#6 Nirvana, 'Nevermind' (1991)
Previously #17
Opening with four simple power chords that defined a generation, ‘Nevermind’ is the second studio album by arguably the greatest alternative bands of our time. “Here we are now, entertain us” implores Cobain, screeching over Dave Grohl’s brutal drum attack and Krist Novoselic’s signature bass sounds. By his own admission, Cobain was unashamedly trying to rip off the Pixies; “I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.” “‘Surfer Rosa,’ their debut album, one of the most influential rock records of the ‘90s, was released 2 years before the ‘90s even started,” I wrote about Pixies’ album at #390. In early 1990 the band went to Madison, Wisconsin to record demos with upcoming producer, and future drummer of Garbage, Butch Vig. Following these sessions, drummer, Chad Channing left the band, grinding recording recording to a halt. Cobain and Novoselic had been impressed by the drummer in hardcore band, Scream, whom they’d seen at a show. As luck would have it (for Nirvana), Scream would suddenly disband, leaving their drummer open to new opportunities. And so Dave Grohl was invited to the band, and that’s when everything fell into place, according to Novoselic. Nirvana left their label, Sub Pop, amid rumours of their being sold to a major due to financial difficulties. They signed to Geffen Records. The label suggested high profile producers for the record, but the band insisted on the man they’d recorded their demos with a few months before, Butch Vig.
This recorded exploded, with the help of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ It thrusted grunge and alternative music into the mainstream like no album before it. It destroyed the dominant Rock genre at the time, Hair Metal. Stopped it dead in its tracks. And like bands such as Black Sabbath before it, it gave a voice to those misunderstood teens. The misfits, the “freaks,” the different kids that didn’t know how to express their feelings. ‘Nevermind’ became their mouthpiece. Cobain’s vocals were at times incoherent. Vig would say “Even though you couldn't quite tell what he was singing about, you knew it was intense as hell,” while Cobain himself complained “Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second-rate Freudian evaluation of my lyrics, when 90 percent of the time they've transcribed them incorrectly?” Amongst other things, the album title is a reference to one of Cobain’s favourite albums, ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols.” The label was concerned that the infamous album cover featuring a naked baby might offend the public. They prepared an alternate cover for the record, but Cobain adamantly opposed this saying that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the baby’s penis saying “If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.” The album was considerably more “pop” than their debut effort. Thanks to that and its mainstream success, it was criticised by the underground fans. Cobain would later say he was embarrassed by its production, although Vig theorised that Cobain criticised it “because you can't really go, 'Hey, I love our record and I'm glad it sold 10 million copies.” That just doesn’t fit in with Cobain’s punk ethos. The album would top the charts 3.5 months later, knocking Michael Jackson’s ‘Dangerous’ off of the top position. To date, ‘Nevermind’ has sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide.
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