Nirvana Chapter 6

Although they only had seven years together as a band, Nirvana is thought of as one of the most influential bands of all time. Before Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, the band only recorded three studio albums, Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utereo. Combined, their estimated total record sales are over 75 million worldwide, with Nevermind and In Utereo reaching Diamond status. Nirvana solidified their place in rock history by bringing alternative rock to the mainstream, expressing raw emotion in their music that had never been heard before and probably not since. (“Nirvana

Their single Smells Like Teen Spirit made Nevermind the first alternative rock album to acquire worldwide fame (“Kurt Cobain”). Cobain’s talent was record smashing and innovative, because he took a whole music genre to a never before seen worldwide level. This type of accomplishment was not because of some strange luck, but a result of Cobain’s creative approach to the sound of alternative rock. As a result of their breakthrough, many powerful companies started to publicize them like when Time announced, “‘It also launched the commercial vogue for grunge and made Seattle famous for something other than cappuccino, rain, and bad professional sports,’” (Latson, 1). Kurt Cobain’s success was remarkable because not only did the music industry change, but a whole unique business and trend was opened up. The fact that Kurt managed to leave a long lasting imprint in the constantly changing fashion industry displayed how successful he was. In the music industry Cobain changed the direction of contemporary rock and was compared to legends like Bob Dylan and John Lennon (Hilburn). People thought of Kurt as one of the rock legends because of his raw talent that made him extremely relatable and mighty. This was a huge deal, to be compared to other rock legends and to have changed the entire sound of a music genre. Talent, a strong work ethic, and a relatable character took Kurt Cobain to the top and

#2 compare and contrast the nature, role, and impact of rock n roll with that of beat poetry and the avant-garde. how were these artistic expressions similar, and in what ways did they significantly diverge?

Nirvana created a new genre of rock, which was grunge rock. Nirvana released their album, Nevermind in 1991. “No album in recent history had such an overpowering impact on a generation-a nation of teens suddenly turned punk-and such a catastrophic effect on its main creator” (Rolling Stone 86-87). This means that the album impacted teens all over the nation. The album changed the lives of many teenagers all over the world, especially the ones who lived in America. Green Day released Dookie in 1994, it had influential songs, which made it a great album. “Even so, the first thing to note about Dookie is that it’s a remarkably good record. Go back and listen again. It’s undeniable” (Romano 5th paragraph). Their record Dookie was one of their

Although the decades have passed, and the times have changed rock ‘n’ roll holds a legacy that will forever impact the lives of people as a whole. Foundations Of Rock n’ Roll After World War 2, the world was faced with a bipolar world of the two winners: the USSR and the US (Scaruffi, 2005). The world was left with international bitterness and resentment and unlike other wars, a war on ideology. The war changed almost every aspect of life, because ideologies and morals began to shift and change. The post-War era had brought along with it many new technologies such as the boom of cars, computers and even

Smashing anything from pumpkins to instruments, Rock & Roll is a form of art with flare. Generations of people from the 50’s to modern day have enjoyed a little bit of rebellion in their life. But while the rebels continue to rage against the machine of society, that society is constantly changing. Different issues become highlighted and more relevant as others fall to the wayside, but Rock music does not stand by jovially. With constant adapting and innovating, Rock & Roll always finds something to scream about.

The grunge music of the 90’s might be a product of the times and changing of opinions, it still has a strong presence and legacy in the modern age. Music critics can argue about whether grunge music’s effects on rock music were positive or negative but the main point is that it did affect the music, fashion, and cultural world in a huge way. The grunge movement affected not only the music world and but the overall society of the 90’s and every decade that followed. Grunge emerged from Seattle in the late 1980s. This genre of rock and roll helped create a bridge between mainstream 1980s heavy metal–hard rock and post-punk alternative rock. Eventually, grunge faded—partly because of the death in 1994 of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who had become a generational spokesman. Some people say that “grunge music ruined rock and roll” when in reality it gave way to new forms of the genre and helped bring harder rock songs to the mainstream audiences of the time.

Nirvana is an American band. They play rock and grunge which they are considered to be founders of. They come from Aberdeen, Washington. Their career started in early 1987, when Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the group, and Krist Novoselic, the bassist met in high school and decided to form a band. They needed a drummer, so Aaron Burckhard joined them. They went through a series of names, some of which are Skid Row, Pen Cheap Chew, Bliss and Ted Ed Fred, until Kurt finally thought of Nirvana. But names aren’t the only thing they changed quite a few times. They had at least five drummers until, finally, Dave Grohl came in 1990.

When people hear the genre “rock and roll,” they often think of performers like Elvis Presley, AC/DC, and Aerosmith. Those bands have provided the foundation for rock and roll, but the newer bands have to carry over from the bands of the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s to the bands of the 1990’s and the 2000’s. The new generation of bands has just as much, if not more, popularity than the bands of the older generation. Bands do not gain popularity just by showing up to rehearsal, though. Gaining popularity can take years of making music, and sometimes establishing credibility takes more time than other bands. The more popular bands that have many fans are bands like Three Days Grace, Alter Bridge, and Avenged Sevenfold. These three bands have had

One band some may know that was a popular grunge band in the 90’s was Nirvana, which consisted of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl, and bassist Krist Novoselic. This band was most popular for their hit album “Nevermind”. “One of their most popular songs on this album, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, has been and always will be a rebellion anthem for adolescents, empowering them. This message and it’s meaning make this one of the most popular songs by this band to date.”

Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture      According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from.      According to Albert

This trio from Seattle appeared in the public consciousness in 1991 with their single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” full with pure, raw emotions which was new that time. Nirvana was formed by Kurt Cobain singer/guitarist and Krist Novoselic bassist in Aberdeen,

Rock and roll has developed a long way throughout the years from a dance craze in the 1950’s to a political and cultural landscape that is recognized worldwide. Rock and roll has come to define the roots of teenage rebellion, people who don’t follow the norms, and have disrespect for authority. The style of rock and roll itself is a melting pot of music, a combination of sounds that include jazz, country, blues, ragtime, gospel, swing, classical, and ethnic music. It can be a simple variation of three chords to a complex chromatic scale combination. It can convey emotions such as love, hate, fear, lust, sadness, joy, disillusion, or a strong sense of reality. Many things can be said about rock but the fact is that it is the most widely

Popular music is often one of the best lenses we have through which to view our own cultural orientation. Many of the artistic and experimental shifts in popular music have mirrored changes in our own society. For instance, the emergence of Elvis Presley as a public figure would signal the start of a sexual revolution and the growth in visibility of a rebellious youth culture. Similarly, the folk and psychedelic music of the 1960s was closely entangled with the Civil Rights, anti-war and social protest movements. In this regard, we can view popular music as an artifact through which to better understand the time and place in which it is produced. In light of this, the state of popular music today may suggest troubling things about our society.

The turning point for the new music came when the group Led Zeppelin was formed. As the book "Hammer of the Gods" points out, the members of this group were constantly high on every kind of drug imaginable. When they toured, they vandalized hotel rooms, throwing TV sets and furniture into the streets. Very young girls were tied up and sodomized, group members taking turns, and a photographer from Life magazine, assigned to photograph Led Zeppelin as they toured, was nearly raped by band members in a hotel room. Yet Led Zeppelin became the most popular group of its time. In fact, a whole generation was raised on its music. Throughout the 1970s, the music of Led Zeppelin was the anthem of American high school kids.