Nevermind: 20 Years Later

I cannot believe it's been 20 years since I first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" blaring from my big brother's bedroom. I was only 8 years old, but when I listened to Nirvana, I knew something great was soon to follow. 

Nevermind was not their first album, but it was the first one that people noticed. Something about that teen angsty grunge drew people in. Hell, I was 8 freakin' years old, and I was mesmerized. Twenty years later, I don't listen much to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but there are other tracks from that album that remain on regular rotation on my iPod. The big radio hits never did much for me. I guess I'm like that with most bands, actually. I'm not trying to be "different"; it just is what it is.

Anyway, below are my favorite tracks from Nevermind. I just don't want people to forget that the entire album, from start to finish, is a masterpiece. Not just "Teen Spirit" and "Lithium." The whole body of work deserves your attention!

Bands like this just do NOT exist anymore. Back in 1991, even if you didn't give a shit about alternative rock music, you knew damn well who Nirvana was. You watched Nirvana's videos, you tried to sing along with "Teen Spirit," and you thought Kurt Cobain was a badass. 

Now? Shit, I don't even wanna go there.



Nirvana - Drain You


Nirvana - Territorial Pissings


Nirvana - Lounge Act


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Nirvana vs. Tricky

So I'm at a bar last night with my best pals, James and Justin, and we decide to play some tunes on the jukebox. I see the Nevermind album by Nirvana and immediately get excited, and they actually had ALL the songs available to play. Usually, on these new digital jukebox machines, I only see "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Lithium." Anyhow, I digress...so I see the title "Something In The Way," which is a great song, but I honestly haven't heard it in several years. So I thought it was as good a time as any for a grade school flashback.

James and Justin encourage me to blog about the song, because I was so excited about it. So that's what I'm doing right now. I like James' description of Nirvana: "They're dirty. Kurt Cobain's voice is ugly. But that's why I like them. They're ugly, good music." I couldn't agree more. Nirvana was by no means a "pretty" sound. But they represented a generation, who, at that time, needed a voice — a dirty, honest voice. It just fit.

Anyhow, many years after I first heard this song, I discovered a cover by Tricky. I have to be in the right mood to listen to Tricky, who is very mellow, sinister and dark. And right now, I am feeling very conflicted. I normally hate covers, especially anyone who dare covers a Nirvana song. But I am beginning to feel like Tricky's version might be slightly better. I can't believe I just shared that.

Well, I'll leave it up to you. What do you think?


Nirvana - Something In The Way (Download)


Tricky - Something In The Way (Download)