Nirvana: Nevermind

     It seems impossible that next year will be the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. I believe next year Nirvana will be eligible for the Rock Hall, as well. My oldest daughter was a baby when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" dominated MTV. The first time I saw that video was the middle of the night while trying to rock her back to sleep. I couldn't really understand any of the lyrics, but it sounded awesome. Now my daughter is a senior at Wayne State University. Damn, I'm getting old. Kurt Cobain didn't get old, though. Ironically, that's what makes Nirvana great and a lock to get into the Rock Hall on their first try. Nirvana's legacy is Bleach, Nevermind, In Utero, Incesticide, some live recordings and a box set. Were Kurt still alive who knows what direction they would have taken the past 20 years. They may have broke up and then had a reunion tour this year. They may have kept going with a new drummer when Dave Grohl left to start his own band. Kurt might have gone solo and become a boring singer/songwriter. Instead, Kurt will be remembered as a young man who was the voice of his generation.
     Nevermind came out at an important time in my life, musically. In the late 80's, I had had my fill of hair metal bands and I detested Guns 'N' Roses and Metallica. I went back to R.E.M.'s early albums to regain my musical bearings. Then I was drawn to the jangly rock of The Smithereens and the power pop, dashed with wry humor, of The Pursuit Of Happiness. So I was transitioning from metal to alternative right before Nevermind came out. This was the perfect album, because it blended hard rock and alternative rock with the pop sensibility of The Beatles. The songs were all over tv and the radio. Smells Like Teen Spirit. In Bloom. Lithium. Polly. Come As You Are. Unfortunately, I can't listen to "Come As You Are" anymore. I've heard it too many times and the line where he sings "I swear I don't have a gun" bothers me. My other favorites from Nevermind are "Breed", "Drain You", "Lounge Act" and "On A Plain". "On A Plain" has one of my favorite lines: "love myself better than you, I know it's wrong but what should I do? ".  It's popular now for hipsters to crap on Nevermind and claim that Bleach or In Utero were better, but it's an amazing album. My oldest daughter already likes Nirvana, so I recommend that my other kids listen to every cd and watch every concert dvd in my Nirvana collection. I was going to talk about Grunge and Foo Fighters in this post, but I'll save those for another day. Instead, I'll close with my favorite non-Nevermind Nirvana songs. Peace.

Bleach
     * About A Girl- the album version is 1000x better than the unplugged version. Very Beatlesque.
     * Downer

In Utero
     * Serve The Servants- Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old.
     * Heart-Shaped Box- favorite all-time Nirvana lyric: throw down your umbilical noose so I can
        climb right back.
     * Pennyroyal Tea

Incesticide

     * Dive
     * Aneurysm

Box Set

     * Sappy- I have no idea why this wasn't on an album or a huge hit. Stunning!
     * Marigold- This is why Dave Grohl had to have his own band.