...ding, ding, ding!! ...On me way the the TV to watch "Saturday Night Live", Oct., 1991, and caught some Music Videos after the news...ba-BOOOM!! ...I KNEW, right then, n' THERE....
Get the Nirvana Nevermind 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition here: shop.nirvana.com/products/nevermind-30th-deluxe-5cd: Poll: What is your pick for the GREATEST album of the 90s?
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream. While Nirvana - Nevermind was the watershed, Siamese Dream retains every bit of radiance it had as it did when released. Radiohead - OK Computer would be my second pick.
2 times Nirvana changed my life, 1992 on a road trip down the coast from Perth, Western Australia to Margaret River. Two car loads of us teens just enjoying the Summer after graduating High School the year before. We wore out our cassette tape of Nevermind because that was literally the only album we listened to for the whole trip. April 5th, 1994, the saddest day I'll never forget.
Child of '73 myself and totally agree with you! Whether its discussion of the John Hughes music, Echo and the Bunnymen, Morrissey and the Smiths, Violent Femmes, or great'80s new wave music, I'm with you all the way. Still waiting for the Stone Roses tribute!
"Nevermind" meant the world to me, that shit was so rad, raw, rebellious... I don't have the words, and who cares really but the discovery of that band and album surely impacted me too growing up
I went to see a GNR concert shortly after _Nevermind_ blew up. Soundgarden opened and you could see most of the crowd whittle away to buy more beer, etc. After Soundgarden left the stage, we were subjected to the usual delay you'd expect from Axl and gang. While we waited, the venue played various rock tracks over the pa system, mostly hair bands or classic rock. Just before GNR appeared, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came on. There was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere and even some cheering from the crowd. That's where I mark the shift. Grunge and 'alternative' were here. Things has changed, and I have a feeling Soundgarden among other bands were propelled to opening act status in no small part due to Nirvana's success.
I think that's a good summation but Soundgarden had solidified themselves long before Nirvana. I went to the GN'R/Soundgarden show in Philly and as much as I was into GN'R, I was there to see Soundgarden and Chris Cornell mostly. UltraOmega OK was a big record for me and Louder Than Love topped that. I do think that the Seattle explosion of Grunge helped to propel them a little but I'd argue that Soundgarden already had a following and was well on their way with or without Nirvana.
Alright. Someone who confirms one of the reasons I don’t classify Soundgarden as Grunge. They were around well before the genre was defined. Anyway, Soungarden was much more metal than any of the bands they were lumped in with. Plus they were better than all of them. Only Layne Staley can come close to Chris Cornell vocally, and Kim Thayll is beyond even Jerry Cantrell and Mike McCready. He is one of only two guitarists I have heard that gets some of the spacey sounds that Jimi Hendrix did out of the guitar (Uli Jon Roth is the other). Soundgarden broke big the same time the Grunge bands did and they are from Seattle, so they got lumped in that group, but they are not Grunge, they are something better..
@@craighenry2351 I will say that when UltraOmega OK came out, not many of my metalhead brothers were on board but nearly everyone had Louder Than Love and rocked it often. A lot of the early grunge scene was kind of a mix of punk and metal but I agree that Soundgarden easily fit into the metal category for most of us. Every leatherclad or jean jacket, long haired young kid in my town was rockin' out to Louder Than Love and Full on Kev's Mom. 😀
The first time I saw the video for ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’, I rejoiced bc I knew it was a death blow to 80’s glam metal (the likes of Motley Crue, Poison, and all the cash in copycats). Two bands, Metallica and GnR, were more metal than glam. Metallica had depth. GnR fell prey to the party drug culture and in fighting amongst its members, and in truth, bc most bands when they see wealth arrive, lose the root of their creativity to the blossom of material comfort. As for Soundgarden, Chris Cornell was the center of their creativity, and he outshined all of his band mates with his stellar success beyond them.
@BulletProof Poet @Craig Henry Thank you both for adding better historical context to my comment. I think your assessments of where Soundgarden falls within or without the genre are correct. I was 15 years old at that concert and had never heard of Soundgarden, although my friend who joined me had. He was looking forward to their performance, as I recall, and there were certainly a sizeable number of audience members who were enjoying their show. I fully agree that Soungarden fell outside of grunge and that their music remains more listenable in the following years than Nirvana has. That concert was in January of 1992. Later that year, in September, my friend and I went to the GNR/Mettallica "co-headliner" tour. Faith No More opened. In my estimation, they somewhat upstaged the headliners, especially GNR who were significantly less energetic than they'd been in Jan. '92. Also, a lot more people in the audience were wearing plaid shirts.
Well thank you for representing those few people who stand against the total conformity and nonsense of a single camp. Even if in the end it's all "pop music" for a consumerist society.
I am old enough to have seen The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, and I remember it clearly. I also remember the impact Nevermind had on me the first time I heard it, and it had much the same effect, so excellent comparison. During my teen years I just had to have everything The Beatles did, and then in my 30's I just had to have everything Nirvana did. I still love them both, in different ways. I would describe Nirvana as layer upon layer of raw emotion. Read the lyrics and you'll feel the emotion. Listen to the guitar and you'll feel the emotion, Listen to the drums, and you'll feel the emotion. Listen to Kurt's voice, and you'll feel the emotion. Put them all together and you have a volcano of emotion that washes over, and almost overwhelms you. More than anything else, it's real. I was devastated at the loss of Kurt.
My grandparents were dating at the time the Beatles debuted on Ed Sullivan. They remember girls going wild and crazy at these four young men! They finally arrived!
Really well said! I too was a mess when I heard the news. I cried when Pearl Jam did SNL and, midway through "Daughter" Eddie started singing (in such a melencholy way) Neal Youngs "Hey Hey, My My" and, pulled out a black magic marker and wrote a K on his leg. There are a few documentaries, most recently "Soaked in Bleach" that have me thoroughly convinced Courtney had him murdered. Even the Seattle Police detective, Sheriff, coroner who worked the case back then admit they're were so many mistakes, so much jumping to conclusions that, in hindsight they believe She had him killed. "If you want to get away with murder, murder a junkie" one of them said. It's relatively easy to find I think. I watched it on "Tubi" 6 months ago or so. A free service but, it may not be there now. It's around though, you'll never believe it was suicide again after seeing it . I haven't for 20 years. I saw a documentary called Kurt and Courtney back in the late 90s that had me convinced. I'm not one of those, you know. Moon Landing, Elvis Lives , illuminati, deep state types. If there is one person pointing out one incriminating thing or something it'd be different but, the consensus of opinion from many sources with nothing to gain (on the contrary really considering the authorities that worked the case admitting they made a series of mistakes. One of the detectives said something to the effect of "If you want to get away with murder...murder a junkie." I'll see if I can locate it if you're interested, I'll see you around Delta 🎸🎶✌️👨🎤
@@stanphillips7277 I would love to see that. I have Tubi and I think I remember seeing a documentary on Nirvana or Kurt Cobain fairly recently. I'll check it out tonight if I can find it. I'm like you, not jumping on every conspiracy I see, but if you present enough evidence, then I'll at least consider the possibility. Thanks for the heads up.
@@joepharmasst Whatever, I'm 66 and suck at math, so sue me. I should clarify, I was 8 years old when I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. However they broke up in 1970, when I was 14, and I was buying Beatles records for the next several years after that. Kurt Cobain died when I was 38, so I guess it works out as I stated it after all. Damn I'm old!
I think the reason the music was so good is because Kurt genuinely cares for the human race .. I remember in the unplugged there were kids asking for autographs and Kurt was really busy and he told them “ I’m so sorry I wish I can go over and hug all of you “ that’s why Nirvana was so great .. the music was honest and the band so extremely gifted and loved playing music
After a decade of Whitesnake and Tawny Kitaen and David Lee Roth and California Girls you had Kurt not just singing, but actively talking about mental health and women's rights while calling out homophobes and abusers. I don't know that he genuinely cared for the human race, but he did look out for the downtrodden and speak out for the powerless. As a 13-year-old, I watched MTV all summer in 1991, where GnR's You Could Be Mine and Bryan Adams' I Do It For You battled for the number one spot on the top 20 video countdown, and I never saw anyone that spoke like me or thought like me. That fall, when Nirvana exploded on the scene I saw people I could relate to on MTV for the first time.
Douglas your absolutely right, he genuinely cared but also he was one of us. He lived it and he wrote from the heart. I really miss those years, isn’t great watching this generation listen to music from the 80’s and the early 90’s, that music will live forever.
@@tommyrsrracer yeah dude .. that’s what I tell people .. like the Beatles and bands that actually have substance in their music .. those are the people who were gonna look back on 100 years from now and look at them like we look at Beethoven and Shakespeare.. like you said timeless music and art .. because people will always relate .. “ STAAAAAAAAY AWAAAAAAY!!! “ everyone will feel that once in a while .. 😂
@@jst25 GnR was also great too 😂 You Could be Mine 🔥 my favorite song by them 😂 … it’s so true man .. because when people hear Rape Me for the first time they think “ 😬 you shouldn’t talk/sing about Rape “ but Kurt is saying.. people get Raped and how can we help the victims of Rape if we ignore it .. so He’s gonna yell it at the top of his lungs to give people the strength to talk about it and deal wit the trauma.. not many people have that will to speak up .. that’s what made Kurt a great artist.. legend 🙌🏻
You hit the nail on the head professor! Even before Smells Like Teen Spirit blew up my friends and I in school were already tired of what we called "cock rock" which included hair bands and especially GnR. My best friend back then had an older brother who was in college and introduced us to Nirvana's Bleach shortly after it was released along with other bands like The Pixies and Husker Du just to name a couple. Really opened our eyes to rock that wasn't mostly about women, cars and partying. That older brother especially hated GnR. He once wrote a fictional music review for either a high school or college student newspaper about a band called "Gums and Noses" who had a lead singer named "A$$hole Rose." I don't know if that review was published anywhere but it sure was hilarious!
It's funny you mention GNR, as they were never really a hair band. Their darker aspects, along with albums like Skid Row's Slave To The Grind were crucial stepping stones back to the hard stuff for some of us old schoolers who grew up on Shout At The Devil but were surviving on Cherry Pie.
ugh "kok" rock... like having a huge pile of steaming sh*t on a plate and forced to eat for dinner. Thankfully Nirvana broke through and offered oxygen, and everything really into the rest of the world, not just squeezing their koks with zero humanity... Thank you Nirvana, Cobain will always be the humanity that I wish the world would get a clue from. Grateful for my memories from that time with the shows I went to, my memories sustain me, although I've mourned that man for decades. Now, haters gonna hate.
Nevermind is probably the most important record of the last 50 years. The world is a different place before and after it came out. culture was different, music was different, clothing style, everything. even if you werent into grunge or Nirvana, but your world changed too by just living in the same world as everyone else.
I just starting watching you in the last week or so. These videos are great and I loved that you covered something with this era and style of music. Would love to see you do a video on something Soundgarden or Alice In Chains.
I’d love it too, but, this may be as heavy or diverse as Adam gets. He seems to skew more toward pop and also toward an earlier time frame. But, he is diverse, so it is possible
My best freind introduced me to Nirvana. She had owned the copy of Nevermind. So when we were in high school I was always allowed to spend the nights on the weekends at her house. And we'd listen to Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and many other alternative/rock groups or watch movies. Her home had seemed like a second home to me since I was over there for so many days. Alot of the music I like that is from the 90s was because she introduced me to the groups and their songs. All the song clips you had in this video were my most favorite songs from the group.
Our bass player called us and said, "I'm coming over. You have to hear this." He showed up 10 minutes later and put the Memorex into my huge CD/cassette boom box, hit rewind, and pushed play with his nervous finger. The chucking chords ripped through our apartment, and then Groh's ka chugga, ka chugga entered...the hair stood up on my arms. A lot of 80's garage bands were looking for this mix of melody and power...something between REM and Black Sabbath. Do I remember the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit? A little...
An absolute watershed. Everything changed and life felt real and vital. I had always heard that the reference "I swear I don't have a gun" was about Nirvana's original drummer and something about how he had an affinity for firearms, was suicidal, or something along those lines. Would have LOVED for your to have gone through each track.
I was 21 years old... it was about 1:45 in the morning, and I just came home from hanging out at a local bar with some friends. I was getting ready for bed and put on TV. I popped on MTV and watched as the host of "120 Minutes" said it was the last video of the evening ...a debut track from Nirvana's new album. From the moment the drums kicked in, I was hooked. That song grabbed a hold of my soul like no other song had ever before. I literally stared at the TV the entire 4 plus minutes that the video played. EARLY the next morning I went to the local record store and bought the cassette because, well, that's all they had. The next week I went back and bought the CD, mostly because I had worn out the cassette.lol 30 years later, that song ...that album...that band...is still, to ME, the most genuine and authentic thing to come out of in rock n roll - ever.
I went down the grunge, alternative rock, industrial hole in the early 90's while living on the Seattle area. I liked a lot of the bands from that area, I think maybe Temple Of The Dog would be my choice since it brought a lot of the key bands together. Man, just thinking about all the music from then is pretty cool. And I'll likely get no more work done today... Thanks for that!
I had a teacher at my high school who said “Dr. Rock on RUclips is awesome!” And I told her, “It’s Professor of Rock, remember?” We both laughed. She and I are wondering if Adam goes by Dr. Rock too!
I kind of feel like this album popularity was made from MTV, and that first video(Smells Like Tean Spirit). Just like G&R, that first video(SweetChild of Mine) it generated a lot of calls to the station which took the song to MTV hourly rotations. A good video could make a lot of sales, right Tone Loc? And in those days, a hot song sells an album(not a single like today), then when you hear the entire album, you could be hooked like with Asia's first album.
Thanks so much for making me aware this gorgeous 30th anniversary edition is coming out! I got Nevermind originally from an alternative music club subscription, where they sent me not only Nirvana, but also Garbage and a lot of other awesome bands from the era. I loved Nevermind from the very first listen and am looking forward to getting my 30th anniversary edition! I still listen to Nevermind. Sometimes, only Nirvana will do.
Absolutely agree. I remember the first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Sprit". I was driving in my truck and had a fill of 80's BS music and rehashing AC/DC, Hank Jr. and Classic rock, from the first chord I was riveted to the point I had to pull over. I realized at that time Rock had been saved, it hit me like welcome gut punch from Mike Tyson. To this day I'm a big Grunge fan, STP, Alice in Chains, Collective Soul, Veruca Salt, Hole, Green Gay, REM and many more. I love the classic rock from the 60's and 70's I grew up on but Grunge still gives me goose bumps.
The first time I heard “Teen Spirit”, I was in my living room warming my feet in front of the fireplace. My dad started playing this song loudly and asked me if I knew it. I said no, then began banging my head all the way through the song. At the end, I was like, “That’s a great song.”
Based on what you said in another video you're about 5 years younger than me. I would imagine that Nevermind is to you, what The Joshua Tree was for me and my graduating class. I was in college when Nevermind was released. I started dating my husband the month after it was released. It is the album that made me feel like GenX had arrived. It was speaking to our dissatisfaction and the fact that we were facing a future as the first generation that was not expected to have the opportunities that would lead to greater success than the previous generations. The soundtrack to my last two years of college was filled with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cranberries, 10,000 Maniacs, Sheryl Crow, Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Etheridge, No Doubt, REM, Live!, and Alanis Morrisette. Ahh, good times..great music! So glad I finally discovered your channel.
This album omg I can't explain the impact it had on my life. I'd described as finally someone understands me to a tee and gave me permission to be me. Thanks for video. Superb job😎😀
Fall of 91 into winter 1992, I was a DJ at my small college radio station. We received a promo single of Teen Spirit, not knowing what I held in my hands would be leading a complete paradigm shift in popular music for the rest of the decade. I put the disk in the player, with headphones on, and hit play. I'm not a big Nirvana fan these days, but damn I'll never forget the first time I heard that song kick in.
To MyName: I remember Drown as one of the songs on the Singles soundtrack I loved, along with Nearly Lost You by the Screaming Trees, Birth Ritual by Soundgarden and Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns by Mother Love Bone.
So am I the only person who, while looking up any music discussed, looks up the albums in the background. Today I was Strawberry Alarm Clock front and centre. I forgot about those guys, but I’ve made sure they are in my playlist now. I loved Birdman of Alcatraz when I was a kid, but just forgot about it over the years. That’s one of the reasons I like this channel. I get to hear those songs I used to love but forgot about them as time went by. With Spotify I can now add all those beloved songs from my youth that I could never afford to buy. Thanks to this channel I now have the playlist of my dreams. I always had a good collection of CDs, iTunes said I had 30 days worth, but with Spotify I’m afraid to ask.
You do a fantastic job. You focus on 80-90’s and I guess it’s because of when you grew up. I’m a few years ahead of you (67). I’d love to see you do more interviews of the true rock pioneers that paved the way for the 80’s. Late 60- 70’s. So many to choose from. And best do it fast. They’re leaving us in droves at an alarming rate. Keep up your good works.
I loved (really) 80's pop music. However, at the same time, around the time of Milli Vanilli, we were (at least I was) getting tired of the sweet music mostly based on positive major key based of the 80's. At that exact point, Seattle movement occurred like a hurricane. We were swept away by this new music and started absorbing it as we were so longing for that kind of cynical, gloomy, yet cool and violent rock music. Thanks to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, we could have the most unforgettable and joyful decade when I was in my precious youth...
I think that you have hit the nail squarely when you said "the music that appeals to your emotions". That is why the music from 1967 thru 1982 appealed to me. After that I shifted to blues, which seemed to carry the same emotion. Nirvana came long after my shift, so their music is not as appealing to me. Great job Adam. ;-)
Great video! 1991 was a phenomenal year for rock music, and I can't believe it's been just over 30 years now! I'm wondering if you would make a video comparing the Top 40 from 30 years ago to today. I swear there used to be more variety on mainstream radio (even just 20 years ago) with rock, pop, RnB, hip-hop, dance etc. vs the very samey sounding songs of today. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I swear you have to dig deeper for more music variety today than just what's on mainstream radio.
I was 20 living in Florida which is rock haven I grew up on Depeche and new order but my roommates loved GNR and Early Metallica so when teen spirit came out it sounded like nothing anyone had heard before, I think that is why it was attractive to so many people even older guys who listen to The Who and Pink Flyod were into nirvana
I had just turned 16 when nevermind was released, it became the anthem of my mostly mis-spent youth. I had the cassette in my tape deck of my jeep and pick up that I drove until I was 22. Those years were chocked full of fun, danger, and sadness. Lost love, drug use, and tons of booze. I lived through it and wouldn't change a single day. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Fantastic presentation!
Oh I will never forget the first time I heard smells like teen spirit. It stopped my brother and I dead in our tracks from a conversation we were having about music as we were watching mtv. All of a sudden we hear “with the lights out, it’s lets dangerous” and we stopped and looked over at the TV and we were silent for the rest of the song with our jaws dropped to the floor. lol when it was over we looked back at one another and smiled and we’re like what the hell was that awesomeness? Couldn’t wait to hear it again. He ended up being a huge nirvana fan. I wasn’t as much but was a fan. I was more of a metal head went from metal to industrial. but oh boy that song is phenomenal.
This album changed everything for me. I didn't know who they were. I was listening to other music, because that's what my family listened to. But it never spoke to ME. I never really connected with it on an emotional level. Then in 8th grade Geometry, my friend was listening to this on his sony walkman. I asked him who he was listening to, and he tells me "Nirvana" WHO?! The look of bilwiderment on his face was something that has been stuck in my head for 30+ years now. He sighed - took the headphones off and handed them to me. He started the cd over, and that was it. It was something that spoke to me. Kurt understood us. The misfits. The kids who came from broken families and lived in bad homes. All these years later, I still get goosebumps when I listen to it. I will always be grateful to my friend for introducing me to life at that moment. This album dropped at the perfect time. I really don't think it would have had the same impact if it had been a year earlier or a year later.
I was at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany. Soaked with sweat an shivering I bought a cheap T shirt from a band nobody had heard of. I wore it back to my dorm a couple of days before Never mind just blew up. I was pretty much the coolest Guy around and I didn't know why!
that album cover has to be one of the best most enduring gags ever. I don't think you could get away with showing that in any other context on social media. But due to they managed to sneak it through to the world in the 90's riding on a cultural phenomenon it can't be banned & so just keeps on creating hilarity and exceptions to 'community guidelines' on an ad infinitum basis.
@@georue98 he has no right to open a lawsuit as his parents had legal rights to say yes so hes really fucked in that he had no say due to being under the age that he could say no to it.
My buddy's wife asked me to check this album out when it first came out, as her 11-year-old boy wanted a copy of it for his birthday. She was concerned about some of the tracks from what other parents have been saying that it may not be appropriate for young listeners. I was pretty impressed in what I heard with Come as You Are being my favorite cut. I bought two copies, one for her son, and one for me.
Prof, you interviewed Portugal. The Man?! Waiter: "You Vultures!" is still one of the greatest albums of the 00's to me. I'm really looking forward to that episode!
Could you do one one about Korn and how they put Nu-Metal on the map and blazed a trail for other artists such as Slipknot, Linkin Park, and many other bands.
This was literally my youth. I'm an Aberdeen kid who moved to Everett as a kid. Both are areas in western Washington where wages are low and the artistic output is high. That whole area of Grays Harbour County had a position where there was literally nothing to do other than go to under the bridge to party, or play some shit and hopefully get some gigs in Olympia and Seattle. There was a lot of hair metal in the area, bands like Lyxx and such. Some of which moved on to other trades, some made a switch to a new sound. There was the Melvins, Mother Love Bone, KMFDM, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, etc. Western Washington in the early 90s was an amazing place to live your formative years in music. It was the epicenter of the world at that time. Everyone else was just trying to keep up.
The first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the radio, I thought to myself "This band is going to be huge.". Not because I had some clairvoyance about musical trends but because I wanted music that was hard, dark and intense without the "speed" for speeds sake. I wanted Rock music to take that next step in melodic evolution. That's what we got with grunge/alternative.
Love Nirvana! My favies are "In Bloom" and "The Man Who Sold The World". I was 20 when this album came out, definite Gen X'r. At the time this came out, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", I had no idea of the HUGE change rock was about to see and undergo. I just remember that opening guitar riff, and knew it to be unlike anything I'd previously heard. When I saw what the band looked like, they DEFINITELY didn't look like the glam bands I was listening to(and still do). Just knew this band were different, and it's amazing to look back at "The Alternative Revolution Of The 90's" (title of a book I own), and know that I was young and loving every minute of this musical happening where us weirdos were finally in the spotlight!
Nirvana was well known in the grunge scene by the time Nevermind smashed the charts. I still have my first cassette of Bleach, sent to me from a friend in Seattle who said I needed to check these guys out🥹
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 --- Yeah, I was so wrong. But, it amazes me that others mention The Pixies & others as influences, when Nirvana seem to me to be cut from the same cloth as The Replacements.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 --- Yes, I agree. I wasn't saying there's no Pixies influence there; just saying the early Replacements sound seemed more prevalent to me. Good point, though.
I loved the music that was being released around '91/92, to think that Nevermind by Nirvana, Automatic for The People by REM, The Black Album by Metallica, Dirt by Alice in Chains and Achtung Baby by U2 came out within that 12 month period. There's probably more you could add to the list but what and exceptional period of time for music.
When the "Nevermind" was released I had just started my alternative service in a very hilly place with lots of trees and very few houses, as south east in my German home-state as even possible. Since I didn't have telephone or TV and was deployed in a hospital, where I had to work every 2nd weekend, you can imagine that I lead a pretty marooned live. Aside from the letters I wrote and received, my only off-duty contacts were the other guys who did their alternative service in the same hospital as I, all of whom iirc listened to stuff like Bauhaus, Meat Puppets and Hüsker Dü and were high most of the time. I remember, that one weekend, when I had some days off and was in my hometown, which looked to me like a metropolis now, I went out with a guy I knew from back at school. He was a really funny guy, but he was also outragesly snobbish when it came to things like literature or music. I don't remember the exact joint we were at, but we absolutely were drinking beer in a semi-dark room, when suddenly this super interesting song with a great guitar sound roared out of the sound system. We fell silent for a moment, then I asked him "What is that?" "Ugh, that? That's Nirvana." "Nirvana? You mean like that buddhist thing?" "Yeah. To be honest, I'm quite over them. They are just so omnipresent, it's really getting annoying." "They are pretty good, tho." "A little too catchy for my liking, but they certainly have potential." This dialogue happened, if I'm not completely mistaken, in early october 1991.
Metal jumped the shark for me the first time I saw The Decline of Western Civilization and the infamous swimming pool vodka scene. After a couple of years in the wilderness along comes "Smells Like Teen Spirit" one afternoon as an "MTV Buzz Bin". Before the video even finished I knew that metal was dead and buried.
And, no, I wouldn’t say it is dead and buried. Megadeth won a grammy in 2016, like, 29 years after that was filmed. Metal was never going to stay mainstream anyway. It is too threatening to most the whimps who populate American culture and think they represent everybody’s opinion.
I always thought of Nevermind as the US' equivalent of 'Never Mind the Bollocks'. Punk never did hit in the US in a big way, but the massive success and shock factor of Bollocks had a seismic impact in the UK. That kind of 'revolution on record' didn't happen in the USA for Punk or New Wave, where a single album became a rallying cry for disaffected youth, and spearheaded a movement which sounded and looked different to what the mainstream was selling at the time. I remember when Nevermind hit really big and Hair Metal - which was already in it's death throes - finally died, I thought, "A-ha - they've finally had their 'Punk' moment." Bands on the fringes who wanted to sing about non-mainstream, things and didn't want to be told what to wear, etc, hit the big time. It wasn't that counter-cultural bands hadn't existed before (Replacements and so on), it was just that they only ever existed on the fringes or in the mid to lower end of the charts. Naturally, just like with Punk, within a year there were a million bands signed by record companies and the whole thing was becoming mainstream because average kids were dressing like the they were in Grunge bands, but that's an old story. The magic is in that moment when the new acts break through and the corporations are totally bewildered, and you can feel an unplanned change has happened.
This album reminds me of my senior year of college - I remember how big it was and changed so much how the public looked at “alternative” music. Hair metal was yesterday (never was much of fan of most of that anyway). This was raw, new and you just felt like it spoke to my generation.
Nirvana is one band where there was not a weak track on any of their albums. On this album, a stand out track is Territorial Pissings. When I first heard that, I realized how music can convey emotion in a way I'd never heard. So when songs like Don't Take The Girl by Tim McGraw, and Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks came out, it helped me to appreciate a genre I'd never given a chance to before. Nirvana's music opened my eyes to worlds beyond the simple rock I'd previously been exposed to. I gave punk a chance, and metal. Anything that could make me feel something. Growing up Asian had made me numb to my emotions because I was constantly reminded what a disappointment I was to my parents. Music, books, and horror films allowed me a safe environment in which to express my emotions. I'd cry by myself in my bedroom without anyone making fun of me. Then I could face the day with the confidence that comes from overcoming your demons.
I liked Territorial Pissings. I also loved his take on the Youngbloods song at the beginning. Back then, in TV guide they listed that Nirvana would perform it on Saturday Night Live, but they put only Territorial because they didn’t want to print pissings. Things have change a lot since then.
I remember I 1st heard in bloom on the radio in the early 90s (I somehow missed teen spirit 😂😢) it blew me away. I went to the record store and got the single on I think cassette. Been a fan ever since. I was then heavily into grunge. Good memories from when I was 12
I'm Gen X but I married young, at 18. Needless to say I was not ready for marriage. At the time, my husband, Joe, loved Nirvana and idolized Kurt Cobain. We fought a lot but at times we along alright. We didn't really watch much TV but we listened to music. So Nirvana was played almost constantly playing in the background. We eventually divorced. Shortly after the divorce, like Kurt, Joe took his own life. So now every time I hear Nirvana, I think about my ex, and all the bittersweet memories come with it. Their music means a lot to me.
Thank you for this! One of the most unforgettable shows I attended was the Nirvana show at the Roxy when they were out here in LA to promote the release of Nevermind. It was so visceral and mind blowing that I instantly knew things would never be the the same for rock music. I remember afterwards sitting at the Rainbow with members of one of Geffen’s corporate rock acts (I don’t even remember who now!), and they TOTALLY didn’t get it! They had no idea their careers had just taken a nosedive. Lisa, their publicist at Geffen, tried to hook me up with an interview with Nirvana for quite a while but it never happened. One of the few bands I sadly missed during my days at RIP magazine.
Both my sons have grown up listening to my music and frequently going to see my bands in concert. They were telling me how at their high school kids claim to be huge Nirvana fans but can never name more then three songs at most, frequently Teen Spirit is the only one they know. I thought that was a pity because I said Nevermind is a great album. My oldest asked for a copy so I ripped the MP3 from my CD and gave it to him. A Couple hours later he came out and said it had to be one of the best albums he'd ever heard!
working building houses down in phoenix with my long gone brother in law, he was given a company truck with a generator on a pull along and i was learning stick framing, we listened to kupd a great phoenix station for rock i'm not quite sure if that was really the first time i had heard it but i do know it was around 2 weeks after i went south for the winter from connecticut, and i do know it came on right after L7s andres and i still loved that song even if it was 3-4 years old
My roommate came home with Nevermind and Gish on cd one day and then took a shower and went to work at the cinema...when he came back he noticed I was still in the same spot as when he left like 6 hours before...I was almost speechless....I just told him to sit down and buckle up...nothing is going to be the same again....then we got lucky and went to see mudhoney who was playing at our university for 4 bucks...and guess who showed up...wow...what a time to be alive. on a side note because we lived near Aberdeen we had Bleach on cassette and would play the song school everyday on the way to class...."no recess!!!" Rip bud....nobody wore a cardigan like you.
I still think Queensryche should get some notice for speeding up the discovery of this sound. It would have been discovered anyway, but probably, a bit slower. When Queensryche released Empire in 1990, its popularity of that recording got music industry movers and shakers to take a closer look at Seattle and their music scene. All of those bands succeeded on their own, but the extra attention to the area couldn’t have hurt. Speaking of, many people acknowledge Heart and their contribution to the Seattle scene, but, what about the greatest electric guitarist in history. Jimi Hendrix was the grandfather of rock music in Seattle. If you want to know just how important he is to Seattle music, watch the scene in Singles, where Matt Dillon stretches out in front of his headstone. Cameron Crowe with his rock background and great understanding of it did a good job depicting what Jimi means to music in Seattle.
I remember hearing it come over the radio, sitting in the car with my friend. He was about to change the channel a d I stopped him. That opening riff of Smells Like Teen Spirit…I said, “what the hell is that?” Then the track just exploded. I remember thinking,”This is what it was like to hear Hendrix the first time.” And it was.
I just happened to catch it's premiere on MTV. I was so blown away, I waited for it come back on and I recorded it on cassette to show my friends. We were Metallica metal heads, but it still hit with us.
@@ericharmon7163 I think Bob Rock saw the writing on the wall and dragged Metallica kicking and screaming out of their speeding metal ditch and into a more refined rock genre. The black album was a pivot for them and probably allowed them to remain relevant while all the hair bands died off.
“What was that? Who is this? This is incredible.” The first time I heard it was on MTV. Had no idea how it would change things. But I’m glad I was there at 19 years in a sea of flannel to see it ride out…
When it comes to genre of music, every decade exiting and one coming in has asked, “what’s coming next?” “What should we expect the next 10 years?” The 80s moved out, the 90s moved in. The synth pop was being pushed out, then hip hop and rap. Grunge did blast there way through with Nirvana leading the way. But this didn’t happen overnight. The music industry was always 5-6-7 years ahead of everyone asking those questions I mentioned. They trolled for sounds of the streets and backbeat dance clubs thinking the Minnesota pop scene where Prince and Janet Jackson is being played frequently. They thought this was it, this is the sound. But somehow the independent music producers drew the market for to the upper West corridor, where that “grunge” sound was discovered. All this just didn’t happen overnight in vacuum in the 90s. It happened some where in some distant bar in the 80s, ‘88 in fact. The sound traveled closer to Seattle and so did the industry. It convinced many, and the Seattle sound was born. Nirvana was one spoke in the wheel to get it all started, then it became the big wheel. Leading other bands to much noticeable notoriety. That’s real rock history
Would love to see a retrospective about Perl Jam. I stopped listening to most secular music but these videos really take me back. I had forgotten about the other tracks but lithium was one that got me and my friends through a 13 or so hour drive from No.Va. to Niagara NY.
Before I start, let me say I ADORE that album today. When it came out, I was bummed. It marked the passing of New Wave (and glam metal-something I never liked anyway), and that was at the very end of my college run. I saw myself transitioning from the carefree life of an undergrad to adulthood-considerably less carefree. I saw a new generation of kids in my rear view, and for the first time, I felt an era passing behind me. It was frightening. At 56, that’s all a long time ago, and the nostalgia of that period overtakes the memory of being terrified of a future from which I didn’t know what to expect. Never mind has the intensity of the emotion to this day-a cake iced by the fact that it was still in rotation on MTV (they used to play music) when we welcomed our son into the world. I’d feed him on the couch in the living room at 3am to 120 Minutes (look that up here on RUclips-it’s a new wave/progressive wonderland). When ever I hear a song from it today, I swim in the fear of uncertainty and the love for my first child. It’s a trip.
The lefty Fender Mustang in Competion Blue from the music video was just sold at auction for like $4.5 million Recommend the tour documentary “Nirvana Live Tonight Sold Out” and the documentary “Hype!” that explores how Grunge went from just a local Pacific North West thing (centered around Seattle, including an attempt to figure out the network of Seattle bands that shared tons of members with each other) into a global wave of alternate rock.
The album that changed my life..brings back memories me listening to Nevermind in highschool and having musical aspirations during college. Thanks prof
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 yeah..had the songs but my ex-friend/bassist/co founder got jailed..he served 10 years for something he didn't do..it was hard to find guys at the time who listened to the same stuff i was in to..lots of people listened to our stuff and said we had something..and Nevermind was the inspiration behind my songs at the time
@@ProfessorofRock Thanks for this episode..made me reminisce the times the world was simple but full passion and authenticity..this really made want to go back in time..Thanks again prof and God bless
His chucked his stepfather's gun in the river. He pulled them out, cleaned them and sold them to buy his first guitar. Wow! That's a good turn-lemons-into-lemonade story! 👍
I remember when Kurt died, I was working as a pizza delivery driver, 3 of the drivers I worked with quit that night, all piled into a square back and drove non stop from St.Louis all the way.
I'm surprised the Professor didn't mention that we'd been through a decade of hair metal before Nirvana hit.. Personally I had been a fan of hair metal, but "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a shock to the system. It instantly told you that the past ten years had been a big joke. Then Nevermind took down Michael Jackson on top of the Billboard charts. I even remember reading about how Def Leppard saw rapidly decreasing crowd sizes and mockingly played a few bars of Teen Spirit at one of their shows. Smells Like Teen Spirit was a musical earthquake.
Glad to hear you were a fan of hair metal. So was I. What you were describing was a backlash. It occurred as well, about 11 years earlier. In the 70’s there was hard rock, then there was disco (The most vile form if music ever invented). When Bill Veeck blew up a pile of disco records on the field, between games of a Chicago White Sox double header, it signaled something. Disco was fading at the time, and, by 1980, metal broke wide. Black Sabbath put out Heaven and Hell (Yes I know folks think they invented metal, but the stuff Black Sabbath did in the 70’s was much slower. I term it hard rock. 1980 marked faster, louder music. 1980 was when this started.). In addition, Judas Priest put out British Steel and Iron Maiden released their debut album. This was a true backlash to disco. I didn’t dislike hair metal, but I really hate disco, and, I say good riddance.
I think what people always fail to mention with glam metal's decline is that it had been popular for close to a decade. I think it died a lot more because of burnout and copycats then Nirvana. I love both glam and grunge. It's just a nicer story say that this one band came along and changed everything overnight. BTW, do you know who knocked Nirvana out of the number one spot? Def Leppard.
I bought the single of Smells Like Teen Spirit on cassette in 1992 (which I still have somewhere). That makes me proud of my younger self 30 years later!
I loved Nevermind when it came out. Then spent 5 days in the hospital with a Walkman and 1 tape… Nevermind. Honestly I listened to it so much that I was sick of it by the time I got out of the hospital and have not been able to listen to it since.
Much like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen, Nirvana was a breakthrough act. Nevermind did what albums like nearly every Beatles album, Van Halen1984 and Led Zeppelin IV did. It changed music forever. I greatly appreciate your coverage of this album. It really kicked off an entire era of rock and every track was valuable.
I wasn't a fan of nirvana, but I can recognise the impact they had on the music industry. They did what def leppard had done in 83 and change the face of rock music.
Not liking Van Hahlen so much, now, I forgot how big they were when they came out . You are dead on in that assessment. And, despite what I said, Aint Talkin Bout Love is a phenomenal song.
To those wanting to check out songs on mental illness, in addition to Lithium by Nirvana, Evanescence also has a song called Lithium, but the best is Blow Up the Outside World by Soundgarden. Check it out.
I wasn't that impressed when I first heard Nirvana on the radio, to me they just sounded like a slicker more mainstream version of all the noisy underground bands I'd been listening to for years. It was until I'd heard Nevermind all the way through a few times that I became more impressed and realized they were actually a great band and rocked hard live.
I remember the top 100 on Mtv had Teen spirit as #93 because it had only been out for a few weeks. The next year it was on the top 100 again and it was the #1 song.
It was a Tuesday, 1991, when I first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on a Metal radio station in L.A. Like a lightning bolt through the body, it was the music I'd been waiting for. Standing over a small radio, aged 14, I listened to the DJ flip out at the number of phone calls the station got about this mystery track: "What's this band's name? Teen Spirit?", he said. Thursday, MTV debuts the video. Friday, kids at school are talking about the song. By Monday, they're wearing thrift store flannel Cobain shirts. Within one week, everything changed - it was that fast. Culturally, it was like the Berlin Wall falling - the 1980s were over.
It’s not just a masterpiece, it’s an iconic pop culture touchstone that we will forever remember. You cannot listen to that song without banging your head.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is one of the few songs that I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard it.
No question!
I was in my house, sitting in front of the TV, in late 2018!
For me it was just after getting home from school, at home, on MTV.
@@agesflow6815 me too. Somehow I caught the premiere. Just got home from football practice.
...ding, ding, ding!! ...On me way the the TV to watch "Saturday Night Live", Oct., 1991, and caught some Music Videos after the news...ba-BOOOM!! ...I KNEW, right then, n' THERE....
Get the Nirvana Nevermind 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition here: shop.nirvana.com/products/nevermind-30th-deluxe-5cd: Poll: What is your pick for the GREATEST album of the 90s?
Shannon Curfman- Loud Guitars And Big Suspicion.
Stevie Ray Vaughn- In Step.
Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club
Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Alanis Morrissette- Jagged Little Pill
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream. While Nirvana - Nevermind was the watershed, Siamese Dream retains every bit of radiance it had as it did when released. Radiohead - OK Computer would be my second pick.
Green Day Dookie🤘
Megadeth Rust in Peace
2 times Nirvana changed my life, 1992 on a road trip down the coast from Perth, Western Australia to Margaret River. Two car loads of us teens just enjoying the Summer after graduating High School the year before. We wore out our cassette tape of Nevermind because that was literally the only album we listened to for the whole trip. April 5th, 1994, the saddest day I'll never forget.
Professor, Your Rock Channel is 100 % Top Notch. Rock on. I was Born in 73 and I Relate to Almost Everything on Your Channel. Great Job Brother!
Great to hear!
No one like Adam!
Child of '73 myself and totally agree with you! Whether its discussion of the John Hughes music, Echo and the Bunnymen, Morrissey and the Smiths, Violent Femmes, or great'80s new wave music, I'm with you all the way. Still waiting for the Stone Roses tribute!
"Nevermind" meant the world to me, that shit was so rad, raw, rebellious... I don't have the words, and who cares really but the discovery of that band and album surely impacted me too growing up
I went to see a GNR concert shortly after _Nevermind_ blew up. Soundgarden opened and you could see most of the crowd whittle away to buy more beer, etc. After Soundgarden left the stage, we were subjected to the usual delay you'd expect from Axl and gang. While we waited, the venue played various rock tracks over the pa system, mostly hair bands or classic rock. Just before GNR appeared, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came on. There was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere and even some cheering from the crowd. That's where I mark the shift. Grunge and 'alternative' were here. Things has changed, and I have a feeling Soundgarden among other bands were propelled to opening act status in no small part due to Nirvana's success.
I think that's a good summation but Soundgarden had solidified themselves long before Nirvana. I went to the GN'R/Soundgarden show in Philly and as much as I was into GN'R, I was there to see Soundgarden and Chris Cornell mostly. UltraOmega OK was a big record for me and Louder Than Love topped that. I do think that the Seattle explosion of Grunge helped to propel them a little but I'd argue that Soundgarden already had a following and was well on their way with or without Nirvana.
Alright. Someone who confirms one of the reasons I don’t classify Soundgarden as Grunge. They were around well before the genre was defined. Anyway, Soungarden was much more metal than any of the bands they were lumped in with. Plus they were better than all of them. Only Layne Staley can come close to Chris Cornell vocally, and Kim Thayll is beyond even Jerry Cantrell and Mike McCready. He is one of only two guitarists I have heard that gets some of the spacey sounds that Jimi Hendrix did out of the guitar (Uli Jon Roth is the other). Soundgarden broke big the same time the Grunge bands did and they are from Seattle, so they got lumped in that group, but they are not Grunge, they are something better..
@@craighenry2351 I will say that when UltraOmega OK came out, not many of my metalhead brothers were on board but nearly everyone had Louder Than Love and rocked it often. A lot of the early grunge scene was kind of a mix of punk and metal but I agree that Soundgarden easily fit into the metal category for most of us. Every leatherclad or jean jacket, long haired young kid in my town was rockin' out to Louder Than Love and Full on Kev's Mom. 😀
The first time I saw the video for ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’, I rejoiced bc I knew it was a death blow to 80’s glam metal (the likes of Motley Crue, Poison, and all the cash in copycats). Two bands, Metallica and GnR, were more metal than glam. Metallica had depth. GnR fell prey to the party drug culture and in fighting amongst its members, and in truth, bc most bands when they see wealth arrive, lose the root of their creativity to the blossom of material comfort.
As for Soundgarden, Chris Cornell was the center of their creativity, and he outshined all of his band mates with his stellar success beyond them.
@BulletProof Poet @Craig Henry Thank you both for adding better historical context to my comment. I think your assessments of where Soundgarden falls within or without the genre are correct. I was 15 years old at that concert and had never heard of Soundgarden, although my friend who joined me had. He was looking forward to their performance, as I recall, and there were certainly a sizeable number of audience members who were enjoying their show. I fully agree that Soungarden fell outside of grunge and that their music remains more listenable in the following years than Nirvana has. That concert was in January of 1992. Later that year, in September, my friend and I went to the GNR/Mettallica "co-headliner" tour. Faith No More opened. In my estimation, they somewhat upstaged the headliners, especially GNR who were significantly less energetic than they'd been in Jan. '92. Also, a lot more people in the audience were wearing plaid shirts.
I liked glam and grunge. I stand by both. All of it, symphonic metal, thrash, all of it.
Well thank you for representing those few people who stand against the total conformity and nonsense of a single camp.
Even if in the end it's all "pop music" for a consumerist society.
I am old enough to have seen The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, and I remember it clearly. I also remember the impact Nevermind had on me the first time I heard it, and it had much the same effect, so excellent comparison. During my teen years I just had to have everything The Beatles did, and then in my 30's I just had to have everything Nirvana did. I still love them both, in different ways.
I would describe Nirvana as layer upon layer of raw emotion. Read the lyrics and you'll feel the emotion. Listen to the guitar and you'll feel the emotion, Listen to the drums, and you'll feel the emotion. Listen to Kurt's voice, and you'll feel the emotion. Put them all together and you have a volcano of emotion that washes over, and almost overwhelms you. More than anything else, it's real. I was devastated at the loss of Kurt.
My grandparents were dating at the time the Beatles debuted on Ed Sullivan. They remember girls going wild and crazy at these four young men! They finally arrived!
Really well said! I too was a mess when I heard the news. I cried when Pearl Jam did SNL and, midway through "Daughter" Eddie started singing (in such a melencholy way) Neal Youngs "Hey Hey, My My" and, pulled out a black magic marker and wrote a K on his leg. There are a few documentaries, most recently "Soaked in Bleach" that have me thoroughly convinced Courtney had him murdered.
Even the Seattle Police detective, Sheriff, coroner who worked the case back then admit they're were so many mistakes, so much jumping to conclusions that, in hindsight they believe She had him killed. "If you want to get away with murder, murder a junkie" one of them said.
It's relatively easy to find I think. I watched it on "Tubi" 6 months ago or so. A free service but, it may not be there now. It's around though, you'll never believe it was suicide again after seeing it .
I haven't for 20 years. I saw a documentary called Kurt and Courtney back in the late 90s that had me convinced.
I'm not one of those, you know. Moon Landing, Elvis Lives , illuminati, deep state types. If there is one person pointing out one incriminating thing or something it'd be different but, the consensus of opinion from many sources with nothing to gain (on the contrary really considering the authorities that worked the case admitting they made a series of mistakes.
One of the detectives said something to the effect of "If you want to get away with murder...murder a junkie."
I'll see if I can locate it if you're interested, I'll see you around Delta 🎸🎶✌️👨🎤
They are 30 years apart. How do you go from Beatles teen to 30s Nirvana? Math doesn't add up
@@stanphillips7277 I would love to see that. I have Tubi and I think I remember seeing a documentary on Nirvana or Kurt Cobain fairly recently. I'll check it out tonight if I can find it. I'm like you, not jumping on every conspiracy I see, but if you present enough evidence, then I'll at least consider the possibility. Thanks for the heads up.
@@joepharmasst Whatever, I'm 66 and suck at math, so sue me.
I should clarify, I was 8 years old when I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. However they broke up in 1970, when I was 14, and I was buying Beatles records for the next several years after that.
Kurt Cobain died when I was 38, so I guess it works out as I stated it after all. Damn I'm old!
That CD stayed in my car radio for at least 3 months straight...just like Pearl Jam's Ten and Alice n Chains' Face-lift. Great time to be a music fan.
The early to mid 90’s was a fantastic era for music and films.
When I bought Nevermind back in 92, I couldn't wrap my head around this sound. In a way, I still can't. Totally blown away.
I think the reason the music was so good is because Kurt genuinely cares for the human race .. I remember in the unplugged there were kids asking for autographs and Kurt was really busy and he told them “ I’m so sorry I wish I can go over and hug all of you “ that’s why Nirvana was so great .. the music was honest and the band so extremely gifted and loved playing music
After a decade of Whitesnake and Tawny Kitaen and David Lee Roth and California Girls you had Kurt not just singing, but actively talking about mental health and women's rights while calling out homophobes and abusers. I don't know that he genuinely cared for the human race, but he did look out for the downtrodden and speak out for the powerless.
As a 13-year-old, I watched MTV all summer in 1991, where GnR's You Could Be Mine and Bryan Adams' I Do It For You battled for the number one spot on the top 20 video countdown, and I never saw anyone that spoke like me or thought like me. That fall, when Nirvana exploded on the scene I saw people I could relate to on MTV for the first time.
Douglas your absolutely right, he genuinely cared but also he was one of us. He lived it and he wrote from the heart. I really miss those years, isn’t great watching this generation listen to music from the 80’s and the early 90’s, that music will live forever.
@@tommyrsrracer yeah dude .. that’s what I tell people .. like the Beatles and bands that actually have substance in their music .. those are the people who were gonna look back on 100 years from now and look at them like we look at Beethoven and Shakespeare.. like you said timeless music and art .. because people will always relate .. “ STAAAAAAAAY AWAAAAAAY!!! “ everyone will feel that once in a while .. 😂
@@jst25 GnR was also great too 😂 You Could be Mine 🔥 my favorite song by them 😂 … it’s so true man .. because when people hear Rape Me for the first time they think “ 😬 you shouldn’t talk/sing about Rape “ but Kurt is saying.. people get Raped and how can we help the victims of Rape if we ignore it .. so He’s gonna yell it at the top of his lungs to give people the strength to talk about it and deal wit the trauma.. not many people have that will to speak up .. that’s what made Kurt a great artist.. legend 🙌🏻
Smells like teen spirit and welcome to the jungle, two songs that made me say “holy shit” when I first heard them.
And immediately made me bang my head!
You hit the nail on the head professor! Even before Smells Like Teen Spirit blew up my friends and I in school were already tired of what we called "cock rock" which included hair bands and especially GnR. My best friend back then had an older brother who was in college and introduced us to Nirvana's Bleach shortly after it was released along with other bands like The Pixies and Husker Du just to name a couple. Really opened our eyes to rock that wasn't mostly about women, cars and partying. That older brother especially hated GnR. He once wrote a fictional music review for either a high school or college student newspaper about a band called "Gums and Noses" who had a lead singer named "A$$hole Rose." I don't know if that review was published anywhere but it sure was hilarious!
i love gnr lol
"Nuns with Hoses".
It's funny you mention GNR, as they were never really a hair band. Their darker aspects, along with albums like Skid Row's Slave To The Grind were crucial stepping stones back to the hard stuff for some of us old schoolers who grew up on Shout At The Devil but were surviving on Cherry Pie.
ugh "kok" rock... like having a huge pile of steaming sh*t on a plate and forced to eat for dinner. Thankfully Nirvana broke through and offered oxygen, and everything really into the rest of the world, not just squeezing their koks with zero humanity... Thank you Nirvana, Cobain will always be the humanity that I wish the world would get a clue from. Grateful for my memories from that time with the shows I went to, my memories sustain me, although I've mourned that man for decades. Now, haters gonna hate.
Nevermind is probably the most important record of the last 50 years. The world is a different place before and after it came out. culture was different, music was different, clothing style, everything. even if you werent into grunge or Nirvana, but your world changed too by just living in the same world as everyone else.
And the 90’s styles have totally made a comeback!
I just starting watching you in the last week or so. These videos are great and I loved that you covered something with this era and style of music. Would love to see you do a video on something Soundgarden or Alice In Chains.
I have been an avid fan since November 2020, and I can tell you that Professor of Rock has something for everyone!
I’d love it too, but, this may be as heavy or diverse as Adam gets. He seems to skew more toward pop and also toward an earlier time frame. But, he is diverse, so it is possible
My best freind introduced me to Nirvana. She had owned the copy of Nevermind. So when we were in high school I was always allowed to spend the nights on the weekends at her house. And we'd listen to Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and many other alternative/rock groups or watch movies. Her home had seemed like a second home to me since I was over there for so many days. Alot of the music I like that is from the 90s was because she introduced me to the groups and their songs. All the song clips you had in this video were my most favorite songs from the group.
Our bass player called us and said, "I'm coming over. You have to hear this." He showed up 10 minutes later and put the Memorex into my huge CD/cassette boom box, hit rewind, and pushed play with his nervous finger. The chucking chords ripped through our apartment, and then Groh's ka chugga, ka chugga entered...the hair stood up on my arms. A lot of 80's garage bands were looking for this mix of melody and power...something between REM and Black Sabbath. Do I remember the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit? A little...
An absolute watershed. Everything changed and life felt real and vital.
I had always heard that the reference "I swear I don't have a gun" was about Nirvana's original drummer and something about how he had an affinity for firearms, was suicidal, or something along those lines.
Would have LOVED for your to have gone through each track.
I was 21 years old... it was about 1:45 in the morning, and I just came home from hanging out at a local bar with some friends. I was getting ready for bed and put on TV. I popped on MTV and watched as the host of "120 Minutes" said it was the last video of the evening ...a debut track from Nirvana's new album.
From the moment the drums kicked in, I was hooked. That song grabbed a hold of my soul like no other song had ever before. I literally stared at the TV the entire 4 plus minutes that the video played. EARLY the next morning I went to the local record store and bought the cassette because, well, that's all they had. The next week I went back and bought the CD, mostly because I had worn out the cassette.lol
30 years later, that song ...that album...that band...is still, to ME, the most genuine and authentic thing to come out of in rock n roll - ever.
I went down the grunge, alternative rock, industrial hole in the early 90's while living on the Seattle area. I liked a lot of the bands from that area, I think maybe Temple Of The Dog would be my choice since it brought a lot of the key bands together.
Man, just thinking about all the music from then is pretty cool. And I'll likely get no more work done today... Thanks for that!
Doc-Rock … even breaking-down the foot-pedals he used.
Great segment.
I had a teacher at my high school who said “Dr. Rock on RUclips is awesome!” And I told her, “It’s Professor of Rock, remember?” We both laughed. She and I are wondering if Adam goes by Dr. Rock too!
I kind of feel like this album popularity was made from MTV, and that first video(Smells Like Tean Spirit). Just like G&R, that first video(SweetChild of Mine) it generated a lot of calls to the station which took the song to MTV hourly rotations. A good video could make a lot of sales, right Tone Loc? And in those days, a hot song sells an album(not a single like today), then when you hear the entire album, you could be hooked like with Asia's first album.
Thanks so much for making me aware this gorgeous 30th anniversary edition is coming out! I got Nevermind originally from an alternative music club subscription, where they sent me not only Nirvana, but also Garbage and a lot of other awesome bands from the era. I loved Nevermind from the very first listen and am looking forward to getting my 30th anniversary edition! I still listen to Nevermind. Sometimes, only Nirvana will do.
Absolutely agree. I remember the first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Sprit". I was driving in my truck and had a fill of 80's BS music and rehashing AC/DC, Hank Jr. and Classic rock, from the first chord I was riveted to the point I had to pull over. I realized at that time Rock had been saved, it hit me like welcome gut punch from Mike Tyson. To this day I'm a big Grunge fan, STP, Alice in Chains, Collective Soul, Veruca Salt, Hole, Green Gay, REM and many more. I love the classic rock from the 60's and 70's I grew up on but Grunge still gives me goose bumps.
The first time I heard “Teen Spirit”, I was in my living room warming my feet in front of the fireplace. My dad started playing this song loudly and asked me if I knew it. I said no, then began banging my head all the way through the song. At the end, I was like, “That’s a great song.”
Based on what you said in another video you're about 5 years younger than me. I would imagine that Nevermind is to you, what The Joshua Tree was for me and my graduating class. I was in college when Nevermind was released. I started dating my husband the month after it was released. It is the album that made me feel like GenX had arrived. It was speaking to our dissatisfaction and the fact that we were facing a future as the first generation that was not expected to have the opportunities that would lead to greater success than the previous generations. The soundtrack to my last two years of college was filled with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cranberries, 10,000 Maniacs, Sheryl Crow, Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Etheridge, No Doubt, REM, Live!, and Alanis Morrisette. Ahh, good times..great music! So glad I finally discovered your channel.
Great video Adam! Been waiting for this one for a while!
Sweet! Let’s reopen that case too. Maybe ask Jessica Hopper and Cali Dewitt what really happened. No?
This album omg I can't explain the impact it had on my life. I'd described as finally someone understands me to a tee and gave me permission to be me. Thanks for video. Superb job😎😀
I was engrossed in the uk rave seen in the early 90s but remember where I was when first hearing nevermind in 1998. I was hooked immediately RIP kurt❤
Fall of 91 into winter 1992, I was a DJ at my small college radio station. We received a promo single of Teen Spirit, not knowing what I held in my hands would be leading a complete paradigm shift in popular music for the rest of the decade. I put the disk in the player, with headphones on, and hit play. I'm not a big Nirvana fan these days, but damn I'll never forget the first time I heard that song kick in.
To MyName: I remember Drown as one of the songs on the Singles soundtrack I loved, along with Nearly Lost You by the Screaming Trees, Birth Ritual by Soundgarden and Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns by Mother Love Bone.
So am I the only person who, while looking up any music discussed, looks up the albums in the background. Today I was Strawberry Alarm Clock front and centre. I forgot about those guys, but I’ve made sure they are in my playlist now. I loved Birdman of Alcatraz when I was a kid, but just forgot about it over the years. That’s one of the reasons I like this channel. I get to hear those songs I used to love but forgot about them as time went by.
With Spotify I can now add all those beloved songs from my youth that I could never afford to buy. Thanks to this channel I now have the playlist of my dreams. I always had a good collection of CDs, iTunes said I had 30 days worth, but with Spotify I’m afraid to ask.
Professor: Absolutely great video! One of your best.
You do a fantastic job. You focus on 80-90’s and I guess it’s because of when you grew up.
I’m a few years ahead of you (67). I’d love to see you do more interviews of the true rock pioneers that paved the way for the 80’s. Late 60- 70’s. So many to choose from.
And best do it fast. They’re leaving us in droves at an alarming rate.
Keep up your good works.
I loved (really) 80's pop music. However, at the same time, around the time of Milli Vanilli, we were (at least I was) getting tired of the sweet music mostly based on positive major key based of the 80's. At that exact point, Seattle movement occurred like a hurricane. We were swept away by this new music and started absorbing it as we were so longing for that kind of cynical, gloomy, yet cool and violent rock music. Thanks to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, we could have the most unforgettable and joyful decade when I was in my precious youth...
I think that you have hit the nail squarely when you said "the music that appeals to your emotions". That is why the music from 1967 thru 1982 appealed to me. After that I shifted to blues, which seemed to carry the same emotion. Nirvana came long after my shift, so their music is not as appealing to me.
Great job Adam. ;-)
Check out "A Stranger" by A Perfect Circle
Also check out "The Noose" by the same band.
Also search for "Mama Stevie Ray Vaughan" to hear him perform with some Italian guy. Killer spooky tune.
Let me guess, you were 12 in 1967 and 27 in 1982
Smells Like Teen Spirit is so many peoples favorite, I always loved In Bloom the most
Great video! 1991 was a phenomenal year for rock music, and I can't believe it's been just over 30 years now!
I'm wondering if you would make a video comparing the Top 40 from 30 years ago to today.
I swear there used to be more variety on mainstream radio (even just 20 years ago) with rock, pop, RnB, hip-hop, dance etc. vs the very samey sounding songs of today.
Maybe I'm just getting older, but I swear you have to dig deeper for more music variety today than just what's on mainstream radio.
I was 20 living in Florida which is rock haven I grew up on Depeche and new order but my roommates loved GNR and Early Metallica so when teen spirit came out it sounded like nothing anyone had heard before, I think that is why it was attractive to so many people even older guys who listen to The Who and Pink Flyod were into nirvana
I had just turned 16 when nevermind was released, it became the anthem of my mostly mis-spent youth. I had the cassette in my tape deck of my jeep and pick up that I drove until I was 22. Those years were chocked full of fun, danger, and sadness. Lost love, drug use, and tons of booze. I lived through it and wouldn't change a single day. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Fantastic presentation!
Ahh..life as a grunge teen. So much fun, wasn’t it?
Oh I will never forget the first time I heard smells like teen spirit. It stopped my brother and I dead in our tracks from a conversation we were having about music as we were watching mtv. All of a sudden we hear “with the lights out, it’s lets dangerous” and we stopped and looked over at the TV and we were silent for the rest of the song with our jaws dropped to the floor. lol when it was over we looked back at one another and smiled and we’re like what the hell was that awesomeness? Couldn’t wait to hear it again. He ended up being a huge nirvana fan. I wasn’t as much but was a fan. I was more of a metal head went from metal to industrial. but oh boy that song is phenomenal.
This album changed everything for me. I didn't know who they were. I was listening to other music, because that's what my family listened to. But it never spoke to ME. I never really connected with it on an emotional level.
Then in 8th grade Geometry, my friend was listening to this on his sony walkman. I asked him who he was listening to, and he tells me "Nirvana"
WHO?!
The look of bilwiderment on his face was something that has been stuck in my head for 30+ years now. He sighed - took the headphones off and handed them to me. He started the cd over, and that was it. It was something that spoke to me. Kurt understood us. The misfits. The kids who came from broken families and lived in bad homes. All these years later, I still get goosebumps when I listen to it. I will always be grateful to my friend for introducing me to life at that moment.
This album dropped at the perfect time. I really don't think it would have had the same impact if it had been a year earlier or a year later.
Could not have said it better
I was at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany. Soaked with sweat an shivering I bought a cheap T shirt from a band nobody had heard of. I wore it back to my dorm a couple of days before Never mind just blew up. I was pretty much the coolest Guy around and I didn't know why!
that album cover has to be one of the best most enduring gags ever. I don't think you could get away with showing that in any other context on social media. But due to they managed to sneak it through to the world in the 90's riding on a cultural phenomenon it can't be banned & so just keeps on creating hilarity and exceptions to 'community guidelines' on an ad infinitum basis.
And many lawsuits on the part of the person photographed.
@@georue98 he has no right to open a lawsuit as his parents had legal rights to say yes so hes really fucked in that he had no say due to being under the age that he could say no to it.
Thanks for mentioning The Pixies! Started it all for me too!
My buddy's wife asked me to check this album out when it first came out, as her 11-year-old boy wanted a copy of it for his birthday. She was concerned about some of the tracks from what other parents have been saying that it may not be appropriate for young listeners. I was pretty impressed in what I heard with Come as You Are being my favorite cut. I bought two copies, one for her son, and one for me.
Prof, you interviewed Portugal. The Man?!
Waiter: "You Vultures!" is still one of the greatest albums of the 00's to me. I'm really looking forward to that episode!
That album is definitely a gem.
Could you do one one about Korn and how they put Nu-Metal on the map and blazed a trail for other artists such as Slipknot, Linkin Park, and many other bands.
This was literally my youth. I'm an Aberdeen kid who moved to Everett as a kid. Both are areas in western Washington where wages are low and the artistic output is high. That whole area of Grays Harbour County had a position where there was literally nothing to do other than go to under the bridge to party, or play some shit and hopefully get some gigs in Olympia and Seattle. There was a lot of hair metal in the area, bands like Lyxx and such. Some of which moved on to other trades, some made a switch to a new sound. There was the Melvins, Mother Love Bone, KMFDM, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, etc. Western Washington in the early 90s was an amazing place to live your formative years in music. It was the epicenter of the world at that time. Everyone else was just trying to keep up.
I wouldn't say it changed my world, but it certainly added to it. I loved it just as much as the hard rock music I'd been listening to before it.
Nirvana was one of the new bands that my mom (a die hard Country fan) loved, because of how Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl locked in together.
The first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the radio, I thought to myself "This band is going to be huge.". Not because I had some clairvoyance about musical trends but because I wanted music that was hard, dark and intense without the "speed" for speeds sake. I wanted Rock music to take that next step in melodic evolution. That's what we got with grunge/alternative.
Love Nirvana! My favies are "In Bloom" and "The Man Who Sold The World". I was 20 when this album came out, definite Gen X'r. At the time this came out, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", I had no idea of the HUGE change rock was about to see and undergo. I just remember that opening guitar riff, and knew it to be unlike anything I'd previously heard. When I saw what the band looked like, they DEFINITELY didn't look like the glam bands I was listening to(and still do). Just knew this band were different, and it's amazing to look back at "The Alternative Revolution Of The 90's" (title of a book I own), and know that I was young and loving every minute of this musical happening where us weirdos were finally in the spotlight!
Nirvana was well known in the grunge scene by the time Nevermind smashed the charts. I still have my first cassette of Bleach, sent to me from a friend in Seattle who said I needed to check these guys out🥹
🤘🏼 *Great album.* 🤘🏼
(The first time I heard it, I thought "I guess there's a Replacements track I didn't know". Hmm.)
Yeah to "great album!" Original, too!
Haha! Don’t blame you there!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 --- Yeah, I was so wrong. But, it amazes me that others mention The Pixies & others as influences, when Nirvana seem to me to be cut from the same cloth as The Replacements.
@@MarkLipka Well, I actually do get a Pixies vibe from Nirvana as well as a Replacements vibe!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 --- Yes, I agree. I wasn't saying there's no Pixies influence there; just saying the early Replacements sound seemed more prevalent to me. Good point, though.
I loved the music that was being released around '91/92, to think that Nevermind by Nirvana, Automatic for The People by REM, The Black Album by Metallica, Dirt by Alice in Chains and Achtung Baby by U2 came out within that 12 month period. There's probably more you could add to the list but what and exceptional period of time for music.
When the "Nevermind" was released I had just started my alternative service in a very hilly place with lots of trees and very few houses, as south east in my German home-state as even possible. Since I didn't have telephone or TV and was deployed in a hospital, where I had to work every 2nd weekend, you can imagine that I lead a pretty marooned live. Aside from the letters I wrote and received, my only off-duty contacts were the other guys who did their alternative service in the same hospital as I, all of whom iirc listened to stuff like Bauhaus, Meat Puppets and Hüsker Dü and were high most of the time.
I remember, that one weekend, when I had some days off and was in my hometown, which looked to me like a metropolis now, I went out with a guy I knew from back at school. He was a really funny guy, but he was also outragesly snobbish when it came to things like literature or music. I don't remember the exact joint we were at, but we absolutely were drinking beer in a semi-dark room, when suddenly this super interesting song with a great guitar sound roared out of the sound system. We fell silent for a moment, then I asked him "What is that?" "Ugh, that? That's Nirvana." "Nirvana? You mean like that buddhist thing?" "Yeah. To be honest, I'm quite over them. They are just so omnipresent, it's really getting annoying." "They are pretty good, tho." "A little too catchy for my liking, but they certainly have potential."
This dialogue happened, if I'm not completely mistaken, in early october 1991.
Metal jumped the shark for me the first time I saw The Decline of Western Civilization and the infamous swimming pool vodka scene. After a couple of years in the wilderness along comes "Smells Like Teen Spirit" one afternoon as an "MTV Buzz Bin". Before the video even finished I knew that metal was dead and buried.
But I still think grunge is fabulous!
The pool scene was Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P.
That’s one of the best documentaries on music you will ever see.
And, no, I wouldn’t say it is dead and buried. Megadeth won a grammy in 2016, like, 29 years after that was filmed. Metal was never going to stay mainstream anyway. It is too threatening to most the whimps who populate American culture and think they represent everybody’s opinion.
Hair metal.
I mean, Tool dethroned Taylor Swift from the most-streamed album for a week in 2019, so… 😉😁
I always thought of Nevermind as the US' equivalent of 'Never Mind the Bollocks'. Punk never did hit in the US in a big way, but the massive success and shock factor of Bollocks had a seismic impact in the UK. That kind of 'revolution on record' didn't happen in the USA for Punk or New Wave, where a single album became a rallying cry for disaffected youth, and spearheaded a movement which sounded and looked different to what the mainstream was selling at the time. I remember when Nevermind hit really big and Hair Metal - which was already in it's death throes - finally died, I thought, "A-ha - they've finally had their 'Punk' moment." Bands on the fringes who wanted to sing about non-mainstream, things and didn't want to be told what to wear, etc, hit the big time. It wasn't that counter-cultural bands hadn't existed before (Replacements and so on), it was just that they only ever existed on the fringes or in the mid to lower end of the charts. Naturally, just like with Punk, within a year there were a million bands signed by record companies and the whole thing was becoming mainstream because average kids were dressing like the they were in Grunge bands, but that's an old story. The magic is in that moment when the new acts break through and the corporations are totally bewildered, and you can feel an unplanned change has happened.
Territorial Pissings is the best song on the album and should have been mentioned here
This album reminds me of my senior year of college - I remember how big it was and changed so much how the public looked at “alternative” music. Hair metal was yesterday (never was much of fan of most of that anyway). This was raw, new and you just felt like it spoke to my generation.
This album served as a sign that the pop music landscape was changing yet again.
Nirvana is one band where there was not a weak track on any of their albums. On this album, a stand out track is Territorial Pissings. When I first heard that, I realized how music can convey emotion in a way I'd never heard. So when songs like Don't Take The Girl by Tim McGraw, and Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks came out, it helped me to appreciate a genre I'd never given a chance to before. Nirvana's music opened my eyes to worlds beyond the simple rock I'd previously been exposed to. I gave punk a chance, and metal. Anything that could make me feel something. Growing up Asian had made me numb to my emotions because I was constantly reminded what a disappointment I was to my parents. Music, books, and horror films allowed me a safe environment in which to express my emotions. I'd cry by myself in my bedroom without anyone making fun of me. Then I could face the day with the confidence that comes from overcoming your demons.
I liked Territorial Pissings. I also loved his take on the Youngbloods song at the beginning. Back then, in TV guide they listed that Nirvana would perform it on Saturday Night Live, but they put only Territorial because they didn’t want to print pissings. Things have change a lot since then.
I remember growing up in the 90's and my dad listening to their albums in the car.
I remember I 1st heard in bloom on the radio in the early 90s (I somehow missed teen spirit 😂😢) it blew me away. I went to the record store and got the single on I think cassette. Been a fan ever since. I was then heavily into grunge. Good memories from when I was 12
I'm Gen X but I married young, at 18. Needless to say I was not ready for marriage. At the time, my husband, Joe, loved Nirvana and idolized Kurt Cobain. We fought a lot but at times we along alright. We didn't really watch much TV but we listened to music. So Nirvana was played almost constantly playing in the background. We eventually divorced. Shortly after the divorce, like Kurt, Joe took his own life.
So now every time I hear Nirvana, I think about my ex, and all the bittersweet memories come with it. Their music means a lot to me.
Still remember where I was when I first heard smells like teen spirit. Just sat there stunned
Nevermind was indeed a revelation, as was Jagged little pill from Alanis Morrisette.
A retrospective on that album would be awesome.
Thank you for this! One of the most unforgettable shows I attended was the Nirvana show at the Roxy when they were out here in LA to promote the release of Nevermind. It was so visceral and mind blowing that I instantly knew things would never be the the same for rock music. I remember afterwards sitting at the Rainbow with members of one of Geffen’s corporate rock acts (I don’t even remember who now!), and they TOTALLY didn’t get it! They had no idea their careers had just taken a nosedive.
Lisa, their publicist at Geffen, tried to hook me up with an interview with Nirvana for quite a while but it never happened. One of the few bands I sadly missed during my days at RIP magazine.
I love that little Gap band anecdote there from Dave :D didn't expect it
Both my sons have grown up listening to my music and frequently going to see my bands in concert. They were telling me how at their high school kids claim to be huge Nirvana fans but can never name more then three songs at most, frequently Teen Spirit is the only one they know. I thought that was a pity because I said Nevermind is a great album. My oldest asked for a copy so I ripped the MP3 from my CD and gave it to him.
A Couple hours later he came out and said it had to be one of the best albums he'd ever heard!
working building houses down in phoenix with my long gone brother in law, he was given a company truck with a generator on a pull along and i was learning stick framing, we listened to kupd a great phoenix station for rock i'm not quite sure if that was really the first time i had heard it but i do know it was around 2 weeks after i went south for the winter from connecticut, and i do know it came on right after L7s andres and i still loved that song even if it was 3-4 years old
My roommate came home with Nevermind and Gish on cd one day and then took a shower and went to work at the cinema...when he came back he noticed I was still in the same spot as when he left like 6 hours before...I was almost speechless....I just told him to sit down and buckle up...nothing is going to be the same again....then we got lucky and went to see mudhoney who was playing at our university for 4 bucks...and guess who showed up...wow...what a time to be alive. on a side note because we lived near Aberdeen we had Bleach on cassette and would play the song school everyday on the way to class...."no recess!!!" Rip bud....nobody wore a cardigan like you.
I still think Queensryche should get some notice for speeding up the discovery of this sound. It would have been discovered anyway, but probably, a bit slower. When Queensryche released Empire in 1990, its popularity of that recording got music industry movers and shakers to take a closer look at Seattle and their music scene. All of those bands succeeded on their own, but the extra attention to the area couldn’t have hurt. Speaking of, many people acknowledge Heart and their contribution to the Seattle scene, but, what about the greatest electric guitarist in history. Jimi Hendrix was the grandfather of rock music in Seattle. If you want to know just how important he is to Seattle music, watch the scene in Singles, where Matt Dillon stretches out in front of his headstone. Cameron Crowe with his rock background and great understanding of it did a good job depicting what Jimi means to music in Seattle.
Queensryche rules!
Can I like this video enough? Nirvana changed a generation of humans and how they experienced life itself.
I remember hearing it come over the radio, sitting in the car with my friend. He was about to change the channel a d I stopped him. That opening riff of Smells Like Teen Spirit…I said, “what the hell is that?” Then the track just exploded. I remember thinking,”This is what it was like to hear Hendrix the first time.” And it was.
I just happened to catch it's premiere on MTV. I was so blown away, I waited for it come back on and I recorded it on cassette to show my friends. We were Metallica metal heads, but it still hit with us.
And lemme guess…you then started banging your head along to the song. That’s what I did when I first heard it.
@@ericharmon7163 I think Bob Rock saw the writing on the wall and dragged Metallica kicking and screaming out of their speeding metal ditch and into a more refined rock genre. The black album was a pivot for them and probably allowed them to remain relevant while all the hair bands died off.
“What was that? Who is this? This is incredible.” The first time I heard it was on MTV. Had no idea how it would change things. But I’m glad I was there at 19 years in a sea of flannel to see it ride out…
When it comes to genre of music, every decade exiting and one coming in has asked, “what’s coming next?” “What should we expect the next 10 years?” The 80s moved out, the 90s moved in. The synth pop was being pushed out, then hip hop and rap. Grunge did blast there way through with Nirvana leading the way. But this didn’t happen overnight. The music industry was always 5-6-7 years ahead of everyone asking those questions I mentioned. They trolled for sounds of the streets and backbeat dance clubs thinking the Minnesota pop scene where Prince and Janet Jackson is being played frequently. They thought this was it, this is the sound. But somehow the independent music producers drew the market for to the upper West corridor, where that “grunge” sound was discovered. All this just didn’t happen overnight in vacuum in the 90s. It happened some where in some distant bar in the 80s, ‘88 in fact. The sound traveled closer to Seattle and so did the industry. It convinced many, and the Seattle sound was born. Nirvana was one spoke in the wheel to get it all started, then it became the big wheel. Leading other bands to much noticeable notoriety. That’s real rock history
Every few years rock and roll goes back to the roots.
Back to Buddy and the Beatles .
Would love to see a retrospective about Perl Jam. I stopped listening to most secular music but these videos really take me back. I had forgotten about the other tracks but lithium was one that got me and my friends through a 13 or so hour drive from No.Va. to Niagara NY.
Before I start, let me say I ADORE that album today.
When it came out, I was bummed. It marked the passing of New Wave (and glam metal-something I never liked anyway), and that was at the very end of my college run. I saw myself transitioning from the carefree life of an undergrad to adulthood-considerably less carefree.
I saw a new generation of kids in my rear view, and for the first time, I felt an era passing behind me. It was frightening.
At 56, that’s all a long time ago, and the nostalgia of that period overtakes the memory of being terrified of a future from which I didn’t know what to expect. Never mind has the intensity of the emotion to this day-a cake iced by the fact that it was still in rotation on MTV (they used to play music) when we welcomed our son into the world. I’d feed him on the couch in the living room at 3am to 120 Minutes (look that up here on RUclips-it’s a new wave/progressive wonderland). When ever I hear a song from it today, I swim in the fear of uncertainty and the love for my first child.
It’s a trip.
Just noticed the baby picture was censured! 😂
The lefty Fender Mustang in Competion Blue from the music video was just sold at auction for like $4.5 million
Recommend the tour documentary “Nirvana Live Tonight Sold Out” and the documentary “Hype!” that explores how Grunge went from just a local Pacific North West thing (centered around Seattle, including an attempt to figure out the network of Seattle bands that shared tons of members with each other) into a global wave of alternate rock.
The album that changed my life..brings back memories me listening to Nevermind in highschool and having musical aspirations during college. Thanks prof
So Nirvana inspired you to get into the music industry, huh? Awesome!
I know what you mean!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 yeah..had the songs but my ex-friend/bassist/co founder got jailed..he served 10 years for something he didn't do..it was hard to find guys at the time who listened to the same stuff i was in to..lots of people listened to our stuff and said we had something..and Nevermind was the inspiration behind my songs at the time
@@ProfessorofRock Thanks for this episode..made me reminisce the times the world was simple but full passion and authenticity..this really made want to go back in time..Thanks again prof and God bless
@@rageflash9 Wow. Sucks to be punished for something you didn’t do. Every musician has clear inspirations, and you definitely had a huge one!
Do something around “Old Age” and “Sappy”, both were part of Nirvana’s outcast songs that expressed the genius of Kurt Cobain.
His chucked his stepfather's gun in the river. He pulled them out, cleaned them and sold them to buy his first guitar. Wow! That's a good turn-lemons-into-lemonade story! 👍
I remember when Kurt died, I was working as a pizza delivery driver, 3 of the drivers I worked with quit that night, all piled into a square back and drove non stop from St.Louis all the way.
I love how the drums have funk parts.
I would use the cds as coasters to place my beers on while im listening to 80s thrash and hair metal
I'm surprised the Professor didn't mention that we'd been through a decade of hair metal before Nirvana hit.. Personally I had been a fan of hair metal, but "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a shock to the system. It instantly told you that the past ten years had been a big joke. Then Nevermind took down Michael Jackson on top of the Billboard charts. I even remember reading about how Def Leppard saw rapidly decreasing crowd sizes and mockingly played a few bars of Teen Spirit at one of their shows. Smells Like Teen Spirit was a musical earthquake.
Glad to hear you were a fan of hair metal. So was I. What you were describing was a backlash. It occurred as well, about 11 years earlier. In the 70’s there was hard rock, then there was disco (The most vile form if music ever invented). When Bill Veeck blew up a pile of disco records on the field, between games of a Chicago White Sox double header, it signaled something. Disco was fading at the time, and, by 1980, metal broke wide. Black Sabbath put out Heaven and Hell (Yes I know folks think they invented metal, but the stuff Black Sabbath did in the 70’s was much slower. I term it hard rock. 1980 marked faster, louder music. 1980 was when this started.). In addition, Judas Priest put out British Steel and Iron Maiden released their debut album. This was a true backlash to disco. I didn’t dislike hair metal, but I really hate disco, and, I say good riddance.
I think what people always fail to mention with glam metal's decline is that it had been popular for close to a decade. I think it died a lot more because of burnout and copycats then Nirvana. I love both glam and grunge. It's just a nicer story say that this one band came along and changed everything overnight. BTW, do you know who knocked Nirvana out of the number one spot? Def Leppard.
I bought the single of Smells Like Teen Spirit on cassette in 1992 (which I still have somewhere). That makes me proud of my younger self 30 years later!
I want that t-shirt !!! Awesome. Great channel
I loved Nevermind when it came out. Then spent 5 days in the hospital with a Walkman and 1 tape… Nevermind. Honestly I listened to it so much that I was sick of it by the time I got out of the hospital and have not been able to listen to it since.
Much like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen, Nirvana was a breakthrough act. Nevermind did what albums like nearly every Beatles album, Van Halen1984 and Led Zeppelin IV did. It changed music forever. I greatly appreciate your coverage of this album. It really kicked off an entire era of rock and every track was valuable.
I like to call songs and albums like this pop culture touchstones because of how much they changed music.
I wasn't a fan of nirvana, but I can recognise the impact they had on the music industry. They did what def leppard had done in 83 and change the face of rock music.
Not liking Van Hahlen so much, now, I forgot how big they were when they came out . You are dead on in that assessment. And, despite what I said, Aint Talkin Bout Love is a phenomenal song.
To those wanting to check out songs on mental illness, in addition to Lithium by Nirvana, Evanescence also has a song called Lithium, but the best is Blow Up the Outside World by Soundgarden. Check it out.
I wasn't that impressed when I first heard Nirvana on the radio, to me they just sounded like a slicker more mainstream version of all the noisy underground bands I'd been listening to for years. It was until I'd heard Nevermind all the way through a few times that I became more impressed and realized they were actually a great band and rocked hard live.
Biggest, most impactful album of all time.
I remember the top 100 on Mtv had Teen spirit as #93 because it had only been out for a few weeks. The next year it was on the top 100 again and it was the #1 song.
@Professor of Rock Your thumbnail shows Kurt as a righty!!! Slap to all of us lefty guitar players.
Black Sunday would be an interesting album to cover because of its crossover appeal to us 90’s teens/adults.
It was a Tuesday, 1991, when I first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on a Metal radio station in L.A. Like a lightning bolt through the body, it was the music I'd been waiting for. Standing over a small radio, aged 14, I listened to the DJ flip out at the number of phone calls the station got about this mystery track: "What's this band's name? Teen Spirit?", he said.
Thursday, MTV debuts the video. Friday, kids at school are talking about the song. By Monday, they're wearing thrift store flannel Cobain shirts. Within one week, everything changed - it was that fast. Culturally, it was like the Berlin Wall falling - the 1980s were over.
It’s not just a masterpiece, it’s an iconic pop culture touchstone that we will forever remember. You cannot listen to that song without banging your head.