History Music / NevermindAlbum

''Nevermind'' was Music/{{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album, released on 24 September 1991 and becoming an unexpected world wide success. ''Nevermind'' broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only the Music/SexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became hits as well.

* AnimalAssassin: ''"It's okay to kill fish 'cause it don't have any feelings"'' in ''"Something In The Way"''.

* ImmediateSelfContradiction: The lyrics in "Come As You Are".

* MetalScream: Each song contains at least one, except for ''"Something In The Way"'' and ''"Polly"''.

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Polly" (aside from the LyricalDissonance) and "Something In the Way".

* ContemptibleCover: A naked baby swimming after a dollar bill.
* CradlingYourKill: One baby says to another baby it's his "duty to completely drain" him in "Drain You".

* HiddenTrack: ''"Endless, Nameless"''. Due to a mistake, the first pressings of the album lacked it, a situation that was rectified after Cobain angrily complained to the record company. ''"Endless, Nameless"'' has been on every copy of ''Nevermind'' since, and it remains unlisted on the back cover.

* InTheStyleOf: ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'' was Cobain's deliberate attempt to write a [[Music/ThePixies Pixies]] song.
* LyricalDissonance: ''"Polly"''.

** At the start of "Territorial Pissings" the refrain of TheYoungbloods' hippie anthem' "Get Together" is sung by Krist Novoselic.

* EpicRocking: "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

* WordSaladLyrics: Kurt himself lampshaded this in ''"On a Plain"'', with the line ''"What the hell am I trying to say?"'' Then again, that is a song about WritersBlock...

-->"Take your time"
-->"Hurry up"
-->"The choice is yours"
-->"Don't be late"

* StraightGay: In "Stay Away" Cobain screams that God is gay", but that's all we ever hear about this. One could interpret it more innocently, as if God is [[HaveAGayOldTime just happy in an old-fashioned way]].

* AlternativeRock

* HumansAreBastards

-->Take your time
-->Hurry up
-->The choice is yours
-->Don't be late

-> ''"Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate Freudian evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time they've transcribed the lyrics incorrectly?"''

* {{Mondegreen}}: Although Nirvana has never been very good about printing their lyrics, this album still suffers from EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory because the album sleeve only prints snippets of lyrics from different songs in one block of text, therefore making many people mishear lines or misinterpret the songs' meanings.

* ConceptAlbum: While not an outright one, all the songs on ''Nevermind'' tend to follow the general themes of teenage sexuality, loneliness, the madness that results from rejection, or an obsession over a girl (usually assumed to be Cobain's ex-girlfriend [[Music/BikiniKill Tobi Vail]]).
* ContemptibleCover: A baby swimming after a dollar bill.
* CrapsackWorld

* {{Grunge}}: The album that popularised the movement.

* MetalScream: Each song, except ''"Something In The Way"''.
** And Polly
* {{Mondegreen}}: This album still suffers from EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory because the album sleeve only prints snippets of the song's lyrics, therefore making many people mishear lines or misinterpret the songs' meanings.

** The cover of "Nevermind" was parodied by WeirdAlYankovic on his album ''Off The Deep End'', while "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was satirized as "Smells Like Nirvana".

* CreatorBacklash: At first Cobain enjoyed the mainstream success of the album, but the group's later output desparately tried to avoid the slick commercial sound of ''"Nevermind"''

''Nevermind'' was Music/{{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album, released on 24 September 1991 and becoming an unexpected world wide success. ''Nevermind'' broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only Music/TheSexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became hits as well.

To music historians ''Nevermind'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s SynthPop and HairMetal (and to a lesser extent, TeenPop and DanceMusic}}) and the birth of the {{grunge}} movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/{{REM}}, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins, and many others owe their mainstream success to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's neck however, since their success happened way too sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

!!''Nevermind'' provides examples of:

* ShoutOut: The title is a homage to TheSexPistols' album ''Music/NeverMindTheBollocksHeresTheSexPistols''.
** At the start of ''"Territorial Pissings"'' the refrain of TheYoungbloods' hippie anthem' ''"Get Together"'' is sung by Krist Novoselic.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The main riff in ''"Breed"'' sounds a-lot like Link Wray's ''"Run Chicken Run"''.
** ''"Smells like Teen Spirit"'' smells like Music/{{Boston}}'s ''"More Than a Feeling"'', but Kurt actually admitted that the song was heavily influenced by Music/ThePixies, specifically ''"Debaser"''.
** ''"Come As You Are"'' sounds like Music/KillingJoke's ''"Eighties"'', and the band were reportedly brought to court over it.

To music historians ''Nevermind'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s SynthPop and HairMetal (and to a lesser extent, TeenPop and DanceMusic}} and the birth of the {{grunge}} movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/{{REM}}, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins, and many others owe their mainstream success to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's neck however, since their success happened way too sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

To music historians ''Nevermind'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s SynthPop and HairMetal and the birth of the {{grunge}} movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/{{REM}}, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins, and many others owe their mainstream success to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's neck however, since their success happened way too sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

''Nevermind'' was {{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album, released on 24 September 1991 and becoming an unexpected world wide success. ''Nevermind'' broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only TheSexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'' became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like ''"Come As You Are"'' and ''"Lithium"'' became hits as well.

The album was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, between 1990-1991, with Butch Vig serving as producer. It saw the development of the band's sound away from the monochromatic grunge of ''Bleach'' into more diverse styles such as the HardcorePunk fury of ''"Territorial Pissings"'' and ''"Breed"'', and even taking a step into acoustic ballads with ''"Polly"'' and ''"Something in the Way"''. Vig had to trick Cobain on several occasions to accept studio embellishments he otherwise was averse to, such as persuading him to double-track his vocals on ''"In Bloom"'' by reminding him that Music/JohnLennon did so, and repeatedly claiming he needed new takes to achieve the multiple guitar overdubs of ''"On a Plain"''. According to Grohl, Andy Wallace was chosen to mix the album because the band enjoyed the ''"heaviness"'' of his work with Music/{{Slayer}}, and his contribution to the album's sound played a part in its success as he improved on the overly gritty, low-budget sound of their debut, though Cobain later expressed some CreatorBacklash about the polish and commented that Wallace ''"made it sound like a Music/MotleyCrue record."''

To music historians ''"Nevermind"'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s SynthPop and HairMetal and the birth of the {{grunge}} movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/{{REM}}, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins,... owe their mainstream success to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's neck however, since their success happened way too sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

''Nevermind'' was {{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album, released on 24 September 1991 and becoming an unexpected world wide success. ''Nevermind'' broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only TheSexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became hits as well.

The album was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, between 1990-1991, with Butch Vig serving as producer. It saw the development of the band's sound away from the monochromatic grunge of ''Bleach'' into more diverse styles such as the HardcorePunk fury of "Territorial Pissings" and "Breed", and even taking a step into acoustic ballads with "Polly" and "Something in the Way". Vig had to trick Cobain on several occasions to accept studio embellishments he otherwise was averse to, such as persuading him to double-track his vocals on "In Bloom" by reminding him that Music/JohnLennon did so, and repeatedly claiming he needed new takes to achieve the multiple guitar overdubs of "On a Plain". According to Grohl, Andy Wallace was chosen to mix the album because the band enjoyed the "heaviness" of his work with Music/{{Slayer}}, and his contribution to the album's sound played a part in its success as he improved on the overly gritty, low-budget sound of their debut, though Cobain later expressed some CreatorBacklash about the polish and commented that Wallace "made it sound like a Music/MotleyCrue record."

* AlbumTitleDrop: From "Smells Like Teen Spirit": the line "Oh well, whatever, ''nevermind''."

* AnimalAssassin: "It's okay to kill fish 'cause it don't have any feelings"'' in "Something In The Way".
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: The chorus for "In Bloom":

** From "Breed", the screamed chorus of "She said!"
** From "Smells Like Teen Spirit", there's the concluding "A denial" and the transitional "Hello, hello, hello, how low?"
* ConceptAlbum: While not an outright one, all the songs on ''Nevermind'' tend to follow the general themes of teenage sexuality, loneliness, the madness that results from rejection, or an obssesion over a girl (usually assumed to be Cobain's ex-girlfriend [[Music/BikiniKill Tobi Vail]]).

* FreudianThreat: In an act of {{Bowdleris|e}}ation some advertisements of the album cover airbrushed the baby's penis away for prudish reasons. DGC Records also considered censoring the cover, but only relented when Kurt threatened that the only concession he'd make is placing a sticker over the penis reading "If you are offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile."

* HearingVoices: "I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends/they're in my head" in "Lithium".
* HiddenTrack: "Endless, Nameless". Due to a mistake, the first pressings of the album lacked it, a situation that was rectified after Cobain angrily complained to the record company. "Endless, Nameless" has been on every copy of ''Nevermind'' since, and it remains unlisted on the back cover.

* InTheStyleOf: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was Cobain's deliberate attempt to write a [[Music/ThePixies Pixies]] song.
* LyricalDissonance: "Polly".
* MetalScream: Each song, except "Something In The Way".

* RapeAsDrama: "Polly".

* RefugeInAudacity: Cobain screams "God is Gay" at the end of "Stay Away". [[TheUnintelligible They probably avoided controversy because nobody could understand what Cobain was screaming]], or just assumed it was more WordSaladLyrics.

** At the start of "Territorial Pissings" the refrain of TheYoungbloods' hippie anthem'"Get Together" is sung by Krist Novoselic.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The main riff in "Breed" sounds a-lot like Link Wray's "Run Chicken Run".
** "Smells like Teen Spirit" smells like Music/{{Boston}}'s "More Than a Feeling", but Kurt actually admitted that the song was heavily influenced by Music/ThePixies, specifically "Debaser".
** ''"Come As You Are"'' sounds like Music/KillingJoke's "Eighties", and the band were reportedly brought to court over it.

* WomenAreWiser: "Never met a wise man/ if so it's a woman" in "Territorial Pissings".
* WordSaladLyrics: Kurt himself lampshaded this in "On a Plain", with the line "What the hell am I trying to say?" Then again, that is a song about WritersBlock...

* WordSaladLyrics: Kurt himself lampshaded this in "On a Plain", with the line "What the hell am I trying to say?" Then again, that is a song about writer's block...

The album was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, between 1990-1991, with Butch Vig serving as producer. It saw the development of the band's sound away from the monochromatic grunge of ''Bleach'' into more diverse styles such as the HardcorePunk fury of "Territorial Pissings" and "Breed", and even taking a step into acoustic ballads with "Polly" and "Something in the Way". Vig had to trick Cobain on several occasions to accept studio embellishments he otherwise was averse to, such as persuading him to double-track his vocals on "In Bloom" by reminding him that JohnLennon did so, and repeatedly claiming he needed new takes to achieve the multiple guitar overdubs of "On a Plain". According to Grohl, Andy Wallace was chosen to mix the album because the band enjoyed the "heaviness" of his work with Music/{{Slayer}}, and his contribution to the album's sound played a part in its success as he improved on the overly gritty, low-budget sound of their debut, though Cobain later expressed some CreatorBacklash about the polish and commented that Wallace "made it sound like a MotleyCrue record."

To music historians ''"Nevermind"'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s SynthPop and HairMetal and the birth of the {{grunge}} movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam,[[{{REM}} R.E.M.]], Music/AliceInChains, {{Radiohead}}, TheSmashingPumpkins,... owe their mainstream succes to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's neck however, since their succes happened way to sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

* MisaimedFandom: To Cobain's irritation the album became popular with the kind of clueless jocks he used to hate at high school. Even worse were a bunch of rapists who sang "Polly" while doing their horrible deed, who he condemned as "wastes of sperm and eggs" in the liner notes of ''Incesticide''.
** Likewise, "In Bloom" is about thugs who like Nirvana's music, but stand for everything Kurt hated. He also expressed a fear of the image of a yuppie singing along to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in his BMW.

* TrueArtIsAngsty

To music historians ''"Nevermind"'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s SynthPop and HairMetal and the birth of the {{grunge}} movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like PearlJam,[[{{REM}} R.E.M.]], AliceInChains, {{Radiohead}}, TheSmashingPumpkins,... owe their mainstream succes to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's neck however, since their succes happened way to sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

''Nevermind'' was {{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album, released on 24 September 1991 and becoming an unexpected world wide success. ''Nevermind'' broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only TheSexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became hits as well.

* AlbumTitleDrop: From ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'': the line "Oh well whatever ''Nevermind''."

* AnimalAssassin: ''"It's okay to kill fish 'cause it don't have any feelings"'' in ''"Something In The Way"''
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: The chorus for ''"In Bloom"'':

** From ''"Breed"'', its "''She said''"
** From ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'', there's "''A denial''" and "''Hello, hello, hello, how low?''"
* ConceptAlbum: While not an outright one, all the songs on ''Nevermind'' tend to follow the general themes of teenage sexuality, loneliness, the madness that results from rejection, or an obssesion over a girl

* FreudianThreat: In an act of {{Bowdlerise}} some advertisements of the album cover airbrushed the baby's penis away for prudish reasons.
* {{Grunge}}: The album that started off the movement.
* HearingVoices: ''"I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends/they're in my head"'' in ''"Lithium"''.
* HiddenTrack: ''"Endless, Nameless"''

** The cover of ''"Nevermind"'' was parodied by WeirdAlYankovic on his album ''"Off The Deep End"'', while ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'' was satirized as ''"Smells Like Nirvana"''.

* ImmediateSelfContradiction: The lyrics in ''"Come As You Are"''.
* InTheStyleOf: ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'' was Cobain's deliberate attempt to write a [[Music/ThePixies Pixies]] song.
* LyricalDissonance: ''"Polly"''
* MetalScream: Each song, except ''"Something In The Way"''
* MisaimedFandom: To Cobain's irritation the album became popular with the kind of clueless jocks he used to hate at high school. Even worse were a bunch of rapists who sang ''"Polly"'' while doing their horrible deed.
** Likewise, ''"In Bloom"'' is about thugs who like Nirvana's music, but stand for everything Kurt hated. He also expressed a fear of the image of a yuppie singing along to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in his BMW.

* RapeAsDrama: ''"Polly"''
* RefugeInAudacity: Cobain screams ''"God is Gay"'' at the end of ''"Stay Away"''. [[TheUnintelligible They probably avoided controversy because nobody could understand what Cobain was screaming.]]

** At the start of ''"Territorial Pissings"'' the refrain of TheYoungbloods' hippie anthem ''"Get Together"'' is sung by Krist Novoselic.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The main riff in ''"Breed"'' sounds a-lot like Link Wray's ''"Run Chicken Run"''
** ''"Smells like Teen Spirit"'' smells like Music/{{Boston}}'s ''"More Than a Feeling"''
** ''"Come As You Are"'' sounds like Music/KillingJoke's ''"Eighties"'', and the band were reportedly brought to court over it.

* WomenAreWiser: ''"Never met a wise man/ if so it's a woman"'' in ''"Territorial Pissings"''.
* WordSaladLyrics: Kurt himself lampshaded this in ''"On a Plain"'', with the line ''What the hell am I trying to say?'' Then again, that is a song about writer's block...

''"Nevermind"'' was {{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album. It was released in 1991 and was an unexpected world wide success! ''"Nevermind"'' broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only TheSexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener ''"Smells Like Teen Spirit"'' became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like ''"Come As You Are"'' and ''"Lithium"'' became hits as well.

To music historians ''"Nevermind"'' was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s synthesizer pop and hair metal and the birth of the grunge movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like PearlJam,[[{{REM}} R.E.M.]], AliceInChains, {{Radiohead}}, TheSmashingPumpkins,... owe their mainstream succes to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's heck however, since their succes happened way to sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

!!"Nevermind" provides examples of:

* At the start of ''"Territorial Pissings"'' the refrain of TheYoungbloods' hippie anthem ''"Get Together"'' is sung by Krist Novoselic.

"Nevermind" was {{Nirvana}}'s second and best selling album. It was released in 1991 and was an unexpected world wide success! "Nevermind" broke alternative rock to the mainstream in a way that only TheSexPistols had done before. Even the band members were shocked to discover they had become rock superstars in only a few months. The album opener "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became an anthem for a new generation of disgruntled teens. Other classics like "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became hits as well.

To music historians "Nevermind" was a key album in rock history, breaking the hegemony of 1980s synthesizer pop and hair metal and the birth of the grunge movement. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like PearlJam, {{R.E.M.}}, AliceInChains, {{Radiohead}}, TheSmashingPumpkins,... owe their mainstream succes to Nirvana. The success became an albatross around Nirvana's heck however, since their succes happened way to sudden and big. The group's later output desperately tried to refrain from too commercial sound and subject matter.

* AlbumTitleDrop: From "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the line "Oh well whatever ''Nevermind''."

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: The chorus for "In Bloom":

** From "Breed", its "''She said''"
** From "Smells Like Teen Spirit", there's "''A denial''" and "''Hello, hello, hello, how low?''"

* ContempibleCover: A baby swimming after a dollar bill

* HiddenTrack: "Endless, Nameless"
* InTheStyleOf: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was Cobain's deliberate attempt to write a [[Music/ThePixies Pixies]] song.
* LyricalDissonance: "Polly"
* MetalScream: Each song, except "Something In The Way"
* MisaimedFandom: To Cobain's irritation the album became popular with the kind of clueless jocks he used to hate at high school. Even worse were a bunch of rapists who sang "Polly" while doing their horrible deed.
** Likewise, "In Bloom" is about thugs who like Nirvana's music, but stand for everything Kurt hated. He also expressed a fear of the image of a yuppie singing along to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in his BMW.
* RapeAsDrama: "Polly"
* RefugeInAudacity: Cobain screams "God is Gay" at the end of "Stay Away". [[TheUnintelligible They probably avoided controversy because nobody could understand what Cobain was screaming.]]
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The main riff in "Breed" sounds a-lot like Link Wray's "Run Chicken Run"
** "Smells like Teen Spirit" smells like Music/{{Boston}}'s "More Than a Feeling"
** "Come As You Are" sounds like Music/KillingJoke's "Eighties", and the band were reportedly brought to court over it.
* TheUntelligible: Kurt's IndecipherableLyrics.

* Kurt Cobain shows off his talents as a lyricist with the first two lines of "Polly".

* WordSaladLyrics: Kurt himself lampshaded this in "On a Plain", with the line ''What the hell am I trying to say?'' Then again, that is a song about writer's block...