Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band spent by a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, and then recruited Dave Grohl in 1990. The band's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referred to as the generation X bow band. a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.

In the late 1980s, Nirvana established themselves as part of the Seattle grunge scene and released their first album, Bleach, for the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. They developed a sound which was based on dynamic contrasts, often between calm verses and heavy choruses. After signing with DGC Records in 1991, Nirvana found unexpected commercial success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the lead single from their landmark second album Nevermind (1991). A cultural phenomenon of the 1990s, Nevermind was certified Diamond by the RIAA and is credited with ending the dominance of hair metal.

Characterized by their punk aesthetic, Nirvana's fusion of pop melodies with noise rock, combined with their themes of abjection and social alienation, gave them worldwide popularity. After extensive touring and the release of the 1992 compilation album Incesticide and the EP Hormoaning, the band released their highly anticipated third studio album, In Utero. i> (1993). The album topped the US and UK album charts and was critically acclaimed. Nirvana disbanded following Cobain's suicide in April 1994. Novoselic, Grohl, and Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, have overseen several posthumous releases. The posthumous live album MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) won Best Alternative Music Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

Nirvana is one of the best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. During their three years as the headlining act, Nirvana received an American Music Award, a Brit Award, and a Grammy Award, as well as seven MTV Video Music Awards and two NME Awards. They had five number one hits on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and four number one albums on the Billboard 200. In 2004, Rolling Stone named Nirvana among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in 2014.

History

Formation and early years (1987-1988)

Singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic met while attending Aberdeen High School in Washington state. The pair became friends while frequenting The Melvins' practice space. Cobain wanted to start a band with Novoselic, but he did not answer for a long time. Cobain gave him a demo tape of his Fecal Matter project. Three years after the two met, Novoselic notified Cobain that he had finally heard the Fecal Matter demo and suggested they form a group. His first band, Sellouts, was a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band. The project featured Novoselic on guitar and vocals, Cobain on drums, and Steve Newman on bass, but was short-lived. Another project, this time with originals, was also attempted in late 1986. Bob McFadden was enlisted to play drums, but after a month this project also fell through. In early 1987, Cobain and Novoselic recruited drummer Aaron Burckhard. They practiced material from the Cobain's Fecal Matter tape, but began writing new material soon after forming.

Nirvana Logo, designed by Kurt Cobain.

During its initial months, the band went through a series of names, including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, and Ted Ed Fred. The group settled on Nirvana because, according to Cobain, "I wanted a name that was beautiful or nice." and pretty instead of a mean, obscene punk name like Angry Samoans.” Novoselic and Cobain moved to Tacoma and Olympia, Washington respectively. They temporarily lost contact with Burckhard and instead practiced with the Melvins' Dale Crover. Nirvana recorded their first demos in January 1988.

In early 1988, Crover moved to San Francisco but recommended Dave Foster as his replacement on drums. Foster's tenure with Nirvana lasted only a few months; during a stint in jail, he was replaced by Burckhard, who again left after telling Cobain that he was too hungover to ever practice. Cobain and Novoselic placed an ad looking for a replacement drummer in The Rocket, a Seattle music publication, but received no satisfactory responses. Meanwhile, a mutual friend introduced them to drummer Chad Channing. Channing continued to play with Cobain and Novoselic; however, by Channing's account, "they never actually said 'okay, you're in.'" Channing played his first show with Nirvana in May 1988.

Bleach

First releases

In November 1988, Nirvana contacted Seattle independent record label Sub Pop, through which their first single "Love Buzz" was released. The following month the band contacted producer Jack Endino and began recording their first album. The band's debut album titled Bleach was released on June 15, 1989. The album was influenced mainly by The Melvins, Mudhoney and in large part by the classic 70s rock of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Bassist Krist Novoselic commented in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that they had heard, in the middle of a tour, albums by The Smithereens and the black metal band Celtic Frost, and he also said that the combination could serve as an influence. During the recording of the album, Jason Everman joined the band, who despite not participating in the recording of the album was included in the final credits in gratitude for paying for the recording sessions (a sum of $606.17), Novoselic explained "we wanted to make him feel at home, with the band." Prior to the album's release, Cobain and Novoselic insisted on signing an extended contract with Sub Pop, so the band first negotiated it with the label.

The title of the album, originates in a poster aimed at the prevention of AIDS that Cobain saw while driving.

Following the release of Bleach, Nirvana embarked on their first national tour. The album became a favorite album on college radio stations in the United States, but still offered little clue as to what it would become. the band two years later. Due to conflicts and growing dissatisfaction with Everman on tour, Nirvana canceled the last few dates of their concerts and returned to Washington. No one told Everman that he was out of the band at the time, though he later claimed that he was actually the one who left the band. Despite Sub Pop not promoting Bleach as much as other albums, it was constantly selling out and earning a initial sum of 40,000 copies sold. However, even so, Cobain continued to be annoyed by the lack of promotion and distribution that the label gave the album. For this reason, in December of that same year (at Cobain's initiative) the The band recorded an EP under the name Blew with Tupelo Records and producer Steve Fisk.

That same month, in a new interview, Cobain noted that the band's music was changing, saying, "Our first few songs sounded really angry, but as time goes on the songs get calmer and that's how I feel." happier. The songs in the works are about conflicts in relationships and with other human beings.". In April 1990 Nirvana began working with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison to record the album. successor to Bleach.

During the recording sessions, Cobain and Novoselic were dissatisfied with Chad Channing on drums, while Channing expressed frustration that he had not been actively involved in songwriting. Some Nirvana demo tapes with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and attract the attention of various record labels, while Channing due to his problems was expelled, leaving the formation. Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters and recorded a new song "Sliver", which was released as a single. Nirvana later asked Dale Crover, drummer for the Melvins if he could play with them on the last seven dates of their promotional tour. by August. By September, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced them to Dave Grohl, who was looking for a new band due to the breakup of his Washington, DC hardcore punk band, Scream. The trio relocated to Seattle. Cobain and Novoselic, after watching Grohl audition, said, "Within two minutes we knew Dave was the drummer for it."

Nevermind

Commercial success

The band members, unhappy with Sub Pop's work and interested in continuing their sessions with Smart Studios, decided to seek a new deal with a major record label as no independent label could buy the band back without a contract. Following the recommendations of Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon, Nirvana signed a contract with David Geffen's record label, DGC Records. Nirvana began recording their first album with a major record company, their second studio album entitled provisionally Sheep. With Vig, instead of continuing to record at the Vig-owned studio in Madison, Wisconsin like the year before, they decided to go to Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. Over the course of two months, the band worked on a wide variety of songs, some of which, including "In Bloom" and "Breed", had been in their repertoire for some time, while songs like "On a Plain" and "Stay Away" weren't. still finished, and their lyrics had to be written in the middle of the recording process.

Dave Grohl joined the band as a drummer and debuted with Nevermind (1991).

After the recording sessions were complete, Vig and the band awaited the results of the mixes. However, the band was dissatisfied with the first results, so they decided to find someone to improve the final mixes. The band members asked Gary Gersh of Geffen to give them a list of possible picks. The list contained several household names, including Scott Litt (known for his work with R.E.M.) and Ed Stasium (known for his work with The Smithereens). However, Cobain feared that working with well-known producers would make the album sound like the music of those bands. So he decided to pick the last name on the list, next to the name 'Slayer': Andy Wallace, (Wallace co-produced Slayer's album, Seasons in the Abyss), although the band also expressed their dissatisfaction with the final result of Nevermind.

Wallace took the album's sound to a whole new height, adding layers of reverb and studio tricks to make it sound less dark. A few months after the album's release, Cobain complained to the press, alleging that Wallace had made the sound of Nevermind too light, forgetting that the band had chosen Wallace and that he had been involved in the process. recording and mixing. Although the band was somewhat disappointed with the album's sound, Wallace had successfully "disappeared" his indie roots and created a chart- and radio-friendly rock that others would try to imitate..

Initially, DGC Records hoped that the album could sell 250,000 copies as their sales expectation for Nevermind was no more than 500,000 copies. However, the first single from the album, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", quickly gained popularity, thanks in part to the radio coverage of the song's video clip that went from airing only in the early morning hours, to receiving heavy rotation on MTV. During a tour of Europe in late 1991, the band soon suspected that their shows were dangerously oversold and that the television media were making them a constant presence even from the stage and that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was ubiquitous on television. and on radio stations.

By Christmas, Nevermind was selling over 400,000 copies a week in the US alone. The album was certified triple platinum in the US in less than six months and peaked at #6 on the Top 10. 100 on Billboard magazine, inspiring a handful of imitators and taking the grunge and alternative sound all over the charts. The popularity of alternative rock, as well as the end of the hair metal era are attributed to Nevermind. On January 11, 1992, with 12 million copies sold, the album reached the top of the Billboard 200, displacing Michael Jackson's Dangerous from first place. considered a symbol of the rise of alternative music over pop. In addition, the arrival of Nevermind helped chart several grunge albums such as Pearl Jam's Ten and Badmotorfinger of Soundgarden. That same month Billboard stated: "Nirvana is that rare band that has it all: critical and industry acceptance, radio airplay, and an alternative base." i>. The album sold more than 12 million copies in the United States and 30 million worldwide as of 2008.

Krist Novoselic in Vancouver, Canada.

Reporting fatigue (largely due to some voice problems that Cobain suffered), and after a short tour with Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the US east coast, and one through Australia and Japan, the band decided not to embark on another US tour promoting Nevermind (despite making promotional appearances on the popular Saturday Night Live show and on MTV), instead doing several shows instead. at the end of that same year.

In February 1992, at the conclusion of the Pacific tour, Cobain married Courtney Love in Hawaii, and in August, Love gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Frances Bean. In March, Cobain attempted to reorganize the band's songwriting royalties (which had hitherto been divided equally) to make it more noticeable that he wrote most of the songs. Grohl and Novoselic did not oppose Cobain's move, but when Cobain requested that the deal be retroactive to the release of Nevermind, disagreements arose between the three members, nearly causing the band to break up.. After a tense week, Cobain ended up receiving a retroactive 75% share of the compositions, so bad feelings within the band began to surface. Rumors also surfaced about the band breaking up due to Cobain's health. Nirvana headlined the closing night of the Reading Festival where they played one of their best-known concerts, as one of the festival's headlining acts in England. Cobain entered the stage in a wheelchair and wearing a wig, parodying rumors about his state of mind, then stood up and joined Novoselic and Grohl, playing one of the band's most varied concerts, adding to the list of songs that had yet to be released along with covers of Fang's "The Money Will Roll Right In," Wipers' "D-7," and Novoselic sang intro to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Boston's "More Than a Feeling." (resembling the Smells Like Teen Spirit riff) and also played a Jimi Hendrix-esque version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". people will yell "We love you, Courtney!" in unison. Grohl confessed on the radio show Loveline that the band believed that the concert would be a complete disaster, because of everything that had happened in the previous months and that they had not rehearsed since June. However, the live ended up being one of the most memorable in his career and in history.

Incesticide

New songs

A few days later, Nirvana gave another memorable performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Cobain believed that with success, despite the network's negativity, they would allow him to perform his new song, "Rape Me." MTV executives, who preferred the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit," were terrified, thinking it was a song against them (because "Rape" doesn't just mean "rape" in English, it also means "enslave").. At the start of the set, Cobain played and sang the first few notes of "Rape Me," giving MTV quite the scare, which ended when the band began playing "Lithium." As they entered the final part of the song, Novoselic was frustrated that his bass amp stopped working and, for "dramatic air", he threw it up in the air. Unfortunately for him, the bass landed on his forehead and left him sore. When the song ended and while Cobain was doing his classic instrument destruction that was done at the end of almost every show, Grohl walked up to the microphone and started yelling "Hi, Axl!", referring to the Guns N' frontman Axl. Roses, Axl Rose, with whom the band and Courtney had had an altercation leading up to the group's performance, in which Courtney had sarcastically asked Axl if he wanted to be French Bean's godfather and Axl responded to Cobain by saying that " Shut up your bitch." Cobain told Courtney to "shut up, bitch", eliciting laughter from the Nirvana staff. During the ceremony the band received awards for the categories Best Alternative Video and Best New Artist..

DGC Records had hoped to have a new album from the band by the end of that year, however work was not proceeding quickly so the label and the band decided to release a compilation album of previously unreleased material. In December, Incesticide, a collection of the band's various recordings, B-sides and rarities, was released. Several of the band's BBC radio sessions and early unreleased material began circulating through the media. illegal circles selling music through pirated copies. So the album served to curb those involved in the business, which included fans recording concerts without authorization. The album contained fan favorites like "Sliver," "Dive," "Been a Son," and "Aneurysm," as well as some covers of songs by The Vaselines, a band that became popular as a result of Nirvana's covers.

Experimental work: In Utero

For In Utero, the band chose to work with producer/musician Steve Albini, known for his production work on the Pixies' Surfer Rosa. The sessions with Albini were productive and remarkably fast: the initial version of the album was recorded and mixed in two weeks, a far cry from the months of recording and mixing on Nevermind. Recording was done at Pachyderm Studio, Minnesota.

Using Albini as producer was a deliberate move by Nirvana to give the album a less "artificial" sound, as if the band had wanted to alienate or distance themselves from their new audience who paid little or no attention to the bands alternative, dark, or experimental that Nirvana tried to support (as is the case with The Jesus Lizard). For example, one of the songs on the album, ironically called "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter", featured prolonged periods of feedback noise. (In the music industry, a "radio friendly" album is described as an "ideal" album: capable of high rotation on radio and of selling several copies, or "units.") However, Cobain insisted that Albini's sound was simply what Nirvana wanted, a "natural" recording, without many layers of studio "gimmicks".

After its release, fans thought the band wanted this "distorted masterpiece". In reality, the band was not happy with some aspects of Albini's mixes. Specifically, they thought the bass levels were too low, and Cobain felt that "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" did not sound "perfect". Long-time R.E.M. producer Scott Litt was called in to help mix these two songs, with Cobain adding instrumentation and vocals. Litt also mixed "Pennyroyal Tea", but Albini's version was used on the album. (DGC later planned to release the Litt mix as a single.)

With In Utero, the band also faced censorship. Big department store chains like Kmart and Wal-Mart refused to carry the album on their shelves, claiming that song titles like "Rape Me" and the collage of plastic fetuses on the album's back cover were too "controversial" for "business-oriented" chains. to the family". The band then agreed to change the album's layout, releasing a "clean" version, which also changed the name "Rape Me" to "Waif Me". However, with the exception of Litt's mix of "Pennyroyal Tea", the included music was identical to the common release. When asked about the edited version, Cobain said that many small-town residents (especially in the central United States) did not have local music stores, and had to purchase their albums at large chain stores like Kmart.

Although "Heart-Shaped Box" was well received by alternative and mainstream stations, and In Utero debuted at number 1 on the UK album chart, Billboard, the album did not enjoy the same success as Nevermind. When the band embarked on the US tour of 'In Utero', their first since the success of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", they regularly played to half-filled halls, mainly due to the lack of touring for promotion. of Nevermind and for the new and "challenging" release. (For the promotional tour for In Utero, the band added Pat Smear, of the punk rock band The Germs, as second guitarist.)

In November 1993, the group decides to stop touring and records an appearance on MTV Unplugged. The sessions reveal the depth of Cobain's compositions, which were often "buried" under the band's "aggressive" sound. The song selection also demonstrated Cobain's great musical interest in his selection of original songs by David Bowie, The Vaselines, Meat Puppets (which he backed on all three of his songs that the band covered), and American folk singer Leadbelly. This became one of the band's biggest moments, which would be amplified by the coming tragedy.

Death of Kurt Cobain

List of songs from the Nirvana final concert.

In early 1994, the band embarked on a tour of Europe. Although the tour started well, the concerts gradually declined, with the image of a bored and distracted Cobain during the concerts, particularly during the Italian tour. After performing live at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany, on March 1, Cobain was diagnosed with severe bronchitis and laryngitis. The next night's show was cancelled. On the morning of March 4, in Rome, Cobain was found unconscious by Courtney Love and was taken to a hospital. A doctor declared in a press conference that the singer reacted to a combination of Rohypnol and alcohol. The rest of the tour was cancelled, including a planned visit (after two years without going) to the UK.

In the weeks that followed, Cobain's heroin addiction recurred. A meeting was organized by family and friends of Kurt Cobain and they convinced him to enter rehab. With less than a week in rehab, Cobain escaped from the rehab center and flew to Seattle. A week later, on Friday, April 8, 1994, Cobain's lifeless body was discovered by an electrician in his Seattle home, after committing suicide with a firearm.

Legacy

Launches

Several albums have been released since Cobain's death. The first came out in November 1994 with the presentation recorded a year earlier on MTV Unplugged, under the title MTV Unplugged in New York. This album contained appearances by members of the Meat Puppets, as well as covers of songs by Leadbelly, The Vaselines, and David Bowie.

Two weeks after the release of Unplugged in New York, a video compilation called Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!, was released. Cobain had compiled a significant portion of the video, which documented much of the Nevermind promotional tour. "Memorable" footage from the video included an infamous incident with a security guard at a Texas club in October 1991, as well as the rendition of "Aneurysm," featuring the band members dressed as women, at the Hollywood Rock festival in Rio. de Janeiro, Brazil in January 1993.

The original intention was to release Unplugged in New York as a double album, along with an album of live electric material to balance the acoustic content. However, the two remaining members of the band were emotionally strained to compile the electric album, so soon after Cobain's death. The album, a compilation of Nirvana concert recordings, was finally released in October 2016. 1996, entitled From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.

In August 1997, the music news website Wall of Sound reported that Grohl and Novoselic were organizing a box set of Nirvana rarities. The band announced that the box set was complete and would be released in September to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the release of Nevermind. However, shortly before the release date, Courtney Love halted the release and sued Grohl and Novoselic, claiming they "were hijacking Nirvana's legacy for their personal gains." What followed was a long legal battle over who owned Nirvana's music that lasted for over a year.

Much of the legal battle centered on an unreleased song, "You Know You're Right," the band's final studio recording. Grohl and Novoselic wanted to include it in the box set, trying to release all the rarities at once. Love, however, claimed that the song was more important than a "rarity", and that it should be included on a "greatest hits" compilation. After more than a year of public and legal confrontations, the parties signed an agreement, agreeing to the immediate release of the "greatest hits" album, including this song, under the title Nirvana. In return, Love agreed to donate cassette demos recorded by Cobain for use in the "box set."

The band's fans were first introduced to "You Know You're Right" in early 1995 when Love covered the song with his band Hole on MTV Unplugged under the title of "You've Got No Right." An early version of the song played by Nirvana at their concert on October 23, 1993 at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom became public in Nirvana's cassette buying and selling circles within a few months. after. In the years that followed, rumors of a studio version of the song began to circulate. For fans, the first real confirmation of this version's existence came in November 2001 when Access Hollywood released a ten-second clip as part of an interview with Love. In May 2002, several longer clips appeared on the Internet by an unknown source, who announced that they would plan to release the full song. However, the source declined, fearing legal action. When the legal battle was about to be finalized in September 2002, the complete song appeared in this medium, days before the announcement of the release of Nirvana. Even if the studio version was a "draft" with unfinished lyrics, fans and even non-fans of the band liked the song, making it one of the most played songs on alternative radio between 2002 and 2003.

Postula of the album Nirvana.

Nirvana was released on October 29, 2002. Along with "You Know You're Right", the album contained hits from their three studio albums, as well as mixes and recordings of family songs. After its release, several longtime fans complained about the song selection, claiming that the alternate version of "Been a Son" (from the Blew EP) was not the band's preferred version, and that songs like "Sappy" (originally released on the No Alternative compilation as "Verse Chorus Verse"), which had received significant rotation in the United States after Cobain's death, were missing. Fans outside the United States questioned the inclusion of the Unplugged version of "All Apologies" (instead of releasing the single version, included on In Utero) and the Bleach's cover of "About a Girl" (when the Unplugged version was a hugely popular single in 1994). Also, with a running time of less than fifty minutes, there was certainly enough room to include other hits, such as "Love Buzz," "Drain You," "Aneurysm," and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" (which would later be included on some non-US releases of the album).

In November 2004 the box set was finally released, titled With the Lights Out. It contained a vast compilation of Cobain demos, rehearsal recordings and rarities, and live songs recorded throughout the band's history. Long-time fans of the band got a chance to listen to unfinished demo recordings like "Old Age" and "Verse Chorus Verse" (a different song than "Sappy"), recorded at the Nevermind sessions. i>. Another notable song in the box set was an acoustic demo of a song called "Do Re Mi", recorded by Cobain in his bedroom.

A "best of the box set" compilation titled Sliver: The Best of the Box was released in the fall of 2005. The CD compiled nineteen songs from the box set along with three unreleased songs, including a cover of the song "Spank Thru" from the 1985 demo Fecal Matter. According to Rolling Stone, Frances Bean Cobain helped select the title and cover art. The following year saw the release of the DVD edition of Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! with improved image quality and previously unseen footage. 2007 saw the release of the DVD edition of Unplugged in New York with improved quality of images and previously unseen material (including rehearsals before the concert, conversations with the public and with MTV producers). In 2009, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of Bleach, an edition remastered version of the album along with a 1990 concert, which had not received an official release until then. A DVD and CD featuring Nirvana's performance at the 1992 Reading Festival, titled Live At Reading.

In a 2002 interview with Jim DeRogatis, Courtney Love described the countless rehearsal cassettes, demos, and recordings left in the room after Cobain's death. Among these, a four-track version of "Do Re Mi" was apparently recorded with Kurt on drums, Pat Smear on guitar, and Eric Erlandson on bass, a week before his death.

Post-Nirvana Projects

Dave Grohl with Foo Fighters in 2006.

In the years after Nirvana disbanded, its two living members remained active. After Cobain's death, Grohl recorded a series of demos that eventually became the Foo Fighters' debut album. In addition, Grohl has participated as a drummer for bands and artists such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mike Watt, Queens of the Stone Age, Tenacious D, Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Cat Power and Killing Joke, in addition to participating as a guitarist on the album Heathen by David Bowie. He also recorded an album of metal songs with several of his favorite early 80's metal musicians under the name Probot .

Following the end of Nirvana, Novoselic formed Sweet 75. More recently, he founded Eyes Adrift with Curt Kirkwood (ex-Meat Puppets) and Bud Gaugh (ex-Sublime). He also played in the band No WTO Combo with Soundgarden's Kim Thayil and Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, which coincidentally performed on one of the dates of the 1999 WTO meeting. Other Novoselic collaborations include playing on a song with Johnny Cash for the 1996 Willie Nelson tribute album Twisted Willie, as well as playing piano on "Against the 70s" for Mike Watt's album Ball-Hog or Tugboat? (in which Grohl also participated, and several grunge and alternative rock musicians such as Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth).

Most significantly, Novoselic has become a political activist, founding the JAMPAC political action committee to support the rights of musicians. In 2004, he released a book titled Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy , which it covered her musical past and his political career. During the 2004 US presidential campaign, Grohl and Novoselic appeared on the scene to support John Kerry's campaign.

Although Nirvana came to a sudden end after their last concert in Munich, the remaining members (including Pat Smear) bid farewell to the band's fans. At the end of the Foo Fighters set at the 1997 Bumbershoot festival in Seattle, Grohl leapt onto the drums, with Novoselic entering with bass in hand. The trio (Grohl, Novoselic and Smear) wowed the crowd with covers of Prince's "Purple Rain" and Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown."

Licenses

At the end of March 2006, Rolling Stone magazine published an article in which it claimed that Courtney Love had an agreement with Larry Mestel, former president of Virgin Records and current head of Primary Wave Music Publishing., to sell 25 percent of the band's song catalog (of which she owned 98 percent). overcommercialization", that "the spirit of Nirvana would be maintained". It was previously speculated that the company Elevation Partners, of which U2 singer Bono is a part, would buy part of the rights.

Musical style and influence

Nirvana has been recognized as one of the bands that popularized the grunge genre worldwide in the first half of the 1990s, as well as popularizing and reviving interest in genres such as punk, post-punk, and independent music in general. Writes AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine: "Jane's Addiction and Soundgarden could have shown the vast American audience of heavy metal that it Alternative could rock, and the Pixies could have combined some pop sensibilities with indie rock white noise, but Nirvana managed to do all of this at the same time, creating a sound that was both ferocious and as melodic", further describing the band's sound as a fusion between Black Sabbath and Cheap Trick "with the aesthetic of indie rock".

Cobain described Nirvana's early sound as "a cheap imitation of Gang of Four and Scratch Acid". During the recording process for Bleach, Cobain felt he needed to adjust a bit more. to the grunge sound of Sub Pop in order to gain a following, so he abandoned his pretentious, pop-like songwriting in favor of a much heavier sound. Michael Azerrad, the band's biographer, wrote, "Ironically, it was the restraints of Sub Pop's sound that helped the band find its own musical identity," adding that by admitting that its members had grown up listening to Black Sabbath and Aerosmith, the band was able to step away from the sound. out of his principles. Cobain sought to mix heavy musical sounds with pop. Commenting on it, he stated: "I wanted to be like Led Zeppelin in a certain way, then I wanted to be completely punk rock and then do flimsy pop songs." When Cobain heard Surfer Rosa by the Pixies after the recording of Bleach , he felt that this album had the sound he had tried to achieve, but until then had been widely imitated. to even replicate. The subsequent popularity of the Pixies encouraged Cobain to follow his instincts as a songwriter.

Nirvana used dynamic changes that alternated between soft and heavy, a musical concept that has been compared to that used by the Pixies. Before the end of his career, Cobain claimed that the band had grown bored with that formula, finding it limited, but expressed doubts about the group's ability to find different dynamic forms. The rhythmic style adopted by Cobain when playing guitar, based on power chords and riffs of bass notes, was one of the main components of the group's sound. During the recording and songwriting process, Cobain would usually begin by playing a riff in a clean tone, and then repeat it with distorted guitars. Cobain was not used to playing guitar solos, generally opting to play slight variations on a song's melody in lines that consisted of only one note. Their solos were largely blues-based and out-of-key, which music writer Jon Chappell described as "virtually an iconoclastic parody of the typical instrumental break". Grohl's arrival in the group "brought the Nirvana sound to a new level." new level of intensity". Azerrad has stated that Grohl's "powerful" drumming style "propelled the band into a new horizon, both visually and musically", adding that "it wouldn't be hard to figure out which song he was playing even if you couldn't hear the rest of the music." The band developed a habit of destroying their instruments at the end of each set, an act associated with artists such as The Who. Novoselic has said that both he and Cobain devised this "trick" in order to get off stage quickly, while Cobain claimed that this custom began as an expression of his frustration over the mistakes Chad Channing made during the group's performances..

Members

Members

• Kurt Cobain - Voice, guitar (1987-1994, his death)
• Krist Novoselic - Low (1987-1994)
• Dave Grohl - Battery, choirs (1990-1994)

Previous members

• Jason Everman - Guitar, choirs (1989)
• Aaron Burckhard - Battery (1987-1988, 1988)
• Dale Crover - Battery (1988, 1990)
• Dave Foster - Battery (1988)
• Chad Channing - Battery (1988-1990)
• Dan Peters - Battery (1990)

Additional living members

• Pat Smear - Guitar In Utero1993-1994)
• Lori Goldston - Violonchelo In Utero1993-1994)
• Melora Creager - Violonchelo In Utero1994)
• John Duncan - Guitar (only concert in 1993)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

• 1989: Bleach
• 1991: Nevermind
• 1993: Utero

In popular culture

It has been made parodies and references in many movies and series, in which the parodies stand out in the chapter That 90's show of the famous series The Simpsons, in the movies Mad Love, Moulin Rouge! and references to their music in the superhero films Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain Marvel, as well as the song Something in the way is the title song of the 2022 movie The Batman (film).

Awards

Swatches

• Smells Like Teen Spirit (live) From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
• Come as You Are de Nevermind
• Dumb In Utero