It was 1991 and the music scene consisted of 80s pop crossing over to the new decade with minimal competition. Artists like Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Guns n’ Roses, Bon Jovi, and others rocked the 80s and were prepared to run away with the 90s as well. Pop pretty much dominated all as r&b had not yet really caught on; rap had just got only their second #1 hit in the Billboard charts in history (Ice, Ice, Baby), and rock music really was reduced to the glam rock that the underground was growing tired of. There had not been a big new musical wave since Led Zeppelin and the Arena Rock scene back in the mid-late 70s. Music at the time was sugar-coated candy that’s enjoyable in small bursts until the next new pop song comes along. And then came Nevermind.
It has been 20 years since Nirvana’s legendary breakthrough album quietly popped into stores and jump-started a new wave of music, a new sound, and a new voice for a generation that had been shunned musically for quite some time. Under their worldwide smash “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana’s Nevermind became arguably the first alternative rock album to fluctuate away from the college and underground crowd and seep into the entire musical mainstream. And Nirvana didn’t just become a huge popular band, but opened the door for dozens of other rock bands that had been under-the-radar in the 80s and also for up-and-coming bands within the same region.
R.E.M., Metallica, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Bush, Radiohead, Oasis (whether you guys like it or not punks), and Blur (among many many others) rose in popularity at around the same time period as Nevermind’s Billboard and worldwide reign. One band is coincidence. Two bands, perhaps coincidence. More than a dozen? Beginning of a revolution. Beginning of something new. Nevermind started out small and by the end of 1992 was outselling Michael Jackson’s latest album by a longshot. Not only did this instant smash destroy the career of many pop and rock acts, it would sell over 30 million copies worldwide and remains one of the most influential and important albums in the last 30 years. This album set the benchmark for the sound of 90s rock—alternative or not. The 90s didn’t start in 1990, but in 1991 when Nirvana truly arrived.
So just what makes this album so special? What allowed it to hit such a nerve in the music industry? Well, we can start with what listeners had been dealing with for years. 80s glam rock consisted of your overblown, over-produced music that had lyrics abut rampaging around, having fun, messing around with the ladies, taking drugs, among other crazy things everyone did in the 80s. Surely some of it was great (Van Halen anyone?) but none of this music truly touches the soul, truly strikes emotional nerves. Glam rock is to rock fans what pop music is to the mainstream---good, but ultimately forgettable candy-coated minutes of amusement to the ears. 80s metal actually was happening as a way to combat this glam rock---Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Iron Maiden, and others were playing music as loud, fast, and ferocious as possible to appeal to those sick of the Van Halen-Poison-Bon Jovi sound.
Nevermind’s sound consisted of music that you swear was played in a garage with no production value whatsoever. Three people were in this band: a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer; nothing more, nothing less. In an age when dozens of people worked on Michael Jackson’s music or when 5-6 people were involved in the same rock band, Nirvana’s simplified sound can be attributed to the fact that there was no rhythm guitar, no keyboard, no extra bassist, no extra drumming in the background, and very minimal cleansing of the guitars. That’s what grunge is, very distorted, very edgy, very raw rock music that is unpredictable, unfocused, unorganized, but just catchy enough to grab your attention and force you to adapt. They didn’t sound like a band set out to make ishloads of money, they sounded like a band that just loved to play. And they didn’t make music for the mainstream, the mainstream adapted to their music.
And they didn’t just play, they played from the heart. While they aren’t the first band to write all the lyrics with their hearts on the sleeves, they popularized the technique for a new generation. Glam rock avoided the emotions and tribulations of life; Nirvana hit it straight-on with full intentions. Vague and constantly-questionable lyrics plagued the entire album, as its mystique and vague aura of it all actually contributed to the unique sound that struck all the right nerves to a new generation of rock fans and wanna-be rock stars. Grunge isn’t ever limited to just one consistent sound either, Nevermind and the best grunge music out there (Pearl Jam’s Ten, Nirvana’s In Utero, Stone Temple Pilots’ Core) features a wide range of vocals, guitars, and moods.
Smells Like Teen Spirit is a 5-minute anti-everything medley that features a great guitar solo, a screaming finale, and a very catchy riff. Something in the Way is a purposely quiet tune that rarely ever increases in noise, as if they are performing this in a secluded, isolated part of town. Come as You Are is a guitar-heavy track that sounds like more bass than anything else, while incorporating a very slow pace and of course, vague lyrics. Drain You is a very dirty song in terms of production value, and for that it works well. In Bloom, arguably their best song in the album is an extremely ironic song about people singing along to songs despite not knowing what it means with an excellent guitar solo, a very catchy guitar/bass riff, and of course, a roller-coaster like transition between light and heavy sounds. And another one of my favorites, Lithium, is just a crazy sinister song with lyrics bouncing all over the place, a wide range of vocals and volumes, and all wrapped up with a great chorus.
The album has so many influential tracks, sounds, moments, and innovative techniques that to this very day we see bands constantly trying to hammer out the same type of sound produced in this made-for-$500,000 medley of Northwest rock. While most of its modern-day success can be attributed to the fact that Kurt Cobain became a martyr of the rock star life with his suicide, you can’t deny its power back when he was alive, Nirvana was alive and strong, and all these new bands were bursting with anticipation for a chance to shine. Massive musical revolutions like this one do not happen often (Beatlemania, Rise of British Metal in the 70s, Arena Rock /New Wave in the early 80s, The Backstreet Boys Pop Group Takeover of the late 90s, The Latin Revolution of 1999, the Flower Power Pop Scene of today) but it’s even rarer to see a whole portion of the population represent itself through the music of one band.
One can only imagine what would have happened if Kurt had stayed alive and been around for the continuing domination of alternative rock and the eventual rise of nu-metal. The question is would the music scene be totally different had Kurt Cobain not killed himself and brought down all these grunge bands with him? Would we have the music of today reigning supreme if Nirvana had still existed? Nirvana was a few steps away from becoming the next Beatles, whether you like it or not.
The Beatles, love them or hate them, definitely did not keep the same sound. They started out as a pop group and evolved into a psychedelic rock band in a mere couple of years. But as they evolved, their fans were intently following, eating up any music the Beatles were throwing at them. That band couldn't miss. Despite their eternal influence on an entire generation of people, the band barely lasted over half a decade before the unfortunate breakup. With In Utero, Nirvana’s third album, being (purposely) dramatically and extremely different from Nevermind, how much longer would Generation X follow this band? Its one of the great mysteries of music history, and all we can do is ponder because after Cobain pulled that trigger, escaping all the fame he didn’t want, Nevermind and its revolutionary tale of success came to an end.
But we are not here to be saddened by his death, we are here to preserve and continue his legacy by recognizing the greatest work from one of the best bands in recent decades. While they didn’t spend much time together in the music scene (and stopped performing way too soon), their few albums paved the way for an influx of music that would temporarily kill the pop scene, usher in a lot of wonderful music, and end the careers of many artists from the 80s, rendering them as afterthoughts. Nevermind is a masterful album that has honestly aged quite well. Its tunes are still catchy, its lyrics are still crazy and sometimes unstructured, and Kurt Cobain despite not being the best singer, or guitarist, or writer, dug deep into his soul and still managed to create beautiful music. Great music can come from anyone, and Nevermind was the defining example of this. They were three men in Seattle with an underground audience that worked together to make something that didn’t just hit, but struck pure gold. And started something new.
Happy 20th Anniversary, Nevermind.
And rest in peace, Kurt Cobain.
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