YOURZ
I knew who Nirvana were before Nevermind sent them into the stratosphere of rock. I was one of those early adopters who bought Bleach and was blown away by their punk-rock-meets-Pixies-pop stylings. My band at the time (hello former Scruffs!) did a cover of Love Buzz, inspired by their cover. But then along came this album. And it changed everything.
Nevermind was such a huge cross-over hit, the music industry had to change the way it was doing business. Suddenly, 'indie' no longer inspired visuals of sweaty, long-haired lads tooling around the country in a exhaust-spewing van, surviving on bong-loads, beer and biscuits. Now, every major label was stampeding over each other to find another Nirvana (I love the irony of these words).
Arguably, without Nirvana, bands like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins (and so many more, I could be here for days making a list) wouldn't have found the fame they have done. While these and many others that followed have had sterling careers, none have had the impact Nirvana has had. They are indeed, for the want of a stupid, simple analogy, the Gen-X answer to The Beatles.
I was fortunate enough to see Nirvana live at the ANU Refectory in Canberra in the summer of 1992. There were only 2000 tickets available for this show but another 1000 kids crushed each other against the glass windows, trying to get a glimpse of the band. When some kids broke a window and poured through, a happy riot ensued. None of us ticket-holders could begrudge them a chance to see this band live. But little did we know it would be the first and last time the band made it to Australia.
I can't remember exactly what songs they played, but I do remember when they played Smells Like Teen Spirit, the venue became a single bouncing entity. I honestly had never experienced anything like this before, and haven't since. And I'm sure if Kurt knew this, it would make him smile.
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MINE
So... what can I add after that? I have to admit, when this album came out I was firmly entrenched in dance culture, and really didn't get it at all. I think it took the MTV Unplugged session a couple of years later to reveal to me how good a singer Cobain was and how well he wrote. And now? I love it. The beautiful moment when rock and pop co-exist in perfect symbiosis. Also shows off what a kick-arse drummer Dave Grohl is.
Essential.
VERDICT: TURN IT UP
