Nirvana - Nevermind
The Nirvana, Nevermind 20th anniversary interview (broadcast by Music 101’s on 1 October 2011) really struck a chord with listeners.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to write in with their early recollections of Nirvana, some of which are collated here.
The first four stories in this list received a double-CD reissue of the album. (with thanks to Universal Music New Zealand).
I was fourteen and had never experienced such neck pain, as post- head banging in unison to smells like teen spirit. Our teen spirit smelt like long hair mingling together, the school gym floor and sweat. Nevermind the teen angst. I also had to borrow Dad's flannel.
Sarah G in Dunedin
I'm a 15 year old girl and discovered Nirvana last year. After listening to nevermind obsessively so that the entire album was at the top of my ipod 25 most played song list i started researching them and realising that kurt cobain is in fact dead. I couldn't stop crying for hours. I have gotten over it now but still think nevermind is quite possibly the best album in the world.
Anon
I remember being at a Party in London on my OE and when “smells like teen spirit” came on, 3 of us Naki lads absolutely went wild and used all the furniture in the living room as gymnasts’ apparatus. I think we had many shocked admirers of how much air we had between ourselves and the floor for the duration of the song.
Pete, Pt Chevalier
I loved your piece on Nirvana and Nevermind. My 9 year old son had never heard it before and was air guitaring and jigging about in the kitchen, declaring it “AWESOME!!”. A whole new generation of fans…thanks for introducing him to such powerful music.
Cheers, Rebecca
Nirvana never mind was not only the greatest alt rock record recorded in history, the impact that certain record had on youth on the 90s was a phenomenon! It's amazing that 3 kids from seattle could affect the world with one album and one opportunity was just amazing and really stuck out to me as a fan but as a member of society as kids who were the odd ones the emos of the time came out and rocked the 90s. One memory that will stick wiv me from that record :)
Nigel from new Plymouth
Hi there Music101,
Despite being a teenager when Nirvana hit the big time, I was oblivious to their music. This was probably due to my strict upbringing! However years later, in 2005, I watched a doco film called Kurt and Courtney and was totally blown away and intrigued by Kurt's story - his tumultuous life, questionable death, and bizarre relationship with Courtney Love. The film was blocked from featuring any music of Nirvana, so purely out of curiosity I immediately rushed out and bought a copy of Nevermind. It was without a doubt the sound of my generation and I've been hooked on them ever since. I'm only sad I didn't find them earlier :)
Kellie (from Havelock North, Hastings)
While I've seen some great bands, I never got to see Nirvana - either in the UK or the Feb '92 NZ show. However, I'm forever spell bound by that amazing slo-mo video of the band performing Smells Like Teen Spirit in that school gymnasium: the cheerleaders...even the janitor! Simply the best show I never attended!
Also, and giving power to the belief that a cover can often be superior to the original, I really like the recent anecdote from David Bowie about how he was approached by a young fan, clearly oblivious to the pedigree of ''The Man Who Sold The World', having the temerity to tell Bowie it was so cool of him to cover a Nirvana song!
Cheers, Mike
The first time I heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' I was living in Sydney and driving to an appointment. The song came on the radio and I pulled to the side of the road and was mesmerized....it was the most amazing song I'd ever heard.
Then one day a few years later I was in an airport in Brisbane and with some time to kill so was looking through the books in the book store. I came a book called Kurt Cobain Journals.
It consists of pages literally ripped out of Kurt's journal and reproduced on the pages. Amazing....you can look through it and see all his thought patterns, ideas, where he was going in his head, doodles, etc. One of my most treasured books, great to dip into from time to time.
Graeme, Wellington
One of my strongest memories of the Nevermind era echoes one of the comments made in the Jon Stewart interview: in the few months between Nirvana's Auckland show being announced and when the band finally made it to town, the venue was upgraded not once, but TWICE (The Powerstation -> The Logan Campbell Centre -> The Town Hall). Know any other bands that have achieved a double upgrade in Auckland in the last 20 years? I don't...
Ryan Wellington
My father played this record to me in the womb. I was born on Feburary 6 1994 sadly the year kurt died but have been raised on nirvana and all of the 890's alt rock era. I have also been called kurt cobains reincarnation at gigs i have played at like rockquest because i sing like kurt and i have blonde hair lol. Also my uncle was a roadie in nirvanas touring act in australia and got to meet kurt cobain in person!!! He said he was a nice guy and they had a beer together :) lol.
From Adam Colless :)
I remember being a teenager in the 90s and buying the cassingle of Smells Like Teen Spirit and listening to it over and over again at a particular party. Stop - rewind -- stop -rewind. My friends and I were reminiscing about this the other day and all agreeing that it really did sum up generation x and was there an equivalent today? Will youth of today get all nostalgic about Katy Perry? I feel lucky to have been a teenager then; pre cell phones, facebook, internet, when everything was organic.
Anon text.
I recall listening to Nevermind in the seventh form common room one day and one of our teachers marched in and said that "our music of today was rubbish and no one could match Bob Dylan". I bet we will be able to now say the same thing to the next generation.
Emma Richardson, Masterton
My memory of Nirvana, or rather of their best song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is this:
My band was on an orientation tour in 1992, we were supporting Push Push at Otago Uni. I remember Mikey Havoc warming up by belting out "Here we are now, entertain us..." unaccompanied. I thought, that's a great song... but I didn't know who it was by.
Brian
The first time I heard Nirvana was when I saw the video of Smells Like Teen Spirit and I thought it was mind-blowing. I'd never heard music like it and Kurt Cobain sang as though some one was ripping out his heart and soul. Very affecting emotionally!
Andrew, Christchurch
Listening to Music 101 brought back crystal clear memories of being 19 and bullet proof, myself and my two boy best friends sat on either side of me in the front bench seat of our beloved Valiant driving from Dunedin to Wanaka for the Warbirds airshow. We did everything together growing up. This was no exception, It was a dry hot long Summer, we had the windows down and we sung along with Nevermind blasting out the extra speakers we’d put on the parcel tray. As we got closer to the huge airshow I am sure not everyone was as thrilled as we were to have such an amazing sound system and full lungs to scream out “yeah yeaaah” along with Kurt for the whole weekend. Nirvana for us was at the height of our youth, where we could do anything! Whenever I hear the tune playing it always takes me back to that balmy Summer of 1992. Thanks to Radio NZ for bringing us that special interview with Dave and Krist.
Ruth, Wanaka
20 yrs ago I was a young English teachr at a high school in the Sth of France. A student played me Nevamind. The Earth tilted on its axis. Merci!
Nadia
Nirvana who? Well that's what i thought until i saw unplugged. These guys can play. Then i noticed them alright :-D
Scott from Canterbury
In my youth i was grungey, in middle age i'm scungey. No amount of Teen Spirit is going to change that.
Old Mike, Gt. Barrier
'bleach' came b4 nevermind' as imported vinyl,some of us had heard of nirvana b4 they became a package.
Anon text.
30 somethings pregnant with my second child and jst moved into a new rental in the burbs. Then we heard the 15 yr old kid nxt door playing the record and cldnt believe our ears! Yes we were still angsty! Still loving it and in my 50's.
Karen
Hi my most vivid Nirvana memory is my Mum hearing On a Plain and saying 'that's awful! That guy sings like he's dying.!' which unfortunately turned out to be prophetic only a couple of years later.
Greg - ChCh
Standing in the public bar in The Bird Cage in Auckland, having a fairly liquid brunch. Never mind was on rotation. My first thought was 'What is this?!' it was like nothing else being played at the time, thank god! I hated vanilla ice along with C&C Music Factory. Now, it's the music that our guys in our factory listen to.
Anon text.
Nirvana Nevermind was more than a snap shot in time for me it was my teenage era of fashion and attitude. The striped tops, dirty sneakers, a wool lined jacket that was literally falling apart around me. the right to never brush my hair, be moody and show a "think I care?" attitude.
Rachel, New Brighton, Chch
1991. listened to Radio U play Nirvana in design class with my wild and weird classmates. Fun days. idiot gutless commercial radio took a year to catch on.
Anon text.
I had a crappy old car with a cassette player in gig school -the only tape I had was nirvana never mind I swear I listened to it thousands of times I know every note every lyric. those were the days of long lunch breaks from school and illicit cigarettes. sigh.
Anon text.
Nirvana unplugged is my 2 year old and 5 year olds favourite dvd right up there with thomas the tank engine and bob the builder.
Anon text.
I was only 1 when Nevermind came out, but grew up with it being blasted by my older brother. it was the first album i ever sat and actually listened to.
Ronen
My sister was a big Nirvana fan when i was young and painted my nails black because she said they did it and it was really cool. At school i found out it wasn’t.
Anon text.
Best nirvana story: in the late 80s a friend of mine was I'm Camden markets in UK. A guy put on a CD and said "buy this now, they're going to be huge!" My friend declined, saying the band sounded rubbish. It was Nirvana.
Dougal, Wellington
Nevermind takes me back to growing up at the beach, surfing, grunge, cruising the beaches of chch & hacky sack. good old carefree days oh bring it back! Still love nirvana.
All the jocks at school thought i was weird and gave me stick because i carried brought a cd with a naked baby on it to school:'(
Anon text.
Went to the Nirvana gig in Auckland and being so thrilled to see Kurt by himself at the side of the stage watching the 3ds play, thinking how much he would love NZ music if he only had the time to explore the rest of our glorious scene.
Amanda