Grunge was a rock style that developed in Seattle in the 1980s, blending punk's raw energy with the heavy, slow sound of 1970s metal. Seattle's isolation from the big music centres of Los Angeles and New York meant local bands borrowed freely from one another and built a scene of their own. Bands such as Green River, Soundgarden and the Melvins fused punk speed with heavy tempos, and the 1986 Deep Six compilation helped define the sound. Nirvana's 1991 hit Smells Like Teen Spirit brought it to the mainstream, and the style's working-class, low-budget aesthetic came from the poverty of the city's musicians.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.