The later forms were developed by Xer's themselves (e.g. grunge, grindcore and related genres). Kurt Cobain was heralded as a spokesman of Gen X and is one of the most influential musicians in the history of alternative rock.
As adolescents in the 1980s and 1990s, Xers were slackers, cynical, and disaffected. Cultural influences on Xers included a proliferation of musical genres with strong social-tribal identity such as punk, post-punk, and heavy metal.
The term “latchkey kid” describes members of Gen X who went through its all-important, formative years as one of the least parented, least nurtured generations in U.S. history.
The Voice of
Founded in 1987 in Aberdeen, Washington, by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist, Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990.
Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock and grunge music, emerged as a “Seattle sound” during the mid-1980s in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns.
A sign at the entrance to Aberdeen, a home town of Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, where Nirvana was formed.
through
Early releases.
“The early songs were really angry... But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings.”
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue's “Love Buzz” in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino.
Milestones
Mainstream Breakthrough.
Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success. The album is often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X and bringing grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience.
After the album's release, members of Nirvana expressed dissatisfaction with the polished sound the producer Butch Vig and the mixer Andy Wallace had given to the songs. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV.
Nirvana disenchanted with the Sub Pop and signed to DGC Records in 1990. After signing, the band began recording its first major label album, Nevermind.
Final Months.
For their third album, Nirvana chose producer Steve Albini, for his “natural” recording style, without layers of studio trickery. The album was recorded in two weeks in February 1993. After that rumors circulated that DGC may not release the album due to Albini's abrasive sound, and producer Scott Litt was hired to remix several singles.
In Utero was released on September 13, 1993. It toped the American and British album charts. Critics praised the band's change in sound as well as Cobain's lyrics. It became the final Nirvana album before Cobain's death in 1994.
Christopher John Farley,
critic in Time
critic in Time
“Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn't gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana.”
The band made a habit of destroying its equipment after shows. Novoselic said they created the “shtick” in order to get off of the stage sooner. Cobain stated it began as an expression of his frustration with previous drummer Channing making mistakes and dropping out entirely during performances.
Nirvana’s musical style has been mainly described as grunge, alternative rock, punk rock, and hard rock. Characterized by their punk aesthetic, Nirvana fused pop melodies with noise. Cobain’s rhythm guitar style, which relied on power chords, low-note riffs, and a loose left-handed technique, featured the key components to the band’s songs.
“Vandalism:
as a
11.11
1991
1991
Detroit, USA
From 1987 to 1994, Nirvana performed a variety of shows and and concerts. We take a look take a look at at the most remarkable ones from “Love Buzz” in Detroit in 1991 to “Rape Me” in Paris in 1994.
Nirvana historians remember this show as one of the most enthusiastic performances of their career. The quality of the footage from this classic early gig is rough, but so is the band – and the performance of the 1969 Shocking Blue song “Love Buzz,” which Nirvana released as its first single, was grunge before the word became a cliché.
Brian Johnson
“The best Nirvana concert ever in terms of enthusiasm is without question 10/11/91. The band was in fifth gear all night long, the performance is near flawless, it was easy to see the band was having a good time playing.”
AND Tours
November 11, 1991
August 30, 1992
November 18, 1993
ReADING, UK
NEW York, USA
There’s more than a little similarity between the guitar riff to Nirvana’s breakthrough hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the slick 70s rock band Boston’s smash “More Than a Feeling,” and Nirvana puckishly pointed that out at the 1992 Reading Festival by beginning “Teen Spirit” with a couple of choruses of the Boston song.
Then they ripped through a gloriously ragged version of their own song, complete with light show and the most ramshackle guitar solo in the history of ramshackle guitar solos. This was their largest setlist the band's final UK performance.
Chris Hickman
“Watching the video will show just how excited tens of thousands of people were to see Nirvana's first show in almost 2 months, first UK show in over 9, and last UK show ever. The longest setlist they ever did, they hit every corner of their catalog...”
Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged” performance included some of the hits, but it was also full of covers that showed where they’d come from and, maybe, where they might go: three songs from the Arizona-based Meat Puppets, one from Leadbelly, and this David Bowie classic that Cobain managed to make sound confessional.
In November 1994, seven months after the death of Kurt Cobain, the performance was released as MTV Unplugged in New York, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. It won the Best Alternative Music Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards, Nirvana's only Grammy Award win, and has since been ranked one of the greatest live albums of all time.
This is easily the best known Nirvana performance and for good reason — it was incredible. A band that is notoriously electric, unplugged their instruments and performed beautifully delicate versions of their usually hard-hitting tracks as well as a number of obscure covers.
Cobain had become a star, and was trying to grapple with a fame that he clearly found uncomfortable if not unbearable.
30/08
1992
1992
18/11
1993
1993
February 14,
1994
1994
PARIS, FRANCE
Roar Aasheim
“The ultimate ending. Everything is perfect. Nirvana is on the top of the world. It's all downhill from now.”
Regarded as one of the band’s best shows from their final tour, Nirvana played tracks from all their albums from "Bleach" to "In Utero." The set, played just a couple months before Cobain’s death, was closed by an exceptional version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"
14/02
1994
1994
It was confirmed that Cobain committed suicide. But conspiracy theories that Cobain was murdered were widely spread after the incident. Cobain died on April 5, 1994, at the age of 27, becomming one of the members of the “27 club”. Following Cobain's death, Nirvana disbanded.
On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead by electrician Gary T. Smith at his home in Seattle. Smith thought Cobain was asleep until he saw blood oozing from his left ear. He also found a suicide note with a pen stuck through it inside a flower pot.
It was determined that he had died three days earlier, on April 5. The Police incident report stated that Cobain had suffered a visible gunshot wound to the head, made by a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun, which was found nearby. The toxicological tests determined high level of heroin in Cobain’s blood.
cobain'S
AND IMPACT
Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
Nirvana is one of the best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 millionrecords worldwide. During their three years as a mainstream act, Nirvana received an American Music Award, Brit Award and Grammy Award, seven MTV Video Music Awards and two NME Awards.
Overall, Nirvana has received twelve awards from twenty-five nominations. They 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.
DOESN't Mean
aren’t
“Just because
Made by Nadya Klimenko
This is a non-commercial project. All materials pertain to its owners.
They
