Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Nirvana -- 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee


Nirvana will always have a special place in my heart. To me, this was my generation's Beatles. They totally rewrote the rules and standards of what rock and alternative music was and could be. Kurt Cobain was my generation's John Lennon and his death affected as many people as Lennon's did in the 1980's. It is especially poignant in that I actually got to see this band live a mere six months before his death. They were tight and put on a helluva show. That will be one memory I will always cherish.

I remember when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" first got airplay on MTV (you know, back when it WAS music television). I am proud to say that during that point in my life I really got into some acts way before the bandwagoners and hangers-on. When Alice in Chains had their first single "Man in the Box" , I bought the record before anyone else I knew. When Living Colour dropped "Cult of Personality", I bought that record before they hit the mainstream.

I did the same with Nirvana.

I must have played that CD till the metal began to peel. My fondest memory of that time was introducing Nirvana to my man The Coach one night. Three sheets to the wind but with the clarity of a Rhodes Scholar, Coach said to me, "Those are some great fucking lyrics". An albino...a mosquito...my libido. Fucking brilliant".

Truer words may have never been said.

9 comments:

Old said...

I was talking to the Squid once and it dawned upon me that the Foo Fighters had released more records than Nirvana. It seemed strange at the time.

p.s. 'Does this look like lint to you?'

Denise (aka Trixie) said...

Nirvana? Why don't you listen to a real band, like Def Lepperd?

Now that your stroke is over, I'm just messin with ya. :)

Tee hee hee.

Lester Suppes said...

I think Denise should be blocked from posting for even typing def leppard.

VB said...

The Beatles of your generation?

Blasphemy!

Let's discuss this in 2036, and see if Smells Like Teen Spirit sounds as fresh and innovative as I Saw Her Standing There does, 45 years later. If you'd like to bet on it, I'll be happy to take your money.

If Nirvana belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, then fucking Def Leppard or Cinderella can't be too far behind. Or the guy who sang the Pina Colada song. You might as well say that Vanilla Ice belongs in there, right next to Grandmaster Flash.

Def Leppard were much better, by the way, when they were a 10 arm band.

The success of the Foo Fighters has proven once and for all who the real genius behind Nirvana was. If you ask me, Kurt Cobain was just holding Dave Grohl back.

Old said...

vanbrujah said...
Or the guy who sang the Pina Colada song.

Ben Roethlisberger?

MegatonMaynard said...

Nirvana was the Beatles of the 1990's. They, like the Beatles, forever changed the landscape of music singlehandedly. As the Beatles did more to influence the artists that came after them, so too has Nirvana done the same.

And as the Beatles are laid waste to what was the popular drek on radio in their day, so too did Nirvana in their time.

I guarantee you that Teen Spirit will be construed as Fresh and Innovative in 2036 as it largely relies on a matter of opinion.

VB said...

Once 2036 rolls around, I will buy you a case of your beverage of choice if you prove to be correct, sir!

savannahlou10 said...

excuse me, to all you immature music listeners, nirvana was and still is music of our time. you obviously do not know how to enjoy or listen to music. and i dont think kurt cobain would expect you to listen to his lyrics if you didnt know how to enjoy them

julia said...

well said, savanna. Nirvana rocks!