Nirvana

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Kembrew McLeod

Rarely does a single album make a massive impact on music and popular culture, but Nirvana's Nevermind--released in the fall of 1991--did just that. Nirvana essentially brought the sound and fury of Punk Rock to the mainstream of America about 15 years after it initially broke, and temporarily changed the course of American popular music in the process. Fusing Punk's speed and energy with 1970s Metal heaviness, Nirvana popularized what would later be labeled "Grunge," making loud and abrasive guitar rock one of the biggest money making genres of the 1990s. Within one year of Nevermind's success, MTV (Music Television) went from being dominated by lightweight dance-pop and "hair" metal acts to being monopolized by guitar-wielding, long-haired quasi-punk rockers. Furthermore, in the early 1990s "Grunge" fashion became the next big thing, with the flannel thrift-store shirts and ripped jeans worn by Nirvana being imitated by upscale Madison Avenue fashion stores. The group's two-and-half-year reign over popular music ended tragically when Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain took his life with a shotgun blast to the head on April 4, 1994.

For those who did not have their ear to the American underground music scene of the 1980s, Nirvana's sound may have come as a shock. Nirvana was, however, more representative of a musical tradition than an aberration. Formed in 1987, core members Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) and Chris Novoselic (1965--) were directly inspired by American underground music played by bands such as the Minutemen, Big Black, Black Flag, the Melvins, and Sonic Youth. This Aberdeen, Washington, band soon was signed to the ultra-hip Seattle label, Sub Pop, which specialized in the type of heavy Punk-meets-1970s Metal music that Nirvana played at the time. After an initial single, the band recorded their first album, Bleach, for $600, which went on to be a moderate underground success--picking up a considerable amount of critical acclaim along the way. Still, in 1990, the band was considered to be nothing more than just another pretty good band on an independent label.

After the band resurfaced in 1991 on a major label, DGC, the group had both a new drummer (Dave Grohl, 1969--) and considerably improved songs--creating catchier, albeit no less loud music. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was perhaps their most likable song, and when it was released in the fall of 1991 it steadily climbed the charts and its video quickly became a staple on MTV. With little push from Nirvana's record company, by early 1992 Nevermind went to the top of the Billboard album charts, unseating such superstars as U2, Garth Brooks, Michael Jackson, and MC Hammer. Even though there was a precedent for what Nirvana was doing, mainstream America reacted to it as being the newest, biggest thing in music. Major record labels began signing relatively unknown bands (Stone Temple Pilots, L7, Pearl Jam, Helmet) who fit the newly-dubbed "Alternative" genre, as well as older artists like Circle Jerks, Jesus Lizard, and the Butthole Surfers.

Always a Punk idealist, Kurt Cobain often did his best to alienate many of the new members of his audience, whom he referred to as the ones "who used to beat me up in school." The desire to drive away this segment of his audience began with Cobain planting an open-mouthed kiss on Novoselic on Saturday Night Live and culminated in the recording of In Utero (1993). Feeling like Nevermind was too slick, the band hired veteran underground engineer Steve Albini to produce an extremely abrasive follow-up to their multi-platinum major label debut. But Cobain's plan backfired, and In Utero went to the top of the Billboard album charts again, primarily because Cobain had not buried his songwriting gifts and, further, the landscape of popular music had changed dramatically since Nevermind was released. In two years, mainstream listeners' ears had been hardened by endless streams of Nirvana-clone bands, making even the extremely dissonant sounds of In Utero's "Scentless Apprentice" and "Very Ape" palatable.

Growing increasingly discontent with his role as a big rock star, Cobain became more depressed--a feeling that was fueled by his heroin use. Cobain and Courtney Love's drug-related problems fell under mounting scrutiny by the mainstream press, and Nirvana repeatedly took criticism from the underground music community for "selling out" (after buying a new Lexus, for instance, Cobain took so much flack from his peers that he returned the car to the dealership and took back his old Volvo from the pre-Nevermind days). For reasons that will never be fully known, Kurt Cobain took his own life with a shotgun blast to the head on April 4, 1994 in the room above his Seattle home's garage. When his body was found on April 8, it was a major media event, and thousands publicly mourned, including Courtney Love, who recorded an infamous eulogy/rant in which she read parts of her husband's suicide note--punctuated by her own grief-stricken asides.

Courtney Love's group, Hole, recorded Live Through This, coincidentally released the Tuesday after Cobain's suicide. It went on to become a critical and commercial success. Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl formed the extremely popular Foo Fighters, while bassist Chris Novoselic concentrated on forming Political Action Committees that lobbied against anti-censorship laws. In early 1998, Novoselic's band, Sweet 75, released its poorly-selling debut, which had not even surpassed Bleach's sales of 35,000 months after its release.