‘Nevermind’: Remembering Nirvana As Iconic Grunge Album Turns 25

What is Nirvana? According to Webster’s dictionary, the word’s meaning is “the state of perfect happiness and peace in Buddhism where there is release from all forms of suffering; a state of great happiness or peace.” While some may use the term as part of their religious beliefs, most associate the name with a Grunge rock band that emerged in Seattle in the early 1990s with a roar. A decade of rock music had been ruled by “Hair Bands” — pop metal bands like Skid Row, Poison, and Def Leppard, but when the “Seattle Sound” emerged from Washington state, Hair Bands had reached their maximum height and were on the way out.

Youth of the 1990s were mesmerized by the new sound — not quite pop, not quite rock, and not quite metal. The music had a haunting quality with a hint of anger or perhaps remorse. The band Nirvana, and its iconic lead singer, Kurt Cobain, hit the music scene in 1987, but they didn’t reach the mainstream spotlight until 1991 with their mega-hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the first release from their smash album Nevermind.

The song was eerily mesmerizing and the video was darkly fascinating, featuring a gymnasium of zombie-like high school students and cheerleaders that performed in the name of Anarchy. The style of the group was as popular as the music — an eclectic blend of unassuming verses and loud, demanding choruses, as well as band members who appeared disheveled and unaffected by pop culture. By the end of 1992, Nirvana was a household name, due in part to the raging success of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the mysterious ways of Kurt Cobain and his slightly tortured existence. In fact, his songs reflected anything but Nirvana, which may have been his intent all along.

Now lauded as the founder of the “Seattle Sound,” people everywhere still are devoted Nirvana fans, including children that were born long after the release of the album. Other grunge bands appeared on the scene like Pearl Jam, but Nirvana remained the king of the darkly introspective music that would rule the 1990s.

Nevermind went on to have many hits, including “Come As You Are,” “Lithium,” and “In Bloom.” The success of the album appeared to take even Nirvana by surprise — when touring, they often oversold concerts. The album Nevermind replaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous as the top album on the U.S. Billboard Top 200. People everywhere were identifying with the band’s themes of ostracism and apathy.

Unfortunately, the angst that was palpable in Kurt Cobain was more than a show. Cobain suffered from a serious addiction to heroin long before heroin was a commonly abused drug. He also had a tumultuous marriage to Courtney Love, with whom he had one daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

Despite the unprecedented success of Nevermind and the albums that followed, Cobain was sinking deeper into depression and addiction. He took his life with a shotgun in 1994, when he was just 27-years-old. At the time, and in a subsequent documentary about the rise and demise of Kurt Cobain, questions arose as to the nature of his death and whether or not it was homicide. Some individuals expressed the idea that perhaps Courtney Love was involved. In the end, however, Cobain’s death was ruled a suicide.

While Cobain is gone, the album that revolutionized an entire musical era remains. As we reflect on the 25th anniversary of the release of Nevermind, it is ironic to recall Kurt Cobain’s own words which are lyrics to “Come As You Are”:

“Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be. Come as a friend, as a friend, as an old enemy…”

[Image Photo by Geffen Records]