History Music / NevermindAlbum

The album was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California between 1990 and 1991, with Butch Vig serving as producer. It saw the development of the band's sound away from the monochromatic grunge of ''Music/{{Bleach|Album}}'' into more diverse styles such as the HardcorePunk fury of "Territorial Pissings" and "Breed", as well as the acoustic balladry of "Polly" and "Something in the Way". Vig had to trick Music/KurtCobain 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".

An unexpected worldwide success upon release, ''Nevermind'' brought {{grunge}} and AlternativeRock as a whole to the mainstream in a way that only the Music/SexPistols had done before with PunkRock; 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, and other tracks like "In Bloom", "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became immediate hits and eventual classics as well.

To music historians, ''Nevermind'' was a key album in rock history. Along with the Lollapalooza tour, it shattered the hegemony of [=1980s=] SynthPop and HairMetal (and, to a lesser extent, teen pop and dance music), transforming alternative rock from an underground cult movement at best into to a household phenomenon. ''Nevermind'' specifically has the additional distinction of popularizing grunge in much the same way. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins, and many others owe their mainstream success to Nirvana.

However, the success, as massive as it was, became an albatross around Nirvana's neck, happening way too suddenly and dramatically for their liking. [[Music/{{Incesticide}} The group's]] [[Music/InUtero later]] [[Music/MTVUnpluggedInNewYork output]] desperately tried to refrain from too-commercial sounds and subject matter, and Cobain's struggles with reconciling with his sudden popularity became a major contributor to his suicide within three years after this album's release.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

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

* HiddenTrack: "Endless, Nameless". Due to a mastering error, 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.

# "Endless, Nameless" (6:44)[[note]]Hidden track, playing after 10 minutes of silence at the end of "Something in the Way." This track is not on vinyl or cassette editions and is absent on the earliest CD pressings of ''Nevermind'' due to a mastering error.[[/note]]

* LongestSongGoesFirst: Asides from "Endless, Nameless" (which has a length of 6:44 and isn't present in all releases), the album's longest song is the opening track, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", at 5:01.

* BreakupSong: "Lounge Act". In Kurt's diary, it's revealed he wrote for ex-girlfriend Tobi Vail, of Music/BikiniKill, and because of that he refused to play the song when Courtney was around.

* RefrainFromAssuming: "Come As You Are" is not called "Don't Have a Gun" or "Memoria". Likewise, "Smells Like Teen Sprit" is not called "Entertain Us", "Hello", or "How Low", and "Lithium" is not called "I'm So Happy" or "Yeah!"

* {{Anaphora}}: A downplayed example from "In Bloom", since the line is only actually repeated twice:

This album marks the debut of Music/DaveGrohl on drums, as he replaced Chad Channing a year earlier and would serve as the longest-staying and ultimately final drummer in the band's lifetime. However, Channing did record for one song that made it onto this album before he left, playing cymbals on "Polly".

The album was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, between 1990 and 1991, with Butch Vig serving as producer. It saw the development of the band's sound away from the monochromatic grunge of ''Music/{{Bleach|Album}}'' into more diverse styles such as the HardcorePunk fury of "Territorial Pissings" and "Breed", as well as the acoustic balladry of "Polly" and "Something in the Way". Vig had to trick Music/KurtCobain 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 more like "a Music/MotleyCrue record" than a punk record.

However, the success, as massive as it was, became an albatross around Nirvana's neck, happening way too suddenly and dramatically. [[Music/{{Incesticide}} The group's]] [[Music/InUtero later]] [[Music/MTVUnpluggedInNewYork output]] desperately tried to refrain from too-commercial sounds and subject matter, and Cobain's struggles with reconciling with his sudden popularity became a major contributor to his suicide within three years after this album's release.

-->'''"Come As You Are"'''

* AffectionateParody: A year after the album's release, the cover was parodied by Music/WeirdAlYankovic for his album ''Music/OffTheDeepEnd'', while "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was satirized as "Smells Like Nirvana", which also serves as the opening track for ''Off the Deep End''.

* AffectionateParody: The cover was parodied by Music/WeirdAlYankovic for his album ''Music/OffTheDeepEnd'', released a year later, while "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was satirized as "Smells Like Nirvana".

* AffectionateParody: The cover was parodied by Music/WeirdAlYankovic on his album ''Music/OffTheDeepEnd'', while "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was satirized as "Smells Like Nirvana".

* AlbumTitleDrop: From "Smells Like Teen Spirit":
-->''I find it hard, it's hard to find.''\\

** There's a "drop" of the album cover in "Come As You Are", as it also shows footage of a baby swimming underwater, and a dollar bill in the water. It's unknown if this is from the photo shoot of the album cover.

* IndecipherableLyrics: 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. Lampshaded by Kurt:
-->"Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freudian]] evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time [[SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein they've transcribed the lyrics incorrectly]]?"

** AllThereInTheManual: Reading Kurt's journals will show you the lyrics to some of his songs, along with their rough drafts, which should aid in the interpretations.

* LongestSongGoesFirst: Asieds from "Endless, Nameless" (which has a length of 6:44 and isn't present in all releases), the album's longest song is the opening track, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", at 5:01.

!!''I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my tropes: they're in this list'':

* HearingVoices: "Lithium"
--> ''I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends/they're in my head''

---> ''I like it. I'm not gonna crack.''\\

** 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?''

* EpicRocking: "[[HiddenTrack Endless, Nameless]]" is 6 minutes, 43 seconds long.

** "Smells Like Teen Spirit", in particular, became famous for its mumbling verses and barely-decipherable chorus. Though of the more understandable lines, a common misinterpretation is hearing "I feel stupid, and contagious" as "Acting stupid is contagious". [[{{Lampshading}} Lampshaded]] in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Smells Like Nirvana":

* ContemptibleCover: A photo of an infant Spencer Elden with his penis showing; DGC wanted an alternate cover to be used in stores that wouldn't stock the CD, but Cobain would only agree to a sticker covering the penis that read "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile." Elden himself stated years later that he feels like "the world's biggest porn star."

->''"If there's a band that will singlehandedly destroy the barriers between metal, alternative and commercial radio, Aberdeen, Washington's Nirvana is it."''
-->-- '''CMJ New Music Report''', reviewing ''Nevermind'' in their September 27, 1991 issue.

* AbsenteeActor: Previous drummer Chad Channing only appears on one track, "Polly," which was recorded before Dave Grohl joined the group.

[[caption-width-right:350:''With the lights out it's less dangerous''\\

An unexpected worldwide success upon release, ''Nevermind'' brought {{grunge}} and AlternativeRock as a whole to the mainstream in a way that only the Music/SexPistols had done before with PunkRock; 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, and other classics like "In Bloom", "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became hits as well.

To music historians, ''Nevermind'' was a key album in rock history. Along with the Lollapalooza tour, it shattered the hegemony of 1980's SynthPop and HairMetal (and, to a lesser extent, teen pop and dance music), transforming alternative rock from an underground cult movement at best into to a household phenomenon. ''Nevermind'' specifically has the additional distinction of popularizing grunge in much the same way. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins, and many others owe their mainstream success to Nirvana.

* {{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. Lampshaded by Kurt:
-->"Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freudian]] evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time [[SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein they've transcribed the lyrics incorrectly]]?"
** "Smells Like Teen Spirit", in particular, became famous for its mumbling verses and barely-decipherable chorus. Though of the more understandable lines, a common misinterpretation is hearing "I feel stupid, and contagious" as "Acting stupid is contagious". [[{{Lampshading}} Lampshaded]] in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Smells Like Nirvana":
--->''What is this song all about?\\
Can't figure any lyrics out\\
How do the words to it go?\\
I wish you'd tell me, I don't know''
** AllThereInTheManual: Reading Kurt's journals will show you the lyrics to some of his songs, along with their rough drafts, which should aid in the interpretations.

To music historians, ''Nevermind'' was a key album in rock history. Along with Music/{{REM}}'s ''Music/OutOfTime'', it shattered the hegemony of 1980's SynthPop and HairMetal (and, to a lesser extent, teen pop and dance music), transforming alternative rock from an underground cult movement at best into to a household phenomenon. ''Nevermind'' specifically has the additional distinction of popularizing grunge in much the same way. Many alternative rock groups of TheNineties like Music/PearlJam, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/TheSmashingPumpkins, and many others owe their mainstream success to Nirvana.