Nirvana, a grunge rock band formed in 1987, has left a timeless legacy on the history of music. “Nevermind,” their second album, celebrated its 30th anniversary on Sept. 24, 2021. The band consisted of Krist Novoselic on bass, Dave Grohl on drums, and the late Kurt Cobain on vocals and guitar. Nirvana was the poster child for a rock band in the 90s and remained popular after Cobain’s suicide in 1994. In honor of this anniversary, their record label, DGC Records, will release a remaster of the album and audio from four unpublished concerts.
The release of “Nevermind” sparked a new era in rock music, characterized by the common person: passionate, filthy, and idiosyncratic. Grunge music, a term popularized by Nirvana, is a genre of alternative rock influenced by 70s experimental rock and punk music. Before grunge, the rock scene was mostly glossy hair metal and glamorous musicians. The classic sounds of Nirvana, a raw guitar and heart-wrenching vocals, remain everlasting. The version of the album originally released in 1991 contained 13 songs.
For many songs on “Nevermind, ”the lyrics weren’t the main focus. The guitar riffs in “Lithium” and “Come as You Are” remain staples. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana’s most popular song, has an addicting melody with purposefully meaningless lyrics, such as “Oh well, whatever, never mind”. Nevertheless, the emotion in Cobain’s voice and guitar more than makes up for the lack of significant lyrics. In fact, the lack of elaborate lyrics adds to the simplistic beauty of many songs.
The range of the album remains unmatched. “Polly,” a somber song with dark implications, compared to the screaming vocals and thrashing guitar on “Endless, Nameless” (an improvised hidden track), creates a perfect juxtaposition. Each song carries varying levels of punk, metal, and rock influences. “Territorial Pissings” and “Drain You” are just as hard of a rock song as any, with explosive drums and angsty vocals, but they can still be enjoyed by anyone. This is further contrasted with the heavily stylized “Something In The Way”, a melancholic acoustic song about being homeless.
“In Bloom,” more pop-influenced than the other songs on the album, targets Cobain’s distaste for fans that stood against the band’s values. It’s rather ironic, because it is one of the more mainstream songs off the album, so it ended up being consumed by the very people it was about, a machismo man “Who likes all our pretty songs.. And he likes to shoot his gun… But he knows not what it means”. Nirvana spread their feminist and anti-bigot messages in their songs as well as in real life.
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The sounds on “Nevermind” are much more polished than those on “Bleach” (1989), Nirvana’s first album. Many consider it the golden age of Nirvana, turned off by the more contrarian “In Utero” (1993). However, all three albums have earned their name in history.
The popularity of “Nevermind” created a gateway path for more people to enjoy Seattle’s grunge scene, bringing bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains into the mainstream. Since then, Nirvana has influenced the works of countless artists. Some musicians that claim their inspiration are Weezer, Lana Del Rey, Muse, Interpol, and many more.
Decades later, fans of all ages can relate to the angsty sound, becoming a part of the grimy punk scene Cobain and the band created.