I remember ripping around a corner on my usual route to work through a quiet upscale neighbourhood here in Seattle. I just saw the front end of a cop car and slammed on the brakes.
As I rounded the corner on my serpentine route I counted 7 police cars. I thought, "Oh oh. Some rich bitch broke a nail."
I was very sad to find out that they were there for Kurt's death.
Hate to hijack, but there wasn't an open thread. If any one cares to flip on c-span right now, or capture their video later on(I have no clue how), Barney Frank is getting some great riffs in at the repugs and Bush.
I remember coming back from studying abroad all of 1991 and being amazed at two new unavoidable phenomena which had been hovering quite in the background when I had left: Bart Simpson and Nirvana.
The real source of my amazement was that, good though they were, yet again the media companies had sold us second-best product. The real geniuses were always Homer and Soundgarden.
OMG the baby is now 17...thanks Bic now I do feel so old....thanks for the tunes..glad the comments are fixed tonight...( they were not working earlier - but I guess all is better now)
Story goes, when Al went to get permission to use Nirvana's song, Al called up his friend Victoria Jackson (the Not Ready For Prime Time player that the Christian character in Studio 60 is loosly based on, IMHO) on the set of Saturday Night the week when Nirvana was on, and had Victoria hand the phone to Cobaine and asked his permission. Later Nirvana said that they knew that they had made it when Al parodied one of there tunes.
Possibly the most interesting thing about this story, is Saturday Night is probably where the album title ('Nevermind') came from (Emily Letila.)
I remember checking Nirvana out in a club that sat 50 people. I liked them a lot, but then again the scene I was part of was full of bands like that. Shoots, Chili Peppers only drew about 150 people back when the played Tijuana. I have no idea what the scene is now, but I imagine that there are tons of great bands that the industry doesn't know what to do with.
As I rounded the corner on my serpentine route I counted 7 police cars. I thought, "Oh oh. Some rich bitch broke a nail."
I was very sad to find out that they were there for Kurt's death.
There's a weird vibe at Kurt's former house to this day.
Glad the little park is there for the fans, though.
Damn, seeing that baby grown into a teenager makes me feel like an old fart. Like so many others I remember hearing those first big riff of SLTS and knowing that Nirvana was going to be huge.
And speaking of the Breeders, whatever happened to Belly?
Last saw The Breeders maybe 4-5 years ago at a small hall in Eugene, Oregon with about a hundred people. Nonetheless, Kim looked like she was having a blast, and she's still the only person who makes smoking look cool.
As I rounded the corner on my serpentine route I counted 7 police cars. I thought, "Oh oh. Some rich bitch broke a nail."
I was very sad to find out that they were there for Kurt's death.
There's a weird vibe at Kurt's former house to this day.
Glad the little park is there for the fans, though.
Well, it's a weird neighbourhood. Schultzes (Starbucks), McCaws (Cellular), Canadian Counsulate, the nudie beach and some $25m dollar home just north of there on the 'Local Access Only' street-which I drive down, since I was lived a few blocks from there, until I was 2. I think that makes me 'local.' :)
And the house was totally done over.
I guess the worst part is that the landscaping so does not fit the house anymore-and it was a total fright wig when the Cobains lived there.
miss kitty:
I'm a newcomer (but not a Californicator!), so its interesting to hear your take on things - thanks!
Guess I haven't been my there in a while... last I saw it looked just like when the incident occurred. I don't blame the current owners for changing things.
miss kitty:
I'm a newcomer (but not a Californicator!), so its interesting to hear your take on things - thanks!
Guess I haven't been my there in a while... last I saw it looked just like when the incident occurred. I don't blame the current owners for changing things.
i'm in my 50's and seen many a news story about rock stars dying, both by accident and their own hand since my younger days of loving doo wop and girl groups.
but for some reason when i heard about cobain on the car radio, i had to pull over and weep silently.
Wed, 06/27/2007 - 00:53 — Barrett D (not verified)
I'd just like to say the Foo Fighters had set an unbearable boring standard in alt-rock music.
I think Nirvana had more important songs than Smells Like Teen Spirit! hHould have posted a less commercially sucessfull song to remember kurt cobain I think. Thats just me though.
I was a senior in high school when this album came out. I didn't really like it. I was listening to Helmet "Meantime" and Smashing Pumpkins "Gish". MUCH better albums. Those bands should have been what Nirvana was. Nirvana were just in the right place at the right time. Decent band, but "meh". Dave Grohl is awesome however.
I don't think this particular video of Love Will Keep Us Together has been posted here in the LNMC (correct me if I'm wrong on this) so, here'tis the Captain and Tonnelle -
Favorite music video ever: "In Bloom". It's all very well to say the Foo Fighters were more important than Nirvana, but if it weren't for Dave Grohl having been in Nirvana, and his experiences being shaped, and shaping the band, there is no Foo Fighters. They're a great band, but Nirvana pre-dated them.
Well sure, my point is simply that there's a reason why Nirvana are widely regarded as a pretty innovative band and Foo Fighters, and this is not to dismiss with faint praise, but are a very good band.
The older folks among us might recall that there were a number of groups in the 1960's like The Grass Roots who, despite the fact that they made great music (remember 'Let's Live for Today'?) were actually not a group but a collection of very talented LA session musicians whose roster changed from week to week.
As to the grunge rock groups. That movement was sparked by groups like Nirvana, that sounded so alike...I suspect that most of the grunge rock groups were actually the same group.
I'll give them kudos for their work with Neil Young but frankly don't feel that their sound is anything approaching unique.
Nirvana original?
Yeah right.
Nirvana sucked in 1991, and they still suck today. No doubt that they were changemakers in the type of hard rock that was played on the radio and bought in stores, but that change was also brought on by a massive marketing change on behalf of the record companies in the early 90s. A close relative of mine worked for a large one at the time.
Grunge/metal was new and fresh, and the record companies looked at it as a way to make more money. The talk in the industry was that the best of the 80s and 90s bands would survive the new musical era, allowing the companies to milk both troughs. However, that didn't happen, and the record companies ended up making less money in the 90s than they did in the 80s, relatively speaking, despite strong economies in both decades. First, they lost many females, who loved both the hair metal and some of the harder edged stuff (Guns & Roses, Skid Row) from the late 80s and early 90s. Second, many young kids left their grunge/metal and alternative loyalties behind them as they grew up, unlike those of us in the 70s (me) and the 80s, who still attend concerts from those bands (at some admittedly smaller venues) and buy their new material (in lesser numbers). The record companies now generally regret their decision to so whole-heartedly back grunge/metal and alternative rock as compared with their cash cow of more traditional hard rock/heavy metal, as played from the late 60s through the early 90s.
Nirvana sucked in 1991, and they still suck today. No doubt that they were changemakers in the type of hard rock that was played on the radio and bought in stores, but that change was also brought on by a massive marketing change on behalf of the record companies in the early 90s. A close relative of mine worked for a large one at the time.
Grunge/metal was new and fresh, and the record companies looked at it as a way to make more money. The talk in the industry was that the best of the 80s and 90s bands would survive the new musical era, allowing the companies to milk both troughs. However, that didn't happen, and the record companies ended up making less money in the 90s than they did in the 80s, relatively speaking, despite strong economies in both decades. First, they lost many females, who loved both the hair metal and some of the harder edged stuff (Guns & Roses, Skid Row) from the late 80s and early 90s. Second, many young kids left their grunge/metal and alternative loyalties behind them as they grew up, unlike those of us in the 70s (me) and the 80s, who still attend concerts from those bands (at some admittedly smaller venues) and buy their new material (in lesser numbers). The record companies now generally regret their decision to so whole-heartedly back grunge/metal and alternative rock as compared with their cash cow of more traditional hard rock/heavy metal, as played from the late 60s through the early 90s.
Even though I agree with you to some degree...the so-called rock bands of the late 70's and 80 were more of a industry creation and movement of "hair bands" that evolved out the garage band scene in LA. IMHO, bands like Poison, Motley Crue,...and sadly enough even Van Halen (loved that first album), betrayed traditional/metal/hard rock...and they were the ones that REALLY SUCKED AND SOLD OUT R&R! Mass marketing during this period changed rock and roll to a peculiar stereotype and "hollyrock", (i.e., big hair...lots of makeup...and spandex). I believe that bands like Metallica...Nirvana...Soundgarden resisted that stereotype and to that I am so grateful.
I'm 50 and I think bands like Nirvana...Metallica...Soundgarden help move rock music to a different level...but also helped returned it to it's raw and grungy pre-70s roots.
BTW...I've worked in the music industry for 25 years.
I started playing 'Teen Spirit' on my Sunday morning spot on a college radio station, before Nirvana became Nirvana. I didn't see the music video until months later, and I was as shocked as anybody when the album took off.
In 1994, I saw Nirvana, the Breeders, and the Melvins at the Denver Coliseum. My ears still ring when I think about it.
They played an electrified version of 'Man Who Sold the World' which went on for ten minutes and ended with Pat Smear and Krist french-kissing on the floor.
When they played 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' all the guys from the other bands put on cheerleader outfits and pom-poms and jumped around while strobe lights flashed. It was an unforgettable show.
I'm 38 years old, and I still remember where I was when I heard Kurt had died.
Nirvana is the most overranked bands of all times. They spearheaded the change of rage in rock to whining, and whining in country music to soft-core rock.
I don't disagree that many acts from the 80s were industry creations to fit the mold of the good looking, high-pitched singer and shredding guitarists who wrote and performed corporate style of rock that emphasized a mix of power ballads and hard rock and strong harmonies. My point was, and I guess I should have been clearer (my fault), the bands from the 90s were just as much an industry creation, with the dressed-down look, short to non-existent guitar solos, the extensive of chords to play a song's main beat as opposed to individual notes, and singers who couldn't find a high note if a vice was crushing their hoo-haws. A few of the early bands, e.g., Nirvana and Pearl Jam, had a genuine look and outlook on their music that was a reaction to the 80s (although even the latter played a combo style of grunge and traditional metal that Cobain allegedly disdained), but most bands that came after them knew the schtick and changed their look. I've seen pub shoots of some grunge/metal bands before 1992, and they couldn't spell the word grunge with a dictionary and an English teacher nearby. To be fair to a few 80s acts, Motley Crue's look was a creation of theirs, before the Sunset Strip was ruled by metal, and bands such as Def Leppard and Dokken were emphasizing strong harmonies prior to 1983-84.
As for Metallica, I was a huge fan from the first time I heard Ride The Lightning until the first time I heard Re-Load. I still love them in concert, just not their new music. And as for Soundgarden, they were excellent self-marketers, passing themselves off as a grunge/metal band when the only thing grunge about them was their choice of clothes. Their music and vocals were very 70s and 80s, although they did de-emphasize harmonies to a certain extent. Otherwise, they were a good fit to the harder edged rock that hit big in the late 80s and early 90s in reaction to the power ballad era.
My favorite Nirvana album would have to be "Unplugged in New York". Haunting. Loved the cover of "Jesus doesn't want for a sunbeam" and "All Apologies" is chilling now considering what happened a short 5 months later. Wonder what Kurt would think of all the bullshit going on now with our Country?
I love that Nirvana still pisses off Baby Boomers! If you weren't a young person in the midst of the post-80s hangover and recession it's hard for you to understand the music then. It was the first music I listened to that my parents couldn't understand and I loved it.
Nirvana didn't suck back then and they don't suck today. To make such a pompous ass ridiculous statement is only a comment on the mind of the writer.
I still get a visceral thrill when I here the bass guitar intro for come as you are.
You have to admit that Cobain was a master of emotional shorthand, abbreviated language, guitar solos, the tunemanship all came together for a few short years that communicated the pathos, angst and glory of the fuckedupedness of America!
Wed, 06/27/2007 - 18:49 — Medford Tim (not verified)
I blame Nirvana as half of the reason music turned to crap in the 90's. Incomprehensible lyrics accompanied by amps turned up to "11" - and the copycats who took it even farther (You listening, Marble Mouth Vedder?). It was hard for me to believe that I was looking back at the Disco Years and thinking, "I guess it COULD have been worse!"
Some damn fine music was completely overlooked because it wasn't "grunge" or "alternative" enough. Is it any wonder that Radio station consolidation occurred at the same time? I think not.
The most overrated group in history...next to the Archies...
oh, and to the MODERATOR - how about fixing the e-mail requirement to let us NOT have to put our damn email addresses in so they can't be "harvested"?
[Feel free to use a fake email addy. There is no verification-Sitemonitor]
I always get a kick out of people that still haven't moved beyond Pink Floyd!
Actually, I'm really fond of Tool, Social D, Nine Inch Nails and a lot of other bands. That was merely one example of a band I find better/more original than Nirvana. I was a teenager when Nirvana was popular, so, I'm about as far from being a "boomer" as humanly possible. I still don't think they were all that great. They weren't godawful but they were not "ground breaking" or very interesting. I love the notion "If you're part of this generation then you must love XYZ band or think XYZ." No, actually, I think for myself and I like what I like--regardless of what my cohorts enjoy.
I, for one, get a kick out of people who still can't seem to move past Nirvana.
I still contend that the whole bunch would be yesterday's news if Kurt Cobain hadn't taken the Hemingway Solution. It's the whole live fast, die young cliche...every generation has at least one. It's pretty boring if you ask me.
The whole deal with Nirvana was that Kurt was utterly unprepared for just how deep a chord he'd strike. He was obviously intelligent, but couldn't square his desire to be honest and upfront with the industry he found himself in. Every kid who knew in their heart that honesty was the best policy, that schmoozing for the sake of being popular cheapened you, found a kindred spirit in Kurt.
I honestly don't know what happened, whether he felt he'd become something he hated (in my opinion, he hadn't) which the drugs turned into a psychological nightmare, but I do believe that we are all poorer for his loss.
Musically speaking, it didn't matter how well you played as long as the emotion you are trying to convey is picked up and I believe that is Nirvana's legacy. Listening to "With The Lights Out" will show you that Kurt was a much better guitarist than he let people believe - he made a conscious decision to simplify it and let the strength of the song carry through.
As for Dave Grohl, he's an immensely talented guy - despite being the youngest member of the band he'd been on the road as long as they had before he joined - there was no question that he would continue making music because it was obvious it's what he is best at doing - his music isn't as visceral because it's not as close to the bone as Kurt's was. He's still bloody good though.
Nirvana's sound was the barbaric yawp that had been a long time bubbling in America's heartland through the Reagan and Bush years - a certain queasiness that something was wrong, but that Kurt's generation felt they could do nothing about. It goes without saying that we need something similar now.
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I remember first buying Nevermind on cassette tape.
That should have read,"...'frist' buying..."
:-)
No child left behind...nevermind
Clear Skies...nevermind
Clean Waters...nevermind
Healthy Forests...nevermind
Yeah, I liked that video.
Looked like a pep rally from hell.
Love the shot! "Nevermind" still gives me chills when I listen to it today.
Nirvana were truly great, but ultimately I think In Utero is a much better album.
I remember ripping around a corner on my usual route to work through a quiet upscale neighbourhood here in Seattle. I just saw the front end of a cop car and slammed on the brakes.
As I rounded the corner on my serpentine route I counted 7 police cars. I thought, "Oh oh. Some rich bitch broke a nail."
I was very sad to find out that they were there for Kurt's death.
deffinitly one of those bands who changed music....as a matter of fact...I need some of this stuff...........again
And then there was grundge
What an awesome album. Nevermind has to rank among the greatest albums ever, at the least because it ushered in grunge and ushered out heavy metal.
Here we are now
entertain us!
bing bong:)
u inspired me to play the album.
what happened to haloscan?
Hate to hijack, but there wasn't an open thread. If any one cares to flip on c-span right now, or capture their video later on(I have no clue how), Barney Frank is getting some great riffs in at the repugs and Bush.
No comment.
That album was and is fire. Very Hungry sound.
I thought that kid was photoshopped in.
That's a pretty cool thing for him to have been a part of.
Neil Young - "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVyEba8xov0
BongHits4Bush @ 16:
Did they even have photoshop in '91? :P
I remember coming back from studying abroad all of 1991 and being amazed at two new unavoidable phenomena which had been hovering quite in the background when I had left: Bart Simpson and Nirvana.
The real source of my amazement was that, good though they were, yet again the media companies had sold us second-best product. The real geniuses were always Homer and Soundgarden.
That said, Heart-Shaped Box is a masterpiece.
"18 miss_kitty":
LMAO...!!! Yeah, maybe not!!
PaintShop Pro Maybe?
Lou Reed - "Walk On The Wild Side"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4ditCW2TiA
There first album was better.
ldzppln @ 22:
Er, I mean "their" first album was better.
Saw Nirvana, Breeders and Shonen Knife at UNO.
Lounge Act is my favorite
The first time I heard Nirvana, I thought it was Westerberg and The Replacements.
The baby on that album cover just turned 17.
Here's a new picture of him.
OMG the baby is now 17...thanks Bic now I do feel so old....thanks for the tunes..glad the comments are fixed tonight...( they were not working earlier - but I guess all is better now)
Weird Al's parody of it, Smells Like Nirvana -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ixyTNd-Ln38
Story goes, when Al went to get permission to use Nirvana's song, Al called up his friend Victoria Jackson (the Not Ready For Prime Time player that the Christian character in Studio 60 is loosly based on, IMHO) on the set of Saturday Night the week when Nirvana was on, and had Victoria hand the phone to Cobaine and asked his permission. Later Nirvana said that they knew that they had made it when Al parodied one of there tunes.
Possibly the most interesting thing about this story, is Saturday Night is probably where the album title ('Nevermind') came from (Emily Letila.)
Here's a great link to follw on this subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooDNRdaWeZ0
I remember checking Nirvana out in a club that sat 50 people. I liked them a lot, but then again the scene I was part of was full of bands like that. Shoots, Chili Peppers only drew about 150 people back when the played Tijuana. I have no idea what the scene is now, but I imagine that there are tons of great bands that the industry doesn't know what to do with.
bowie was there first
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo0YxlCmR-w
i always hated that it was never pointed out that "man who sold the world" was a cover
and here is the band that nirvana and grunge killed
jellyfish " the king is half undressed"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyDhsDUorGA
about 3 months ago skippy's friday nite music club featured come as you are, one my fav nirvana hits.
Oh crap, about that link, nevermind.
miss_kitty @ 7:
There's a weird vibe at Kurt's former house to this day.
Glad the little park is there for the fans, though.
TonyinLA @ 24:
breeders rule! sorry to be such a blogwhore but it's time to play "kim deal or no kim deal" with cannonball.
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
Damn, seeing that baby grown into a teenager makes me feel like an old fart. Like so many others I remember hearing those first big riff of SLTS and knowing that Nirvana was going to be huge.
And speaking of the Breeders, whatever happened to Belly?
Last saw The Breeders maybe 4-5 years ago at a small hall in Eugene, Oregon with about a hundred people. Nonetheless, Kim looked like she was having a blast, and she's still the only person who makes smoking look cool.
eric, you couldn't have known I was gonna beat you to the punch on that. It happens to the best of us.
Well, maybe if you knew me you could've known it. ;-)
ah come one janes addiction set the mood of the 90s more so than nirvana
NEVERMIND is supreme rockin out. A great album. One of the nastiest-trashiest guitar sound.
Meaty and angry......
organmeat @ 40:
Jane's was broken up for the majority of the 90s.
Speakin' of indie bands, these guys are good!
http://www.noneshallbespared.com
soothsayer @ 34:
Well, it's a weird neighbourhood. Schultzes (Starbucks), McCaws (Cellular), Canadian Counsulate, the nudie beach and some $25m dollar home just north of there on the 'Local Access Only' street-which I drive down, since I was lived a few blocks from there, until I was 2. I think that makes me 'local.' :)
And the house was totally done over.
I guess the worst part is that the landscaping so does not fit the house anymore-and it was a total fright wig when the Cobains lived there.
miss kitty:
I'm a newcomer (but not a Californicator!), so its interesting to hear your take on things - thanks!
Guess I haven't been my there in a while... last I saw it looked just like when the incident occurred. I don't blame the current owners for changing things.
soothsayer @ 45:
I don't either. I'dve changed it too.
Man, it's a shame Kurt was murdered...
[Aww, jeez, here comes the conspiracy theories..... ]
i'm in my 50's and seen many a news story about rock stars dying, both by accident and their own hand since my younger days of loving doo wop and girl groups.
but for some reason when i heard about cobain on the car radio, i had to pull over and weep silently.
Looking back, Nirvana was overrated. Not bad, just overrated.
Foo Fighters are much better musically. I never would have thought Grohl would do what he did in the wake of Nirvana.
I'd just like to say the Foo Fighters had set an unbearable boring standard in alt-rock music.
I think Nirvana had more important songs than Smells Like Teen Spirit! hHould have posted a less commercially sucessfull song to remember kurt cobain I think. Thats just me though.
I was a senior in high school when this album came out. I didn't really like it. I was listening to Helmet "Meantime" and Smashing Pumpkins "Gish". MUCH better albums. Those bands should have been what Nirvana was. Nirvana were just in the right place at the right time. Decent band, but "meh". Dave Grohl is awesome however.
I'm honored to have been born in Kurt's hometown.
Of course I didn't know him, but if I had I'm sure he would've taken my lunch money.
On the Nirvana vs. Foo Fighters thing, both bands contributed emensly to peace.
I'm looking to this guy to save me!!!!
How about a little pre-grunge grunge...
Dinosaur Jr.: Freak Scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ2FS53ySgU
Kurt, I miss you.
I don't think this particular video of Love Will Keep Us Together has been posted here in the LNMC (correct me if I'm wrong on this) so, here'tis the Captain and Tonnelle -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-38oelOufDc
Nirvana own.
Favorite music video ever: "In Bloom". It's all very well to say the Foo Fighters were more important than Nirvana, but if it weren't for Dave Grohl having been in Nirvana, and his experiences being shaped, and shaping the band, there is no Foo Fighters. They're a great band, but Nirvana pre-dated them.
Oops, meant to post link for "In Bloom"; here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY3oEvaq71A
Dave Grohl was in good bands and was a great drummer before Nirvana. He would have done well either way.
Well sure, my point is simply that there's a reason why Nirvana are widely regarded as a pretty innovative band and Foo Fighters, and this is not to dismiss with faint praise, but are a very good band.
Kurt's ghost told me to tell you to buy the new Melvins album A SENILE ANIMAL. It will, in fact, rock you assless. Yes, I said
assless.GRRR. You'd THINK that ctrl-i would be ITALICS. Not
strikethrough. Is there any actual reason for that, or is it just 1337 that way?miss_kitty @ 18:
...they had two versions of the cover. One where you saw the penis, and one where you did not.
> …they had two versions of the cover. One where you saw the penis, and one where you did not.
In either case, I still see the Dick. His name is Cheney.
Phil @ 49:
:jaw drop:
what what wha?!
Great song. Wish I could understand what he was saying.
The older folks among us might recall that there were a number of groups in the 1960's like The Grass Roots who, despite the fact that they made great music (remember 'Let's Live for Today'?) were actually not a group but a collection of very talented LA session musicians whose roster changed from week to week.
As to the grunge rock groups. That movement was sparked by groups like Nirvana, that sounded so alike...I suspect that most of the grunge rock groups were actually the same group.
I'll give them kudos for their work with Neil Young but frankly don't feel that their sound is anything approaching unique.
Nirvana original?
Yeah right.
Nirvana sucked in 1991, and they still suck today. No doubt that they were changemakers in the type of hard rock that was played on the radio and bought in stores, but that change was also brought on by a massive marketing change on behalf of the record companies in the early 90s. A close relative of mine worked for a large one at the time.
Grunge/metal was new and fresh, and the record companies looked at it as a way to make more money. The talk in the industry was that the best of the 80s and 90s bands would survive the new musical era, allowing the companies to milk both troughs. However, that didn't happen, and the record companies ended up making less money in the 90s than they did in the 80s, relatively speaking, despite strong economies in both decades. First, they lost many females, who loved both the hair metal and some of the harder edged stuff (Guns & Roses, Skid Row) from the late 80s and early 90s. Second, many young kids left their grunge/metal and alternative loyalties behind them as they grew up, unlike those of us in the 70s (me) and the 80s, who still attend concerts from those bands (at some admittedly smaller venues) and buy their new material (in lesser numbers). The record companies now generally regret their decision to so whole-heartedly back grunge/metal and alternative rock as compared with their cash cow of more traditional hard rock/heavy metal, as played from the late 60s through the early 90s.
Just curious: are those who deny that Nirvana changed music forever the spawn of people who criticized The Beatles' haircuts?
lib @ 69:
Even though I agree with you to some degree...the so-called rock bands of the late 70's and 80 were more of a industry creation and movement of "hair bands" that evolved out the garage band scene in LA. IMHO, bands like Poison, Motley Crue,...and sadly enough even Van Halen (loved that first album), betrayed traditional/metal/hard rock...and they were the ones that REALLY SUCKED AND SOLD OUT R&R! Mass marketing during this period changed rock and roll to a peculiar stereotype and "hollyrock", (i.e., big hair...lots of makeup...and spandex). I believe that bands like Metallica...Nirvana...Soundgarden resisted that stereotype and to that I am so grateful.
I'm 50 and I think bands like Nirvana...Metallica...Soundgarden help move rock music to a different level...but also helped returned it to it's raw and grungy pre-70s roots.
BTW...I've worked in the music industry for 25 years.
I started playing 'Teen Spirit' on my Sunday morning spot on a college radio station, before Nirvana became Nirvana. I didn't see the music video until months later, and I was as shocked as anybody when the album took off.
In 1994, I saw Nirvana, the Breeders, and the Melvins at the Denver Coliseum. My ears still ring when I think about it.
They played an electrified version of 'Man Who Sold the World' which went on for ten minutes and ended with Pat Smear and Krist french-kissing on the floor.
When they played 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' all the guys from the other bands put on cheerleader outfits and pom-poms and jumped around while strobe lights flashed. It was an unforgettable show.
I'm 38 years old, and I still remember where I was when I heard Kurt had died.
Power chords, teen angst (over what, btw?) and greasy hair--no, I don't miss the 90's at all.
Pink Floyd, now THERE is a band worthy of worship.
I can't help wondering... if Kurt C. hadn't pulled a premature Hemingway...would we still be talking about Nirvana?
Nirvana is the most overranked bands of all times. They spearheaded the change of rage in rock to whining, and whining in country music to soft-core rock.
This band is much better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5YqYogYwg
wizrd @ 71
I don't disagree that many acts from the 80s were industry creations to fit the mold of the good looking, high-pitched singer and shredding guitarists who wrote and performed corporate style of rock that emphasized a mix of power ballads and hard rock and strong harmonies. My point was, and I guess I should have been clearer (my fault), the bands from the 90s were just as much an industry creation, with the dressed-down look, short to non-existent guitar solos, the extensive of chords to play a song's main beat as opposed to individual notes, and singers who couldn't find a high note if a vice was crushing their hoo-haws. A few of the early bands, e.g., Nirvana and Pearl Jam, had a genuine look and outlook on their music that was a reaction to the 80s (although even the latter played a combo style of grunge and traditional metal that Cobain allegedly disdained), but most bands that came after them knew the schtick and changed their look. I've seen pub shoots of some grunge/metal bands before 1992, and they couldn't spell the word grunge with a dictionary and an English teacher nearby. To be fair to a few 80s acts, Motley Crue's look was a creation of theirs, before the Sunset Strip was ruled by metal, and bands such as Def Leppard and Dokken were emphasizing strong harmonies prior to 1983-84.
As for Metallica, I was a huge fan from the first time I heard Ride The Lightning until the first time I heard Re-Load. I still love them in concert, just not their new music. And as for Soundgarden, they were excellent self-marketers, passing themselves off as a grunge/metal band when the only thing grunge about them was their choice of clothes. Their music and vocals were very 70s and 80s, although they did de-emphasize harmonies to a certain extent. Otherwise, they were a good fit to the harder edged rock that hit big in the late 80s and early 90s in reaction to the power ballad era.
[...] courtesy CROOKS AND LIARS: “You still hear the singles being played on the radio and it just doesn’t sound dated. Most [...]
My favorite Nirvana album would have to be "Unplugged in New York". Haunting. Loved the cover of "Jesus doesn't want for a sunbeam" and "All Apologies" is chilling now considering what happened a short 5 months later. Wonder what Kurt would think of all the bullshit going on now with our Country?
I always get a kick out of people that still haven't moved beyond Pink Floyd!
Crow @ 77:
They dedicated an album to a laxative?
I love that Nirvana still pisses off Baby Boomers! If you weren't a young person in the midst of the post-80s hangover and recession it's hard for you to understand the music then. It was the first music I listened to that my parents couldn't understand and I loved it.
ysbaddaden @ 79:
Yeah. They had to loosen the shit coming outta your mouth. :)
Crow @ 81:
That's a good description of Cobain's singing.
*gets popcorn*
soothsayer @ 83:
Does that mean you understand it, or eat it?
Nirvana didn't suck back then and they don't suck today. To make such a pompous ass ridiculous statement is only a comment on the mind of the writer.
I still get a visceral thrill when I here the bass guitar intro for come as you are.
You have to admit that Cobain was a master of emotional shorthand, abbreviated language, guitar solos, the tunemanship all came together for a few short years that communicated the pathos, angst and glory of the fuckedupedness of America!
I blame Nirvana as half of the reason music turned to crap in the 90's. Incomprehensible lyrics accompanied by amps turned up to "11" - and the copycats who took it even farther (You listening, Marble Mouth Vedder?). It was hard for me to believe that I was looking back at the Disco Years and thinking, "I guess it COULD have been worse!"
Some damn fine music was completely overlooked because it wasn't "grunge" or "alternative" enough. Is it any wonder that Radio station consolidation occurred at the same time? I think not.
The most overrated group in history...next to the Archies...
oh, and to the MODERATOR - how about fixing the e-mail requirement to let us NOT have to put our damn email addresses in so they can't be "harvested"?
[Feel free to use a fake email addy. There is no verification-Sitemonitor]
Looks like cranky Tim had to look real hard for stuff to whine about! :D
soothsayer @ 78:
Actually, I'm really fond of Tool, Social D, Nine Inch Nails and a lot of other bands. That was merely one example of a band I find better/more original than Nirvana. I was a teenager when Nirvana was popular, so, I'm about as far from being a "boomer" as humanly possible. I still don't think they were all that great. They weren't godawful but they were not "ground breaking" or very interesting. I love the notion "If you're part of this generation then you must love XYZ band or think XYZ." No, actually, I think for myself and I like what I like--regardless of what my cohorts enjoy.
I, for one, get a kick out of people who still can't seem to move past Nirvana.
I still contend that the whole bunch would be yesterday's news if Kurt Cobain hadn't taken the Hemingway Solution. It's the whole live fast, die young cliche...every generation has at least one. It's pretty boring if you ask me.
ysbaddaden @ 82:
LQTM :D
The whole deal with Nirvana was that Kurt was utterly unprepared for just how deep a chord he'd strike. He was obviously intelligent, but couldn't square his desire to be honest and upfront with the industry he found himself in. Every kid who knew in their heart that honesty was the best policy, that schmoozing for the sake of being popular cheapened you, found a kindred spirit in Kurt.
I honestly don't know what happened, whether he felt he'd become something he hated (in my opinion, he hadn't) which the drugs turned into a psychological nightmare, but I do believe that we are all poorer for his loss.
Musically speaking, it didn't matter how well you played as long as the emotion you are trying to convey is picked up and I believe that is Nirvana's legacy. Listening to "With The Lights Out" will show you that Kurt was a much better guitarist than he let people believe - he made a conscious decision to simplify it and let the strength of the song carry through.
As for Dave Grohl, he's an immensely talented guy - despite being the youngest member of the band he'd been on the road as long as they had before he joined - there was no question that he would continue making music because it was obvious it's what he is best at doing - his music isn't as visceral because it's not as close to the bone as Kurt's was. He's still bloody good though.
Nirvana's sound was the barbaric yawp that had been a long time bubbling in America's heartland through the Reagan and Bush years - a certain queasiness that something was wrong, but that Kurt's generation felt they could do nothing about. It goes without saying that we need something similar now.
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