John Jackson

Jackson

John Jackson

Mrs.Bartel

English 9/ 2^nd

7 May 2014

Voicing a Generation

If one were to look in a dictionary, Nirvana means a state of perfect happiness; however, in the music industry it means quite the opposite. Nirvana was an angry, raging grunge band. Nirvana’s lead singer, Kurt Cobain, dropped out of school to focus on his music career (“Kurt Cobain”). Cobain was very passionate about art and music. Like many bands, Nirvana never anticipated that they would grasp the nation’s attention. They were responsible for bringing attention to what was originally an underground music genre: grunge. The song that was most accountable for Nirvana’s success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit” off of their 2^nd album, Nevermind. It became the anthem of the generation (“Nirvana (Rock Group)”). Nirvana helped voice a generation and impact the music industry through their image, their emotionally charged lyrics, and their unique grunge sound.

Grunge music was extremely popular in Seattle in the 1980s and 1990s. The most popular grunge band at this time was Nirvana (Dagnino). Lead singer Kurt Cobain grew up in Aberdeen, Washington. This is where he met Krist Novoselic. The two realized that they both enjoyed punk music and decided to start a band called Nirvana. Nirvana was first signed by Sub Pop Records in Seattle. Sub Pop was an independent label that nationalized grunge music. This is where the band recorded their first album, Bleach. Afterwords they shuffled through a few different drummers before they finally settled on Dave Grohl (Gould). In the midst of recording their second album, Nevermind, many different record labels tried to out-bid each other to win over the band. In the end, Nirvana left Sub Pop and was signed to DGC Records (Gould; “Kurt Cobain”). At this point, Nirvana's popularity was increasing rapidly and they had attracted a lot of attention.

With all eyes on Nirvana, people began to take note and attempt to imitate their image, style, and behavior. Many teens started to wear distressed denim paired with flannel tops just like Cobain himself (Gould; “Kurt Cobain”). Noticing all the fuss about this new trend, the Nirvana-inspired “grunge look” was quickly copied by high ranking designers (“Kurt Cobain”). With word about Nirvana spreading like wildfire, their concerts were crowded with teens who were ready to rage along to Nirvana's lyrics. During the concerts, kids would go wild in the mosh pits (Gould). The amplified emotion at the events got everyone extremely fired up. Nirvana got caught up in it as well and smashed instruments on stage. Cobain was said to have estimated that he smashed over 300 guitars in his lifetime (Gould). Their behavior spoke volumes. Now usually actions are supposed to speak louder than words, but, in Nirvana's case, both were equally earsplitting.

In addition what really fueled the emotion at Nirvana concerts were their lyrics. The song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was Nirvana's true claim to fame. It was very successful in channeling the angst in suburban teens (Gould). At that time, suburban teens thought that they were voiceless. That was until Nirvana came along. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was so popular that it was known as “the anthem of a generation” (“Nirvana (Rock Group)”). Cobain's lyrics really expressed the discontentment that troubled the youth of the 90s (“On Exhibit: Nirvana”). Nirvana was“raging against everything, the lyrics – angry, disillusioned, self-mocking – admit no possibility of consolation” (“Nirvana (Rock Group)”). As if their lyrics were not enough, their sound added even more emotion to the riot-like performances.

Grunge is a sub-genre of music that originally arose in Seattle, Washington. Influenced by heavy metal, indie rock, and punk, grunge has been called an “angry, disheveled” version of rock (Dagnino; McConnell). For example, “Nirvana used extreme changes of tempo ad volume to express anger and alienation: a quiet, tuneful verse switched into a ferocious, distorted chorus” (Savage). The rough and angry sound of Nirvana was distorted but, it was very relatable and very popular amongst the youth of the decade. Grunge music started out as an underground music genre but, when Nirvana became a huge success, it started to become more mainstream. Nirvana is responsible for bringing mass popularity to a genre that combines hard rock and punk music (Gould). Songs from their album, Nevermind, managed to bring together people with various music tastes, especially “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (McConnell). Their fans came from all around the musical world, but in the end, they could all unite because of one band, Nirvana.

Whether Cobain liked it or not, Nirvana became one of the biggest bands of the 1980s and 1990s. Their edgy attitude and greasy look drew in suburban teens no matter where they were from. The sarcastic tone of their lyrics set against distorted music and paired with reckless behavior on stage helped Nirvana capture a lot of attention. What started out small ended up extremely huge. Nirvana popularized grunge music. They altered the course of music in the 1990s and let the youth of that era's voice be heard.

Works Cited

Dagnino, Michelle. "Punk and Grunge Culture." Pop Culture Universe: Icons Idols Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Gould, Katherine. "Nirvana." Pop Culture Universe: Icons Idols Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

"Kurt Cobain." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 1994. Student Resources in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

McConnell, Veronica Bruce, et al. "Music: Grunge Rock (1990s)." American Decades: 1990-1999. Ed. Tandy McConnell. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Student Resources in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

"Nirvana (Rock Group)." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

"On Exhibit: Nirvana." Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Savage, Jon. "Nirvana." Middle Search Plus. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Smith, Chris. "Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)." Pop Culture Universe: Icons Idols Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.