThe New York Times in 1992. The collection of alleged slang words were coined by a record label worker in response to a journalist asking if grunge musicians and enthusiasts had their own slang terms, seeking to write a piece on the subject. They were essentially made up on the spot; there was no such vernacular among members of the grunge scene, and the terms that were published were merely aprank on the news industry's tendencies to seize upon trends.
The words later labelled "grunge speak" were coined by Megan Jasper, then aged 25 and working forCaroline Records.[1] She had previously worked forSub Pop Records, whose co-founderJonathan 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 magazineSKY and later by Rick Marin forThe New York Times.[1] Poneman forewarned Jasper that Marin was seeking "alexicon 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]
Acoverline on the September 1992 issue ofSKY said "like, harsh realm, man — How to hang out in Seattle", trailing a four-page article which mentioned some of Jasper's expressions. Seattle bandMudhoney saw the article while on tour in the UK and joined in the joke by reusing some terms in an interview withMelody Maker.[3][4] Marin's article, "Grunge: A Success Story", appeared inThe New York Times on November 15, 1992, as a full page story in its Sunday "Styles" section. The article begins with an investigation on the origin of the term "grunge" and concludes with a summary ofgrunge music andfashion. Jasper's invented terms were published as asidebar to Marin's story, titled "Lexicon of Grunge: Breaking the Code" and crediting Jasper for "this lexicon of grunge-speak". The list was reprinted by theOttawa Citizen in December.[5]
Thomas Frank was skeptical of theTimes' lexicon, and contacted Jasper, who "readily admitted" the fabrication, as Frank reported in the Winter–Spring 1993 issue ofThe Baffler.[1][3] TheBaffler story was picked up by news media, includingCalvin Trillin's syndicated column.[6][7] When theTimes got back to Jasper, she initially denied Frank's claims, so theTimes demanded an apology from Frank. Instead, he sent a letter standing by the story: "When TheNewspaper of Record goes searching for the Next Big Thing and the Next Big Thing piddles on its leg, we think that's funny."[8] He considered the article to be part of an attempt bymainstream culture to co-opt the grunge scene and felt that theTimes had gotten what it deserved. Jasper later ascribed her initial denial to a fear that Marin or "Styles" editor Penelope Green would be fired.[1] Green commented to theNew York Observer, "Our piece was tongue-in-cheek, so I guess [the hoax] works. But how irritating."[7] She prepared acorrection but theTimes never published it.[1]
The following were in theTimes lexicon:
Jasper had also offeredtuna platter ("a hot date"), and regretted that it had not appeared in the article.[2][9]
Daniel House, the head ofC/Z Records, commissionedArt 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 byJames D. Hudnall andAndrew Paquette, set in a future of multiplevirtual realities, one of which was adystopia called "Harsh Realm".[10] In 1999Chris Carter adapted theHarsh Realm comics intoa television series of the same name.[11]
InAdam Warren's comicThe Dirty Pair, the characters' futuristic slang includes "harsh realm" in the grunge-speak sense.[citation needed]
Bass guitaristDave Brockie's stage persona in the bandX-Cops was "Ex-Patrolman Cobb Knobbler".[12]
The 1996 documentaryHype! included Jasper's prank in its exploration of the early 1990s grunge scene.[13]
The unrelated bandTom Tom Club started before the lexicon was invented.
Into The Pit: Metal Artist Panel. Moderator: Dave Brockie of Gwar/X-Cops fame (aka Oderus Urungus. Ex-Patrolman Cobb Knobbler)
