Citizen Dick — The Reunion
Can a band that never existed reunite?
Singles promotional poster/Warner Bros.
Ok, so the title of this article is a bit misleading!
If you’re like me, and continue to see the world through the eyes (and in this case, hear it through the ears as well) of a 19-year-old in 1992, then yes… a band that never existed can absolutely reunite. Especially if that band is called Citizen Dick, the flannel-clad creation of filmmaker/journalist, Cameron Crowe.
If the band sounds familiar, good! That means you likely saw Crowe’s 1992 romantic comedy and grunge music showcase, Singles, which also means that we can be friends. If you haven’t seen it, there’s still hope for a friendship, but it will require some work on your end. It’s not heavy-lifting by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m even willing to bet you’ll thank me for the suggestion afterward.
Singles, a film about the perilous romantic relationships of several twentysomethings all living in the same apartment complex in Seattle, Washington, during the early 1990s grunge scene, is an absolute must-see if that era, music, and culture resonate with you in the least.
Nostalgia, like an old and true friend who may no longer be in your day-to-day grind, but can easily (and gladly) drop in to say hello at a moment’s notice, is exactly what watching the film Singles is like.
This will certainly ring true if you are at least 45 years old or older. If you’re younger than that, and the early 90s are difficult to remember, (or perhaps you weren’t even alive in ‘92) well, nostalgia be damned I guess. You’ll still enjoy the movie, though, if you’re a fan of 90s grunge and alternative music and culture, albeit without the bonus of living through it yourself.
Brings back all the feels
Promotional photo of Bridget Fonda and Matt Dillon/Warner Bros.
For me, someone who was a full-fledged fan of grunge music and culture dating back to the late 80s, before it even had that moniker, it’s difficult to write a review of this film without using that embedded lens.
So, although the film stands up on its own as a romantic comedy, it’s impossible for me (or millions like me) who saw the movie solely for the fact that it took place in Seattle, and had members of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains in it, to judge it any other way.
I wrote a piece about the incredible soundtrack to the film back in 2021. You can read that here.
Outside of MTV, radio, and magazine articles, music fans didn’t have a ton of access to our favorite bands or artists.
You have to consider that back in those days, we didn’t have the luxury of streaming movies whenever we wanted, binge-watching, or Netflix and chill.
When a film of interest was released, you picked the day you wanted to go, gathered up some friends, went to your local movie theatre, bought tickets, popcorn, candy, and soda, and spent the next two hours in childhood bliss.
I wrote this piece as both an exercise in nostalgia for my favorite era and as a promotional vehicle for an incredible, week-long event surrounding my new book, SLACKER — 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created. (Inspired By You Books)
Don’t worry…Crowe’s Singles is a major part of the event.
Photo courtesy of AE
Photo courtesy of AE
If you like books, music, trivia, film (Singles), beer, food, BBQ, and parties, SLACKER WEEK at Alternate Ending Beer Co. is for you.
As my SLACKER “book tour” continues, I’m humbled by the people and organizations who want to include me and the book in their activities.
I know that the grunge, alternative, and hip hop music from the late 80s through the mid to late 90s is massively important to millions of Gen Xers the world over.
Getting to talk about the era, music, and culture that shaped a generation, as well as made its way through each generation that came after, is a dream come true.
To have the film Singles be a part of this is such a cool addition for me. I wanted to be all the characters in the film in 1992. It didn’t matter which ones. I was living that “grunge” lifestyle as a 19-year-old anyway, why not make believe I was famous too?
Photo courtesy of AE
Photo courtesy of AE
Photo courtesy of AE
Cameron Crowe was a hero of mine as a writer, music fan, and filmmaker. He was the only person in my estimation who could have and should have made this movie.
Some information about this cult classic:
Very early drafts of the script (circa 1984) had the movie set in Phoenix, Arizona.
In addition to Singles, other early script titles included Love & Confusion, Twister Street, and Blues For A T-Shirt (and other tales of love, luck, and lust).
Warner Bros was not sold on the film’s title. They came up with a few alternatives, including Addicted to Love, In the Midnight Hour, Love in Seattle, Leave Me a Message and Come as You Are.
Cameron on Singles: “It’s about the lengths people go to make a connection with another person, the good advice and bad advice they get along the way.”
William Arnold, film critic for the Seattle PI, votes Say Anything and Singles as one of the Top 10 Landmark Events in Seattle Movie History.
Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament & Stone Gossard) play Matt Dillon’s bandmates in the fictional group Citizen Dick.
Citizen Dick perform the song “Touch Me I’m Dick,” which is just the Mudhoney song “Touch Me I’m Sick” with a few lyrical alterations.
The fictional Citizen Dick CD is called Smarter Than You, and its design is an obvious parody of Soundgarden’s Louder Than Love; track 7 is entitled “Louder Than Larry,” a spin-off on “Loud Love,” which is also track 7 on Soundgarden’s 1989 release.
Cameron said this to Spin magazine in August 2001:
“Singles was in the can for a year before it came out. But the success of the so-called “Seattle sound” got it released. Warner Bros. said, “If you can get Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam to play the MTV party that we can use to publicize the movie, we’ll put it out.” So I painfully had to try and talk the bands into doing it. Pearl Jam said that they’d do it as a favor to me. “It was meant to be Manhattan, a movie I loved, set in Seattle. It stayed in the can for a year until the studio released it on the heels of the so-called “grunge explosion,” which created some problems of perception. But there were also some casting issues and some screenwriting problems I never quite solved. Pulp Fiction solved the vignettes issue in a way that made my jaw drop. I thought, “Fuck!” [Laughs.] If I had done Singles later, I might not have made some of those mistakes. I would have been one of the many movies that ripped off Pulp Fiction instead. [Laughs.] Singles didn’t aspire to define a generation. It aspired to be my tribute to Manhattan. So there’s a little frustration there. I hope that someday, as time goes on, it can live on as a snapshot of that period, because Seattle is not the same anymore.”
If you find yourself in the NY/NJ area between 4/28/25 - 5/3/25, join us at Alternate Ending Beer Co. in Aberdeen, NJ, and let's party like it's 1992!
They were big in Japan 😂
I grew up in W. WA and Singles is a therapeutic time capsule for my husband and me. So happy we got to experience the music and arts scene firsthand in our little corner of West Seattle during the ‘80s and ‘90s. 🎸🎤🌊🗻