Nevermind - Album

Nevermind (Album) by Nirvana

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Artist Biography For Nirvana

There Are Multiple Artists Tracked As "Nirvana" On Last.Fm. Following Are Six Listed In Order Of Prominence 1 Nirvana Was A Popular And Highly Influential American Grunge Band. The Band Formed In Aberdeen Washington In 1987 And It Was Part Of The Seattle Grunge Scene Of The Late 80s Alongside Bands Like Pearl Jam Alice In Chains And Soundgarden. As Their Popularity Rose Alternative Rock Became A Dominant Genre On American And Canadian Radio And Music Television During The Early-To-Mid '90s. In Late 1987 Cobain And Novoselic Recruited Drummer Aaron Burckhard 1987–1988 .The Three Practiced Material From Cobain's Fecal Matter Tape. After Losing Contact With Burckhard The Pair Instead Practised With Dale Crover Of The Melvins And Nirvana Recorded Its First Demos In January 1988. Their First Single A Cover Version Of "Love Buzz" A Song By Dutch Group 'Shocking Blue' Was Released In November 1988 On The Seattle Independent Record Label Sub Pop. Their Debut Album 'Bleach' Was Produced By Jack Endino And Released In June 1989. Later That Year The Band Recorded The 'Blew EP' With Producer Steve Fisk. At The Start Of The New Decade The Band Commenced Their First Recording Sessions To The Follow-Up Album With Producer Butch Vig Substituted Their Drummer By Dave Grohl And Signed To DGC Records. The Result 'Nevermind' Would Eventually Sell Over Seven Million Copies In The United States And Over 30 Million Worldwide. In Early 1993 Nirvana Released "Puss"/"Oh The Guilt" A Split Single With The Jesus Lizard On The Independent Label Touch & Go. Meanwhile The Group Chose Steve Albini As The Producer To Record Its Third Album. 'In Utero' Debuted At Number One On The Billboard Album Chart In September The Same Year. As Nirvana's Frontman Cobain Found Himself Referred To In The Media As The "spokesman Of A Generation" With Nirvana The "flagship Band" Of "Generation X" Their Third Studio Album 'In Utero' Was Considered To Be A Conscious Attempt To Shed Their Audience. While Nirvana's Mainstream Popularity Waned In The Months Following Its Release Their Core Audience Cherished The Band's Dark Interior Particularly After Their 1993 Performance On MTV Unplugged With The Meat Puppets A Band That Cobain Had Always Idolised Performing With Them The Songs Oh Me Plateau And Lake Of Fire. It Was Later Released And Topped The Charts In 1994. Nirvana's Brief Run Ended With The Suicide Of Cobain In 1994 But The Band's Popularity Expanded In The Years That Followed. Eight Years After Cobain's Death "You Know You're Right" An Unfinished Demo That The Band Recorded Two Months Prior To Cobain's Death Topped Radio Playlists Around The World. Since Their Debut The Band Has Sold More Than Fifty Million Albums Worldwide Including More Than Ten Million Copies Of Nevermind In The US Alone. Nirvana Remains A Consistent Presence On Radio Stations Worldwide. In 2004 The Box Set "With The Lights Out" A Collection Of Radio Sessions Home Demos Studio Demos And Outtakes Was Released. A Year Later "Sliver The Best Of The Box" Was Released A Compilation Of Selected "WTLO" Tracks But With 3 New Tracks Including A Track From The Famous "Fecal Matter" Demo. Band Members Kurt Cobain - Vocals Guitar 1987–1994 Krist Novoselic - Bass 1987–1994 Dave Grohl - Drums Vocals 1990–1994 Prior Members Aaron Burckhard - Drums 1987–1988 Dale Crover - Drums 1988 1990 Dave Foster - Drums 1988 Chad Channing - Drums 1988–1990 Jason Everman - Guitar 1989 Dan Peters - Drums 1990 Touring Members Pat Smear - Guitar 1993–1994 Lori Goldston - Cello 1993–1994 Melora Creager - Cello 1994 --- 2 Nirvana Is A UK-Based Progressive Rock Band Formed In 1967 Primarily Active In The Late 1960s And Early 1970s - And Still Sporadically Active To The Present Day. The Band Was Formed In The Summer Of 1967 In An Era When Melodic Pop/rock Music With Baroque And Chamber Arrangements And Instrumentation Was Highly-Prized. The Band Consisted Of Two Songwriter/performers - Greek-Born Alex Spyropoulos And Irish-Born Patrick Campbell-Lyons Who Met In London. They Produced A Number Of Singles Notably "Rainbow Chaser" "Pentecost Hotel" And "Tiny Goddess" For The Fledgling Island Records Label. The Band Was Signed By Island Records' Founder Chris Blackwell In The Era When He Also Signed The Bands Traffic And Free. In October 1967 The Band Released Its First Album - A Concept Album Produced By Blackwell Titled The Story Of Simon Simopath. The Album Was Probably The First Narrative Concept Album Ever Released - Predating Story-Driven Concept Albums Such As The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow December 1968 The Who's Tommy April 1969 And The Kinks' Arthur September 1969 . Musically The Group Blended Myriad Musical Styles Including Rock Pop Folk Jazz Latin Rhythms And Classical Music - Primarily Augmented By Baroque Chamber-Style Arrangements To Create A Unique Entity. The Next Year 1968 Their Follow-Up Album All Of Us Featured A Similar Broad Range Of Musical Styles. Their Third Album To Markos III Was Released On The Pye Label In 1969. In 1971 The Duo Amicably Separated For A While With Campbell-Lyons The Primary Contributor To The Next Two Nirvana Albums Local Anaesthetic 1971 And Songs Of Love And Praise 1972. Campbell-Lyons Subsequently Worked As A Solo Artist And Issued Further Albums Me And My Friend 1973 Electric Plough 1981 And The Hero I Might Have Been 1983 Though These Did Not Enjoy Commercial Success. The Band Reunited In 1985 Successfully Touring Europe And Releasing A Compilation Album Black Flower 1987 Containing Some New Material. Black Flower Had Been The Provisional Title Of Their Third Album. In The 1990s Two Further Albums Were Released. Secret Theatre 1994 Compiled Rare Tracks And Demos While Orange And Blue 1996 Contained Previously Unreleased Material Including A Tongue-In-Cheek Cover Of The Song "Lithium" Originally Recorded By The American Grunge Band Nirvana Who Released Its First Album In 1989 And Who The Band Had Successfully Sued Over Use Of The Name Nirvana. The Undisclosed Terms Of The Settlement Has Apparently Allowed The Original Nirvana To Continue Using Its Name And Issuing New Recordings. In 1999 The Band Released A Three-Disc CD Anthology Titled "Chemistry" Including Several Previously-Unreleased Tracks And Some New Material. Top Musicians Who Played On Nirvana Sessions Include Lesley Duncan Herbie Flowers Billy Bremner Later Of Rockpile/Dave Edmunds Fame Luther Grosvenor Wynder K. Frogg Clem Cattini And The Full Lineup Of Rock Band Spooky Tooth. The Group Was In The School Of Baroque-Flavored Melodic Pop-Rock Music Typified By The Beatles Of "Rubber Soul" And "Revolver" The Beach Boys Of Pet Sounds And God Only Knows The Zombies Of Odessey And Oracle And Time Of The Season The Procol Harum Of A Whiter Shade Of Pale The Moody Blues Of Days Of Future Passed And Nights In White Satin And The Kinks Of Waterloo Sunset. The Majority Of The Tracks On Nirvana's Albums Fall Into That Broad Genre Of Contemporary Popular Music - Not Easily Categorized - But Perhaps Best Described As The Baroque Or Chamber Strand Of "progressive Rock Soft Rock Or "orchestral Pop". Their First Three Albums Were Reissued On CD By Universal In 2003 And Received Critical Acclaim. In 2005 Universal Japan Reissued Local Anaesthetic And Songs Of Love And Praise. As Of Late 2005 The Founding Members Alex Spyropoulos And Patrick Campbell-Lyons Are Still Sporadically Writing And Recording. --- 3 Nirvana Was A Short-Lived Finnish Punk Band Formed In 1980 Whose Sole Release Was A 7" Vinyl With Tracks "Kielletyt Leikit" And "Kuljen Kaupungilla" With 200 Pressings. --- 4 Nirvana Was A Dutch Pop Group Formed In 1985 By Producers Bernard Oattes And Rob Van Schaik. The Group Consisted Of Anthony Moendir Frits Broekrits And Annie Alberti And Have Released One Single "Say When" Which Became A Big Hit. The Group Split Up In 1987. --- 5 Nirvana Is A Side Project Of The Skaters' James Ferraro. Primitive Droning Drum Beats And Swirling Synthesizers. --- 6 Nirvana Was A Slovenian Hard-Rock Band In The Early Seventies. They Appear On Several Collections YU Record Collector Dream Boom Festival 72 .

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Biography - Nirvana

There Are Multiple Artists Tracked As "Nirvana" On Last.Fm. Following Are Six Listed In Order Of Prominence 1 Nirvana Was A Popular And Highly Influential American Grunge Band. The Band Formed In Aberdeen Washington In 1987 And It Was Part Of The Seattle Grunge Scene Of The Late 80s Alongside Bands Like Pearl Jam Alice In Chains And Soundgarden. As Their Popularity Rose Alternative Rock Became A Dominant Genre On American And Canadian Radio And Music Television During The Early-To-Mid '90s. In Late 1987 Cobain And Novoselic Recruited Drummer Aaron Burckhard 1987–1988 .The Three Practiced Material From Cobain's Fecal Matter Tape. After Losing Contact With Burckhard The Pair Instead Practised With Dale Crover Of The Melvins And Nirvana Recorded Its First Demos In January 1988. Their First Single A Cover Version Of "Love Buzz" A Song By Dutch Group 'Shocking Blue' Was Released In November 1988 On The Seattle Independent Record Label Sub Pop. Their Debut Album 'Bleach' Was Produced By Jack Endino And Released In June 1989. Later That Year The Band Recorded The 'Blew EP' With Producer Steve Fisk. At The Start Of The New Decade The Band Commenced Their First Recording Sessions To The Follow-Up Album With Producer Butch Vig Substituted Their Drummer By Dave Grohl And Signed To DGC Records. The Result 'Nevermind' Would Eventually Sell Over Seven Million Copies In The United States And Over 30 Million Worldwide. In Early 1993 Nirvana Released "Puss"/"Oh The Guilt" A Split Single With The Jesus Lizard On The Independent Label Touch & Go. Meanwhile The Group Chose Steve Albini As The Producer To Record Its Third Album. 'In Utero' Debuted At Number One On The Billboard Album Chart In September The Same Year. As Nirvana's Frontman Cobain Found Himself Referred To In The Media As The "spokesman Of A Generation" With Nirvana The "flagship Band" Of "Generation X" Their Third Studio Album 'In Utero' Was Considered To Be A Conscious Attempt To Shed Their Audience. While Nirvana's Mainstream Popularity Waned In The Months Following Its Release Their Core Audience Cherished The Band's Dark Interior Particularly After Their 1993 Performance On MTV Unplugged With The Meat Puppets A Band That Cobain Had Always Idolised Performing With Them The Songs Oh Me Plateau And Lake Of Fire. It Was Later Released And Topped The Charts In 1994. Nirvana's Brief Run Ended With The Suicide Of Cobain In 1994 But The Band's Popularity Expanded In The Years That Followed. Eight Years After Cobain's Death "You Know You're Right" An Unfinished Demo That The Band Recorded Two Months Prior To Cobain's Death Topped Radio Playlists Around The World. Since Their Debut The Band Has Sold More Than Fifty Million Albums Worldwide Including More Than Ten Million Copies Of Nevermind In The US Alone. Nirvana Remains A Consistent Presence On Radio Stations Worldwide. In 2004 The Box Set "With The Lights Out" A Collection Of Radio Sessions Home Demos Studio Demos And Outtakes Was Released. A Year Later "Sliver The Best Of The Box" Was Released A Compilation Of Selected "WTLO" Tracks But With 3 New Tracks Including A Track From The Famous "Fecal Matter" Demo. Band Members Kurt Cobain - Vocals Guitar 1987–1994 Krist Novoselic - Bass 1987–1994 Dave Grohl - Drums Vocals 1990–1994 Prior Members Aaron Burckhard - Drums 1987–1988 Dale Crover - Drums 1988 1990 Dave Foster - Drums 1988 Chad Channing - Drums 1988–1990 Jason Everman - Guitar 1989 Dan Peters - Drums 1990 Touring Members Pat Smear - Guitar 1993–1994 Lori Goldston - Cello 1993–1994 Melora Creager - Cello 1994 --- 2 Nirvana Is A UK-Based Progressive Rock Band Formed In 1967 Primarily Active In The Late 1960s And Early 1970s - And Still Sporadically Active To The Present Day. The Band Was Formed In The Summer Of 1967 In An Era When Melodic Pop/rock Music With Baroque And Chamber Arrangements And Instrumentation Was Highly-Prized. The Band Consisted Of Two Songwriter/performers - Greek-Born Alex Spyropoulos And Irish-Born Patrick Campbell-Lyons Who Met In London. They Produced A Number Of Singles Notably "Rainbow Chaser" "Pentecost Hotel" And "Tiny Goddess" For The Fledgling Island Records Label. The Band Was Signed By Island Records' Founder Chris Blackwell In The Era When He Also Signed The Bands Traffic And Free. In October 1967 The Band Released Its First Album - A Concept Album Produced By Blackwell Titled The Story Of Simon Simopath. The Album Was Probably The First Narrative Concept Album Ever Released - Predating Story-Driven Concept Albums Such As The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow December 1968 The Who's Tommy April 1969 And The Kinks' Arthur September 1969 . Musically The Group Blended Myriad Musical Styles Including Rock Pop Folk Jazz Latin Rhythms And Classical Music - Primarily Augmented By Baroque Chamber-Style Arrangements To Create A Unique Entity. The Next Year 1968 Their Follow-Up Album All Of Us Featured A Similar Broad Range Of Musical Styles. Their Third Album To Markos III Was Released On The Pye Label In 1969. In 1971 The Duo Amicably Separated For A While With Campbell-Lyons The Primary Contributor To The Next Two Nirvana Albums Local Anaesthetic 1971 And Songs Of Love And Praise 1972. Campbell-Lyons Subsequently Worked As A Solo Artist And Issued Further Albums Me And My Friend 1973 Electric Plough 1981 And The Hero I Might Have Been 1983 Though These Did Not Enjoy Commercial Success. The Band Reunited In 1985 Successfully Touring Europe And Releasing A Compilation Album Black Flower 1987 Containing Some New Material. Black Flower Had Been The Provisional Title Of Their Third Album. In The 1990s Two Further Albums Were Released. Secret Theatre 1994 Compiled Rare Tracks And Demos While Orange And Blue 1996 Contained Previously Unreleased Material Including A Tongue-In-Cheek Cover Of The Song "Lithium" Originally Recorded By The American Grunge Band Nirvana Who Released Its First Album In 1989 And Who The Band Had Successfully Sued Over Use Of The Name Nirvana. The Undisclosed Terms Of The Settlement Has Apparently Allowed The Original Nirvana To Continue Using Its Name And Issuing New Recordings. In 1999 The Band Released A Three-Disc CD Anthology Titled "Chemistry" Including Several Previously-Unreleased Tracks And Some New Material. Top Musicians Who Played On Nirvana Sessions Include Lesley Duncan Herbie Flowers Billy Bremner Later Of Rockpile/Dave Edmunds Fame Luther Grosvenor Wynder K. Frogg Clem Cattini And The Full Lineup Of Rock Band Spooky Tooth. The Group Was In The School Of Baroque-Flavored Melodic Pop-Rock Music Typified By The Beatles Of "Rubber Soul" And "Revolver" The Beach Boys Of Pet Sounds And God Only Knows The Zombies Of Odessey And Oracle And Time Of The Season The Procol Harum Of A Whiter Shade Of Pale The Moody Blues Of Days Of Future Passed And Nights In White Satin And The Kinks Of Waterloo Sunset. The Majority Of The Tracks On Nirvana's Albums Fall Into That Broad Genre Of Contemporary Popular Music - Not Easily Categorized - But Perhaps Best Described As The Baroque Or Chamber Strand Of "progressive Rock Soft Rock Or "orchestral Pop". Their First Three Albums Were Reissued On CD By Universal In 2003 And Received Critical Acclaim. In 2005 Universal Japan Reissued Local Anaesthetic And Songs Of Love And Praise. As Of Late 2005 The Founding Members Alex Spyropoulos And Patrick Campbell-Lyons Are Still Sporadically Writing And Recording. --- 3 Nirvana Was A Short-Lived Finnish Punk Band Formed In 1980 Whose Sole Release Was A 7" Vinyl With Tracks "Kielletyt Leikit" And "Kuljen Kaupungilla" With 200 Pressings. --- 4 Nirvana Was A Dutch Pop Group Formed In 1985 By Producers Bernard Oattes And Rob Van Schaik. The Group Consisted Of Anthony Moendir Frits Broekrits And Annie Alberti And Have Released One Single "Say When" Which Became A Big Hit. The Group Split Up In 1987. --- 5 Nirvana Is A Side Project Of The Skaters' James Ferraro. Primitive Droning Drum Beats And Swirling Synthesizers. --- 6 Nirvana Was A Slovenian Hard-Rock Band In The Early Seventies. They Appear On Several Collections YU Record Collector Dream Boom Festival 72 . read less

16 Similar Artists To Nirvana - Frogtoon Music

The Smashing Pumpkins

Published: 03 Mar 2023, 02:24

"Nevermind" Is The Second Studio Album By The American Grunge Band Nirvana Released On September 24 1991. Produced By Butch Vig "Nevermind" Was The Group's First Release On Geffen Records Which Signaled Its Move Away From Seattle-Based Independent Record Label Sub Pop. Front Man Kurt Cobain Sought To Make Music Outside Of The Restrictive Confines Of The Seattle Grunge Scene Drawing Influence From Groups Such As The Pixies And Its Use Of Loud/quiet Song Dynamics. Nevermind Was A Surprise Success By Late 1991 Largely Due To The Success Of Its Lead Single "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By January 1992 It Had Replaced Michael Jackson's Album Dangerous At Number One On The Billboard Charts. Nevermind Was Responsible For Bringing Alternative Rock To A Large Mainstream Audience And Would Subsequently Be Regarded As One Of The Best Rock Albums Of All Time. Nirvana Was A Band From Aberdeen Washington Formed By Kurt Cobain And Krist Novoselic That Had Signed To Seattle Independent Record Label Sub Pop. The Group Released Its Debut Album Bleach In 1989 With Chad Channing On Drums. However Channing Left Nirvana In 1990 And The Band Was In Need Of A Permanent Drummer. Upon Seeing A Show By Hardcore Punk Band Scream The Group's Drummer Dave Grohl Impressed Novoselic And Cobain. When Scream Unexpectedly Disbanded Grohl Contacted Novoselic Made His Way To Seattle And Was Soon Invited To Join The Band. Novoselic Said In Retrospect That When Grohl Joined The Band Everything "fell Into Place". Meanwhile Cobain Was Writing A Number Of New Songs. At The Time Cobain Was Listening To Bands Like R.E.M. The Smithereens And The Pixies. Feeling Disillusioned By The Heavy Detuned Rock Popular In The Seattle Grunge Scene Which Sub Pop Had Built Its Image Upon Cobain—inspired By His Contemporary Listening Habits—began Writing Songs That Were More Melodic. A Key Development Was The Single "Sliver" Released On Sub Pop In 1990 Before Grohl Joined The Band Which Cobain Said "was Like A Statement In A Way. I Had To Write A Pop Song And Release It On A Single To Prepare People For The Next Record. I Wanted To Write More Songs Like That." Grohl Said That The Band At That Point Often Made The Analogy Of Likening Their Music To Children's Music In That The Band Tried To Make Its Songs As Simple As Possible. By The Start Of The 1990s Sub Pop Was Experiencing Financial Difficulties. With Rumors That Sub Pop Would Sign Up As A Subsidiary For A Major Label The Band Decided To "cut Out The Middleman" And Start To Look For A Major Label. A Number Of Labels Courted The Band But Nirvana Ultimately Signed With Geffen Records Imprint DGC Records Based Upon The Recommendation Of Its Management Who Also Managed The Band's Idols And Recent Geffen Signings Sonic Youth And Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. In The Spring Of 1990 Nirvana Began Planning Its Second Album For Sub Pop Tentatively Titled Sheep. For The Album Sub Pop Head Bruce Pavitt Suggested Butch Vig As A Potential Producer. Nirvana Particularly Liked Vig's Work With Killdozer And Called Vig Up To Tell Him "We Want To Sound As Heavy As That Record." In April 1990 The Band Traveled Out To Vig's Smart Studios In Madison Wisconsin To Begin Work On The Album. Most Of The Basic Song Arrangements Were Completed By That Time But Cobain Was Still Working On Lyrics And The Band Was Unsure Of Which Songs To Record. Ultimately Eight Songs Were Recorded "Immodium" Later Renamed "Breed" "Dive" Later Released As The B-Side To "Sliver" "In Bloom" "Pay To Play" Eventually Renamed "Stay Away" And Given A New Set Of Lyrics "Sappy" "Lithium" "Here She Comes Now" Released On Velvet Underground Tribute Album Heaven And Hell Volume 1 And "Polly". The Band Had Planned To Record More Tracks But Cobain Blew His Voice Out On "Lithium" Forcing Them To Shut Down Recording. Vig Was Told That The Band Would Come Back To Record More Songs But The Producer Did Not Hear Anything For A While. Instead The Band Used The Sessions As A Demo Tape To Shop For A New Label. Within A Few Months The Tape Was Circulating Amongst Major Labels Creating A Buzz Around The Group. After Signing To Geffen A Number Of Producers For The Album Were Suggested Including Scott Litt David Briggs And Don Dixon But Nirvana Held Out For Vig. Novoselic Noted In 2001 That The Band Was Already Nervous About Recording On A Major Label Since The Producers Suggested Wanted Percentage Points For The Album And They Optioned For Vig With Whom They Felt Comfortable Collaborating. Afforded A Budget Of $65 000 Nirvana Recorded Nevermind At Sound City Studios In Los Angeles California In May And June 1991. Nirvana Was Originally Set To Record The Album During March And April 1991 But The Date Kept Getting Pushed Back In Spite Of The Band's Anxiousness To Begin The Sessions. To Pay Gas Money To Get To Los Angeles Nirvana Played A Show Where They Played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" For The First Time. The Band Sent Vig Some Rehearsal Tapes Prior To The Sessions That Featured Songs Recorded Previously At Smart Studios Along With Some New Ones Including "Smells Like Teen Spirit" And "Come As You Are". When The Group Arrived In California Nirvana Did A Few Days Of Pre-Production Where The Band And Vig Tightened Up Some Of The Song Arrangements. The Only Recording Carried Over From The Smart Studios Sessions Was The Song "Polly" Which Included Cymbal Crashes Performed By Chad Channing. Once Recording Commenced The Band Worked Eight To Ten Hours A Day. The Band Members Tended To Take Two Or Three Tries At Instrumental Takes If The Takes Weren't Satisfactory At That Point They Would Move On To Something Else. The Group Had Rehearsed The Songs So Much Before Recording Started That Often Only A Few Takes Were Needed. Novoselic And Grohl Finished Their Bass And Drum Tracks In A Matter Of Days But Cobain Had To Work Longer On Guitar Overdubs Singing And Particularly Lyrics Which Sometimes Were Finished Mere Minutes Before Recording . Cobain's Phrasing Was So Consistent On Various Takes That Vig Would Mix The Takes Together To Create Overdubs. Vig Says That He Often Had To Trick Cobain Into Recording Additional Takes For Overdubs Since The Singer Was Averse To Performing Multiple Takes. In Particular Vig Convinced Cobain To Double-Track His Vocals On The Song "In Bloom" By Telling Him "John Lennon Did It." While The Sessions Went Well Generally Vig Said Cobain Would Become Moody And Difficult At Times "He'd Be Great For An Hour And Then He'd Sit In A Corner And Say Nothing For An Hour." After The Recording Sessions Were Completed Vig And The Band Set Out To Mix The Album. However After A Few Days Both Vig And The Band Members Realized That They Were Unhappy With How The Mixes Were Turning Out. As A Result They Decided To Call In Someone Else To Oversee The Mixing With Geffen Records Imprint DGC Supplying A List Of Possible Options. The List Contained Several Familiar Names Including Scott Litt Known For His Work With R.E.M. And Ed Stasium Known For His Work With The Smithereens . However Cobain Feared That Bringing In Known Mixers Would Result In The Album Sounding Like The Work Of Those Bands. Instead Cobain Chose Andy Wallace Who Had Co-Produced Slayer's 1990 Album Seasons In The Abyss From The Bottom Of The List. Novoselic Recalled "We Said 'right On ' Because Those Slayer Records Were So Heavy." Wallace Ran The Songs Through Various Special Effects Boxes And Tweaked The Drum Sounds Completing About One Mix Per Day. Both Wallace And Vig Noted Years Later That Upon Hearing Wallace's Work The Band Loved The Mixes. After The Album's Release Members Of Nirvana Expressed Dissatisfaction With The Polished Sound The Mixer Had Given Nevermind. Cobain Said In Come As You Are "Looking Back On The Production Of Nevermind I'm Embarrassed By It Now. It's Closer To A Mötley Crüe Record Than It Is A Punk Rock Record." Nevermind Was Mastered On The Afternoon Of August 2 In The Mastering Lab In Hollywood California. Howie Weinberg Started Working Alone When No One Else Showed Up At The Appointed Time In The Studio By The Time Nirvana Andy Wallace And Gary Gersh Arrived Weinberg Had Mastered Most Of The Album. One Of The Songs Mastered At The Session A Hidden Track Called "Endless Nameless" Intended To Appear At The End Of "Something In The Way" Was Accidentally Left Off Initial Pressings Of The Album. Weinberg Recalled "In The Beginning It Was Kind Of A Verbal Thing To Put That Track At The End. Maybe I Misconstrued Their Instructions So You Can Call It My Mistake If You Want. Maybe I Didn't Write It Down When Nirvana Or The Record Company Said To Do It. So When They Pressed The First Twenty Thousand Or So CDs Albums And Cassettes It Wasn't On There." When The Band Discovered The Song's Omission After Listening To Its Copy Of The Album Cobain Called Weinberg And Demanded He Rectify The Mistake. Weinberg Complied And Added About Ten Minutes Of Silence Between The End Of "Something In The Way" And The Start Of The Hidden Track On Future Pressings Of The Album. Nevermind Was Released On September 24 1991. American Record Stores Received An Initial Shipment Of 46 251 Copies While 35 000 Copies Were Shipped In The United Kingdom Where Bleach Had Been Successful. The Lead Single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Had Been Released On September 10 With The Intention Of Being A Base-Building Cut Among Alternative Rock Fans While The Next Single "Come As You Are" Would Be The Song That Would Possibly Garner More Attention. The Band Set Out On A Short American Tour Four Days Before The Release Date To Support The Album. Geffen Records Hoped That Nevermind Would Sell Around 250 000 Copies Which Was The Same Level The Record Company Had Achieved With Sonic Youth's Geffen Debut Goo. The Best Estimate Was That If All Involved Worked Hard The Record Could Possibly Be Certified Gold By September 1992. The Album Debuted On The Billboard 200 At Position 144 Which Was High Enough For The Album To Top The Heatseekers Chart As Well. Geffen Shipped About Half Of The Initial US Pressing To The American Northwest Where It Sold Out Quickly And Was Unavailable For Days. Geffen Reputedly Put Production Of All Other Albums On Hold In Order To Fulfill Demand In The Region. Nevermind Was Already Selling Well But Over The Next Few Months The Momentum Increased Significantly As "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Unexpectedly Became More And More Popular. The Song's Video Had Received A World Premiere On MTV's Late Night Alternative Show 120 Minutes But It Soon Proved So Popular That The Channel Began Playing It During The Day. The Record Was Soon Certified Gold But The Band Was Relatively Uninterested In The Achievement. Novoselic Recalled "Yeah I Was Happy About It. It Was Pretty Cool. It Was Kind Of Neat. But I Don't Give A Shit About Some Kind Of Achievement Like That. It's Cool—I Guess." As The Band Set Out For Their European Tour At The Start Of November 1991 Nevermind Entered The Billboard Top 40 For The First Time At Number 35. By This Point "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Had Become A Genuine Hit And The Album Was Selling So Fast None Of Geffen's Marketing Strategies Aimed At Different Sales Levels Could Be Enacted. Geffen President Ed Rosenblatt Told The New York Times "We Didn't Do Anything. It Was Just One Of Those 'Get Out Of The Way And Duck' Records." Nirvana Found As They Toured Europe During The End Of 1991 That The Shows Were Dangerously Oversold Television Crews Became A Constant Presence Onstage And "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Was Almost Omnipresent On Radio And Music Television. Nevermind Became Nirvana's First Number One Album On January 11 1992 Replacing Michael Jackson At The Top Of The Billboard Charts. By This Time Nevermind Was Selling Approximately 300 000 Copies A Week. "Come As You Are" Was Finally Released As The Second Single In March 1992 It Peaked At Number 32 On The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Two More Singles "Lithium" And "In Bloom" Were Released From The Album. Nevermind Was Certified Gold And Platinum By The Recording Industry Association Of America In November 1991 And Was Certified Diamond In March 1999. It Was Also Certified Diamond In Canada 1 000 000 Units By The Canadian Recording Industry Association In March 2001. In 1996 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Released Nevermind On Vinyl As Part Of Its ANADISQ 200 Series And As A 24-Carat Gold CD. The CD Pressings Included "Endless Nameless". The LP Version Sold Out Quickly Of Its Limited Pressing But The CD Edition Stayed In Print. Upon The Album's Release Several Mainstream Newspapers And Magazines Gave Nevermind Positive Reviews. Karen Schoemer Of The New York Times Wrote "With 'Nevermind ' Nirvana Has Certainly Succeeded. There Are Enough Intriguing Textures Mood Shifts Instrumental Snippets And Inventive Word Plays To Provide For Hours Of Entertainment." Schoemer Concluded "'Nevermind' Is More Sophisticated And Carefully Produced Than Anything Peer Bands Like Dinosaur Jr. And Mudhoney Have Yet Offered." Entertainment Weekly Gave Nevermind An A– Rating And Reviewer David Browne Argued That On Nevermind Nirvana "never Entertain The Notion" Of Wanting To Sound "normal " Compared To Other Contemporary Alternative Bands. Concluding His Very Enthusiastic Review For The British Melody Maker Everett True Wrote That "When Nirvana Released Bleach All Those Years Ago The More Sussed Among Us Figured They Had The Potential To Make An Album That Would Blow Every Other Contender Away. My God Have They Proved Us Right." Rolling Stone Gave The Album Three Out Of Five Stars Reviewer Ira Robbins Wrote "If Nirvana Isn't Onto Anything Altogether New Nevermind Does Possess The Songs Character And Confident Spirit To Be Much More Than A Reformulation Of College Radio's High-Octane Hits." The Boston Globe Was Less Enthusiastic About The Album Reviewer Steve Morse Wrote "Most Of Nevermind Is Packed With Generic Punk-Pop That Had Been Done By Countless Acts From Iggy Pop To The Red Hot Chili Peppers " And Added "the Band Has Little Or Nothing To Say Settling For Moronic Ramblings By Singer-Lyricist Cobain." Nevermind Was Voted As The Best Album Of The Year In The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Also Topped The Single Of The Year And Video Of The Year Polls. Nevermind Topped The Poll By A Large Majority And Village Voice Critic Robert Christgau Wrote In His Companion Piece To The Poll "As A Modest Pop Surprise They Might Have Scored A Modest Victory Like De La Soul In 1990. Instead Their Multi-Platinum Takeover Constituted The First Full-Scale Public Validation Of The Amerindie Values—the Noise The Toons The 'tude—the Radder Half Of The Pazz & Jop Poll Electorate Came Up On." Cobain Nirvana's Main Songwriter Fashioned Chord Sequences That Were Based Mainly Around Power Chords And Wrote Songs That Combined Pop Hooks With Dissonant Guitar Rhythms. His Aim For Nevermind's Material Was To Sound Like The "Bay City Rollers Getting Molested By Black Flag". Many Of The Songs On Nevermind Feature Shifts In Dynamics Where The Band Changes From Quiet Verses To Loud Choruses. Dave Grohl Said This Approach Originated During A Four-Month Period Prior To The Recording Of The Album Where The Band Would Experiment With Extreme Dynamics During Regular Jam Sessions. Guitar World Wrote "Kurt Cobain's Guitar Sound On Nirvana's Nevermind Set The Tone For Nineties Rock Music." On Nevermind Cobain Played A 1960s Fender Mustang A Fender Jaguar With DiMarzio Pickups And A Few Fender Stratocasters With Humbucker Bridge Pickups. The Guitarist Used Distortion And Chorus Pedals As His Main Effects The Latter Used To Generate A "watery" Sound On "Come As You Are" And The Pre-Choruses Of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Krist Novoselic Tuned Down His Bass Guitar One And A Half Steps To D Flat "to Get This Fat-Ass Sound". Grohl Said That Cobain Told Him "Music Comes First Lyrics Come Second " And Grohl Believes That Above All Cobain Focused On The Melodies Of His Songs. Cobain Was Still Working On The Album's Lyrics Well Into The Recording Of Nevermind. Additionally Cobain's Phrasing On The Album Is Often Difficult To Understand. Vig Asserted That Clarity Of Cobain's Singing Was Not Paramount. Vig Said "Even Though You Couldn't Quite Tell What He Was Singing About You Knew It Was Intense As Hell." Cobain Would Later Complain When Rock Journalists Attempted To Decipher His Singing And Extract Meaning From His Lyrics Writing "Why In The Hell Do Journalists Insist On Coming Up With A Second-Rate Freudian Evaluation Of My Lyrics When 90 Percent Of The Time They've Transcribed Them Incorrectly?" Charles R. Cross Asserted In His 2001 Biography Of Kurt Cobain Heavier Than Heaven That Many Of The Songs Written For Nevermind Were About Cobain's Dysfunctional Relationship With Tobi Vail. After The Relationship Ended Cobain Began Writing And Painting Violent Scenes Many Of Which Revealed Hatred For Himself And Others. Songs Written During This Period Were Less Violent But Still Reflected Anger Absent From Cobain's Earlier Songs. Cross Wrote "In The Four Months Following Their Break-Up Kurt Would Write A Half Dozen Of His Most Memorable Songs All Of Them About Tobi Vail". "Drain You" Begins With The Line "One Baby To Another Said 'I'm Lucky To Have Met You'" Quoting What Vail Had Once Told Cobain And The Line "It Is Now My Duty To Completely Drain You" Refers To The Power Vail Had Over Kurt In Their Relationship. According To Novoselic "'Lounge Act' Is About Tobi" And The Song Contains The Line "I'll Arrest Myself I'll Wear A Shield" Referring To Cobain Having The K Records Logo Tattooed On His Arm To Impress Vail. Though "Lithium" Had Been Written Before Cobain Knew Vail The Lyrics Of The Song Were Changed To Reference Her. Cobain Also Said In An Interview With Musician That "some Of My Very Personal Experiences Like Breaking Up With Girlfriends And Having Bad Relationships Feeling That Death Void That The Person In The Song Is Feeling–very Lonely Sick." The Album's Tentative Title Sheep Was Something Cobain Created As An Inside Joke Towards The People He Expected To Buy The Record. He Wrote A Fake Ad For Sheep In His Journal That Read "Because You Want To Not Because Everyone Else Is." Novoselic Said The Inspiration For The Title Was The Band's Cynicism About The Public's Reaction To Operation Desert Storm. As Recording Sessions For The Album Were Completed Cobain Grew Tired Of The Title And Suggested To Novoselic That The New Album Be Named Nevermind. Cobain Liked The Title Because It Was A Metaphor For His Attitude On Life And Because It Was Grammatically Incorrect. The Nevermind Album Cover Shows A Baby Swimming Toward A US Dollar Bill On A Fishhook. According To Cobain He Conceived The Idea While Watching A Television Program On Water Births With Grohl. Cobain Mentioned It To Geffen's Art Director Robert Fisher. Fisher Found Some Stock Footage Of Underwater Births But They Were Too Graphic For The Record Company. Also The Stock House That Controlled The Photo Of A Swimming Baby That They Subsequently Settled On Wanted $7 500 A Year For Its Use So Instead Fisher Sent A Photographer To A Pool For Babies To Take Pictures. Five Shots Resulted And The Band Settled On The Image Of A Three-Month-Old Infant Named Spencer Elden The Son Of The Photographer's Friend Rick Elden. However There Was Some Concern Because Elden's Penis Was Visible In The Image. Geffen Prepared An Alternate Cover Without The Penis As They Were Afraid That It Would Offend People But Relented When Cobain Made It Clear That The Only Compromise He Would Accept Was A Sticker Covering The Penis That Would Say "If You're Offended By This You Must Be A Closet Pedophile." The Back Cover Of The Album Features A Photograph Of A Rubber Monkey In Front Of A Collage Created By Cobain. The Collage Features Photos Of Raw Beef From A Supermarket Advertisement Images From Dante's Inferno And Pictures Of Diseased Vaginas From Cobain's Collection Of Medical Photos. Cobain Noted "If You Look Real Close There Is A Picture Of Kiss In The Back Standing On A Slab Of Beef." The Album's Liner Notes Contain No Complete Song Lyrics Instead The Liner Contains Random Song Lyrics And Unused Lyrical Fragments That Cobain Arranged Into A Poem. Nevermind Not Only Popularized The Seattle Grunge Movement But Also Brought Alternative Rock As A Whole Into The Mainstream Establishing Its Commercial And Cultural Viability. Nevermind's Success Surprised Nirvana's Contemporaries Who Felt Dwarfed By Its Impact. Fugazi's Guy Picciotto Later Commented "It Was Like Our Record Could Have Been A Hobo Pissing In The Forest For The Amount Of Impact It Had. It Felt Like We Were Playing Ukuleles All Of A Sudden Because Of The Disparity Of The Impact Of What They Did". In 1992 Jon Pareles Of The New York Times Described That In The Aftermath Of The Album's Breakthrough "Suddenly All Bets Are Off. No One Has The Inside Track On Which Of Dozens Perhaps Hundreds Of Ornery Obstreperous Unkempt Bands Might Next Appeal To The Mall-Walking Millions". Record Company Executives Offered Large Advances And Record Deals To Bands And Previous Strategies Of Building Audiences For Alternative Rock Bands Had Been Replaced By The Opportunity To Achieve Mainstream Popularity Quickly. Michael Azerrad Argued In His Nirvana Biography Come As You Are The Story Of Nirvana 1993 That Nevermind Marked The Emergence Of A Generation Of Music Fans In Their Twenties In A Climate Dominated By The Musical Tastes Of The Baby Boomer Generation That Preceded Them. Azerrad Wrote "Nevermind Came Along At Exactly The Right Time. This Was Music By For And About A Whole New Group Of Young People Who Had Been Overlooked Ignored Or Condescended To." Rolling Stone Wrote In Its Entry For Nevermind On Its 2003 List Of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time "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." Nevermind Has Continued To Garner Critical Praise Since Its Release. The Album Was Listed At Number Seventeen On Rolling Stone's List "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". Time Placed Nevermind Which Writer Josh Tyrangiel Called "the Finest Album Of The 90s " On Its 2006 List Of "The All-TIME 100 Albums." Pitchfork Named The Album The Sixth Best Of The Decade Noting That "anyone Who Hates This Record Today Is Just Trying To Be Cool And Needs To Be Trying Harder." In 2005 The Library Of Congress Added Nevermind To The National Recording Registry Which Collects "culturally Historically Or Aesthetically Important" Sound Recordings From The 20th Century.

Frogtoon Music - Album Tracks For Nevermind

Smells Like Teen Spirit In Bloom Come As You Are Breed Lithium Polly Territorial Pissings Drain You Lounge Act Stay Away On A Plain Something In The Way / Endless, Nameless

Frogtoon Music Album Info: Nevermind

Published: 03 Mar 2023, 02:24

"Nevermind" Is The Second Studio Album By The American Grunge Band Nirvana Released On September 24 1991. Produced By Butch Vig "Nevermind" Was The Group's First Release On Geffen Records Which Signaled Its Move Away From Seattle-Based Independent Record Label Sub Pop. Front Man Kurt Cobain Sought To Make Music Outside Of The Restrictive Confines Of The Seattle Grunge Scene Drawing Influence From Groups Such As The Pixies And Its Use Of Loud/quiet Song Dynamics. Nevermind Was A Surprise Success By Late 1991 Largely Due To The Success Of Its Lead Single "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By January 1992 It Had Replaced Michael Jackson's Album Dangerous At Number One On The Billboard Charts. Nevermind Was Responsible For Bringing Alternative Rock To A Large Mainstream Audience And Would Subsequently Be Regarded As One Of The Best Rock Albums Of All Time. Nirvana Was A Band From Aberdeen Washington Formed By Kurt Cobain And Krist Novoselic That Had Signed To Seattle Independent Record Label Sub Pop. The Group Released Its Debut Album Bleach In 1989 With Chad Channing On Drums. However Channing Left Nirvana In 1990 And The Band Was In Need Of A Permanent Drummer. Upon Seeing A Show By Hardcore Punk Band Scream The Group's Drummer Dave Grohl Impressed Novoselic And Cobain. When Scream Unexpectedly Disbanded Grohl Contacted Novoselic Made His Way To Seattle And Was Soon Invited To Join The Band. Novoselic Said In Retrospect That When Grohl Joined The Band Everything "fell Into Place". Meanwhile Cobain Was Writing A Number Of New Songs. At The Time Cobain Was Listening To Bands Like R.E.M. The Smithereens And The Pixies. Feeling Disillusioned By The Heavy Detuned Rock Popular In The Seattle Grunge Scene Which Sub Pop Had Built Its Image Upon Cobain—inspired By His Contemporary Listening Habits—began Writing Songs That Were More Melodic. A Key Development Was The Single "Sliver" Released On Sub Pop In 1990 Before Grohl Joined The Band Which Cobain Said "was Like A Statement In A Way. I Had To Write A Pop Song And Release It On A Single To Prepare People For The Next Record. I Wanted To Write More Songs Like That." Grohl Said That The Band At That Point Often Made The Analogy Of Likening Their Music To Children's Music In That The Band Tried To Make Its Songs As Simple As Possible. By The Start Of The 1990s Sub Pop Was Experiencing Financial Difficulties. With Rumors That Sub Pop Would Sign Up As A Subsidiary For A Major Label The Band Decided To "cut Out The Middleman" And Start To Look For A Major Label. A Number Of Labels Courted The Band But Nirvana Ultimately Signed With Geffen Records Imprint DGC Records Based Upon The Recommendation Of Its Management Who Also Managed The Band's Idols And Recent Geffen Signings Sonic Youth And Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. In The Spring Of 1990 Nirvana Began Planning Its Second Album For Sub Pop Tentatively Titled Sheep. For The Album Sub Pop Head Bruce Pavitt Suggested Butch Vig As A Potential Producer. Nirvana Particularly Liked Vig's Work With Killdozer And Called Vig Up To Tell Him "We Want To Sound As Heavy As That Record." In April 1990 The Band Traveled Out To Vig's Smart Studios In Madison Wisconsin To Begin Work On The Album. Most Of The Basic Song Arrangements Were Completed By That Time But Cobain Was Still Working On Lyrics And The Band Was Unsure Of Which Songs To Record. Ultimately Eight Songs Were Recorded "Immodium" Later Renamed "Breed" "Dive" Later Released As The B-Side To "Sliver" "In Bloom" "Pay To Play" Eventually Renamed "Stay Away" And Given A New Set Of Lyrics "Sappy" "Lithium" "Here She Comes Now" Released On Velvet Underground Tribute Album Heaven And Hell Volume 1 And "Polly". The Band Had Planned To Record More Tracks But Cobain Blew His Voice Out On "Lithium" Forcing Them To Shut Down Recording. Vig Was Told That The Band Would Come Back To Record More Songs But The Producer Did Not Hear Anything For A While. Instead The Band Used The Sessions As A Demo Tape To Shop For A New Label. Within A Few Months The Tape Was Circulating Amongst Major Labels Creating A Buzz Around The Group. After Signing To Geffen A Number Of Producers For The Album Were Suggested Including Scott Litt David Briggs And Don Dixon But Nirvana Held Out For Vig. Novoselic Noted In 2001 That The Band Was Already Nervous About Recording On A Major Label Since The Producers Suggested Wanted Percentage Points For The Album And They Optioned For Vig With Whom They Felt Comfortable Collaborating. Afforded A Budget Of $65 000 Nirvana Recorded Nevermind At Sound City Studios In Los Angeles California In May And June 1991. Nirvana Was Originally Set To Record The Album During March And April 1991 But The Date Kept Getting Pushed Back In Spite Of The Band's Anxiousness To Begin The Sessions. To Pay Gas Money To Get To Los Angeles Nirvana Played A Show Where They Played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" For The First Time. The Band Sent Vig Some Rehearsal Tapes Prior To The Sessions That Featured Songs Recorded Previously At Smart Studios Along With Some New Ones Including "Smells Like Teen Spirit" And "Come As You Are". When The Group Arrived In California Nirvana Did A Few Days Of Pre-Production Where The Band And Vig Tightened Up Some Of The Song Arrangements. The Only Recording Carried Over From The Smart Studios Sessions Was The Song "Polly" Which Included Cymbal Crashes Performed By Chad Channing. Once Recording Commenced The Band Worked Eight To Ten Hours A Day. The Band Members Tended To Take Two Or Three Tries At Instrumental Takes If The Takes Weren't Satisfactory At That Point They Would Move On To Something Else. The Group Had Rehearsed The Songs So Much Before Recording Started That Often Only A Few Takes Were Needed. Novoselic And Grohl Finished Their Bass And Drum Tracks In A Matter Of Days But Cobain Had To Work Longer On Guitar Overdubs Singing And Particularly Lyrics Which Sometimes Were Finished Mere Minutes Before Recording . Cobain's Phrasing Was So Consistent On Various Takes That Vig Would Mix The Takes Together To Create Overdubs. Vig Says That He Often Had To Trick Cobain Into Recording Additional Takes For Overdubs Since The Singer Was Averse To Performing Multiple Takes. In Particular Vig Convinced Cobain To Double-Track His Vocals On The Song "In Bloom" By Telling Him "John Lennon Did It." While The Sessions Went Well Generally Vig Said Cobain Would Become Moody And Difficult At Times "He'd Be Great For An Hour And Then He'd Sit In A Corner And Say Nothing For An Hour." After The Recording Sessions Were Completed Vig And The Band Set Out To Mix The Album. However After A Few Days Both Vig And The Band Members Realized That They Were Unhappy With How The Mixes Were Turning Out. As A Result They Decided To Call In Someone Else To Oversee The Mixing With Geffen Records Imprint DGC Supplying A List Of Possible Options. The List Contained Several Familiar Names Including Scott Litt Known For His Work With R.E.M. And Ed Stasium Known For His Work With The Smithereens . However Cobain Feared That Bringing In Known Mixers Would Result In The Album Sounding Like The Work Of Those Bands. Instead Cobain Chose Andy Wallace Who Had Co-Produced Slayer's 1990 Album Seasons In The Abyss From The Bottom Of The List. Novoselic Recalled "We Said 'right On ' Because Those Slayer Records Were So Heavy." Wallace Ran The Songs Through Various Special Effects Boxes And Tweaked The Drum Sounds Completing About One Mix Per Day. Both Wallace And Vig Noted Years Later That Upon Hearing Wallace's Work The Band Loved The Mixes. After The Album's Release Members Of Nirvana Expressed Dissatisfaction With The Polished Sound The Mixer Had Given Nevermind. Cobain Said In Come As You Are "Looking Back On The Production Of Nevermind I'm Embarrassed By It Now. It's Closer To A Mötley Crüe Record Than It Is A Punk Rock Record." Nevermind Was Mastered On The Afternoon Of August 2 In The Mastering Lab In Hollywood California. Howie Weinberg Started Working Alone When No One Else Showed Up At The Appointed Time In The Studio By The Time Nirvana Andy Wallace And Gary Gersh Arrived Weinberg Had Mastered Most Of The Album. One Of The Songs Mastered At The Session A Hidden Track Called "Endless Nameless" Intended To Appear At The End Of "Something In The Way" Was Accidentally Left Off Initial Pressings Of The Album. Weinberg Recalled "In The Beginning It Was Kind Of A Verbal Thing To Put That Track At The End. Maybe I Misconstrued Their Instructions So You Can Call It My Mistake If You Want. Maybe I Didn't Write It Down When Nirvana Or The Record Company Said To Do It. So When They Pressed The First Twenty Thousand Or So CDs Albums And Cassettes It Wasn't On There." When The Band Discovered The Song's Omission After Listening To Its Copy Of The Album Cobain Called Weinberg And Demanded He Rectify The Mistake. Weinberg Complied And Added About Ten Minutes Of Silence Between The End Of "Something In The Way" And The Start Of The Hidden Track On Future Pressings Of The Album. Nevermind Was Released On September 24 1991. American Record Stores Received An Initial Shipment Of 46 251 Copies While 35 000 Copies Were Shipped In The United Kingdom Where Bleach Had Been Successful. The Lead Single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Had Been Released On September 10 With The Intention Of Being A Base-Building Cut Among Alternative Rock Fans While The Next Single "Come As You Are" Would Be The Song That Would Possibly Garner More Attention. The Band Set Out On A Short American Tour Four Days Before The Release Date To Support The Album. Geffen Records Hoped That Nevermind Would Sell Around 250 000 Copies Which Was The Same Level The Record Company Had Achieved With Sonic Youth's Geffen Debut Goo. The Best Estimate Was That If All Involved Worked Hard The Record Could Possibly Be Certified Gold By September 1992. The Album Debuted On The Billboard 200 At Position 144 Which Was High Enough For The Album To Top The Heatseekers Chart As Well. Geffen Shipped About Half Of The Initial US Pressing To The American Northwest Where It Sold Out Quickly And Was Unavailable For Days. Geffen Reputedly Put Production Of All Other Albums On Hold In Order To Fulfill Demand In The Region. Nevermind Was Already Selling Well But Over The Next Few Months The Momentum Increased Significantly As "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Unexpectedly Became More And More Popular. The Song's Video Had Received A World Premiere On MTV's Late Night Alternative Show 120 Minutes But It Soon Proved So Popular That The Channel Began Playing It During The Day. The Record Was Soon Certified Gold But The Band Was Relatively Uninterested In The Achievement. Novoselic Recalled "Yeah I Was Happy About It. It Was Pretty Cool. It Was Kind Of Neat. But I Don't Give A Shit About Some Kind Of Achievement Like That. It's Cool—I Guess." As The Band Set Out For Their European Tour At The Start Of November 1991 Nevermind Entered The Billboard Top 40 For The First Time At Number 35. By This Point "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Had Become A Genuine Hit And The Album Was Selling So Fast None Of Geffen's Marketing Strategies Aimed At Different Sales Levels Could Be Enacted. Geffen President Ed Rosenblatt Told The New York Times "We Didn't Do Anything. It Was Just One Of Those 'Get Out Of The Way And Duck' Records." Nirvana Found As They Toured Europe During The End Of 1991 That The Shows Were Dangerously Oversold Television Crews Became A Constant Presence Onstage And "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Was Almost Omnipresent On Radio And Music Television. Nevermind Became Nirvana's First Number One Album On January 11 1992 Replacing Michael Jackson At The Top Of The Billboard Charts. By This Time Nevermind Was Selling Approximately 300 000 Copies A Week. "Come As You Are" Was Finally Released As The Second Single In March 1992 It Peaked At Number 32 On The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Two More Singles "Lithium" And "In Bloom" Were Released From The Album. Nevermind Was Certified Gold And Platinum By The Recording Industry Association Of America In November 1991 And Was Certified Diamond In March 1999. It Was Also Certified Diamond In Canada 1 000 000 Units By The Canadian Recording Industry Association In March 2001. In 1996 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Released Nevermind On Vinyl As Part Of Its ANADISQ 200 Series And As A 24-Carat Gold CD. The CD Pressings Included "Endless Nameless". The LP Version Sold Out Quickly Of Its Limited Pressing But The CD Edition Stayed In Print. Upon The Album's Release Several Mainstream Newspapers And Magazines Gave Nevermind Positive Reviews. Karen Schoemer Of The New York Times Wrote "With 'Nevermind ' Nirvana Has Certainly Succeeded. There Are Enough Intriguing Textures Mood Shifts Instrumental Snippets And Inventive Word Plays To Provide For Hours Of Entertainment." Schoemer Concluded "'Nevermind' Is More Sophisticated And Carefully Produced Than Anything Peer Bands Like Dinosaur Jr. And Mudhoney Have Yet Offered." Entertainment Weekly Gave Nevermind An A– Rating And Reviewer David Browne Argued That On Nevermind Nirvana "never Entertain The Notion" Of Wanting To Sound "normal " Compared To Other Contemporary Alternative Bands. Concluding His Very Enthusiastic Review For The British Melody Maker Everett True Wrote That "When Nirvana Released Bleach All Those Years Ago The More Sussed Among Us Figured They Had The Potential To Make An Album That Would Blow Every Other Contender Away. My God Have They Proved Us Right." Rolling Stone Gave The Album Three Out Of Five Stars Reviewer Ira Robbins Wrote "If Nirvana Isn't Onto Anything Altogether New Nevermind Does Possess The Songs Character And Confident Spirit To Be Much More Than A Reformulation Of College Radio's High-Octane Hits." The Boston Globe Was Less Enthusiastic About The Album Reviewer Steve Morse Wrote "Most Of Nevermind Is Packed With Generic Punk-Pop That Had Been Done By Countless Acts From Iggy Pop To The Red Hot Chili Peppers " And Added "the Band Has Little Or Nothing To Say Settling For Moronic Ramblings By Singer-Lyricist Cobain." Nevermind Was Voted As The Best Album Of The Year In The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Also Topped The Single Of The Year And Video Of The Year Polls. Nevermind Topped The Poll By A Large Majority And Village Voice Critic Robert Christgau Wrote In His Companion Piece To The Poll "As A Modest Pop Surprise They Might Have Scored A Modest Victory Like De La Soul In 1990. Instead Their Multi-Platinum Takeover Constituted The First Full-Scale Public Validation Of The Amerindie Values—the Noise The Toons The 'tude—the Radder Half Of The Pazz & Jop Poll Electorate Came Up On." Cobain Nirvana's Main Songwriter Fashioned Chord Sequences That Were Based Mainly Around Power Chords And Wrote Songs That Combined Pop Hooks With Dissonant Guitar Rhythms. His Aim For Nevermind's Material Was To Sound Like The "Bay City Rollers Getting Molested By Black Flag". Many Of The Songs On Nevermind Feature Shifts In Dynamics Where The Band Changes From Quiet Verses To Loud Choruses. Dave Grohl Said This Approach Originated During A Four-Month Period Prior To The Recording Of The Album Where The Band Would Experiment With Extreme Dynamics During Regular Jam Sessions. Guitar World Wrote "Kurt Cobain's Guitar Sound On Nirvana's Nevermind Set The Tone For Nineties Rock Music." On Nevermind Cobain Played A 1960s Fender Mustang A Fender Jaguar With DiMarzio Pickups And A Few Fender Stratocasters With Humbucker Bridge Pickups. The Guitarist Used Distortion And Chorus Pedals As His Main Effects The Latter Used To Generate A "watery" Sound On "Come As You Are" And The Pre-Choruses Of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Krist Novoselic Tuned Down His Bass Guitar One And A Half Steps To D Flat "to Get This Fat-Ass Sound". Grohl Said That Cobain Told Him "Music Comes First Lyrics Come Second " And Grohl Believes That Above All Cobain Focused On The Melodies Of His Songs. Cobain Was Still Working On The Album's Lyrics Well Into The Recording Of Nevermind. Additionally Cobain's Phrasing On The Album Is Often Difficult To Understand. Vig Asserted That Clarity Of Cobain's Singing Was Not Paramount. Vig Said "Even Though You Couldn't Quite Tell What He Was Singing About You Knew It Was Intense As Hell." Cobain Would Later Complain When Rock Journalists Attempted To Decipher His Singing And Extract Meaning From His Lyrics Writing "Why In The Hell Do Journalists Insist On Coming Up With A Second-Rate Freudian Evaluation Of My Lyrics When 90 Percent Of The Time They've Transcribed Them Incorrectly?" Charles R. Cross Asserted In His 2001 Biography Of Kurt Cobain Heavier Than Heaven That Many Of The Songs Written For Nevermind Were About Cobain's Dysfunctional Relationship With Tobi Vail. After The Relationship Ended Cobain Began Writing And Painting Violent Scenes Many Of Which Revealed Hatred For Himself And Others. Songs Written During This Period Were Less Violent But Still Reflected Anger Absent From Cobain's Earlier Songs. Cross Wrote "In The Four Months Following Their Break-Up Kurt Would Write A Half Dozen Of His Most Memorable Songs All Of Them About Tobi Vail". "Drain You" Begins With The Line "One Baby To Another Said 'I'm Lucky To Have Met You'" Quoting What Vail Had Once Told Cobain And The Line "It Is Now My Duty To Completely Drain You" Refers To The Power Vail Had Over Kurt In Their Relationship. According To Novoselic "'Lounge Act' Is About Tobi" And The Song Contains The Line "I'll Arrest Myself I'll Wear A Shield" Referring To Cobain Having The K Records Logo Tattooed On His Arm To Impress Vail. Though "Lithium" Had Been Written Before Cobain Knew Vail The Lyrics Of The Song Were Changed To Reference Her. Cobain Also Said In An Interview With Musician That "some Of My Very Personal Experiences Like Breaking Up With Girlfriends And Having Bad Relationships Feeling That Death Void That The Person In The Song Is Feeling–very Lonely Sick." The Album's Tentative Title Sheep Was Something Cobain Created As An Inside Joke Towards The People He Expected To Buy The Record. He Wrote A Fake Ad For Sheep In His Journal That Read "Because You Want To Not Because Everyone Else Is." Novoselic Said The Inspiration For The Title Was The Band's Cynicism About The Public's Reaction To Operation Desert Storm. As Recording Sessions For The Album Were Completed Cobain Grew Tired Of The Title And Suggested To Novoselic That The New Album Be Named Nevermind. Cobain Liked The Title Because It Was A Metaphor For His Attitude On Life And Because It Was Grammatically Incorrect. The Nevermind Album Cover Shows A Baby Swimming Toward A US Dollar Bill On A Fishhook. According To Cobain He Conceived The Idea While Watching A Television Program On Water Births With Grohl. Cobain Mentioned It To Geffen's Art Director Robert Fisher. Fisher Found Some Stock Footage Of Underwater Births But They Were Too Graphic For The Record Company. Also The Stock House That Controlled The Photo Of A Swimming Baby That They Subsequently Settled On Wanted $7 500 A Year For Its Use So Instead Fisher Sent A Photographer To A Pool For Babies To Take Pictures. Five Shots Resulted And The Band Settled On The Image Of A Three-Month-Old Infant Named Spencer Elden The Son Of The Photographer's Friend Rick Elden. However There Was Some Concern Because Elden's Penis Was Visible In The Image. Geffen Prepared An Alternate Cover Without The Penis As They Were Afraid That It Would Offend People But Relented When Cobain Made It Clear That The Only Compromise He Would Accept Was A Sticker Covering The Penis That Would Say "If You're Offended By This You Must Be A Closet Pedophile." The Back Cover Of The Album Features A Photograph Of A Rubber Monkey In Front Of A Collage Created By Cobain. The Collage Features Photos Of Raw Beef From A Supermarket Advertisement Images From Dante's Inferno And Pictures Of Diseased Vaginas From Cobain's Collection Of Medical Photos. Cobain Noted "If You Look Real Close There Is A Picture Of Kiss In The Back Standing On A Slab Of Beef." The Album's Liner Notes Contain No Complete Song Lyrics Instead The Liner Contains Random Song Lyrics And Unused Lyrical Fragments That Cobain Arranged Into A Poem. Nevermind Not Only Popularized The Seattle Grunge Movement But Also Brought Alternative Rock As A Whole Into The Mainstream Establishing Its Commercial And Cultural Viability. Nevermind's Success Surprised Nirvana's Contemporaries Who Felt Dwarfed By Its Impact. Fugazi's Guy Picciotto Later Commented "It Was Like Our Record Could Have Been A Hobo Pissing In The Forest For The Amount Of Impact It Had. It Felt Like We Were Playing Ukuleles All Of A Sudden Because Of The Disparity Of The Impact Of What They Did". In 1992 Jon Pareles Of The New York Times Described That In The Aftermath Of The Album's Breakthrough "Suddenly All Bets Are Off. No One Has The Inside Track On Which Of Dozens Perhaps Hundreds Of Ornery Obstreperous Unkempt Bands Might Next Appeal To The Mall-Walking Millions". Record Company Executives Offered Large Advances And Record Deals To Bands And Previous Strategies Of Building Audiences For Alternative Rock Bands Had Been Replaced By The Opportunity To Achieve Mainstream Popularity Quickly. Michael Azerrad Argued In His Nirvana Biography Come As You Are The Story Of Nirvana 1993 That Nevermind Marked The Emergence Of A Generation Of Music Fans In Their Twenties In A Climate Dominated By The Musical Tastes Of The Baby Boomer Generation That Preceded Them. Azerrad Wrote "Nevermind Came Along At Exactly The Right Time. This Was Music By For And About A Whole New Group Of Young People Who Had Been Overlooked Ignored Or Condescended To." Rolling Stone Wrote In Its Entry For Nevermind On Its 2003 List Of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time "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." Nevermind Has Continued To Garner Critical Praise Since Its Release. The Album Was Listed At Number Seventeen On Rolling Stone's List "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". Time Placed Nevermind Which Writer Josh Tyrangiel Called "the Finest Album Of The 90s " On Its 2006 List Of "The All-TIME 100 Albums." Pitchfork Named The Album The Sixth Best Of The Decade Noting That "anyone Who Hates This Record Today Is Just Trying To Be Cool And Needs To Be Trying Harder." In 2005 The Library Of Congress Added Nevermind To The National Recording Registry Which Collects "culturally Historically Or Aesthetically Important" Sound Recordings From The 20th Century.

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