Southsea Tunes: Nevermind
When I was 12 years old, I suddenly discovered rock music. The credit for this really does need to go to the Foo Fighters, who, upon flicking through the music channels, I came across Monkey Wrench and for the first time, I heard Dave Grohl’s scream and it was love. I’ve never looked back, to put it bluntly. Following this, I set about to listen to anything and everything that could further my new found favourite thing and so naturally, it was only a matter of time before I listened to Nirvana’s Nevermind. And so, since it is currently enjoying its 20th anniversary, I thought it might be time to reflect upon it.
For me, as someone who listens to a lot of music – both old and new, I think it’s fair to say that Nevermind meant more to me as a twelve year old than it does to me today as a twenty-four year old. Twelve years on and, for me, it hasn’t quite matched me in growth and maturity. There are certain songs on there which will always stand up – Smells Like Teen Spirit, despite being over-played, is a classic track – it is undeniably and universally loved by anyone with even the vaguest interest in rock music. Like Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and The Who’s My Generation before it, it is the track which both defines Nirvana as well as the mood of that generation. We know this because it is still played in rock clubs across the world and it still earns a mass movement towards the dance floor too.
In truth, I cannot fault the album other than it not having made the transition from childhood to adulthood in my record collection. I, in all honesty, have not sat down and listened to it for several years now and that is the case for a number of reasons: I have mellowed as I’ve aged and so anything like grunge or metal has to offer me some really interesting lyrics to set it apart. Cobain, whilst a talented writer, simply does not articulate himself well in his performance and as such, I feel that it lacks in something. Now, I understand that this is the basis of grunge music – aggressive and frustrated by the world and Cobain embodied this tragically. However, when I was a young teenager, I also felt this way but now that I am in my twenties, I’ve learnt and I’m more comfortable with how the world works and so that aggression and frustration has subsided somewhat. In its place, I want beauty and art in my lyrics – I want poetry and imagery. For me, Nirvana lack that. It does, of course, raise the question of whether had Cobain not killed himself, would Nirvana have matured too?
Nevermind is a classic album, there is no denying that. It will forever be held in the ranks of albums that are classed as timeless and definitive and for that reason, it will always hold a certain place in my heart. However, as much as I loved it when I was a teenager, I prefer other albums more as an adult and as we are unable to ever know what Nirvana would have gone on to produce had Cobain lived, I would wager that they were not a band that were ever to grow up. Particularly when we look at other bands of the era – Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, Alice in Chains, for example: all great bands but none are setting the music world alight now. Nevermind is a great album but really, its true status is because of Cobain’s legend and not because of its time-defying nature.
Disagree with me? Tell me why!
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