Nirvana’s hit 1991 album, “Nevermind” has been influencing music for decades. I still hear their hit song, “Smells like teen spirit” playing on the radio quite often along with several others from this album. “Nevermind” is arguably the best of it’s time, a classic. At first glance, the lyrics in the songs can seem like a jumbled mess with no credible correlation to each other. But I thought this was odd because this album was released only seven years before the lead singer, Kurt Cobain committed suicide. Surely, he would have incorporated his emotions into what he had a passion for, his music. The third track, “Come as you are” may seem extremely odd and irrelevant at first because of the strange lyrics. (ex. “Take your time, hurry up. The choice is yours, don't be late. Take a rest as a friend, as an old memoria”). There are many theories about what the song is really about. Some say that it is Cobain expressing his distrust for people because of fake friendships. Others argue that he was simply intoxicated by drugs when he wrote that track. Kurt Cobain later described this song as simply “About people, and what they’re expected to act like.” Either way, it stemmed from a negative experience like most other songs off of “Nevermind”.
I don’t think Nirvana ever intended for this album to be as popular as it did. While playing a MTV Unplugged performance, Kurt Cobain got emotional because the audience appreciated songs off “Nevermind” more than they did songs off a later album “In Utero” (1993). “In Utero” was supposed to be their big hit because of how personal the stories were behind the lyrics. Which is why Cobain got emotional during the performance. He was upset because the songs off of “In Utero” had more meaning and the audience did not enjoy them as much as tracks off of “Nevermind”.
Personally, it is in my top five favorite albums. The songs give me a nostalgic, haunting feeling. It’s supremacy above all the other albums by Nirvana is clear. “Nevermind” definitely raised the bar for future grunge bands. The 12 track album that shot them into super-stardom will continue to be enjoyed for years to come, just as it is today.