Music #1 - Nirvana

Nirvana is a concept central in Indian religions. It is the state of being free or liberated from suffering.

In the music world however, the word 'Nirvana' conjures up images of 'grunge' or 'alternative' and flashes of a guy with blond hair screaming something about 'a denial'. Kurt Cobain, quick as flash was given the title "Spokesperson of Generation X (90's)" after they were embraced by mainstream angsty teenagers through the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit. 


After the failure of glam rock and roll due to Guns and Roses long awaited and 100% craptacular follow up album to the 'Appetite for Destruction', grunge, with its heavily distorted guitars & irregular beats slowly stirred up from the underground scenes of Seattle and was finally exposed to the public with Nirvanas arrival.

But the question remains, was Nirvana any good? Before frontman Kurt Cobain supposedly suicided or fell victim to foul play in April 1994 they had released 3 studio albums

1. Bleach - Grungiest Shit Ever, lyrics written in 5 mins before recording

2. Nevermind - Brought alternative rock to the masses, widely regarded as one of the best rock albums of all time

3. In Utero - Reverted back to heavy distortion and massive amp feedback as a reaction of Kurt towards his publicised personal life and the bands newfound fame

Now if one were to try and listen to this band, they would realise that about 95% of Kurt Cobains lyrics made NO FUCKING SENSE AT ALL!! even Cobain has claimed that most of the lyrics were written the night before recording while he was feeling "pissed off", and that he did not regard them highly. In the song 'Sliver' Kurt writes about being forced to go to his grandparents house as his parents go to watch a show, managing to turn such a simple scene into one of frustration that forces the listener to empathise with him even if they've never had to do that. The song "Lithium' has a chorus that solely comprises of the word "YEAH!" screamed over and over again. And to this day do no one has ANY fucking clue as to whether 'Heart Shaped Box' is about little kids with cancer or his relationship with Courtney Love.

If theres one that increases my respect for any band is an "UNPLUGGED" session, where bands swap their distortion pedals for acoustic guitars, transpose everything in different musical keys and perhaps swap their drums for Taiko drums, proving that they really know their shit. Anyone who has never watched Nirvanas Unplugged performance in 1994 on MTV should check it out via youtube

If we think back in time pretty much all the music that has ever been made has roots in classical music. Classical music relied on stirring up emotions through the intricate melodies and rhythms. Just as classical music did not rely on lyrics, Kurt Cobain did not rely heavily on lyrics and instead opted to use the sound of 'grunge' in order to stir in the its audiences a sense of melancholy, angst, frustration or whatever he felt like at the time.


Kurt understood the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down

Kurt Cobain was a sad and misunderstood man who knew peace only though the music he made. He was bipolar and heavily reliant on the drug heroin. Originally use to cope with the pain from his curved spine, it eventually became too much of an addiction and was one of the leadings factors in his death. The sad realisation is that if he had not worked so hard and forced himself to learn guitar left handed his curved spine may have re corrected itself over time and thus he wouldn't have been so dependent on heroin and have become a member of the 27 Club. 

But i still reckon he was killed i mean LOOK HOW FUCKING HAPPY HE IS WITH HIS DAUGHTER ... but then he was bipolar, was in extreme pain constantly due to his spine, became figurehead of an entire generation, got married and had a child all in the space of 3 years .. maybe it was too much for him.

With Cobains death in 1994 the grunge movement died with him and bands such as Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam stuck around for a little while before sinking back underground. Then came the emergence of a new genre of mainstream rock, namely Nu-Metal, a mixture of rock and rap (mostly rock though). Numetal was pure aggression - bands like Korn and Staind sang about their rage at parents, teachers, ex girlfriends, pretty much anyone who was around. Kids who grew up with Nirvana turned on MTV one day and saw that their idol was dead. Naturally their reaction was raw unadulterated anger and who could blame them?. Cobain's death meant that the reward for believing and staying true to yourself came with a lifetime of mental and physical anguish escapable only through self sacrifice. 

Did i ever mention that the drummer (guy on the right) is Dave Grohl who went on to front the Foo Fighters?

IMO Grunge isn't a real genre. It was made up by record companies trying to put a label on something they couldn't understand.