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When 'Nevermind' Hit...

Posted at 4:32 PM on September 29, 2011 by Jim McGuinn (1 Comments)

When Nevermind hit, it felt like our generation had finally won. The Pixies, Replacements, and Jane's Addiction had picked the lock of the mainstream door and were about to sneak in, when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" started a generational tsunami that blew the door off the cultural hinges of the Baby Boomers. For the Gen Xers, this was the first time OUR music was aboveground, OUR feelings of alienation and dislocation were resonating on a mass level, and our frustration from living in the shadow of the Boomers was expressed. Woodstock, the '60s, hippies, blah blah blah — it felt like it was smugly thrust upon us. Nirvana changed that. It was a moment of pure exhilaration and a feeling of possibility filled the air.

By the time Kurt died, that moment was over. It was co-opted and sold down the river as grunge fashion shows and watered-down 3rd generation copycat music was on the radio; a parody of the initial fervor. But for those first few months after "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit, it was incredible — Nirvana on MTV, Nirvana toppling Michael Jackson off the album chart, Nirvana kicking hair metal off the radio. The college / indie / alternative music and culture that had been brewing through the '80s in the pages of a hundred 'zines, the DIY of a thousand bands, and the political and cultural fringes were finally being heard and having an impact. I don't think Nirvana had any idea their music could have that effect, and it freaked them out, to tragic results. But they did, and while now 20 years later to many people Nirvana's Nevermind is just a collection of great songs, at the time when it hit it represented so much more than that - it was the summed up feelings of a generation, hurled like a rock at the wall like many others had hurled, but this time, it knocked the wall down.

—Jim McGuinn

Share your take on what Nirvana's Nevermind Means to you, or take a listen to what others are saying.

Starting Friday at noon, we'll be playing classic Nirvana songs and covers all weekend. We'll also have local and legendary artists talk about what Nevermind means to them. You'll also have a chance to win a deluxe 2CD edition of the Nevermind reissue, a DVD of their performance at the Paramount in Seattle and "The Year Punk Broke." We'll top it all off at 5 p.m. on Sunday with a rare Nirvana radio special, "Nevermind the Interview" featuring Kurt, Dave and Krist talking about the band after the record was released.

Visit our Nirvana 'Nevermind' page

Comments (1)

Wow. 20 years. I remember the goose bumps hearing Nirvana tear through songs, but the recklessness, unlock punk rock, had control, and melody. And more than 3 chords.

I remember when I was Music Director at a station in Chicago and Nevermind was already kicking pop culture off the Charts. We (our radio station) had already been on the record for months, and because every freaking radio channel was playing them, we pulled it out of HOT rotation. still playing it obviously but not as much...

I remember the Record A&R guy yelling at us over the phone (in all seriousness): "YOU'RE NOT PLAYING THEM! THEY"RE NEVER GONNA MAKE IT!"

yeh ...right.

Posted by dum dum alouwishes | September 30, 2011 11:51 AM

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