`HYPE!' TURNS CAMERA'S LENS ON SEATTLE GRUNGE SCENE.

Byline: Chris Grygiel Associated Press 

When Nirvana exploded onto the charts about five years ago, pop culture was turned upside down. Leather and spandex gave way to flannel shirts and Doc Martens, Seattle replaced Minneapolis and Athens, Ga., as the rock hot spots, and heads turned northwest to see what had produced the trio of young men who bashed out music that seemed so ``alternative'' to the mainstream.

In ``Hype!'' filmmaker Doug Pray skillfully documents how a sleepy port city was turned into the rock music capital of the world. A slew of Seattle bands followed in the wake of Nirvana's success. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains topped radio and MTV playlists, and a host of imitators copied their look and sound.

Music fans, tired of the the humorless excess of 1980s rock, embraced the new bands that blended the energy of late 1970s punk with the bombast of early heavy metal.

``Hype!'' includes excellent live footage - shot mostly in beer-sodden Seattle music clubs - that shows what distinguished Northwest bands from their counterparts elsewhere in America: a raw, self-deprecating style.

Pray's documentary of the Emerald City scene is an irreverent, often hilarious ride. He initially highlights bands unknown to most people, groups like Gas Huffer, Crackerbash and the Mono Men. By letting them vent their excitement, amazement and ultimately their frustration over what happened, Pray allows the viewer an inside view of what became a media feeding frenzy.

``Grunge,'' and all that went with it - flannel shirts, Doc Martens boots and facial hair - was successfully sold to the masses.

What ``Hype!'' portrays so well is how out of control the band wagon became, particularly after the release of Nirvana's first major-label album, ``Nevermind.''

Pray talks to the two men most responsible for ``hyping'' Seattle music, Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt, co-founders of Sub Pop Records. The duo tell how they paid for a reporter from a British magazine to come to Seattle. The reporter poked around, returned to England and wrote a glowing account of the then-unknown music community.

Thanks to just this sort of hucksterism, the mainstream music world turned its attention to Seattle. Major labels swooped in, eager to sign the next Nirvana or Pearl Jam. Soon bands that had moved to Los Angeles and New York to score record deals were heading to Washington state.

``Grunge'' was successfully sold to the mainstream, sometimes to a ridiculous degree.

``Hype!'' gives one example of the absurdity. Cheap flannel shirts and long underwear favored by Northwest bands - mostly because they hail from chilly logger country - were featured in Fifth Avenue stores with the attendant Manhattan price tags.

Soon, the cozy little community of groups playing for friends in local bars was overrun by hundreds of bands searching for stardom. Soundgarden's Kim Thayil likened the explosion to a little kid running a lemonade stand on his block. Suddenly, there are a dozen lemonade stands, ``only they're obviously selling lower-quality lemonade,'' Thayil told Pray.

``Hype!'' also portrays the dark side of success. Record producer Jack Endino, who worked on early Nirvana and Soundgarden albums, eloquently describes the sense of loss felt after Kurt Cobain killed himself, unable to handle the pressure of global stardom.

Pray's movie succeeds because of its diversity of commentators. There is no one single narrator, but a cross section of band members (including Pearl Jam's media-shy Eddie Vedder), label owners and promoters who give their diverse opinions. Viewers are allowed to make up their own mind about rock music from Seattle, the latest city to enjoy and endure the white-hot spotlight of pop-culture fame.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Hype!'' (not rated; contains some raw language and discussion of drug use).

Running time: One hour, 25 minutes.

Behind the scenes: a Cinepix Film Properties release, produced by Steven Helvey with Lisa Dutton and Pete Vogt as co-producers.

Playing: Sunset 5

Our rating: Three Stars.

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Photo

Photo: The late grunge rocker Kurt Cobain is profiled in the new documentary film ``Hype!''