english high school class party. A heavy metal girl played Smells Like Teen Spirit off a cassette. I thought it sounded good and probably got the album for Christmas that year. It wasn't a life changing event for me getting the album. I still listened to Guns 'n Roses most of the time when I'd listen to music. Definitely ended up having a major impact on what I listened too though. Within a two years I was listening to Pearl Jam and STP and the Green Day hit.
As an aside, I thought I should listen to it today and see what I think. Back then I wasn't much of a music fan. I would listen to the hit songs from an album vs. the whole thing so I cannot say for sure I ever listened to the whole album start to finish. Somehow, it isn't on my phone. I'll have to rummage through the CD collection in the basement later. I am shocked I never ripped that album. The only song I have by them is You Know Your Right on my phone.
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.
I was 22. Funny at the time (i.e. September 1991) it didn't feel seismic, I just thought it was a good indy hard rock album like a bunch that had been coming out since 1989 or thereabouts. Like form Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc.
The seismic shift happened in the following weeks when it completely saturated popular consciousness.
It didn't feel "seismic" or immediate to me either. There was a big overlap with Guns n Roses as they were still a huge band for at least the next 2 years as they toured. And, as you said, there was stuff coming prior to Nevermind. AIC and Jane's were all over MTV prior to Nevermind coming out.
And of course you could hear tons of alternative (or whatever you want to call it) music on WDRE.
and was more a classic rock guy who disliked the glam era while some of my friends loved it. For me music GN&R really started bringing music back, they had a glam look but didn't play glam.
I enjoyed a lot of what followed once grunge came out because it was heavier and darker but some of it came off as woe is me whining. I still listen to it but not as much.
Was the best of the Seattle bands. STP was grouped with grunge but it was not grunge IMO. Another great band from that era. Nirvana was my least favorite of the Seattle bands.
I am pretty close to you on this. A guy I worked with was a singer in a STP cover band back then too- lol
RE: RE: I think Nirvana got better after nevermind.
I thought "in utero" was well done probably better in my mind than nevermind.
The unplugged album/concert blew me away.
I think they were really developing when Cobain died.
They get a lot of credit for a major shift in rock music at the time not sure if it was warranted but it did make people look for a different kind of music.
I led to a lot of band getting record deals that would not of 5 years before.
Do we know Alice in chains if there was no Nirvana and pearl jam?
Man in the Box was a legit hit before Nevermind even came out. Yes there was a post-grunge wave of wannabees...but AIC was certainly not in that group. Although I would agree they did get a nice bump in popularity due to being associated with Nirvana, etc.
I agree I had facelift in 1990 and was a big fan but it never took off until Nirvana hit. The single start charting in 1991
I think people were looking for that sound.
Soundgarden was around before Nirvana I saw them at the beacon in 90 they got a pretty big bump from the explosion of the Seattle scene started by Nirvana.
Was the best of the Seattle bands. STP was grouped with grunge but it was not grunge IMO. Another great band from that era. Nirvana was my least favorite of the Seattle bands.
I always favored Soundgarden and AiC myself as well. I see I'm not alone wondering why STP is lumped in with the Seattle grunge guys.
RE: Soundgarden was the first Seattle band to sign to a major label
Changed the face of music = overrated lol
Introduced Dave Grohl and Only Started a whole new era of music.
Nirvana changed the face of music? LOL. Sure.
What, lol. They very obviously and pretty clearly did.
I can't believe this thread is 66 posts long. I don't know why anyone gives a shit when some dipshits on BBI have to say about Nirvana when everyone actually involved in music knows what the deal is.
I could have sworn he said Soundgarden and Pearl Jam all released their albums this month (and Stern was quoting Lars Ulrich from Metalica) ... that changed music.
Those 3 albums were all released within 6-7 weeks of each other? - the same year. That is amazing.
I didn't read all the previous post - not sure if others have mentioned this?
I could have sworn he said Soundgarden and Pearl Jam all released their albums this month (and Stern was quoting Lars Ulrich from Metalica) ... that changed music.
Those 3 albums were all released within 6-7 weeks of each other? - the same year. That is amazing.
I didn't read all the previous post - not sure if others have mentioned this?
Yeah, just what I thought while I was typing - a few people already did mention it. Oh well, I concur.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik came out that same month too
Smells Like Teen Spirit was the first single, and the monster hit, but it wasn't expected to be. DGC thought it was too aggressive to be a big hit but thought it would create a buzz around the band. Come As You Are is the one the label thought would be a big hit.
but to me they were a band that had a drummer that was in Scream and let Pat Smear from the Germs join. The changing music and image happened with that group of bands 10 years earlier for me.
I got In Utero on clear vinyl when it came out. It is going for $450 on Discogs now.
Many of Nirvana's best songs were B-sides, from obscure EPs, or unreleased. My favorite Nirvana songs are Oh The Guilt, which was from a split single with The Jesus Lizard, and Verse Chorus Verse from the box set.
I wouldn't conflate their success and popularity pre and post death of Cobain, both were massive. It would be like saying Tupac and Biggie were overrated in hip hop and their deaths made them more what they were. BIG only had 2 studio albums and he's pretty much the biggest hip hop icon of the 90's (that's arguable, but he's up there if not #1).
Definitely wasn't implying that they weren't popular before Cobain died. They were.
I just think the reflection on their place in rock obviously started early and at the height of their popularity. My main point is I see them as one of many good bands of the era, not the sole face of it or definition of it.
I think it would have been really interesting to see how their sound would have matured. Pearl Jam changed quite a bit from Ten to where they are now.
RE: Also, while it's a bit of a cliche to say something like this
Many of Nirvana's best songs were B-sides, from obscure EPs, or unreleased. My favorite Nirvana songs are Oh The Guilt, which was from a split single with The Jesus Lizard, and Verse Chorus Verse from the box set.
If I remember correctly Verse Chorus Verse was originally on the Beavis and Butthead soundtrack. All these lesser known songs were good, and seem like gems, because Nirvana produced no bad songs. Cobain was a genius songwriter. He wrote the lyrics to Bleach a few hours before the recording session. he allegedly wrote the whole Live Through This album by Hole pretty quickly.
RE: RE: RE: I think they are somewhat overrated too
I wouldn't conflate their success and popularity pre and post death of Cobain, both were massive. It would be like saying Tupac and Biggie were overrated in hip hop and their deaths made them more what they were. BIG only had 2 studio albums and he's pretty much the biggest hip hop icon of the 90's (that's arguable, but he's up there if not #1).
Definitely wasn't implying that they weren't popular before Cobain died. They were.
I just think the reflection on their place in rock obviously started early and at the height of their popularity. My main point is I see them as one of many good bands of the era, not the sole face of it or definition of it.
I think it would have been really interesting to see how their sound would have matured. Pearl Jam changed quite a bit from Ten to where they are now.
They were the face. They will always be the face of early 90s rock. Many may prefer Pearl Jam. I don't blame them. Pearl Jam was a good band playing very familiar music derivative of classic rock. Nirvana was a lot more fresh than that. Sure they drew from REM and the Pixies, but it was bold music, metal via punk. And the lyrics revealed an artist struggling with inner demons.
The one on the B&B album was I Hate Myself and Want to Die
They actually called two different songs Verse Chorus Verse. One was recorded for In Utero but dropped and then released as the hidden track on the No Alternative album.
The title that one is known by today is Sappy. The other one was recorded years earlier for their 1990 demo but abandoned after that. I guess they just liked the title.
RE: The one on the B&B album was I Hate Myself and Want to Die
They actually called two different songs Verse Chorus Verse. One was recorded for In Utero but dropped and then released as the hidden track on the No Alternative album.
The title that one is known by today is Sappy. The other one was recorded years earlier for their 1990 demo but abandoned after that. I guess they just liked the title.
right.. yes I have that No Alternative album somewhere in storage. It's all coming back to me now.. sorta..
I can't believe this thread is 66 posts long. I don't know why anyone gives a shit when some dipshits on BBI have to say about Nirvana when everyone actually involved in music knows what the deal is.
The music discussion threads are the best threads on BBI.
Plus you have learned a ton from me over the years.
A school within your own tugboat heart, forever, wrapped within lava flow.
30 years later. If you don't get it fine, but the avatar for an entire genre of music might be an important band.
I was 25 when this came out. What a welcome shot to head this thing was. For the first time, I felt like I listened to music that was mine, not crap people in the 60s or 70s made. It was ours.
RE: What does overrated mean? I mean here we are, talking about it
30 years later. If you don't get it fine, but the avatar for an entire genre of music might be an important band.
I was 25 when this came out. What a welcome shot to head this thing was. For the first time, I felt like I listened to music that was mine, not crap people in the 60s or 70s made. It was ours.
Bingo, dude. I was 26 when it came out. it was a musical earthquake, though it was building on the likes of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Husker Du, etc.
RE: The one on the B&B album was I Hate Myself and Want to Die
They actually called two different songs Verse Chorus Verse. One was recorded for In Utero but dropped and then released as the hidden track on the No Alternative album.
The title that one is known by today is Sappy. The other one was recorded years earlier for their 1990 demo but abandoned after that. I guess they just liked the title.
I hate myself and want to die is one of the GREATEST nirvana songs. Can't believe it was a B-Side
RE: Also, while it's a bit of a cliche to say something like this
Many of Nirvana's best songs were B-sides, from obscure EPs, or unreleased. My favorite Nirvana songs are Oh The Guilt, which was from a split single with The Jesus Lizard, and Verse Chorus Verse from the box set.
Oh the Guilt is another classic. Curmudgeon was another sick song. Didn't know you were a fellow Nirvana geek
I can't believe this thread is 66 posts long. I don't know why anyone gives a shit when some dipshits on BBI have to say about Nirvana when everyone actually involved in music knows what the deal is.
The music discussion threads are the best threads on BBI.
Plus you have learned a ton from me over the years.
A school within your own tugboat heart, forever, wrapped within lava flow.
I wrote that because I saw the post length and the dumbass post about Nirvana being "overrated" and thought that was most of what the thread consisted of.
but they got taken by MTV and absorbed into their library when I was working on a secret Nirvana documentary project about 20 years ago.
How did they get them?
I loaned them to the production. I thought they would just copy them and give them back but they locked them up and my guess, over the years, filed them in archives with all the other footage they acquired. I felt bad asking for them back. It was a great opportunity to work on that project and it led to some even better stuff. I can't complain.
They had unbelievable footage of the band from the early days that nobody had ever seen. A lot of it has been released since, like Nirvana playing in a record store before they were signed, shit like that. And home movies of them sleeping in a van and crashing at a friend's house after a gig on the road.
Was any of it on the "With the Lights Out" boxset that came out in 2004? I got that for Christmas that same year it came out.
yes I think so. I don't know that box in particular but I started to see that footage around the time of the box's release. For all I know all the footage that wowed me has now been released. The record store performance is out there. I got to watch the raw footage. And I think a lot of the home video was released in some form. Plus there were tons of performances, a lot of which are now on youtube.
30 years later. If you don't get it fine, but the avatar for an entire genre of music might be an important band.
I was 25 when this came out. What a welcome shot to head this thing was. For the first time, I felt like I listened to music that was mine, not crap people in the 60s or 70s made. It was ours.
Bingo, dude. I was 26 when it came out. it was a musical earthquake, though it was building on the likes of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Husker Du, etc.
That's kind of what I was getting at with my first post on this thread. I was an alt rock fan, so this was a build on things that were going on in the late 80s, at least that's how I felt when it came out.
But the real thing was that people who didn't follow Husker Du, the Replacements etc. started listening and it exploded from there.
Many of Nirvana's best songs were B-sides, from obscure EPs, or unreleased. My favorite Nirvana songs are Oh The Guilt, which was from a split single with The Jesus Lizard, and Verse Chorus Verse from the box set.
Oh the Guilt is another classic. Curmudgeon was another sick song. Didn't know you were a fellow Nirvana geek
Oh yeah. Nevermind came out when I was a sophomore in high school and I spent most of high school and college being obsessed with them. Back then, finding bootleg CDs like the Outcesticide series was so much fun.
The internet definitely killed the search for the import and
As an aside, I thought I should listen to it today and see what I think. Back then I wasn't much of a music fan. I would listen to the hit songs from an album vs. the whole thing so I cannot say for sure I ever listened to the whole album start to finish. Somehow, it isn't on my phone. I'll have to rummage through the CD collection in the basement later. I am shocked I never ripped that album. The only song I have by them is You Know Your Right on my phone.
Quote:
In comment 15381110 JonC said:
Quote:
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.
I was 22. Funny at the time (i.e. September 1991) it didn't feel seismic, I just thought it was a good indy hard rock album like a bunch that had been coming out since 1989 or thereabouts. Like form Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc.
The seismic shift happened in the following weeks when it completely saturated popular consciousness.
It didn't feel "seismic" or immediate to me either. There was a big overlap with Guns n Roses as they were still a huge band for at least the next 2 years as they toured. And, as you said, there was stuff coming prior to Nevermind. AIC and Jane's were all over MTV prior to Nevermind coming out.
And of course you could hear tons of alternative (or whatever you want to call it) music on WDRE.
Man, I miss WLIR/WDRE
I enjoyed a lot of what followed once grunge came out because it was heavier and darker but some of it came off as woe is me whining. I still listen to it but not as much.
I am pretty close to you on this. A guy I worked with was a singer in a STP cover band back then too- lol
Quote:
I thought "in utero" was well done probably better in my mind than nevermind.
The unplugged album/concert blew me away.
I think they were really developing when Cobain died.
They get a lot of credit for a major shift in rock music at the time not sure if it was warranted but it did make people look for a different kind of music.
I led to a lot of band getting record deals that would not of 5 years before.
Do we know Alice in chains if there was no Nirvana and pearl jam?
Man in the Box was a legit hit before Nevermind even came out. Yes there was a post-grunge wave of wannabees...but AIC was certainly not in that group. Although I would agree they did get a nice bump in popularity due to being associated with Nirvana, etc.
I agree I had facelift in 1990 and was a big fan but it never took off until Nirvana hit. The single start charting in 1991
I think people were looking for that sound.
Soundgarden was around before Nirvana I saw them at the beacon in 90 they got a pretty big bump from the explosion of the Seattle scene started by Nirvana.
I always favored Soundgarden and AiC myself as well. I see I'm not alone wondering why STP is lumped in with the Seattle grunge guys.
I always thought it was Mother Love Bone - but you might be right.
Quote:
In comment 15381149 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
One of the more overrated bands in recent memory.
Changed the face of music = overrated lol
Introduced Dave Grohl and Only Started a whole new era of music.
Nirvana changed the face of music? LOL. Sure.
I can't believe this thread is 66 posts long. I don't know why anyone gives a shit when some dipshits on BBI have to say about Nirvana when everyone actually involved in music knows what the deal is.
I could have sworn he said Soundgarden and Pearl Jam all released their albums this month (and Stern was quoting Lars Ulrich from Metalica) ... that changed music.
Those 3 albums were all released within 6-7 weeks of each other? - the same year. That is amazing.
I didn't read all the previous post - not sure if others have mentioned this?
I could have sworn he said Soundgarden and Pearl Jam all released their albums this month (and Stern was quoting Lars Ulrich from Metalica) ... that changed music.
Those 3 albums were all released within 6-7 weeks of each other? - the same year. That is amazing.
I didn't read all the previous post - not sure if others have mentioned this?
Yeah, just what I thought while I was typing - a few people already did mention it. Oh well, I concur.
92' Lollapalooza was RHCP, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Saw it a Jones beach.
I saw Nirvana twice at Roseland. They were an incredible live act. Heavy power chords married to a punk vibe.
I got In Utero on clear vinyl when it came out. It is going for $450 on Discogs now.
Definitely wasn't implying that they weren't popular before Cobain died. They were.
I just think the reflection on their place in rock obviously started early and at the height of their popularity. My main point is I see them as one of many good bands of the era, not the sole face of it or definition of it.
I think it would have been really interesting to see how their sound would have matured. Pearl Jam changed quite a bit from Ten to where they are now.
If I remember correctly Verse Chorus Verse was originally on the Beavis and Butthead soundtrack. All these lesser known songs were good, and seem like gems, because Nirvana produced no bad songs. Cobain was a genius songwriter. He wrote the lyrics to Bleach a few hours before the recording session. he allegedly wrote the whole Live Through This album by Hole pretty quickly.
Quote:
I wouldn't conflate their success and popularity pre and post death of Cobain, both were massive. It would be like saying Tupac and Biggie were overrated in hip hop and their deaths made them more what they were. BIG only had 2 studio albums and he's pretty much the biggest hip hop icon of the 90's (that's arguable, but he's up there if not #1).
Definitely wasn't implying that they weren't popular before Cobain died. They were.
I just think the reflection on their place in rock obviously started early and at the height of their popularity. My main point is I see them as one of many good bands of the era, not the sole face of it or definition of it.
I think it would have been really interesting to see how their sound would have matured. Pearl Jam changed quite a bit from Ten to where they are now.
They were the face. They will always be the face of early 90s rock. Many may prefer Pearl Jam. I don't blame them. Pearl Jam was a good band playing very familiar music derivative of classic rock. Nirvana was a lot more fresh than that. Sure they drew from REM and the Pixies, but it was bold music, metal via punk. And the lyrics revealed an artist struggling with inner demons.
The title that one is known by today is Sappy. The other one was recorded years earlier for their 1990 demo but abandoned after that. I guess they just liked the title.
The title that one is known by today is Sappy. The other one was recorded years earlier for their 1990 demo but abandoned after that. I guess they just liked the title.
right.. yes I have that No Alternative album somewhere in storage. It's all coming back to me now.. sorta..
The music discussion threads are the best threads on BBI.
Plus you have learned a ton from me over the years.
A school within your own tugboat heart, forever, wrapped within lava flow.
It’s a fantastic album. It wasn’t what pulled my into RCHP because of my age but whenever I’m in the mood for that harder funk, there’s no substitute.
I was 25 when this came out. What a welcome shot to head this thing was. For the first time, I felt like I listened to music that was mine, not crap people in the 60s or 70s made. It was ours.
I was 25 when this came out. What a welcome shot to head this thing was. For the first time, I felt like I listened to music that was mine, not crap people in the 60s or 70s made. It was ours.
Bingo, dude. I was 26 when it came out. it was a musical earthquake, though it was building on the likes of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Husker Du, etc.
The title that one is known by today is Sappy. The other one was recorded years earlier for their 1990 demo but abandoned after that. I guess they just liked the title.
Quote:
I can't believe this thread is 66 posts long. I don't know why anyone gives a shit when some dipshits on BBI have to say about Nirvana when everyone actually involved in music knows what the deal is.
The music discussion threads are the best threads on BBI.
Plus you have learned a ton from me over the years.
A school within your own tugboat heart, forever, wrapped within lava flow.
my bad, go on with the chlorophyll
How did they get them?
Quote:
but they got taken by MTV and absorbed into their library when I was working on a secret Nirvana documentary project about 20 years ago.
How did they get them?
I loaned them to the production. I thought they would just copy them and give them back but they locked them up and my guess, over the years, filed them in archives with all the other footage they acquired. I felt bad asking for them back. It was a great opportunity to work on that project and it led to some even better stuff. I can't complain.
They had unbelievable footage of the band from the early days that nobody had ever seen. A lot of it has been released since, like Nirvana playing in a record store before they were signed, shit like that. And home movies of them sleeping in a van and crashing at a friend's house after a gig on the road.
yes I think so. I don't know that box in particular but I started to see that footage around the time of the box's release. For all I know all the footage that wowed me has now been released. The record store performance is out there. I got to watch the raw footage. And I think a lot of the home video was released in some form. Plus there were tons of performances, a lot of which are now on youtube.
Quote:
30 years later. If you don't get it fine, but the avatar for an entire genre of music might be an important band.
I was 25 when this came out. What a welcome shot to head this thing was. For the first time, I felt like I listened to music that was mine, not crap people in the 60s or 70s made. It was ours.
Bingo, dude. I was 26 when it came out. it was a musical earthquake, though it was building on the likes of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Husker Du, etc.
That's kind of what I was getting at with my first post on this thread. I was an alt rock fan, so this was a build on things that were going on in the late 80s, at least that's how I felt when it came out.
But the real thing was that people who didn't follow Husker Du, the Replacements etc. started listening and it exploded from there.
Took me 30 fucking years, but I finally mastered the guitar solo for tornado of souls. And Alice in Chains was the best of all the Seattle bands.
I bet everyone in this thread would love deja entendu by brand new
Quote:
Many of Nirvana's best songs were B-sides, from obscure EPs, or unreleased. My favorite Nirvana songs are Oh The Guilt, which was from a split single with The Jesus Lizard, and Verse Chorus Verse from the box set.
Oh the Guilt is another classic. Curmudgeon was another sick song. Didn't know you were a fellow Nirvana geek
Oh yeah. Nevermind came out when I was a sophomore in high school and I spent most of high school and college being obsessed with them. Back then, finding bootleg CDs like the Outcesticide series was so much fun.
No rock and roll did die in 2010, when Gary Coleman died.
RIP. 1968-2010.