21 Years Ago Today

#3
#3
The only reason he is considered an icon is because he killed himself. One of the most overrated musicians of all time.
 
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#6
#6
SouthKnoxVOL said:
The only reason he is considered an icon is because he killed himself. One of the most overrated musicians of all time.
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He would be an icon anyway, because he's the face of the 90s "grunge" wave.

But there's a decent chance he could have ended up like Layne Staley had he not committed suicide. And I think Staley was way better than Cobain.
 
#7
#7
VolsSportsFan said:
But there's a decent chance he could have ended up like Layne Staley had he not committed suicide.
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Never knew that about AIC... Would is right up there with Smells like Teen Spirit in my book.

Scratch that, I like Would? better
 
#8
#8
Kingston Vol said:
Except for the fact he was the biggest musician on the planet before he died.
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No he wasn't. He was big in the U.S., but that's it. Bands like Bon Jovi and Metallica are/were hugely more popular outside of the U.S..
 
#9
#9
Nirvana took over the planet in the early 90's and Kurt was the frontman. He was iconic before he offed himself.
 
#10
#10
SWIL said:
Nirvana took over the planet in the early 90's and Kurt was the frontman. He was iconic before he offed himself.
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I agree. I remember it like yesterday. They were extremely popular. Merchandise everywhere I looked as well. Still hear them on the radio multiple times a day all over the place. That doesn't just happen.
 
#11
#11
SWIL said:
Nirvana took over the planet in the early 90's and Kurt was the frontman. He was iconic before he offed himself.
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He was huge at the time but had he not offed himself the legend would most likely not be what it is today. Good chance they would have faded into a relic of a bygone era. I guess it would have depended on how their music evolved as time went by. We'll never know.

I liked Nirvana back in the day. There were a lot of bands i liked better too. When i'm feeling nostalgic I might listen to some of their stuff. The Unplugged album has always been my favorite and the cover of the Man Who Sold the World lead me to checking out Bowie as a teenager.

I was in high school and do remember feeling indifferent to his death at the time. It's always sad to here about someone dying but even at that age I knew he was no John Lennon. I knew other kids who were deeply affected by it though.
 
#12
#12
burntorangeVOLffle said:
He was huge at the time but had he not offed himself the legend would most likely not be what it is today. Good chance they would have faded into a relic of a bygone era. I guess it would have depended on how their music evolved as time went by. We'll never know.

I liked Nirvana back in the day. There were a lot of bands i liked better too. When i'm feeling nostalgic I might listen to some of their stuff. The Unplugged album has always been my favorite and the cover of the Man Who Sold the World lead me to checking out Bowie as a teenager.

I was in high school and do remember feeling indifferent to his death at the time. It's always sad to here about someone dying but even at that age I knew he was no John Lennon. I knew other kids who were deeply affected by it though.
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Unplugged is my favorite as well. :good!:

Here's an interesting take on that album's 20th anniversary:

Nirvana's Tense, Brilliant Unplugged in New York, 20 Years Later

I never knew Grohl was trolling Kurt at the end of Penny Royal Tea - lol
 
#13
#13
burntorangeVOLffle said:
He was huge at the time but had he not offed himself the legend would most likely not be what it is today. Good chance they would have faded into a relic of a bygone era. I guess it would have depended on how their music evolved as time went by. We'll never know.

I liked Nirvana back in the day. There were a lot of bands i liked better too. When i'm feeling nostalgic I might listen to some of their stuff. The Unplugged album has always been my favorite and the cover of the Man Who Sold the World lead me to checking out Bowie as a teenager.

I was in high school and do remember feeling indifferent to his death at the time. It's always sad to here about someone dying but even at that age I knew he was no John Lennon. I knew other kids who were deeply affected by it though.
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Possibly but I'm not sure they would have necessarily "faded", depending on how you mean it.

I mean Pearl Jam and Soundgarden are still pretty big deals, and Alice in Chains is still going pretty well with a new singer, so there's a chance Nirvana would have still kept going steady like those bands. Those are the relatively few of that era that have survived long term, so maybe they'd be right along with them.
 
#14
#14
VolsSportsFan said:
Possibly but I'm not sure they would have necessarily "faded", depending on how you mean it.

I mean Pearl Jam and Soundgarden are still pretty big deals, and Alice in Chains is still going pretty well with a new singer, so there's a chance Nirvana would have still kept going steady like those bands. Those are the relatively few of that era that have survived long term, so maybe they'd be right along with them.
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Are those two bands you mentioned still pulling in new fans or are they just holding onto to the 30-45 year olds that remember them from the glory days?

I don't follow album charts but I haven't heard of either one putting out any hits recently. Granted Pearl Jam has shunned the lime light since the late 90's.

When I mean faded, I don't mean forgotten, but they wouldn't be put on a pedestal with the likes of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin like some try to do. Probably more in line with groups like Van Halen and Journey from the 80's. Great bands in their day with a handful of classic songs but not something a large portion of the younger generation would check out past a greatest hits album.

And again, it would all depend on how their music evolved over the years which is something we'll never know.
 
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#16
#16
SouthKnoxVOL said:
The only reason he is considered an icon is because he killed himself. One of the most overrated musicians of all time.
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I'm curious if you were a music fan in the early 90s.
I could see this opinion holding water if you were hearing the music for the first time far removed from the time period, but at the time Nirvana was the shizz!
They pretty much introduced grunge music to the rest of the world. I wore my Nevermind cassette out!
 
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#17
#17
burntorangeVOLffle said:
Are those two bands you mentioned still pulling in new fans or are they just holding onto to the 30-45 year olds that remember them from the glory days?

I don't follow album charts but I haven't heard of either one putting out any hits recently. Granted Pearl Jam has shunned the lime light since the late 90's.

When I mean faded, I don't mean forgotten, but they wouldn't be put on a pedestal with the likes of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin like some try to do. Probably more in line with groups like Van Halen and Journey from the 80's. Great bands in their day with a handful of classic songs but not something a large portion of the younger generation would check out past a greatest hits album.

And again, it would all depend on how their music evolved over the years which is something we'll never know.
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They are way more historically significant than Van Halen or Journey. They pretty much buried the LA glam rock scene. Appetite for Destruction probably began the demise of "good time rock and roll" but Nevermind finished it for good. They ushered in the Seattle scene and leather pants and Aqua net hairspray gave way to flannel and cargo shorts.
 
#18
#18
Panthro said:
I'm curious if you were a music fan in the early 90s.
I could see this opinion holding water if you were hearing the music for the first time far removed from the time period, but at the time Nirvana was the shizz!
They pretty much introduced grunge music to the rest of the world. I wore my Nevermind cassette out!
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I dunno, I can see guys who experienced Zeppelin, Beatles, Hendrix, Floyd, Cream, etc in their prime thinking Nirvana is garbage.
 
#19
#19
thebjd said:
They are way more historically significant than Van Halen or Journey. They pretty much buried the LA glam rock scene. Appetite for Destruction probably began the demise of "good time rock and roll" but Nevermind finished it for good. They ushered in the Seattle scene and leather pants and Aqua net hairspray gave way to flannel and cargo shorts.
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I'm not disputing that. Although there were several bands that could have done the same thing. Nirvana was just the one MTV decided to overplay. The video for Teen Spirit can be credited for the grunge explosion just as much as the song. Had they not existed Pearl Jam would have easily filled that gap. Very rarely does popular music spring up organically. There is a lot of marketing that goes behind it and Nirvana benefitted the most out of the Seattle bands.

I'm not dismissing the overall quality of Nirvana. I was in high school when they blew up so their music definitely helped shape my youth and I have fond memories of them. As I said earlier, I still listen to them every now and again. This thread actually inspired me to listen to Never Mind the other day.

My point was they are over romanticized due to Cobain's death.
 
#20
#20
burntorangeVOLffle said:
I'm not disputing that. Although there were several bands that could have done the same thing. Nirvana was just the one MTV decided to overplay. The video for Teen Spirit can be credited for the grunge explosion just as much as the song. Had they not existed Pearl Jam would have easily filled that gap. Very rarely does popular music spring up organically. There is a lot of marketing that goes behind it and Nirvana benefitted the most out of the Seattle bands.

I'm not dismissing the overall quality of Nirvana. I was in high school when they blew up so their music definitely helped shape my youth and I have fond memories of them. As I said earlier, I still listen to them every now and again. This thread actually inspired me to listen to Never Mind the other day.

My point was they are over romanticized due to Cobain's death.
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True, but the same was the case with Hendrix and Joplin. They never got old and will always be remembered as they were and people can only guess at what they would become.
 
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