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The Nirvana Legacy
Almost 9 years ago in 4 months, Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle Washington home by an electrician. With his death, he left behind an entire generation of teens who up until this point had found salvation from their angst and anger in Nirvana's music. Many teens these days do not appreciate Nirvana's music and what they did for the industry. I hear all sorts of people telling me 'Nirvana sucks!' or even 'Who is Nirvana'. I'm not going to give the entire Nirvana story in this article but I am going to tell who they were.
In the summer of 1991, Nirvana's Nevermind broke out into the music scene with little or no chance of making it. Nirvana's style was raw, abrasive, and heavy, and didn't go over well with critics. But much to the surprise of the industry and the world, teenagers took to Nirvana's sound. Unlike many of the pop groups of the time, Nirvana wasn't an act created for the soul purpose of making money. Nirvana kicked Michael Jackson out of the number one spot within a few weeks and Nirvana was an overnight success.
The following year, Nirvana released a compilation of rarites called Incesticide. This cd was intended to abandon the popularity that plagued the band the past year. Needless to say the attempt was in vain and Nirvana was still king. In 1993, they released In Utero, a more successful attempt to abandon popularity. The album didn't go well with the critics and was almost never released because of it's stripped down stylings. The music business thought it wouldn't bring in much money. But to many nirvana fans, including myself it is their finest work. Unlike the poppy songs of nevermind, in utero featured raw, almost suicidal ballads. This album did much more to capture the Nirvana essence than any other Nirvana album. Shortly after the release of In Utero, Nirvana performed on Mtv's Unplugged. The following year, Kurt Cobain died.
Nirvana re-established the fact that music is not about making money or winning awards. Music is about emotion and should never be exploited. Nirvana put an end to corporate rock. Many bands today draw upon Nirvana for inspiration. Bands like Puddle of Mudd, the Vines, even Korn, would have never succeeded in the business without Nirvana.
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