Instant Impact
When Geffen Records’ subsidiary DGC released Nevermind in 1991, its popularity caught the label by surprise. In retrospect, maybe they should have known all along. “There are three things in music—the song, the singer, and the musicians. Nirvana’s Nevermind had all three,” says Mark Hudson, whose numerous credits include writing the Grammy-winning Aerosmith hit “Livin’ on the Edge” and producing albums for Ringo Starr. “The songwriting of Kurt Cobain had the lyrical angst and haunting melodies of a modern John Lennon.” (Note: This is high praise from Hudson, a self-described “John Lennon freak” who knew the late Beatle personally. Here is Mark performing Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” with Earl Slick. You should watch it.
Here We Are Now, Entertain Us
What was it like being young and experiencing Nirvana for the first time? “I remember watching the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit‘ video gape-jawed in my mother’s living room, filled with awe and sudden shame for ever liking Def Leppard,” Nightline anchor Bill Weir tells Snakkle via email. Music critic Michaelangelo Matos, a regular contributor to NPR and The Village Voice, first heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” when he was 16 years old. After reading a glowing review of the band in the Minneapolis-St. Paul City Pages, Matos turned on the radio. “The second I heard the opening chords, I knew which song it was,” he told us via email. “It’s one of a handful of times I’ve heard a record that… sounded precisely the way I hoped it would.”
Giving Music a Kick in the Ass
To give you an idea of where popular music was when Nevermind was released, here is a sampling of the number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at that time. September 14 – September 20: “The Promise of a New Day,” Paula Abdul. September 21 – October 4: “I Adore Mi Amor,” Color Me Badd. (Remember boy bands?) October 5 – October 11: “Good Vibrations,” Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch. Not exactly an edgy collection of tunes. “It’s become fashionable to say that… Nevermind was more part of the rising ‘alternative’ wave than a real break,” says Matos. “That’s not how it felt at the time. I attended a suburban Midwestern high school, and the kids there who were deeply into MTV pop metal—a lot of kids—began to cut their hair and wear flannel; the popular girls started wearing Doc Martens. Nirvana absolutely, completely drew a line in the sand. There was a distinct sense that [this was] something bigger than anyone could control.”
Cobain’s Death
The death of Kurt Cobain at the age of 27 made the cover of Rolling Stone and was a major shock to Nirvana’s millions of fans worldwide. As sad as Cobain’s death was, “it freed him from compromising,” says Lucas Gonze, chief technology officer of official.fm, adding that, in a way, “dying kept him young.” (Gonze is also a musician, currently specializing in public domain Americana).
Continued Impact
Will we still be talking about Nirvana in 2031? “Nevermind is one of those albums that will see re-releases constantly over time, just like the Beatles’ discography,” says IGN.com’s Joey Esposito. “Some of the music to come out in the wake of the alternative movement in the early ’90s is somewhat stuck in its time, but Nirvana’s music remains timeless. I’m 26, which means I was only 6 when the record came out. But the fact that it had the same impact on me as a kid… is a testament to what Nirvana, particularly Nevermind, is capable of.”
Bottom line? “That record and that band shaped that decade,” says Mark Hudson, “and won’t ever be forgotten.”
BONUS: Nirvana’s First Live Show from 1988
According to online sources, the first official Nirvana performance was on March 19, 1988, at the Community World Theater in Tacoma, Washington. This YouTube playlist has the whole set.