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I was listening to some Nirvana on YouTube today and I saw that folks were wishing Kurt "happy birthday" so I thought a post would be in order. No matter what you think of Kurt or his band, you can't deny that Nirvana were an important band. I first heard Nirvana on a Canadian radio show called Brave New Waves (brilliant show, sadly missed). This was before Nevermind (and "Teen Spirit") went big. At the time I was really burnt out on death metal and to me Nirvana were the perfect band I was looking for, combining loud guitars with pop sensibilities. The only bad thing about them is when the press started calling Kurt the "voice of a generation". That's total and utter BULLs**t. I think I've ranted on this subject before, so I won't bother repeating myself. It's a shame Kurt's life ended the way it did. We sure as hell could use a band like Nirvana considering the state of popular music nowadays. RIP Kurt, you are missed....

yep, Nirvana are not the most popular band on this board, I've noticed... but I love Nirvana. The first time I heard them was also pre-Nevermind/Teen Spirit, when they did a session on John Peel which I recorded onto cassette - granted this was in the days when I would obsessively record anything off the radio that had heavy guitars in it, but at least when they blew up worldwide I could legitimately say I already knew who they were. Nevermind is an amazing album, still now... Agreed with that 'voice of a generation' tag being bull-butter though. probably the last thing kurt would've wanted...

I saw them only once. they were excellent it was the In Utero tour with Jack Smear or whatever his name was on 2nd guitar. At the end of the set Cobain launched his guitar in the air and in like two tries nailed this disco ball that was like 30 feet above thee stage with his guitar. it was remarkable.

I absolutely adore Nirvana. I can see why some would dislike them. I will say...we got Foo Fighters out of it.

Nirvana recorded a song that was suppose to be a joke- the song defined the 90's in the rock genre. Smells Like Teen Spirit became from what Kurt saw sprayed painted in his room, since (I believe) he used a lot of it and his girlfriend decided to send a message to him.

nice. my girlfriend's brother saw them supporting Pixies in 1988 or 89. I think he forgot he'd seen them until they became big!

I really liked their Nevermind album.  A few of their earlier songs were pretty good too.  Just goes to show that simple melodies can be the best melodies.

For me, the entire grunge thing was pretty much that album and about 3 other Nirvana songs.  And maybe 4 other songs by other bands. 

the thing about grunge was it seemed to dominate the music landscape for a couple of years, but there weren't actually that many bands involved from what I recall. off the top of my head: Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains. was that it? maybe Smashing Pumpkins? apart from those I think some other bands got labelled 'grunge' but they weren't really. or at least wouldn't have been lumped together if the 'grunge' tag didn't exist...

Alice in Chains first album, Facelift, hit before Nevermind by Nirvana. Nirvana did an album prior, but it was mainly on college radio.

Somehow, 'Teen Spirit' hit on MTV, and any band from Seattle or with a similar sound automatically got labeled 'grunge.'

Alice in Chains was more heavy, almost to a degree of heavy metal. Pearl Jam was the opposite of Nirvana, who was copying the Pixies.

I love the 'grunge' era, but mainly it came to: Seattle, heroin, and the opposite of glam/hair bands.

Zombie - I am not sure Nirvana played w/ Pixies circa those years just sayin

perhaps I'm remembering that wrong... never even thought about it before, but now you mention it I don't recall reading about them tour with pixies either. I'm sure it would've been well documented.

"...Hi, Axl... Hi, Axl..."

The memories, huh?

In the liner notes for the 2-disc Smithereens album It Came From Jersey, they mentioned that Nirvana admitted to having wrote About A Girl after hearing one of the Smithereens songs, though the title escapes me at the moment.

I still think Nick Broomfield's Kurt and Courtney was a major hatchet job on KC.  :thumbdown: