How a Seattle scenester pranked The New York Times with ridiculous grunge 'slang'

The news feature that broke grunge

The Sub Pop label paid for journalist Everett True, then writing for Melody Maker, to fly to the sleepy northwestern city to check out the scene, which was breeding a curious mix of punk rock and heavy metal. The gambit worked. "The most vibrant, kicking music scene encompassed in one city for at least 10 years," Everett wrote.

​Why heroin became associated with the grunge world

The drug was popular with several Seattle acts in the early 1990s, with artists like Hole's Courtney Love even publicizing her use in a magazine profile. A 1992 New York Times story on Seattle said the city's principal drugs were "espresso, beer, and heroin."

Why grunge artists loathed the term 'grunge'

As the music took off, the word quickly became a convenient marketing term that lumped together bands that were rather distinct. "'Grunge,' as a term, nobody liked that," Soundgarden's Kim Thayil once said. "Everyone thought, 'Oh this is a marketing thing. This is a way to file Seattle on a retail display in a record store.'"

The Marc Jacobs grunge fashion collection

After Nirvana's breakthrough, the grunge aesthetic became a marketable commodity. Fashion designer Marc Jacobs created a collection for Perry Ellis that featured grunge fashion, incorporating thrift store clothing typically worn by grunge bands onto the runway, accompanied by the music of Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Jacobs sent samples of the collection to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, but the couple burned them. "We were punkers," Love said in 2010, "we didn't like that kind of thing."

Read the New York Times profile of TAKI 183

The 1971 article about the young graffiti artist and his many acolytes exposed the burgeoning subculture to a large audience and also detailed the effort to clean the work from the city's walls. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The story behind Nirvana's expulsion from their own record release party

The band wasn't interested in schmoozing with the industry types who occupied the "Nevermind" release event at Seattle's Re-bar. So, the band snuck in their own whiskey and started a food fight in the venue before being tossed by security.

Beat Generation iconoclast William S. Burroughs once appeared in a Nike ad

Following the rise of grunge in 1991, major corporations sought to capitalize on the changing cultural tide by using "authentic" voices to bolster their brands. One of them was Beat writer William S. Burroughs, known for his iconoclastic novels "Naked Lunch" and "Junky," who appeared in a 1994 Nike ad, singing the praises of "the coming of the new technology."

Writer Gay Talese has unorthodox practices for researching his stories

Since Talese began working at the New York Times in the 1950s, he has woven eccentric details into his stories about the people he covers. His immersive journalistic methods, such as living in a nudist colony, sparked controversy, but also helped him uncover aspects of people's lives.

‘The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby’ was a letter to an editor

Wolfe pitched a story about custom-made cars to Esquire with a satirical angle. While struggling to actually put the piece together, he explained to the editor what he wanted it to be. The editor published the letter as is, removing the greeting. The seminal article became a book of essays.

The Times Square New Year's celebration originated as a party for The New York Times

The paper moved to the area, originally called Longacre Square, in 1904 and lobbied the city to rename it after the publication. The paper’s publisher, Alfred Ochs, threw a massive all-day party on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the opening of the paper’s headquarters, establishing the location as a destination for the holiday.

One pop-culture historian fooled the nation with a fake origin story of April Fools' Day

In 1983, Joseph Boskin, a professor at Boston University, was interviewed by the Associated Press to discuss the history of April Fools'. Boskin shared a made-up story about a jester who took over Rome for a day and proclaimed that April 1 would henceforth serve as 24 hours of silliness. AP published the fib about "King Kugel," creating buzz and confusion for news outlets around the country.

A fascinating look at how a journalist spends 24 hours in the metaverse

A Wall Street Journal strapped on a VR headset for a full day. Here's what happened when she went to work meetings, hung out with new avatar friends and attended shows — all in the metaverse.

In 2008, one writer demonstrated the fickle nature of wine reviews

Robin Goldstein submitted a fake restaurant to the well-respected Wine Spectator for a competition. He created a website for the fake Milan-based business, complete with a menu of wines the magazine itself had disparaged. That didn't stop Wine Spectator from naming Goldstein's ruse among that year's winners.

In the '60s, Bob Dylan often trolled the media, mocking its focus on celebrity

This 1965 press conference, just before the release of the landmark "Bringing It All Back Home," illustrates how fed up he'd become, laughing at inane questions and offering snide responses. When asked if he thinks of himself more as a singer or as a poet, he responds, "I think of myself more as a song and dance man."

'Shipping Out' can be viewed as a more recent example of subjective journalism

Later retitled "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," Wallace's essay details his existential experience on a cruise ship with biting wit. Arguably more Gonzo than New Journalism, Wallace laments the pressure to have fun in the commercialized cruise atmosphere that brings out feelings of dread more than pleasure.

Listen to a jazz composition triggered by the New York City Subway

A creative coder created a (synthetic) jazz ensemble that uses the locations of the city's trains to determine its performance. It's both a fascinating bit of internet culture and a fitting homage to New York, one of jazz's major hubs.

The Beastie Boys started as a punk band

Before they became a legendary rap group, the New Yorkers played fast, scrappy hardcore in the style of Bad Brains. Still, they were fans of the explosion of hip-hop culture in their city and recorded a jokey track in 1983, which led to a record deal and conversion to hip-hop.

Why America is obsessed with the stories of scammers

A "grifter" is someone who exploits systems at a high level. Notable cases like fake heiress Anna Delvey, Fyre Festival creator Billy McFarland, and startup faker Elizabeth Holmes, who deceived their way to success, captivate our culture. These...

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Publicist Lois Whitman claims she’s worked at every CES since 1967

The colorful PR leader argues in this impromptu, amateur video interview that she has worked at the event since its inception in New York City. A search around the internet revealed she’s not the most well-regarded, as TechCrunch reports issues around using the event’s PR contact list loosely.

The Shaggs weren't good musicians, but they still made a classic

In 1969, the three sisters recorded "Philosophy of the World"; only 100 copies were publicly distributed. The record became a cult classic thanks to its strange backstory (their father forced them into playing music) and the band's amateurism. Critic Lester Bangs wrote, "They can't play a lick! But mainly they got the right attitude, which is all rock'n'roll's ever been about from day one."

The Washington Post's Janet Cooke returned her Pulitzer

When Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke published her profile of a 8-year-old heroin addict named Jimmy in 1980, it created an instant uproar. Social workers, police officers, and even the mayor of Washington, DC all jumped into action to try to get the child help, but no one could find him. Within hours of Cooke receiving a Pulitzer for the piece, everything began to unravel as it was revealed that she had fabricated not just Jimmy's story, but her own as well. She eventually returned the award.

Former New Yorker editor Tina Brown coined the term “gig economy” in 2009

Although this article was written pre-pandemic, the workers interviewed in it still feel representative of the sector’s modern ethos. In the piece, the writer interviews a handful of gig workers about why, exactly, they’ve chosen to make a living off of Airbnbs or TaskRabbit gigs rather than doing something else.

Prediction markets have their own lingo that's an amalgamation of Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang

For instance, if you've been out-maneuvered by another trader, you've been "mogged." A "rulescuck" is someone who is a stickler for betting market rules and may try to win on a technicality.

Health food broke into the mainstream by the 1980s

A 1984 New York Times story noted that Americans were eating less red meat than a decade prior, and that, in general, the country was “talking, thinking and worrying about what they eat to a degree unique in the nation's history.” The feature then details foods that were then considered bizarre: whole-grain muffins, hummus, and a variety of vegetarian dishes. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

A post-game interview with Sophia Amoruso directly after her 2016 Forbes cover

This article from 2016 is a time capsule of sorts. It includes an interview with the person who coined the term “girlboss,” Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso, that took place just after she appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine. We now know that her company would go on to file for bankruptcy the next year.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.