The English Nirvana? The BACKLASH That Followed Bush's Success

[@rnrtruestories]

What other topics do you want to see me cover?

[@Stevie-Joe]

Superdrag!

[@TwistedFister88]

@rnrtruestories its tough because you've covered so many topics lol

[@bradleybnelson391]

Maybe go back to the beginning and jump through the decades. The 50’s, 60’s, through the 2025 all things rock n roll

[@freechordsthetruthmarceden8277]

Marion ❤

[@sitindogmas]

you cover it and I'll watch it, you stuff is always on point and interesting

[@SheilaTheGrate]

Fantastic video! Bush is one of my favourite bands form the 90s. I'm surprised that as a Canadian, you didn't sneak in the trivia of Bush having to release their music in Canada as "Bush X" for the entirety of the 90s due to another band having the Bush name already. Amazing storytelling as always. Thank you for brightening up my feed with these music stories.

[@rnrtruestories]

Thanks I wrote that part at the end of the script but took it out

[@jesterr7133]

I loved Bush as a teenager. Sixteen Stone was a really good album, and I like some of their later stuff as well. I think people are just jealous of the fact that Gavin looks like he was genetically engineered somewhere, lol. He wasn't a depressed loner, and that threatened everyone.

[@TheGorillafoot]

I never understood that. Bush sounded nothing like Nirvana.

[@cwrichardson3]

David Grohl said they did.

[@DelilaSloan]

​@@cwrichardson3dave grouhl is a person with an opinion just like everyone else. I don't think Bush and nirvana sound anything alike.

[@Ottophil]

They had quiet clean verses and loud distorted chorus’s thats all they needed

[@arturoandrade9089]

If you put the vocals aside, Little Things is basically a Smells Like Teen Spirit rewrite. And Glycerine definitely sounds like Nirvana in their mellower moments. Other songs? Eh, more debatable.

[@arturoandrade9089]

@@DelilaSloan If you put the vocals aside, Little Things is basically a Smells Like Teen Spirit rewrite. And Glycerine definitely sounds like Nirvana in their mellower moments. Other songs? Eh, more debatable.

[@brianring3425]

Compare Bush with the stuff out now. How lucky were we. They were at the end of a great artistic expression. We also had EDM, Heavy Metal, Hip hop, Nu Metal and alternative.

[@jvladcliff4083]

We really need a PJ Harvey deep dive

[@LilyQueenmas]

50 ft Queenie!

[@bigpoppa5732]

Sixteen Stone still ROCKS !! I got to see them with Garbage and Smashing Pumpkins at UNO arena. Great show but I never considered them Grunge...

[@crazycatman5928]

March 29 1996 I seen them in Lafayette Louisiana. Goo Goo dolls and no doubt opened up for them.

[@bakstabbath]

Sixteen Stone is a masterpiece. I saw Bush live for that album and it was a life changing event.

[@Strimbles]

Masterpiece? It's total garbage!! Horrible derivative lyrics, totally unoriginal poser crap.

[@83442handle]

a few good songs but not a masterpiece. nevermind is a masterpiece

[@RicArmstrong]

True!

[@globetrekker86]

“Come Down” instantly brings to mind the courtship montage between Nicole (Reese Witherspoon) and David (Mark Wahlberg) in the movie *Fear*

[@chaddeez8446]

Wasn't Machine head in that movie also?

[@rayfran06]

Haha awesome that is what you reference! Those jeans he is wearing is out of control everytime i see that movie. I love when he catches up with Gary in the woods, "Garwey"

[@mattjones1776]

Is that the film where Marky Mark beats himself up?

[@adammetz7063]

@@mattjones1776 lol yep

[@miameramusic]

Everybody sounded like Nirvana after Nirvana, and even they were basically the Pixies. But yeah hiring Steve Albini is always good thing.

[@Tr33People]

No, Nirvana was not the Pixies, Nirvana was influenced by the Pixies but didn't sound like the pixies. Bush was mostly a Nirvana wannabe and sounded similar, I think because his voice was similar. I think Rossdale even was involved with Courney Love. EDIT I wrote this before hearing that part of the video but I agree with the True Stories stuff.

[@nachashiesu-sophia]

"were basically the Pixies." Supernaturally intellectually lazy take.

[@FURTHER_ADO]

Whenever you hear someone spout this " they were basically the Pixies" nonsense, you can be assured they have no idea what they're talking about. Influenced? Sure but beyond the quiet-loud-quiet structure they sound nothing alike. It always seems to be millennials or younger that regurgitate this bc they think they sound intelligent. Weren't around to see how the world literally changed overnight, yet they argue that's not true or any of the other events in the late 80s -early 90s we Gen-Xers live through are wrong. STFU

[@FURTHER_ADO]

​@@nachashiesu-sophiaintellectually lazy take? Absolutely. Supernatural? Nothing that dumb is supernatural just stupid.

[@briancannon3987]

Naa

[@krisg3984]

I liked them. I bought their music. I liked their sound. Music is music. It's not all about image and what we want from them

[@adambane1719]

I was a surfer and a huge Bush fan back then. First 2 albums are amazing ! Absolutely loved them. Travelled everywhere with those albums ! Travelled to the UK on a whim to see them live in the Shepherds Bush Empire on their '96 homecoming tour and got an access all areas pass as my brother just so happened to be the bar manager there.... I got my first stage dive and then spent the rest of the gig hanging out with his sister in the seats hanging right over the stage. Just the two of us. It was an absolutely insane experience and gig ... and when he stepped off the stage right into the little back bar, the doors swung open and Gavin stepped through and she introduced me to Gavin... with a solid bro shake ! Helluva moment !

[@rodroller6634]

I originally wanted to hate this band, but after hearing Sixteen Stone I became an immediate fan.

[@killiam2868]

Bush is a great band and put on an awesome show. This weekend will be my third time seeing them live and I can't wait

[@Paul-dw2cl]

let us know how it is

[@RoyPage1970]

I never had no idea they was even still a band

[@michaellazor5667]

Bush was one of the best quality bands from their genre and era.

[@uphillracer]

I liked the album and also the follow up. Raw sound and some good songs

[@Digitalhunny]

Another _fantastic_ video from one if my favourite music channels. Love that yer a fellow Canuck too! ❤❤

[@Chrismw81]

"post grunge" is a media creation the same way "grunge" was. It's hilarious how rock music is now just Before Nirvana and After Nirvana. My local rock station went "alternative" in 95 and played Bush, Better Than Ezra, Collective Soul, and Alanis Morisette on a constant loop. The bumper stickers were plaid.

[@williamdixon-gk2sk]

I think Kurt would find it funny, at least. But yeah, it's obviously dumb to anyone that was there. Good form, sir.

[@travzimmerman1340]

"pure grunge" was used by Mark Arm in the early 80s to describe his bands music. It was used again in the late 80s by a Subpop producer to describe the sound of 3 new bands they had signed, one of which was Nirvana.

[@williamdixon-gk2sk]

@travzimmerman1340 That's really cool. I always heard SubPop coined the term, but Mark saying it sounds more right. Was it for mudhoney or green river?

[@jimglass3106]

I never did understand the comparison. Now Shaun Morgan from Seether,on the other hand,sounds a HELLUVA lot like Kurt Cobain.

[@matty_muerte]

I know Bush is considered "Post Grunge", but I don't know if it's necessarily fitting. "Post Grunge" to me is bands like Creed, Nickelback, and Three Days Grace...Bush had a much more organic grunge sound and influences than those other bands.

[@msnewsenior]

Bush wasn’t grunge, if they didn’t hail from the Pacific Northwest then they cant claim that title

[@cultivateyourself]

True that.

[@chaddeez8446]

They were tail end grunge.

[@matty_muerte]

@@msnewsenior idk. Maybe its just me, but Grunge is more of a sound and ethos rather than the original movement. I get it, Grunge started with the Big 4 Seattle bands, and the bands that came from Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog. But they all drew influence from The Pixies and Sonic Youth. The same bands that influenced Bush. I'd also argue that Bush's lyrical content was more in tune with Grunge than Post Grunge. Bush was alot more nihilistic and indifferent. Bands like Creed have much more optimistic lyrics.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

Grunge isn't a real thing anyway. It's a marketing term. The word just means "dirt", so by the sheer definition of the word an awful lot of bands would be "grunge" just based on their guitar sound alone. Soundgarden didn't sound like Nirvana, Nirvana didn't sound like Pearl Jam. These groups had very little in common beyond coming from the same general region. "Post Grunge" is even more stupid because it implies that someone can't be genuinely influenced by that music and want to make their own in that style, and if they do, they're somehow a weaker, shittier imitation. Bush was as much of a "grunge" band as any of the others.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I still think Sixteen Stone holds up quite well. It's a shame none of their other albums ever really hit that same mark. It's also kind of odd that there's this idea that someone has to come from a rough upbringing in order to make "genuine" music. A good song is a good song.

[@MedalionDS9]

I will always give a lot of credit to Bush's Sixteen Stone album... it had all the right sounds of that post grunge you want, but I never got into their stuff as much afterwards... I never got the Nirvana comparisons other than they sounded like an american alternative band than a British band like BRitpop at the time...

[@ricardourrea5431]

Razor blade suitcase is worth checking out.

[@tomtucker1984]

I had gave up on them after the first album which was very good, but the latest 2 albums are surprisingly damn good though. Check em out.

[@LilyQueenmas]

If Bush is Nirvana would No Doubt be Hole? So Gwen would be Courtney Love?

[@billyclutterbucket2754]

No that was Marylin 😂

[@reallyretro]

That first Bush album is 🔥 though.

[@Strimbles]

That first Bush album is 💩 though.

[@Handle1978]

@@Strimblesshut up poser

[@mattjones1776]

@@Strimbles You seem like a lot of fun.

[@Strimbles]

@@mattjones1776 I am, because I don't listen to crappy music!!!

[@mattjones1776]

@@Strimbles Nah.

[@christopherreynolds9254]

Bush were the first band I saw live, when I was 15 years-old back in ‘99. They were amazing. I liked Nirvana as well. I don’t recall them ever sounding much like Nirvana

[@soulvein5371]

What a great time it was. Get some Silverchair on after this..

[@esehn6972]

I was a definite Bush sceptic when they first came out. But over time, tbey have grown on me a bit. I don't mind a few of their tunes (eg, Swallowed).

[@johnmatrix-qf4jd]

Glycerin was a beautiful song. Swallowed was a class track. Zero relation to nirvana, never saw how people compared the two.

[@msnewsenior]

Same song sounds and structure

[@keiththorpe9571]

I know Bush gets a ton of static for being Post-Grunge derivative, rip-offs of earlier, better bands, but I loved Sixteen Stone. One, the album title being a reference to a British/English unit of measurement for weight which none of my contemporary American peers knew what the hell that indicated, it gave the band that arcane, obscure vibe I liked. Also, I always believed Bush took American-style grunge and gave it a British sensibility which made it unique. I thought they were great.

[@MedalionDS9]

What? If Gavin was into punk and listened to David Bowie, why would they look down upon it? David Bowie inspired a lot of the early Punk Rockers lmao

[@Baloothepibble]

Sixteen Stone is full of hits but my favorite Bush song is Greedy Fly on RS.

[@gottlicherhammer]

For real. Shortly after RS came out, I found out my live-in girlfriend was cheating on me and we broke up. I was devastated. It seemed like every song on RS spoke to my inner turmoil. Just a dark, moody, glorious album for a dark, moody time in my life.

[@Baloothepibble]

@ Bush always made great use of using space and base to create an eerie vibe.

[@SuperAnimelover100]

Gavin was truly good looking !

[@dauntae24]

He was a pretty little fella

[@stuartmorley6894]

The reason that Bush got so much Flack in the UK was Gavin Rossdale trying again and again to be famous. He'd had other bands, changed musical style to try get it again and again. Music joirnalists knew him well from constantly being whatever the flavor of thd month was. Plus going to Westminster isn't just posh, its out last Prime Minister posh. Its prog rock band posh. Its third poshest school in the country posh.

[@rnrtruestories]

Thanks for shedding light on this. His quote about wanting to be famous is very revealing

[@EastyyBlogspot]

I heard their album got trimmed down for release in brazil......

[@yvettevitacaponigro]

Thank you for the post! ✌🏼😊

[@Aloha_Snackbar_Everybody]

The keyboard warrioring go on in this particular section is really thought provoking. Such rudeness and disrespect right off the bat and for no reason.

[@juancflorido]

Bush is a great band. PERIOD. And they are still relevant, they can easily do a show in front of 10,000 or 12,000 fans in this day and age. All these sensationalism journalism is dumb and the constant need of comparison is idiotic: Nirvana vs Bush vs Pearl Jam vs AIC vs STP etc We need to stop making comparisons.

[@jordan-xe2yb]

Disagree. They’re terrible. Peace.

[@dauntae24]

Nice bait

[@allrequiredfields]

Loool, that's hilarious.

[@Ham.rigs07]

Didnt know much about bush until this video. was listening to them today. Awesome work dude.

[@bobo0202]

First time I heard Bush I though it was Nirvana wannabe crap. I have never changed my mind about that

[@cwrichardson3]

One of my favorite bands from the 90's.

[@shiftybat7318]

Their last two albums have been pretty stellar. Glad to see they've still got it. It's weird - I didn't get into them in the 90s, probably due to radio overexposure, but while teaching myself bass chops the song Comedown was an undeniably fun exercise, along with Sugar by Editors and some Echo & the Bunnymen (which was likely the inspiration for the former two). Bush is really good with tones so even if the limited vocal range sounds samey the tracks themselves generally don't, in a Smiths kind of way.

[@RicArmstrong]

I saw Bush live when their first album came out. It was in Washington DC at RFK stadium and they rocked all 80,000 people that were there that day. I was probably 20 feet from the front of the stage. 2nd time was after their 2nd album and they were still great but it was a smaller venue.

[@hangingon]

I saw the Grateful Dead & Pink Floyd in 93 or 94 at RFK. That place is huge so I wasn't a fan of the sound.

[@RicArmstrong]

@hangingon Nice, did you ever go to any of the HFStivals there?

[@beartr2626]

wish we had half of bushs quality in today's music.

[@inutero10]

Cant take away rossdales ear for melody. Thats talent.

[@subparnaturedocumentary]

im 42 i was in 8th grade when 16 stone came out, in the usa new jersey and this album was huge with everyone i remember getting it as a gift i loved that album and the follow up was really good too and they were definitely popular in the usa thats for sure.

[@innocentbystander6674]

It wasn't waining in popularity. Kurt died. If he didn't, grunge would have dominated the whole decade

[@jm76vd]

I hate this band back in the day and I still think they’re corporate crap..But that album they did with Steve Albini was ok..because of Albini..

[@spoon072000]

I'm not a fan of Bush but am a fan of Albini's work (as musician & producer). So, I was surprised to read interviews with Albini where he spoke quite positively of Bush and his experience working with them.

[@danielcluley870]

Sixteen Stone was my favorite album when it came out. I was a freshman in high school. What really stood out to me was the range on the album. It had the hard rockers that sounded a bit like Nirvana, Poppier mainstream anthems like Everything Zen and Comedown, brooding ballad in Glycerine, and even a little punk influence on some of the other songs. Really diverse full album. Later on they did an EDM remix album that was really cool at the time. Subsequent albums I didn't enjoy as much as Sixteen Stone, but they were still solid and had some great tracks on them.

[@Sludgemonkey1550]

Love the long deep dives man🔥

[@sidvanhound]

That argument " they sound like...." Weird, weird.

[@AV5Z4]

I never have been able to listen to Rossdales voice for too long, but my wife really was a fan.

[@chrispollard341]

This band, to me, represented everything the corporate record labels wanted Nirvana to be but Nirvana refused to be: a play-it-safe, homogenized consumption product band for the teenyboppers. Seriously. You know how boy bands make billions for the record companies by swooning all the teenage girls with their looks? That's the exact same impression I got looking at Bush. The Britpop bands (Bush, Oasis, Blur) helped corporatize and sanitize alternative rock for the masses, if anything.

[@dane279]

I never heard anyone call Bush Britpop before, but I agree with your point.

[@pablodelsegundo9502]

😅😅 My then-teenage sister LOVED them.

[@WinterInTheForest]

They were a radio friendly post grunge act, nothing more.

[@DontKnowDontCare6.9]

16 Stone was excellent Razorblade Suitcase was good. Deconstructed was chill. Science of Things had holes. Golden State and what came afterwards were forgettable.

[@tomtucker1984]

Last 2 albums are damn good. I hadn't bothered with them since the first album. I was surprised by the standard of the last 2 albums.

[@kimbre01]

I just saw them live a few months ago, and they were amazing! Gavin still has an incredible stage presence. He came off the stage and went everywhere, even the cheap seats. I touched his arm. I can't get over it.

[@sitindogmas]

got 16 stone around Xmas 94, had a whole year jamming to those tunes, still an all time favorite. it's still magic to me

[@mikedl1105]

After this video I'm gonna listen to Sixteen Stone. I still know just about every word

[@LilyQueenmas]

Whenever i think of gavin i just think about boy George saying " he has a huge talent"

[@MikeD974]

I like Bush more then Nirvana and I never thought they had anything in common the music is nothing alike at all.

[@LostHorizons0]

The voice slightly but yeah I always liked them better too

[@seonpollock5576]

How is bush better than nirvana omg😢😅

[@TheWosniakGambit]

Wilco?

[@paulianhodgson]

One of my favourite bands

[@SkarrGaming]

I first heard Bush on a Need for Speed game on the PlayStation. It was The People that we Love.

[@slayerdearly]

I love their first three albums and yes, I own them and I also hear the sound of Nirvana to me. They do sound a bit like Nirvana.

[@JimRyanBeerMe69]

I saw them back in the summer. Wasn’t the best show I’ve seen but it was definitely way better than I expected. The first two albums were pretty alright but it’s too bad they couldn’t keep things going steady.

[@deadinthewater218]

Nirvana and Pearl Jam made their own music. Artists accused of trying to sound like them also made their own music.

[@bondalero0074]

This album was fire!#🔥 At a time after Alice in Chains “Dirt” and Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream” were two of my favorite albums from the 90’s and gotta mention Stone Temple Pilots “Purple”(ALL STP albums) & the Toadies “Rubberneck” were some of the 90’s greatest albums along with so many more! This was a great decade for Rock!#❤️🎸🔥🤟🏻

[@RoyPage1970]

Never mind album cover was also ripped off from argent an album called in deep from the early seventies

[@briancannon3987]

Bush>foo fighters

[@AmmoEntertainment]

They really are an underrated band. I think there 3rd album the science of things was their best or my favorite.

[@lastguy8613]

I always assumed Bush were another b grade grunge band from the US, never knew they were a b grade grunge band from the UK lol They did have a cpl of decent tunes so good on them

[@beauyerks7413]

See I really liked Bush...and I am usually a Boniface Indie snob especially then! But I heard ( in addition to Nirvana.....some similarities to the English ( power shoegaze) band Swervedrive ,especially on 16 stone and I was a HUGE Swerevdiver fan so I also found enough guitar squall and swirl to dig Bush also.

[@cinnamongirl5410]

Everyone was with courtney love. She was a prolific groupie. People were weird about Bush because they were a late comer and were friendly for pop stations. But that is the same reasons they liked Nirvana.

[@msnewsenior]

Courtney Love acted no differently than any man did in rock. She partied, dated around and had substance issues. She’s only punished for it because she’s a woman

[@feliciasteward777]

I have never understood the hate that bush got back in the 90s when they were first coming onto the scene everyone was trying to call them in other bands that were coming how long during the 90s being called Nirvana rip off this is going to piss some people off but honestly Nirvana is very extremely overrated and I'm saying this as someone who's actually a fan of the band they were not the only band that existed at the time and let's be real a lot of the bands play came after Nirvana during the 90s sounded a lot better musically and vocally now this isn't to say kurt wasn't talented but I'm just going to be honest he wasn't the best guitar player nor the best singer but he definitely was a great songwriter bush is a great band and sixteen stones is great album from beginning to end.

[@davzinzan]

Bush ❤ Can you do a video on Feeder as well?

[@Rock72Man]

I didnt mind Bush, their 16 stone album was great. Never thought they sounded like Nirvana imo, Bush had a heavier groove sound to me. Surprised The Simpsons piece wasnt mentioned - the Glycerine rip with Homer.

[@machinesofgod]

Was always a casual fan of Bush. Saw them live for the first time a few months ago. They were awesome! I'm a bigger fan now.

[@anti-liberal7167]

I felt the same way about Hinder their live show is amazing

[@TheJbhmetal]

Gavin has a great voice. It's different than Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain. Of course, any 90s grunge band after Nirvana got criticized by snobs. Bands like Candlebox, Bush, STP, and Silverchair were way better and original than the actual ripoffs such as Hinder, Staind, Saving Abel, and Theory Of A Deadman.

[@Waylon_Gnash]

critics hated nirvana too, until they saw how successful they got.

[@sonicjet7759]

Everclear?? 22:01🙂how did Everclear get into this discussion on Bush and Nirvana and Dave Grohl? I’m not really a fan of Everclear but yes Bush and Nirvana as well as Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Green Day and Oasis as well as The Foo Fighters rock the 1990’s Alternative rock music scene.

[@mariogonzalez5107]

They were modern 90’s rock, I wouldn’t associate them with the Seattle movement at all.

[@AshSixx213]

I like Bush

[@carpenoctem775]

Bush was alright. Probably better than the other bands that came from the UK in the 90’s.

[@NOISEONOMICON]

Bush and Oasis were two bands I never liked.

[@travzimmerman1340]

They hated you 👍

[@NOISEONOMICON]

@@travzimmerman1340 I wish that was true lol

[@jamesstaggs4160]

I never thought they sounded anything like Nirvana. I have no idea why that comparison was made. The only similarities I can see is that their lyrics tended towards the nonsensical and they weren't hair metal.

[@Scorch904]

All of their albums are actually great. So is his other band "institute" check out the album distort yourself

[@RedrumWolf-4x]

I thought the Gavin Rossdale and Boy George situation was going to be in this video 😂 that was a crazy situation.

[@stevenhaas9622]

I wasn't a big Bush fan at the time. I didn't dislike them per se but they didn't really grab my attention. Honestly, I never got the whole Nirvana comparison. However, their stuff has grown on me over the years and I think it mostly holds up well compared to that morass of mid-90s wannabe alterna-rockers.

[@kimmiekimmie_coco_bop2005]

16 stones is an awesome album.. Gavin is very cute 🥰

[@danehlers9989]

I have the Bonedriven CD single n it's the best for my ears... 😂👂 👍

[@tomtucker1984]

I had gave up on them after the first album which was very good, but the latest 2 albums are surprisingly damn good though. Check em out.

[@RandJohnson]

To the untrained ear, all grunge sounds like nirvana (a band i personally did not care for, in the least). The Pixies essentially invented grunge while never having to suffer the indignities of living through the era.

[@chrisglenn2096]

Definitely smoking a fat blunt to this one

[@83442handle]

how was it?

[@juansolis4796]

I love BUSH

[@matthewsommerville88]

Growing up like that and his looks it would have been harder to fail than succeed lol

[@monsterguyx]

The English Nirvana? More like the English Nickelback.

[@writerartist6306]

Agreed

[@RanterInShades]

The band that taught the world how their lungs work.

[@mimi2the4]

Bush was a better band

[@devonboulden2496]

The British didn't like The Outfield either. It's weird. They were recognized when they came to the states but wouldn't be recognized in Britain. Bust was really good.

[@SchizoAction]

I could never get through one of their songs. It felt too manufactured, and not raw enough for the style of music they were interpreting. They had the technique down pat but lacked the soul.

[@TheChristafershawn]

That’s how I feel about Foo Fighters.

[@SchizoAction]

@Oh for sure. Same thing. Good callout!!

[@Actionfiguresinaction]

I so remember the first day..time..and moment i first heard 'Everything Zen' ..For days?!;I was SO convinced Nirvana had a new..suprise song out! And .Than? After finding out about BUSh? I quickly lost interest. It really ??was like.. A english band thought' Lets copy Grunge' we can do that! High5's 😂😂😂

[@dummytree]

13:57 : And, oh, to this little known singer named David Bowie ("Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow" from "Life on Mars?".). Come on guys.