Thursday, May 19, 2011

Albums I Dig...Nevermind

I am thankful to Nirvana for two things...

1) With a couple distorted power chords and a couple throat tearing wails, they forever banished and destroyed "cock rock" and hair metal, and put the final coffin in the embarrassment that was rock n roll in the 80's...

2)...and armed with those weapons at their disposal became without a doubt the greatest and freshest band of the 90's as well as a band that will forever stand the test of time.  A fearless band, full of promise and angst, love and sorrow.

Now what can be said that hasn't been said about Nirvana's second album Nevermind??  Well one thing is for sure, whatever "sophomore slump" most bands suffer from with their second album, Nirvana definitely dodged and buried.

The opening chords to the opening track Smells Like Teen Spirit are the chords that began a revolution in the kids that heard it.  This revolution, this song was for every kid who suffered through the music of the 80's, bands that were too worried about how they looked, what drugs and booze they took, and how many women they had waiting for them on the bus.  It was all sex and drugs, and very little rock n roll.  This was the kick in the balls that every hair-sprayed idiot needed who thought of themselves as a "musician". This opening track alone was a rebirth in music, and it was going to be a loud one.



SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT is a song that is almost more famous then Nirvana.  It is a perfect blend of calm and calamity.  People always say how they can't understand a word Cobain is saying in this song, well in a way it's almost a non issue...what is important is that he's screaming it with every thing he's got, and two lines that SHOULD be heard and possibly the clearest...

Here we are entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious

This was an open challenge to the ones responsible for turning music into a sideshow.  Whether Nirvana knew it or not, they were forming an army of believers and this was the song that they were going to march into battle on.


The album really doesn't take a breather when it comes to classic Nirvana tracks, after the full on assault that is SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, they dive right into In Bloom.  An explosion of riffage and drums.  But it also displays one of the Nirvana's best talents...their dynamics.  This is something they obviously took from some of their biggest influences, mainly The Pixies.  Instead of beating you to death with a riff over and over again at the same volume in every song (which they did do to some great effect in some songs, don't let me fool you) they would switch tempos, and volumes.  The softest verse could be the loudest in terms of emotion when put next to an ear splitting chorus.  Nirvana got it, and nailed it on IN BLOOM.

Ah Come As You Are...another brilliant use of dynamics and the chorus setting on the amplifier.  The title is simple and insanely open and welcoming, but at the same time the guitar part being played over Cobain's vocal always had me uneasy, something wasn't entirely safe, and that is why this song is so haunting.  While we shouldn't feel threatened by the song, we still are, because who truly comes into a relationship entirely as themselves?  While "heavy" metal bands must have been pissing themselves after hearing SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, COME AS YOU ARE must have had the pop rock bands scrambling back to the drawing board.  Brilliant song.

I've said it before in my blog about The Pretty Reckless' album Light Me Up...I love bands that have a somewhat softer song, whether it's in volume or lyrical content and then immediately open up the flood gates on the next track, just to throw the listener for a loop.  Well welcome to Breed.  This is a song to crank up real loud, roll the windows down and get dirty looks from the other cars around you.  It's only been a couple tracks and Nirvana already was showcasing their ability to throw their sound all over the place, into whatever formula they wanted for a song.  BREED chugs along and never lets up, a classic among classics.  Speaking of classics...Lithium is beautiful.  I really don't think anything else really needs to be said about this song.  It's almost like every song before it on the album was preparing you for its power and strength.  That's the thing about Nirvana, you never know where they are going, their dynamics are that good.  The lyrics of this song are some of my favorite that Cobain ever wrote.

I'm so horny
That's ok my will is good.

What "rock star" would sing about their will against their sexual drive?  Nirvana was the real deal, they weren't in it for money, fame, and girls.  This song has the heaviness of SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, the quite verse brilliance of COME AS YOU ARE and the unrelenting push of BREED.  Not too bad Nirvana.

Oh yea and it's a song that's chorus consists of mostly...

Yea Yea Yea!!!

But after hearing it, you wouldn't want it any other way.

Polly is the first true rest that you get as a listener.  This is a song that you need to hear a couple times to truly understand it's sheer power.

Go ahead, I'll wait...

Ok, first of all Cobain's vocals are amazing.  The harmonies are astoundingly good for a rock band.  What else is astounding is the fact that they'd release a song like this.  The story goes that Cobain saw an article about a girl who was kidnapped and finally escaped by being "human" to her kidnapper, connecting with him in a way that he could only stare in astonishment at her humanity.  Cobain saw that, and decided to do the unexpected and write from the perspective of the guy who abuses the woman "Polly".  You end up being just as stunned at Cobains humanity and beauty in his lyrics as the criminal who witnessed the real life humanity of "Polly".  Territorial Pissings...ehm...I think the title says it all.  Again Nirvana reminds us that even though they have haunting thought provoking songs, they still have songs that can test the strength of your ears and your speakers.  The band is in full force and Cobain is a monster on vocals...and screams.  His voice is cracking and breaking just as much as the beat and guitar riffs.  This song really echoes to their first album Bleach, and their complete assault on the ears.  The end of the song is hardcore punk brilliance.  DRAIN YOU again has its moments in dynamic mastery as well as another use of great double tracked harmonies, especially and most profoundly on the chorus.  The song is simple, as well as effective.  But just when you think you have Nirvana figured out...they break down the song

You...you...you...you

Dave Grohl's drums keep the beat going and the occasional guitar flurry reminds you that the song is still going on, until...

BOOM!

Back to the beginning of the song, but this time the intro verse is heavier and a little more in your face.  A simple idea, and very effective.  Nirvana never gets boring and this is a song that showcases that all to well.  Lounge Act has a killer bass line from Krist and an even killer vocal performance from Cobain.  His voice was really one of a kind.  I have yet to find a singer who has such a beautiful melody in his voice that could at the same time scream like an ABSOLUTE maniac.  The end of this song will have your ears on edge, and a phantom pain in your throat.  Stay Away is a song that starts with a build up that when it erupts it doesn't let up.  Cobain's vocals sound strained and chaotic, and as a fan of Nirvana I wouldn't want it any other way.  The song itself is pretty clear in its intentions, stay...the fuck...away.

On A Plain is a song so catchy you almost forget it's Nirvana.  It is a song about...how to write a song, and introduces a phrase that is classic Nirvana...

LOVE MYSELF BETTER THEN YOU!

That had to be a crystallizing moment for some kids listening to this album when it was released.  A moment of power that they really do matter and had this band to confide it and listen too.  A simple line with a lot of weight and power, classic Nirvana.

The final "official" track, Something In The Way might be the greatest song Kurt Cobain has ever written, and one of the greatest song ever written PERIOD.  This song separated them from all the other rock/hardcore/"grunge" bands out there...it provided the final hidden weapon in Nirvana's arsenal...melody, and a simply beautiful one at that.  You see while all the other hardcore bands coming out of the 80's seemed to rebel against bands like The Beatles, Nirvana embraced them.  Their love of melody, complexity in simplicity, all can be traced back to bands like The Beatles, Queen and Led Zeppelin, all huge influences on Cobain.  The barely audible cello holds up the chorus and accents Cobain's double tracked vocals to perfection.  Again, this is a simple song, and that was exactly what Nirvana was going for.  The kids born out of the decade that was the music of the 80's needed something new, fresh, simple and bare.  There was something in the way...and Nirvana pleasantly bulldozed it out of existence with this album, and forever changed the world of music.  Whether the band knew it or not this album gave kids something to hold onto, something to physically have in their possession at their greatest time of need.  The complaint that people think the album is too mainstream is nonsense, an album needs to be heard, and this one thankfully was many times over.


...ah yes the hidden track Endless, Nameless that appeared on some copies of the album, a perfect bridge to the mayhem and brilliance that would be my favorite Nirvana album, and their swan song...In Utero.  Complete noise and chaos, I really love this song.  The power this band displayed was amazing.

Cobain and company (Krist and Dave) truly created a movement, reluctantly took the reigns and steered music back to where it should have been all along.

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