Seattle Singers and Songwriters Quiz

Answer: Kurt Cobain

Cobain is considered somewhat of a legend for his influence on rock music in the early 1990s since his songwriting and career defined much of what was to come for a wave of alternative music. Writing the majority of songs on all of the band's albums, Cobain became a cultural icon for a generation rapidly shifting towards angst, nihilism, apathy, and misanthropy.

He committed suicide in 1994 at the age of 27 (in Seattle), but not before bringing forth anthems like "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", and "Lithium".

Answer: Ben Gibbard

Although Death Cab has been touring as a band and releasing music since the late 1990s, they never really hit it big until the release of "Transatlanticism", their fourth album, which not only received significant alternative rock airplay, but featured heavy use in TV shows and films ("The O.C." comes to mind as a driving force for promotion). Singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard worked together with Jimmy Tamborello and Jenny Lewis as the band The Postal Service in the 2000s as well, releasing the well-received album "Give Up"; their track "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" is oft cited as an indie staple.

Answer: Eddie Vedder

Eddie Vedder's distinctive voice led the band all the way back since their debut album, "Ten", in 1991, which featured the hit songs "Alive", "Even Flow", and "Jeremy". It's undeniable that Vedder's influence on the album, both in vocal styling and lyricism, helped usher in the grunge sound of the early 1990s though they managed to adapt to changing tides over subsequent decades, releasing high-charting albums well into the 2010s. Vedder is also known for his dabbling in soundtrack works; he won a Golden Globe for his music in the 2008 film "Into the Wild".

Answer: Isaac Brock

Isaac Brock's music is known for being a bit hard to dive into because of its notoriously complex metaphors, unorthodox vocal sound, and occasionally against-the-grain instrumentation, but the albums in the Modest Mouse discography have been consistently well-received, in some cases even topping year and decade-ending polls from some reviewers. Brock also fronted a band by the name of Ugly Casanova in the late 1990s/early 2000s while recording some of Modest Mouse's more beloved releases.

Answer: Chris Cornell

Although their tracks remained popular in Seattle throughout their earlier days, their 1994 album "Superunknown" is likely their most celebrated due in part to critical recognition and several Grammy Award wins and nominations. Chris Cornell led the band through decades of releases while also starting a solo career consisting of five albums (Soundgarden had six) and leading the charge for the rock supergroup Audioslave (which he also wrote all three albums for). Cornell also wrote and sang the opening theme to the 2006 James Bond film "Casino Royale", "You Know My Name". Cornell committed suicide in 2017.

Answer: Layne Staley

Another band directly from Seattle, Alice in Chains was on the heavier side of grunge when they appeared on the music scene in the late 1980s/early 1990s, releasing their first album, "Facelift", and finding a Grammy nod for its main single, "Man in the Box". Layne Staley was the lead vocalist for the band until his passing in 2002 (during which the band was on hiatus).

He wrote "Man in the Box", one of the few tracks on the album to get his writing credit. Most of the band's songs were written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell, who also harmonized with Staley on many of their hits.

Answer: Dave Grohl

Following the end of Nirvana, Dave Grohl took the lead for Foo Fighters, becoming its driving force and pushing into more mainstream rock well into the new millennium. While some of their early hits like "Big Me", "Learn to Fly", and "Everlong" have had lasting appeal since their releases, the band has continued to see success with songs like "Rope", "These Days", and "Run". Grohl is also known for his work with Queens of the Stone Age from the 2000s onward and with Them Crooked Vultures in 2009. Grohl comes from Virginia, but during the 1990s he was rooted in Seattle music.

Answer: Chris Ballew

The Presidents of the United States of America started performing in 1993 almost as a reaction to grunge music. Their rock sensibilities were more suited for Top 40 radio than their contemporaries and they were amongst many to lead an alternative rock wave through the decade.

Their earlier songs: "Lump"; "Peaches"; and "Dune Buggy" are probably their most famous, but they continued to play until 2016 when they dissolved the band. Chris Ballew wrote the vast majority of songs on the band's releases; he's also a children's music songwriter having released twelve albums under the stage name Caspar Babypants.

Answer: Neko Case

Neko Case is perhaps better known for her praised solo works (for which she originally toured as Neko Case & Her Boyfriends) due to their high charting presence on U.S. and Canadian indie lists. Some of her solo albums, like "Middle Cyclone" and "The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You", are Grammy nominated.

He work with The New Pornographers stretches back to their first album back in 2000. Their indie pop stylings have often been at the forefront of the genre.

Answer: Sir Mix-a-Lot

Anthony Ray was amongst a small group of artists laying out groundwork for a Seattle hip hop scene and his biggest single, "Baby Got Back", became a novelty classic for the genre, transcending the rest of the fare of the day and reemerging time and time again, often as a backing track or sample for other popular artists. Sir Mix-A-Lot, Anthony Ray himself, wrote the track and it was produced by record mogul Rick Rubin.

It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks.