1/100 records in 2023 challenge
Listening To Nirvana’s Nevermind Over 30 Years Later
Grunge’s reemerging relevance
When I was a teenager in the 1990s I felt like giving a fat middle finger to The Man. The US government. Capitalism. Adults not doing the right thing. Homophobia. Snooty mean girls.
You’d think Nirvana would’ve been my jam. I remember going down to the small CD store with a friend the day Nevermind was released in 1991. As soon as I saw the cover — the naked baby underwater, completely exposed, I shirked away, my OCD intrusive thinking nagging at my brain.
I couldn’t support a band that straight-up put a naked baby on their CD cover.
I did something as a teenager, that I did a lot for the first half of my life — threw out the baby with the bathwater. This is an American idiomatic saying that means you dismiss an entire work or idea because you don’t like one part of it.
In the 2020s, Spotify recommended “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and I realized I do like at least one seminal Nirvana song. So, I decided to go back in the Sound Time Machine™ to give a chance to the album my teenage self turned away from.
Without further ado, these are my personal top 5 faves from Nevermind.
Load up on guns, bring your friends
It’s fun to lose and to pretend
She’s over bored and self assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word
— “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nevermind, 1991, David Grohl, Krist Novoselick, Kurt Cobain
Yikes. This song seems to foreshadow Cobain’s early death. I didn’t realize Cobain sang multiple songs about guns. Not fitting in and flipping off the culture? I got that, but I missed the note on guns.
Come doused in mud, soaked in bleach
As I want you to be
As a trend, as a friend
As an oldMemoria, memoria
Memoria, memoria
— “Come As You Are,” Nevermind, 1991, Kurt Cobain
The lyrics go on to insist the narrator doesn’t have a gun. Addressing gun culture was important to me in the 1990s because of personal experience. It’s likely even more relevant 32 years later. SOBBING.
I’m so lonely, that’s okay, I shaved my head
And I’m not sad
And just maybe I’m to blame for all I’ve heard
But I’m not sure
I’m so excited, I can’t wait to meet you there
And I don’t care
I’m so horny, that’s okay
My will is good
— “Lithium,” Nevermind, 1991, Kurt Cobain
Now I get that so many teens got that Cobain got them. As a teen, I also shaved my head (my own big middle finger to the culture) and was super horny, as most teens are. I also grappled with mental illness but didn’t understand it at the time. For me, this song is personal and highly relatable — not in the killing way, but in the experiencing mental unrest way.
Afraid of never knowing fear
Experience anything you need
I’ll keep fighting jealousy
Until it’s fucking gone
— “Lounge Act,” Nevermind, 1991, Kurt Cobain
The intro is peppy, and smooth, and quickly transitions into angsty emo lyrics. It’s one of Nirvana’s slower songs. Since lyrics are important to me, I like that they’re easily understandable here. The MTV Unplugged video has a presence and sound that almost makes you feel like you coulda been there.
Monkey see, monkey do (I don’t know why)
Rather be dead than cool (I don’t know why)
Every line ends in rhyme (I don’t know why)
Less is more, love is blind (I don’t know why)
— “Stay Away,” Nevermind, 1991, Kurt Cobain
“Stay Away” was performed in 1992 on MTV Unplugged. This song has more of that “I’m angry and scream-singing” vibe the band is known for (I think). It’s anti-conformist. It successfully emotes how we outcasts and freaks felt.
To wrap up, now that I’m an adult, I see a lot of things I criticized in the US culture reemerging. Once again, I feel like giving a fat middle finger to The Man. The US government. Capitalism. Adults not doing the right thing. Homophobia. Snooty mean girls.
Nirvana’s Nevermind?
Definitely still relevant.
Postscript
After I submitted this article for publication, I scurried on to pick up my 12 and 15-year-old children. I picked up the 12-year-old first.
“We’re listening to Nirvana on the drive today,” I said.
She said, “I was just listening to that with a friend in class.”
Excitedly, I said, “Really? Cool. Nevermind is 1 of my 100 albums review.”
“Bad start,” she replied. That’s Nirvana’s most commercial album. Kurt Cobain didn’t even like it. It was overplayed and it made him famous when he didn’t want to be.
In short, my 12-year-old schooled me on grunge when school got out.
This article is inspired by Nia Simone McLeod’s 100 Albums in 1 Year challenge. I’m giving it a go. This is 1/100. These are the folks that played last year. Kevin Alexander Rob Janicke Mary DeVries M. Berg Nicole Brown Pierce McIntyre Lara Manetta Steve Devine Will you participate in 2023?
Aimée Gramblin is practically a superspy because that’s basically what writers are, right? She dabbles in nonfiction articles, emits poetry, and lives her life as a WIP memoirist. She sometimes dabbles in pop culture musings.
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