Nirvana

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Nirvana was formed in 1987 in Aberdeen, a small port town in the state of Washington, by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. The band belonged to the scene around Seattle that blended punk and heavy metal into a raw, heavy sound: grunge. With a single album, Nirvana turned alternative rock into the music of the hit parade.

Music and breakthrough

The debut Bleach (1989) was released on the small Seattle label Sub Pop. In 1990 drummer Dave Grohl joined. The band moved to the major label DGC and recorded Nevermind (1991) with producer Butch Vig. Smells Like Teen Spirit first received attention mainly on alternative radio stations, and then MTV played the video endlessly: a school dance in a gymnasium that ends in chaos. In January 1992 Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top spot in the American album chart. The sleeve with the swimming baby became one of the best-known images of the decade. For In Utero (1993) the band chose the rawer producer Steve Albini.

Influence

Cobain coped badly with fame and took his own life in April 1994. That was the end of the band. The live album MTV Unplugged in New York was released later that year. Grohl started Foo Fighters in 1994. In England, bands reacted to grunge with Britpop, which looked back to the British pop music of the 1960s. In 2014, in the first year it was eligible, Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

• 
  Smells Like Teen Spirit · Nirvana, 1991
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1989Bleach
• 1991Nevermind
• 1993In Utero

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 4: When Rock Was Still Pop^NL Reader
• Mixtape 10: Women in Pop Music^NL Reader
• Mixtape 13: From Cassette to Cloud^NL Reader
• After Hours: Session 4^NL Reader
• Magazine: Cut, Paste and Scandal^NL Magazine

Mentioned in other articles

• Grunge GenreIn January 1992 Nirvana's Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top of the American album chart.
• The new piano trio GenreThe Bad Plus played Nirvana.
• Nevermind AlbumIn 1990, Nirvana was already recording songs with producer Butch Vig in Madison, Wisconsin, intended for the label Sub Pop.

See also

• The Colour and the Shape
• Post-grunge
• The new piano trio

Sources

1. Wikipedia (en): Nirvana (band
2. Wikipedia (en): Grunge
3. Wikipedia (en): Smells Like Teen Spirit
4. Wikipedia (en): Britpop