Nevermind is considered by many people to be one of the best albums of the 1990s, partly because it is a really good album, and partly because it became really cool to say so. Nirvana nostalgia took hold quickly after the death of Kurt Coban, and became more and more shallow. The genuine mourning moved into just about everyone saying "Yeah, Nevermind is the one that changed everything."

A great example of this posthumous worship can be seen in the editorial staff of Rolling Stone. Through the years, they only seem to love Cobain & Gang more. Take Cobain, a book published in 1997, written by Fred Woodward and Rolling Stone. Now don't get me wrong, I agree that Nevermind was a great album, but what I find funny is this:

Rolling Stone reviewed Nevermind and gave it three stars.

Doesn't this strike you as strange? Yes, I agree hindsight is 20/20. However, given their later nonsexual crush on it, I think this is just funny. The 7th album to be reviewed, it appears on the 3rd page of the reviews section, following other surely timeless albums such as MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit and Sway's Antenna. The entire review follows.

Despite the hand-wringing the fanzines do each time an indie-rock hero signs a major-label deal, righteous postpunk stars from Husker Du to Soundgarden have joined the corporate world without debasing their music. More often than not, ambitious left-of-the-dial bands gallantly cling to their principles as they plunge into the depths of commercial failure. Integrity is a heavy burden for those trying to scale the charts.

Led by singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain, Nirvana is the latest underground bonus baby to test mainstream tolerance for alternative music. Given the small corner of public taste that nonmetal guitar rock now commands, the Washington State trio's version of the truth is probably as credible as anyone's. A dynamic mix of sizzling power chords, manic energy and sonic restraint, Nirvana erects sturdy melodic structures - sing-along hard rock as defined by groups like the Replacements, Pixies and Sonic Youth–but then attacks them with frenzied screaming and guitar havoc. When Cobain revs into high punk gear, shifting his versatile voice from quiet caress to raw-throated fury, the decisive control of bassist Chris Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl is all that keeps the songs from chaos. 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.

Nirvana's undistinguished 1989 debut, Bleach, relied on warmed-over Seventies metal riffs, but the thrashing Nevermind boasts an adrenalized pop heart and incomparably superior material, captured with roaring clarity by coproducer Butch Vig. Cued in with occasional (and presumably intentional) tape errors, most of the songs - like "On a Plain," "Come as You Are" and "Territorial Pissings" - exemplify the band's skill at inscribing subtlety into dense, noisy rock. At the album's stylistic extremes, "Something in the Way" floats a translucent cloud of acoustic guitar and cello, while "Breed" and "Stay Away" race flat-out, the latter ending in an awesome meltdown rumble.

Too often, underground bands squander their spunk on records they're not ready to make, then burn out their energy and inspiration with uphill touring. Nevermind finds Nirvana at the crossroads–scrappy garageland warriors setting their sights on the land of giants.

Ira Robbins RS 618, November 28th, 1991

There are a few albums out there that grab your attention. There are other albums, however, that scramble your brains really, really badly. All of a sudden, you're wearing plaid and you don't know why. Then you wonder why your jeans are all ripped up. Today, perhaps, Nirvana's Nevermind would not rake in the big bucks like that fat idiot in everyone's music video would make. But in 1992, Nirvana caused quite a stir. Think of it: music, as we know it, seems to be over. We all want to shoot people, shoot ourselves, do something to unleash all this pent-up hostility we have. Then, Nirvana comes out with Nevermind and says, "Well, damn. I just can't handle any more of this "pop" crap. Try nonsensical wailing, horrific guitar playing, nearly non-existent bass, and the mutilation of a drum kit." So, we did. And we liked it.

All we heard was angst, and the punishment of instruments. And it was good. Hell, I'm not ashamed to admit that it was the simplicity of Nirvana that made me study, study, study guitar. Other bands were rolling right along with their own "heavy" sounds: Guns N' Roses strolled around with their semi-big hair and over-engineered albums. Metallica wanted to crush the listener's skull, but failed with the Black Album. Both of these bands made millions of dollars, but musically, were missing one thing that Nirvana had in abundance: simplicity. Lead singer Kurt Cobain didn't sing very well, he didn't wail vibrantly on the guitar like Slash did. He didn't growl at you and attempt to tell stories about war, like James Hetfield did. He screamed, and I, for one, couldn't get enough.

The Tracks

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit, the song that made a band. Nevermind's first single, considered by most to be a "classic", launched Nirvana into super-uber-stardom. Everyone was sitting around, waiting for Guns N' Roses and others to release another Don't Cry, when suddenly there's this guy shouting at you. From the morose mumbling of the verses to the driving, four-chord chorus, this was the song that caught everyone's attention. And sold an ass-load of albums.

2. In Bloom was a slower song, that contained a fair example of the Butch Vig sound. Still, it contained that quiet-and-singing, followed by loud-and-screaming undertone accompanying almost the entirety of this album. Though it had a hilarious music video - sort of a bad copy of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show - it really didn't grasp the public's attention like Teen Spirit did.

3. Come As You Are had a well-done yet strange music video, but I don't know how many people that I've known around my age who've said that "it was the first song I ever learned to play." In addition, some non-guitar-playing friends also pick up my guitar today and pluck it out, then they look shame-faced, and say, "Uh...yeah. That's all I know." It was a single, and had tremendous airplay. This song didn't have as much screaming in it, but of course, it talked about guns, so there's enough angst to go around.

4. Breed was a personal favourite of mine. This one was fast, had brutal drums, and it's where I discovered that singing was a relative term, and that it wasn't really necessary when one wanted to fly around the house breaking stuff. In truth, it's a fairly repetetive song, but it's where the listener notices that, yes, Dave Grohl really pounds those drums.

5. Lithium, the true follow-up to Teen Spirit, actually show that the band could do a fairly catchy, straight-up rock song. Sure, it's not exactly Aerosmith, and the chorus is nothing but YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH over and over again, but it doesn't matter. The bass, even though Krist Novoselic is hardly a Flea or a Les Claypool, is catchy, a bit of genius even. This song is not so much the "grunge" feel often associated with Nirvana, but is more your basic rock tune.

6. Polly is morose, keening, and the guitar that Cobain plays is a $20 junk shop Stella, but it suits the song. The lyrics make no sense, and the guitar is the epitome of the simplicity I've been speaking about; But it's just enough, this one. It's slow, low, almost melodic. There's successful use of harmonized vocals, believe it or not. This song is one of two acoustically-oriented songs on the album, with a complete lack of screaming and guitar torturing.

7. Territorial Pissings is a song I always remember because of the wailing of The Youngbloods song at the beginnning: "Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together..." That's about the high point of this song, however; it's fast, there's a lot of screaming, but it's repetetive and boring.

8. Drain You is one of the happier numbers on the album, with a fairly bouncy guitar riff at the beginning, and happier vocals than the rest of the album. This one is also extremely fun to play on guitar. Grab yourself a tablature, and learn this one. Then go into a music store and play really loud. Much fun will be had by all.

9. Lounge Act is, by far, my favourite song on this album. The only one that exudes any form of creativity, this song has its own murky, downtrodden feel. It's not overly "grungy"--whatever that means--but it does have its own darkness, and its own special feel. Think Everlong, by Foo Fighters.

10. Stay Away is Territorial Pissings all over again. You can skip this one. Or listen to it. You will not gain anything from the experience. Grunge at its worst (which does not translate to 'good').

11. On a Plain is a bland song. But hey, to its credit, it has a bridge! I'd recommend the acoustic version found on the MTV release, Nirvana: Unplugged in New York. That version seems to me to be a little more in character for this song.

12. Something In The Way is the second of the two "quiet" songs on this album. Strangely, it was never released as a single. Played again on acoustic guitar, there is also, in the background, some cello playing. The Drop D Tuning of this song doesn't detract from the song's plain elegance (that's right - plain elegance), and is very simple to play on guitar.

About thirteen minutes and 50 seconds into track number twelve, Endless, Nameless begins. It's long, about nine minutes, and it's nothing more than torturing the guitar and screaming.