Nirvana

“Nevermind”: don't even think about it. In fact, the first time you put this record on the stereo, you get the feeling you haven't thought anything good in your whole life. “Nevermind” is something more than an album. It's rage, unease, pain, excruciating pain. All of it summed up in the first few seconds of the opening track, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, perhaps the most famous rock song of the '90s. But let's take things in order.

Nirvana are onto their second album, following the promising debut "Bleach" for indie label Sub Pop. Backed by their already-established colleagues Sonic Youth, they enter Geffen's orbit right in the middle of the grunge era. Two years after "Bleach", Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl (who had meanwhile become the band's permanent drummer) release "Nevermind". An hour of technically simple songs, turned into rock masterpieces by Cobain's tremulous, hoarse, fearful voice. You couldn't call Nirvana great musicians, but that only makes it harder to explain why they were so successful. The feelings this record offers a listener who identifies with Cobain's rage are impossible to put into words. As we were saying, the four chords of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Four chords, indeed, but spewed out in a turbulent outburst that Grohl's drum rolls support perfectly. The alternation between the melodic verse and a chorus that stands as a symbol of the generational ordeal of the early '90s ("With the lights out it's less dangerous/ Here we are now, entertain us/ I feel stupid and contagious/ Here we are now, entertain us/ A mulatto/ An albino/ A mosquito/ My Libido") is one of the most moving moments on the album. The lyrics are almost nonsensical, but by this point it doesn't matter what Cobain says, only how he says it. Finally, there's the solo, which traces the melodic line of the vocals, played with real heart.

If you're left reeling by the whirlwind of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", after barely a moment's respite another masterpiece kicks in: "In Bloom". Devastating, fantastic. The opening words, murmured over a laconic, downcast bassline, are the finest portrait of Cobain's unease ("Sell the kids for food/ weather changes moods/ Spring is here again/ reproductive glands"). Then comes the searingly acidic solo, and the chorus, with that scream ushering in a melody that's simple, memorable and almost epic.

But pain isn't only rage. "Come As You Are" reminds us of that: melancholic depression riding a bassline that's already legendary. Cobain's habit of tuning his instruments a half-step below standard finds a fitting justification here: it seems like nothing, but the track sounds more alienating than ever. And so, amid one feedback squall after another, we reach "Breed": a track loaded with adrenaline, Grohl's drumming hits like a steamroller! Jumping on the bed feels almost mandatory. Amid screams and punk-inspired riffing, "Breed" carries us into "Lithium", one of the album's biggest hits (an album that has sold 10 million copies). "Lithium" is almost a blend of the melodies of "Come As You Are" and the angry choruses of "In Bloom", a song that has enjoyed (and still enjoys) huge success especially among Nirvana's younger fans, the so-called "Generation X", who over time reduced Cobain's image to a fetish and a symbol to be plastered on flags and t-shirts, often ignoring the message of distress expressed in its purest form on "Polly". "Polly" is an utterly plain song, a simple chord progression on acoustic guitar, but here you can feel the decisive power of Cobain's voice. The track is almost singer-songwriter territory, and you can hear the influence of the great American crooners on Kurt's musical upbringing. Nirvana would pay tribute to bluesman Leadbelly at their "MTV Unplugged in New York" concert with a terrifying version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?".

If "Polly" gives the listener a break after being battered by the wall of sound of the preceding tracks, there's little time to recover. Track seven opens by parodying a '60s hippie song ("Get Together"), before exploding into a tremendous scream: that of "Territorial Pissings". Punk as played by Nirvana. Magnificent, a blow to the head in the face of which it's simply impossible to stand still staring at the stereo. You have to move. Here Nirvana's music reaches the fullest expression of what Cobain called "physical music". The sequence of tracks like "Drain You" (almost cheerful, and a favourite of the band's frontman) and "Lounge Act" only reinforces the idea of a record that transcends the simple notes it's built from, immediately staking its claim as a generational manifesto. "Drain You" also features a more "experimental" section, along the lines of Sonic Youth's dissonances. "Lounge Act", meanwhile, stands out for Novoselic's contribution, who became famous for his simple, direct basslines.

Then we reach "Stay Away". Another great track, one you might call a "pogo anthem", if only it had ever been played live. Here Grohl gives his best. We're nearing the end now, ushered in by "On A Plain". At the close of that track come some wails that lead into the final track, an immense one. We've arrived. Two notes, an acoustic guitar, nothing else. "Something In The Way". This song is hard to describe. I think the lyrics, which I consider a kind of poem in their own right, can speak for themselves: "Underneath the bridge/ The tarp has sprung a leak/ And the animals I've trapped/ Have all become my pets/ And I'm living off of grass/ And the drippings from the ceiling/ But it's ok to eat fish/ Cause they haven't any feelings/ Something in the way".

That's the gist of it. Cobain recounts the days he spent living under a bridge, kicked out of home and gripped by unimaginable despair. After 10 minutes of silence comes the ghost track. A recording of guitars mangled and obliterated in the studio, with tremendous distortion. "Endless, Nameless" is the fitting title of this "composition" (?!?). Almost seven minutes of savage screams and brutal dissonance. Pure, unfiltered rage.

The album is over. But it's hard to truly believe it, so many are the emotions that linger. I don't believe for a second that "Nevermind" is a "dated" record, as some claim. Nor do I believe Nirvana's merits should be diminished because of their commodification and the reduction of Cobain's image to a generational idol. It's difficult to analyse the band's work while extracting it from the mythologising context that Kurt Cobain's suicide helped the record industry construct around them. But listening to "Nevermind" without the chatter that surrounds Nirvana today ringing in your ears can still reveal powerful sensations to listeners who are passionate about "physical music".

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03/11/2006