for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

NFT: Nirvana Nevermind 30 years old today

Mr. Nickels : 9/24/2021 10:39 am
On this date in 1991 music history would change with the release of Nirvana's Nevermind.

Also on this date Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Pixies Trompe Le Monde were released.
Pages: 1 2 3 | Show All |  Next>>
I was 21  
JonC : 9/24/2021 10:43 am : link
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.
RE: I was 21  
Jints in Carolina : 9/24/2021 10:45 am : link
In comment 15381110 JonC said:
Quote:
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.


Same. I was never a big fan.
Man,  
FranknWeezer : 9/24/2021 10:50 am : link
what a trio of albums.
I was born in March 89  
Bear vs Shark : 9/24/2021 10:54 am : link
so I wasn't around to witness any of the broader cultural impact this album had. But what I can say is that this album is probably the most important in my life, and is entirely the reason that I am a musician today. Inspired me to pick up guitar, got me into "music" as a hobby (not just as a player, but as a listener), and completely changed my life.

My uncle definitely had no idea what he was doing to me when he gave me his old copies of Nevermind and In Utero.

I fucking love Nirvana, I fucking love Kurt, Krist, and Dave, and these records, for being 30 years old, just do not sound very dated at all. It's crazy.

I've got mixed feelings on the Nirvana smiley being a fashion brand/icon now, but hey, I'll take it if it keeps them "cool" and relevant.
I was 16, and Nirvana definitely touched the teenage angst nerve  
mfsd : 9/24/2021 10:55 am : link
for me. They were a staple of the high school pre-game mix tapes. Hard to believe it's been 30 years.
the Use Your Illusion  
Enzo : 9/24/2021 10:59 am : link
albums came out the week before. It was a great time to be a kid. While in my little universe nobody had heard of Nirvana yet - people were pumped for the new Chili Pepper album. And everyone I knew was waiting all summer for the Guns albums.
I was 12, it completely rocked my world  
The Jake : 9/24/2021 11:09 am : link
Most of what I was listening to at the time was late 80s metal, and despite GnR's efforts (I viewed them as rebels, yet they were a little "hair metal" themselves at the beginning) there was still a huge "glam" aspect to the music.

Bon Jovi, Def Leopard, Whitesnake, Poison, etc., they all went out of their way to look good (or so they thought at the time), and all followed the same formula - heavy on the hairspray, the riffs, but also the synthesizers.

Then Nirvana comes along and not only do they look like they don't give a shit about anything, but they sound completely different. They're not singing about "girls girls girls" or blowing lines at parties. They sound pissed off. And changed music forever.
...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 9/24/2021 11:11 am : link
One of the more overrated bands in recent memory.
I was 16  
penkap75 : 9/24/2021 11:19 am : link
I liked, but did not love them. More into Slayer and Megadeath at that age.

Ifs funny, 30 years later, I think cheesy hair Metal like Def Leppard has aged better than teenage faux angst grunge stuff like Nirvana.
The original vinyl and CD releases  
NINEster : 9/24/2021 11:25 am : link
had very very good sound quality. Very dynamic, open, good midbass drive. Some of the remasters killed a lot of that sound quality goodness.

And it was a very well sequenced album as well.

A classic in many ways.
RE: ...  
TheBlueprintNC : 9/24/2021 11:38 am : link
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.
Music was about the show, videos , and dress up  
larryflower37 : 9/24/2021 11:44 am : link
Nirvana brought it back to music first.
I think everyone was done with the glam rock garbage.
It was timely
RE: ...  
Stan in LA : 9/24/2021 11:46 am : link
In comment 15381149 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
One of the more overrated bands in recent memory.


Didn't do anything that The Clash and Sex Pistols had already done 2 decades earlier.
RE: Music was about the show, videos , and dress up  
eric2425ny : 9/24/2021 11:48 am : link
In comment 15381213 larryflower37 said:
Quote:
Nirvana brought it back to music first.
I think everyone was done with the glam rock garbage.
It was timely


Agreed, it was a really interesting time for music because you had all of the hair band trash with some good music mixed in like Van Halen in the 80’s. And then GNR was kind of like a bridge from the hair band era to something heavier in like the 88-91 timeframe. Then Nirvana comes in and establishes the grunge era. I mean think about the up and coming bands back then: Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots. What a great time for rock music.
Yeah, for me GnR  
JonC : 9/24/2021 11:50 am : link
was the wake up call that brought it back to the music. Metallica kept me occupied through the 80s along with Iron Maiden. Even though the Use Your Illusion albums might have not matched the hype, I loved and wore them out in '91-92. It's an age/generational perspective thing.
RE: I was 21  
sb from NYT Forum : 9/24/2021 11:53 am : link
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.

RE: RE: ...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 9/24/2021 11:53 am : link
In comment 15381206 TheBlueprintNC said:
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’m old I’m old I’m old  
Mark from Jersey : 9/24/2021 12:05 pm : link
I’m old
......  
Route 9 : 9/24/2021 12:06 pm : link
Get what you mean but Nirvana isn't overrated. I think their stuff still holds up today and can listen to any song on Nevermind 30 years later.

Did they change music? Yeah. Was it for good? That's up for debate.

It's only music though and I don't take any of it personally. Meh.
I have to say...more than just one band  
CooperDash : 9/24/2021 12:07 pm : link
It was the 1991 releases of Pearl Jam/Ten (8/27), Nirvana/Nevermind (9/24), and Soundgarden/Badmotorfinger (10/8) that really ushered in the grunge movement.

I'd argue that Pearl Jam was the most influential but...I'm a massive PJ fan, so I'm clearly biased LOL.

Great year for music - 1991.
......  
Route 9 : 9/24/2021 12:10 pm : link
One funny thing I remember more than anything is the older generation (grandma aunts) in my family fucking HATED Nirvana.
RE: I was 12, it completely rocked my world  
mfsd : 9/24/2021 12:12 pm : link
In comment 15381146 The Jake said:
Quote:
Most of what I was listening to at the time was late 80s metal, and despite GnR's efforts (I viewed them as rebels, yet they were a little "hair metal" themselves at the beginning) there was still a huge "glam" aspect to the music.

Bon Jovi, Def Leopard, Whitesnake, Poison, etc., they all went out of their way to look good (or so they thought at the time), and all followed the same formula - heavy on the hairspray, the riffs, but also the synthesizers.

Then Nirvana comes along and not only do they look like they don't give a shit about anything, but they sound completely different. They're not singing about "girls girls girls" or blowing lines at parties. They sound pissed off. And changed music forever.


Very well said, and good comparison between hair bands of the 80s (who I loved) and the difference with Nirvana
I laugh when I read they are/were overrated  
UConn4523 : 9/24/2021 12:15 pm : link
its ok to not like them, but to not recognize their importance and relevance is a bit ridiculous. Their impact on grunge music, and the recovery of rock from the hair band era alone was a good thing. They made punk rock mainstream. Tons of bands owe a lot to Nirvana, the industry just wouldn't be the same without them. As for their songs, they have so many great ones that "overrated" is something I laugh at. Not everything is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (which is actually awesome regardless of it being played out).

It's funny because them being a huge mainstream success is a juxtaposition of why they even made music to begin with. Add in that now its cool to not like things that are mainstream and thats where I think some of the dislike comes from (and the reverse juxtaposition, coincidentally).
It’s  
Les in TO : 9/24/2021 12:17 pm : link
An iconic album that defined a generation. I still love listening to Nirvana Pearl Jam Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins.
RE: Music was about the show, videos , and dress up  
Enzo : 9/24/2021 12:19 pm : link
In comment 15381213 larryflower37 said:
Quote:
Nirvana brought it back to music first.
I think everyone was done with the glam rock garbage.
It was timely

agree that Nirvana and the like had more of an emphasis on substance over style, but the grunge bads definitely had an "image" that was a conscious choice.
image is always a choice  
UConn4523 : 9/24/2021 12:22 pm : link
they just didn't care about looking good and having a mass appeal. That was part of what "grunge" personified. Now they eventually got popular and appealing despite it, but that always seemed like an unintended result especially after watching a couple Nirvana/Cobain docs.
I guess that, if you weren't there at the right age....  
Greg from LI : 9/24/2021 12:26 pm : link
..you don't get the hoopla. I was not quite 15 when Nevermind was released and it was incredible. Most of the rock that was around in the years preceding it was either old bands from the 60s and 70s or cheesy hair metal. There was a lot of lame top 40 pap too. Nirvana seemed so raw and real in comparison. They looked and dressed like ordinary guys, unlike the hair metal bands with their big hair, spandex, leather pants, etc. And Kurt Cobain may not have been a guitar god, but he was a great songwriter. He had a gift for creating music that could be angry and abrasive, yet still catchy.

Since someone mentioned Pearl Jam - it's funny, but it was pretty rare for someone to be a big fan of both of them. Generally you were either a Nirvana guy or a Pearl Jam guy. I thought PJ was OK but nothing special.
Overrated?  
Tim in Eternal Blue : 9/24/2021 12:26 pm : link

Fuck that's a terrible take.
RE: RE: I was 21  
Enzo : 9/24/2021 12:26 pm : link
In comment 15381227 sb from NYT Forum said:
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.
I think they are somewhat overrated too  
widmerseyebrow : 9/24/2021 12:32 pm : link
I grew up with that era of music and I liked Nirvana. A lot at some points. But they didn't singlehandedly take grunge mainstream. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam...

If we're being honest I think Cobain's death catapulted them to another level of fame because of the "What could have been" factor.

Good to great band, but the comments that swing toward idolatry are just over the top for me personally. A number of their hits, their lyrics just don't hold up now that I'm not an angsty kid and that's a big measuring stick for me: do I still enjoy the music now that I'm a different person?
They just put up pre-orders  
JonC : 9/24/2021 12:35 pm : link
for 30th anniversary releases of different sets, fwiw, on Amazon etc.
Kurt was also ahead of his time  
The Jake : 9/24/2021 12:35 pm : link
in terms of the way he viewed gender roles, women and the anti-objectification of a woman's body.

"Polly" for example, is about a real life rape, but he changed the story to empower the victim even more. Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, it was a warning for what has now become "incel" culture.
......  
Route 9 : 9/24/2021 12:38 pm : link
If you went up to anyone who has been alive for more than 35 years, and asked them what the biggest song was of the 90s, my guess would is it would be hard to find someone who didn't say Smells Like Teen Spirit. Or maybe the Macarena?

What people are not remembering is how big the VIDEO was at the time. I remember everyone in the neighborhood screaming when that video came on MTV lol
......  
Route 9 : 9/24/2021 12:40 pm : link
Yeah. I like Nirvana and I like GNR. I don't have a memory of not knowing who they are.
RE: I think they are somewhat overrated too  
UConn4523 : 9/24/2021 12:54 pm : link
In comment 15381286 widmerseyebrow said:
Quote:
I grew up with that era of music and I liked Nirvana. A lot at some points. But they didn't singlehandedly take grunge mainstream. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam...

If we're being honest I think Cobain's death catapulted them to another level of fame because of the "What could have been" factor.

Good to great band, but the comments that swing toward idolatry are just over the top for me personally. A number of their hits, their lyrics just don't hold up now that I'm not an angsty kid and that's a big measuring stick for me: do I still enjoy the music now that I'm a different person?


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).
RE: I laugh when I read they are/were overrated  
Route 9 : 9/24/2021 12:56 pm : link
In comment 15381258 UConn4523 said:
Quote:
its ok to not like them, but to not recognize their importance and relevance is a bit ridiculous. Their impact on grunge music, and the recovery of rock from the hair band era alone was a good thing. They made punk rock mainstream. Tons of bands owe a lot to Nirvana, the industry just wouldn't be the same without them. As for their songs, they have so many great ones that "overrated" is something I laugh at. Not everything is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (which is actually awesome regardless of it being played out).

It's funny because them being a huge mainstream success is a juxtaposition of why they even made music to begin with. Add in that now its cool to not like things that are mainstream and thats where I think some of the dislike comes from (and the reverse juxtaposition, coincidentally).


Grandiose assessment there, my high-minded friend. The juxtaposition of these two musical symbols make it easy to gulp. Ergo - the sun beating down on the mayonnaise that we called the music industry is now a .... How do we say ... - h- uxtopostion, actually.
RE: I was 21  
Section331 : 9/24/2021 12:56 pm : link
In comment 15381110 JonC said:
Quote:
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.


I was 30 and was blown away the first time I heard the record.
RE: RE: ...  
Section331 : 9/24/2021 1:01 pm : link
In comment 15381216 Stan in LA said:
Quote:
In comment 15381149 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


One of the more overrated bands in recent memory.



Didn't do anything that The Clash and Sex Pistols had already done 2 decades earlier.


It's generational. One could argue that the Clash and Sex Pistols hadn't done anything the Who hadn't done 15 years earlier.

The fact is that Nirvana spoke to that era's younger generation in the way that Clash/Pistols did 2 decades earlier.
I was in my late 20s  
Dr. D : 9/24/2021 1:05 pm : link
and was happy to finally hear something new. Something that wasn't classic rock (though greatest era imo and I still listen to deep tracks, most stations overplay hits), wasn't hair band shit, vanilla pop or whatever else was being made at the time. Nothing personal to GNR fans, but Axel's voice was fingernails on chalkboard to me. Just a personal thing.
I think Nirvana got better after nevermind.  
larryflower37 : 9/24/2021 1:17 pm : link
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?
RE: I guess that, if you weren't there at the right age....  
KDavies : 9/24/2021 1:32 pm : link
In comment 15381272 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
..you don't get the hoopla. I was not quite 15 when Nevermind was released and it was incredible. Most of the rock that was around in the years preceding it was either old bands from the 60s and 70s or cheesy hair metal. There was a lot of lame top 40 pap too. Nirvana seemed so raw and real in comparison. They looked and dressed like ordinary guys, unlike the hair metal bands with their big hair, spandex, leather pants, etc. And Kurt Cobain may not have been a guitar god, but he was a great songwriter. He had a gift for creating music that could be angry and abrasive, yet still catchy.

Since someone mentioned Pearl Jam - it's funny, but it was pretty rare for someone to be a big fan of both of them. Generally you were either a Nirvana guy or a Pearl Jam guy. I thought PJ was OK but nothing special.


Agreed with most of what you said, but I love both Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Listened the shit out of those albums.
I hate Nirvana! They killed hair bands!  
Dr. D : 9/24/2021 1:36 pm : link
a local band once rented a small building from me a few hrs a week, for practice. I once stopped in to listen (mistakenly thinking they were a rock cover band). They played all hair band stuff (this was around '04-05). Afterwards, they asked me what I thought.

I tried to be nice (didn't tell them I hate hair bands), told the band leader it was good, but maybe they could add a different song or two to widen their appeal to the locals (our town isn't huge). He said like what? I said (while trying to suggest something somewhat contemporary), I don't know, maybe some Nirvana. The subject line above was his response.

Allllrightythen. I had to laugh.
.  
Danny Kanell : 9/24/2021 1:39 pm : link
I agree with this

Quote:
Since someone mentioned Pearl Jam - it's funny, but it was pretty rare for someone to be a big fan of both of them. Generally you were either a Nirvana guy or a Pearl Jam guy. I thought PJ was OK but nothing special.


I was/is a huge Pearl Jam guy and I've never been a huge Nirvana fan.

I will say though, I think Nirvana's Unplugged was far and away the best Unplugged MTV ever put out and one of my favorite performances of all time. Alice in Chains' Unplugged was 2nd.
RE: I think Nirvana got better after nevermind.  
KDavies : 9/24/2021 1:40 pm : link
In comment 15381356 larryflower37 said:
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?


Unplugged is unreal, IMO. One of my favorite albums of anyone.
RE: I was 21  
montanagiant : 9/24/2021 1:43 pm : link
In comment 15381110 JonC said:
Quote:
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.

I never got into them until 15 years after this album came out. Did not like Grunge rock when it first came out but that changed 15 years later
RE: I was 21  
rnargi : 9/24/2021 1:44 pm : link
In comment 15381110 JonC said:
Quote:
but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.


I was 19...and I heard an advance copy of "Smells like..." about 4 months before it was released. I liked it and hated it at the same time, and I *knew* instinctively it was going to be huge.
RE: I think Nirvana got better after nevermind.  
penkap75 : 9/24/2021 1:45 pm : link
In comment 15381356 larryflower37 said:
Quote:

Do we know Alice in chains if there was no Nirvana and pearl jam?


AIC had Facelift out in 1990 way before Nevermind.
I was a metal head and AIC was popular on the local college metal station (Seton Hall WSOU). I always thought it was weird AIC was lumped with the other grunge bands just because they were from Seattle, but they were much heavier.

And Peal Jam (which I don't like) is straight rock. They never sounded grungy to me.
RE: RE: I was 21  
JonC : 9/24/2021 1:48 pm : link
In comment 15381385 montanagiant said:
Quote:
In comment 15381110 JonC said:


Quote:


but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.


I never got into them until 15 years after this album came out. Did not like Grunge rock when it first came out but that changed 15 years later


I dug the grunge bands who you could trace from the rock music I grew up loving, eg, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Queensryche. Hated the hair bands, THEY killed rock music imv. Look at how many young people in the generations after that seemed to move over to hip hop. Their choices were hair or grunge and they bolted.
RE: RE: I was 21  
rnargi : 9/24/2021 1:48 pm : link
In comment 15381387 rnargi said:
Quote:
In comment 15381110 JonC said:


Quote:


but never really got the Nirvana explosion. Guess I was too old already.



I was 19...and I heard an advance copy of "Smells like..." about 4 months before it was released. I liked it and hated it at the same time, and I *knew* instinctively it was going to be huge.


Mistyped...I was 29.
I think Alice in Chains  
Mark from Jersey : 9/24/2021 1:52 pm : link
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.
Pages: 1 2 3 | Show All |  Next>>
Back to the Corner