nirvana | why they (and other bands) matter
I was a freshman in high school. It was somewhere between late winter and early spring; the weather couldn't decide. Lunch. I was sitting at the other end of my regular lunch table, so I must have been dating Ray at the time. He and some of our friends were talking about a band I'd never heard. I asked who they were talking about.
A solemn hush fell over all of them and they slowly looked at me, and then at each other. A quick glance was exchanged between Ray and Brandon. And then Brandon leaned in towards me, across chocolate milk containers and half-eaten cafeteria pizza squares.
Without taking his eyes off of me, Brandon reached under the table and produced a cd. "You have to hear this. You've never heard anything like this band." It was a sacred moment when Brandon slowly passed the cd into my hands.
I glanced down at the cover. A naked baby swimming after a dollar bill. NIRVANA in bold letters. NEVERMIND in wavy letters.
The boys affirmed that I was going to be amazed by this band. Blown away. When I got home, I headed straight to my room where I threw on my headphones and stared at the track listing.
The guys were right. I had never heard anything close to this before. I loved it. It totally destroyed the current music on FM radio. I wondered how Brandon found it. I was happy he shared it. I couldn't wait to join in the gushing the next day.
Within a month of hearing that first cd, Nirvana was everywhere. The "grunge" music scene was the new "it".
Everywhere I run into conversations about music, I find people who don't "get" Nirvana and declare them "one of the most overrated bands of all time". If you're someone who was born in the early 90s I can understand why you think this. Technically, they're not special.
What they were was the band that opened the floodgates for a new sound. They didn't choose the role. There were other similar bands at the time, better bands, Mud Honey, Sublime, Alice in Chains, that became popular after the Nirvana revolution. But Nirvana matters because, for whatever reason, they changed the landscape of popular music at the time. They were the band that let those others shine. They're not the only band to do this. They won't be the last. Any music fan can you tell a similar story about The Band That Changed Everything for them, whether it's on the same scale or not.
I can't wait until the next time someone presses a cd in my hand, looks me in the eyes, and says with such conviction "you have to hear this - you haven't heard anything like it before".
A solemn hush fell over all of them and they slowly looked at me, and then at each other. A quick glance was exchanged between Ray and Brandon. And then Brandon leaned in towards me, across chocolate milk containers and half-eaten cafeteria pizza squares.
Without taking his eyes off of me, Brandon reached under the table and produced a cd. "You have to hear this. You've never heard anything like this band." It was a sacred moment when Brandon slowly passed the cd into my hands.
I glanced down at the cover. A naked baby swimming after a dollar bill. NIRVANA in bold letters. NEVERMIND in wavy letters.
The boys affirmed that I was going to be amazed by this band. Blown away. When I got home, I headed straight to my room where I threw on my headphones and stared at the track listing.
The guys were right. I had never heard anything close to this before. I loved it. It totally destroyed the current music on FM radio. I wondered how Brandon found it. I was happy he shared it. I couldn't wait to join in the gushing the next day.
Within a month of hearing that first cd, Nirvana was everywhere. The "grunge" music scene was the new "it".
Everywhere I run into conversations about music, I find people who don't "get" Nirvana and declare them "one of the most overrated bands of all time". If you're someone who was born in the early 90s I can understand why you think this. Technically, they're not special.
What they were was the band that opened the floodgates for a new sound. They didn't choose the role. There were other similar bands at the time, better bands, Mud Honey, Sublime, Alice in Chains, that became popular after the Nirvana revolution. But Nirvana matters because, for whatever reason, they changed the landscape of popular music at the time. They were the band that let those others shine. They're not the only band to do this. They won't be the last. Any music fan can you tell a similar story about The Band That Changed Everything for them, whether it's on the same scale or not.
I can't wait until the next time someone presses a cd in my hand, looks me in the eyes, and says with such conviction "you have to hear this - you haven't heard anything like it before".
posted by Silver Turtle at
8:19 AM
4 Comments:
I'm afraid I cannot agree with you on your love for Nirvana. I always thought they were overblown and that most of their follwing was due to clever marketing. I think Nirvana's popularity clouded the true pioneers of the grunge movement. Bands like Mother Love Bone and the Gits never got the recognition they deserved because of the Nirvana bandwagon.
By
FreedomGirl, at 10:47 AM
I agree that most of the other grunge bands at the time were better musically. It's pretty seldom I even listen to Nirvana anymore. But, at least in NE Ohio in the early 90s, they were the band that opened that door.
I also think the sudden popularity of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc. killed the sound before it's time - before those pioneers received wide-spread recognition.. I've read about how by the time grunge was "in", most of the original bands had left Seattle for tours, or moved to L.A., or split up.
What I was really trying to convey in my post, however, was that moment when I knew I had gone from casual radio listening music fan to the kind of music fan that pays attention and seeks out new and unusual bands and sounds.
The moment that you knew *this* music was important. I think that anyone who pays attention to music at all has a similar story, regardless of the type of music or band involved.
By
Silver Turtle, at 4:27 PM
Okay, I see your point...but actually most of the great "grunge"(they hated the term btw) broke up because of the crippling heroin problem in Seattle. You know what they say about great tortured minds...
My pet peeve with the whole Nirvana thing is that they beat that horse to death...over & over.
I think most of my musical AHA! moments are thanks to television. Saturday Night Live had a HUGE impact on me. Thats where I first heard Devo, Lou Reed, The Clash, Blondie...I was around 10 or 11.
By
FreedomGirl, at 1:19 AM
Interesting point about television. From the Ed Sullivan Show to SNL to MTV - when they played videos. I think you're probably right - that medium allowed music to spread to more people quicker.
Of course, SNL also has musical guests like Ashely Simpson now.
By
Silver Turtle, at 7:38 AM
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