In their brief seven-year history, Nirvana unwillingly brought alternative music into the mainstream and defined a generation of young people alienated by baby boomers, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Nirvana's roots lie in the underground hardcore scene of the mid-1980s; the Olympia-based Melvins and New York's Sonic Youth were early mentors of the band. Nirvana's crossover appeal was rooted in their ability to blend the hardcore fury of drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic with Cobain's doleful, introspective lyrics and melodies.
Novoselic and Cobain met in 1985 in their hometown of Aberdeen, Wash., a rural logging community outside Seattle. Their first musical incarnation as the Stiff Woodies featured Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass and whoever happened to be around on guitar. By 1987 they had morphed into Nirvana; Cobain moved to vocals and guitar, and drummer Chad Channing was added. Nirvana soon gained the attention of the hip Seattle label Sub Pop and their debut album, Bleach, recorded for just over $600, was released in June 1989. Dave Grohl of the Washington, D.C. hardcore band Scream replaced Channing in September 1990.
During the summer of 1991 the band opened for Sonic Youth on their European Festival tour. Nirvana's landmark performance at the Reading Festival was featured in the documentary "1991: The Year Punk Broke" and marked the beginning of their worldwide recognition. Ironically, 1991 marked the birth of Nirvanamania and the beginning of Cobain's mental and physical deterioration. The group signed with Geffen Records to record their much anticipated second album, and when Nevermind was released in the fall of 1991, it symbolically knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top of the U.S. album charts. The success of the album, which went triple platinum, was fueled by MTV's incessant airplay of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The song was hailed as the anthem of the grunge generation and its appeal broadened the band's fan base to include mainstream jocks, metalheads and alternative wannabes; the very people Nirvana music was supposed to alienate.
Rumors of Cobain's heroin use were ever-present and as the band grew into a multi-million dollar commercial entity, he began to withdraw into his own drug-induced world. The band's stability was questioned in the wake of a variety of bizarre stunts including Cobain's penchant for showing up at concerts in women's clothing and mocking his way through songs, and Novoselic and Grohl's nationally televised kiss following a Saturday Night Live performance. Cobain's marriage to hardcore diva Courtney Love in 1992 only fueled the negative publicity fire.
The recording of their third studio album was delayed by Cobain's health problems -- he complained of chronic stomach pain and was hospitalized several times -- and Geffen released Incesticide, a compilation of B-sides and rarities late in 1992 to appease the cash cow fans starved for new Nirvana material. By the spring of 1993, the band was ready to go back in the studio. They recruited Steve Albini (Pixies, Breeders, Jesus Lizard) to produce In Utero,the long-awaited follow up to Nevermind. The album was released in September 1993 followed by a three-month North American tour, which included their celebrated appearance on "MTV Unplugged."
In early 1994 Nirvana embarked on a European tour that was cut short in February by Cobain's much publicized drug overdose in Rome. At the end of March Cobain entered a drug rehab facility in Los Angeles and on April 1 he escaped from the center and returned to Seattle. Cobain's body was found April 8 in his Seattle home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
After Cobain's death, Grohl and Pat Smear formed the Foo Fighters, whose hit 1995 self-titled album was an invigorating, upbeat departure from the angry, tortured strains of Nirvana -Rolling Stone
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What the music industry needs right now is another Nirvana to rid the world of people like Simon Cowell, They're even making Rock boy bands now because "real" music is starting to outsell Pop. Just wait till "Busted", the poor-man's Green Day, appears on MTV and you'll see exactly what I mean!
Nirvana used to be my favorite band for a few years, but I kind of lost interest and now I hardly listen to them anymore. I still think they were a pretty good band though.
My top 5: 1. Heart-shaped box 2. Sappy (why in God's name did they never release this song?) 3. Lithium 4. Something in the way - the rock version they recorded for BBC radio 5. D-7 (even though it's a cover)
It's too bad Cobain couldn't handle life. They were a great band. Thank God for them and the early grunge scene. It got rid of all those lame hair bands and pop junk. But now we have Brittany Spears and her 10,000 clones. Where's the next ground breaking band hiding?? What the heck is going on with Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder's voice is so awesome. I thought they would have accomplished more than they have. Oh well!
I used to be a big fan of Nirvana until they released Nevermind... That is such an over-produced album. You should compare the live versions of those songs with the ones on the album... Personally I find Bleach way better than Nevermind. In Utero was better than Nevermind (but not better than Bleach).
Best songs? It must be those early demo/Bleach songs:
If you Must Blandest Pen Cap Chew Hairspray Queen Mr. Moustache Downer (!) etc...
Don't get me wrong: I really like(d) Nirvana a lot and I think they made some great music and really did some good for the music industry nowadays, but I have a hard time with people saying that KC was a genius! They made music together!!! He didn't do all that by himself, you know? And one more thing: I was so dissapointed when they did their unplugged show for MTV... They should never have done that... I like Nirvana rough and with loud guitar! Not some stupid acoustic guitar... please...
I don't think an acoustic guitar concert is stupid. It showed everybody that Nirvana had more talent than just being a raw band that destroyed instruments. The concert was incredible, all in one take, no mistakes and they barely rehearsed for the concert!
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I thought Nirvana's Unplugged set was AWESOME! They really put some thought into it and came up with some great arrangements of their already fantastic songs. Even The Man Who Sold The World was brilliant... despite Kurt's rather dodgy solo towards the end!
All in all, this goes down as one of THE greatest live performances EVER!
Well, everyone has their own opinion of course, I just don't like Nirvana acoustic... I do agree about the thing that they showed more talent then just being a raw band. It just didn't work out for me...
And The End: are you sure about "this goes down as one of THE greatest live performances EVER!"? I can name tons more
The reason most kids listen to pop, rap, hip hop or whatever is because they think they'll be accepted if they listen to it. They'll say "Yo did you get that new -whatever- CD". Oh well, it's not my fault they listen to music with the same beat for 5 minutes. It's extremely sad when an artist repeats "Rubberband Man Wild as the Taliban" for 4 minutes straight, and then occassionally explains to you how he's going to light you up with his 9. They get mad when white people say the N word, then why do they use it in their 'music'? If they didn't say it, then a lot of people would just forget about it.
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I loved them back when the teeny bopper fad was huge. Of course I was like eleven so i didnt really understand a lot of it, but I will always be eternally grateful to them for giving me an escape from shitty music and turning me on to great music.
Quoted from number14, posted August 4, 2004, 3:19am at here
Never have heard their music
Really? You must have heard them on the radio and just not have known it. They're played an awful lot. Either way, you should check them out. Nothing like the Beatles of course, but very talented. And a very important band.
Their second album 'Nevermind' is the best way to start. I'm sure you'll recognize songs like 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Come As You Are' and 'Lithium' because they are still being played in the radio all the time.
That's funny that they have a greatest hits album! How many albums do they actually have anyway? Like three? Not including ones released posthumously. Or whatever the hell that word is!!! Serves me right for trying to expand my vocabulary.
They have four albums: Bleach, Nevermind, In Utero and Incestecide which is a collection of early songs and 'bootlegs'. After Kurt died Unplugged, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah and the Greatest Hits were released
Quoted from Bruno, posted August 4, 2004, 8:13pm at here
Their second album 'Nevermind' is the best way to start. I'm sure you'll recognize songs like 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Come As You Are' and 'Lithium' because they are still being played in the radio all the time.
No. Buy Bleach, Unplugged, or In Utero. Nevermind sucks.
Quoted from Zep_Fan, posted August 12, 2004, 1:18pm at here
No. Buy Bleach, Unplugged, or In Utero. Nevermind sucks.
No. He wants to get into Nirvana and the best way to start is with either Nevermind or the Greatest Hits. If you don't like nevermind that's ok but you need to be objective when somebody is asking what's the best 'first' album to buy.
Why does Nevermind suck? Because people actually bought it? Because it brought grunge to the masses? The album was groundbreaking. It's been copied ad nauseum so it may not sound 'fresh' to people just listening, but when it first hit there was nothing else like it. It's an awsome album. One of the best ever made. Maybe you had to be there to really get it. Oh well, whatever, nevermind.
I LOVE Nirvana. They are most definitly one of my favorites. A particularly good example of their talent is Nevermind and Mtv Unplugged cds. I also like the box set and I frequently steal it from my sister
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