History Music / Nirvana

** In their cover of "Do You Love Me" by {{Music/Kiss}}, they replaced the lyric "And all the money, honey, that I make" with "And all the {{Music/Mudhoney}} that I make".
** "[[Music/{{Aerosmith}} Aero]] [[Music/LedZeppelin Zeppelin]]".

* SpringtimeForHitler: ''In Utero'' was Kurt's attempt to alienate their newfound fandom by making a noisy rock record. It became another big hit, instead.
* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Music/DaveGrohl on the BSide "Marigold". Grohl wrote it and played guitar and drums, with Krist Novoselic on bass and Kurt Cobain not appearing on the song at all.
* StylisticSuck: The crows in the video for "Heart-Shaped Box".
* ThisIsASong: "On A Plain". To wit: "I'll start this off, without any words... What the hell am I trying to say, It is now time, to make it unclear, to write off lines that don't make sense... One more special message to go..." And in between are a bunch of WordSaladLyrics.
* ThisLoserIsYou: "In Bloom"... or the chorus, at least.
-->He's the one who likes all our pretty songs, and he likes to sing along, and he likes to shoot his gun, but he... knows not what it means when I sing it.
* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Ran off this trope. Cobain himself said that all his songs follow the same format: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Bad Solo, Verse, Chorus.

* TitleOnlyChorus: "Something In The Way", "You Know You're Right" (if you don't count the "heyyyyyy").
* TheUnintelligible: When Music/WeirdAlYankovic approached the band about making a parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (as "Smells Like Nirvana"), Music/KurtCobain inquired if it would be centred about food. When Weird Al answered that it would be about IndecipherableLyrics due to Kurt's singing, he was immediately given the go-head.

** ''Nevermind'' also has two unplugged songs, "Polly" (which, in an inversion, they also played electrically as "(New Wave) Polly") and "Something in the Way".
* WhamLine: Kurt Cobain shows off his talents as a lyricist with the first two lines of "Polly".

** Kurt himself lampshaded this in "On a Plain", with the lines "What the hell am I trying to say?" and "It is now time to make it unclear / to write off lines that don't make sense". Then again, that is a song about writer's block...
** Good luck with deciphering the lyrics of "Milk It".

[[caption-width-right:298:The classic line-up of Nirvana. From left to right: Music/KurtCobain, Krist Novoselic and Music/DaveGrohl.]]

-->-- '''Kurt Cobain''', quoting Music/NeilYoung, in his suicide note

A grunge band coming from Aberdeen, Washington — not UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, as is commonly assumed, though Seattle is where they first hit it big — up in the [[TheOtherRainforest Pacific Northwest]], '''Nirvana''' became the breakthrough in alternative rock with their smash hit album ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' in the early [[TheNineties 1990s]]. The trio of guitarist and frontman Music/KurtCobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and a revolving door of drummers until Chad Channing and subsequently Music/DaveGrohl would become the face of the {{grunge}} movement of the '90s; the group is most well known for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "Heart Shaped Box", and "You Know You're Right".

Nirvana was one of the first bands many members of Generation Y got into, despite the band often being labelled a Generation X phenomenon (which is also inaccurate in the sense that a much larger number of Gen-X'ers grew up with the hair metal and flamboyant pop Nirvana ushered out in the early 90's — only the Gen-X'ers born from 1974 through 1979 would've likely been exposed to the band before reaching adulthood), and thus, their music is often considered to be in the upper echelons of influential rock music. Even after [[AuthorExistenceFailure the death]] of Cobain, the band still continued to remain popular, releasing many compilation albums. After the group split up, drummer Dave Grohl formed the band known as the Music/FooFighters, who have gone on to be one of the most respected and successful alternative rock bands in history.

-->''Oh well, whatever, nevermind.''
----

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** [[Music/{{REM}} Michael Stipe]] has said that their fourth album would've been softer and folkier, with some string arrangements, similar to ''Automatic for the People''.

** Strongly related is fan reaction to a move {{Activision}} made with ''GuitarHero 5'', where you could play as Cobain and have him sing ''any song in the game''. Not only did Courtney Love sue, and the surviving members of Nirvana declare they wouldn't work with Activision ever again, but the fans went ''nuts''. This was in spite of Activision having done this numerous times before to no complaint from artists and — at best — mild grudging from fans.[[note]]Love lost the lawsuit because she gave Activision the go-ahead in the first place by signing the contract stating that they could use his image for the game, meaning the lawsuit was a lost cause from the beginning.[[/note]]

** Kurt has also become canonized as a dour, tragic figure. He was, most of the time (especially when he wasn't smacked up on heroin), a smart, goofy music nerd with a wicked sense of humor.

*** That's '''all''' that "School" is. "''Wouldn't you believe it? It's just like my luck. Wouldn't you believe it? It's just like my luck. Wouldn't you believe it? It's just like my luck. Wouldn't you believe it? It's just like my luck. No recess! No recess! No recess!''"
*** You're in High School again... You're in High School again... You're in High School again...

** [[Music/REM Michael Stipe]] has said that their fourth album would've been softer and folkier, with some string arrangements, similar to ''Automatic for the People''.

** [[Music/REM Michael Stipe]] has said that their fourth album would've been softer and folkier, with some string arrangements, similar to Automatic For The People.

* {{Mondegreen}}: [[SamRaimi "RAIMI! RAIMI! RAIMI! RAIMI!"]] (from "Rape Me").

* TheUnintelligible: Music/KurtCobain allowed Music/WeirdAlYankovic to parody "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (as "Smells Like Nirvana") because it would be about the IndecipherableLyrics due to Kurt's singing.

* 1992 - ''Hormoaning'' (EP only released in Australia and Japan)
* 1992 - ''Music/{{Incesticide}}''

A grunge band coming from Aberdeen, Washington — not UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, as is commonly assumed, though Seattle is where they first hit it big — up in the [[TheOtherRainforest Pacific Northwest]], '''Nirvana''' became the breakthrough in alternative rock with their smash hit album ''Nevermind'' in the early [[TheNineties 1990s]]. The trio of guitarist and frontman Music/KurtCobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and a revolving door of drummers until Chad Channing and subsequently Music/DaveGrohl would become the face of the {{grunge}} movement of the '90s; the group is most well known for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "Heart Shaped Box", and "You Know You're Right".

* NonAppearingTitle: Considering songs such as "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle", perfectly {{justifi|edTrope}}able. The songs "Lithium", "Territorial Pissings", and 'Lounge Act" are under this trope also. In fact, none of those titles even make sense with their song.
** Interestingly, while "Verse, Chorus, Verse" does follow that format, the words themselves never appear in the song.

* PrecisionFStrike: From "Lounge Act": " 'til it's '''fucking''' gone."
** "Aneurysm": One instance of "Come on over and shoot the shit".
* PunBasedTitle: ''Hormoaning'', ''Incesticide'', ''Anorexorcist''.
** And carrying the joke from ''Incesticide'' even further, there's the compilation albums collectively called ''Outcesticide''.
** Kurt saw a poster aiming to prevent AIDS by advocating needle sterilization with the slogan "Bleach your works". Thus he decided to do that, naming his album ''Bleach''.

* RevolvingDoorBand / ThePeteBest: They had five drummers before Dave — and also an extra guitarist, who even financed ''Bleach'' and appears on the cover but doesn't play there.
** Best candidate for the latter trope would be Chad Channing, who was the only other drummer to play on a Nirvana studio album.

** "I Hate Myself and Want to Die" was supposed to mock Nirvana's depressing image. It became [[HarsherInHindsight less funny]] after Kurt Cobain killed himself.

** Strongly related is fan reaction to a move {{Activision}} made with ''GuitarHero 5'', where you could play as Cobain and have him sing ''any song in the game''. Not only did Courtney Love sue, and the surviving members of Nirvana declare they wouldn't work with Activision ever again, but the fans went ''nuts''. This was in spite of Activision having done this numerous times before to no complaint from artists and — at best — mild grudging from fans.
*** Love lost the lawsuit because she gave Activision the go-ahead in the first place by signing the contract stating that they could use his image for the game (meaning the lawsuit was a lost cause from the beginning).

** Even Kurt's suicide note, as quoted above, was a shoutout to the godfather of grunge, Music/NeilYoung.

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: DaveGrohl on the BSide "Marigold". In fact, Dave Grohl also played guitar and drums, with Krist Novoselic on bass and Kurt Cobain not appearing on the song at all.

* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Pretty much ran off this trope. Well, maybe it was more like Four Chords And The Truth. Or Four Chords And The Truth In Drop D Tuning. Anyway...
** Make that "four chords and [[WordSaladLyrics oxymorons/spoonerisms]]".
** Cobain himself said that all his songs follow the same format: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Bad Solo, Verse, Chorus.
*** The title of "Verse Chorus Verse" lampshades this.

* WordSaladLyrics: Kurt himself lampshaded this in "On a Plain", with the lines "What the hell am I trying to say?" and "It is now time to make it unclear / to write off lines that don't make sense". Then again, that is a song about writer's block...

* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: "Rape Me", "Moist Vagina" and arguably ''Music/{{Incesticide}}''.

* 1992 - ''Hormoaning''

* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: "Rape Me", "Moist Vagina" and arguably ''Incesticide''.

A grunge band coming from Aberdeen, Washington -- not UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, as is commonly assumed, though Seattle is where they first hit it big -- up in the [[TheOtherRainforest Pacific Northwest]], '''Nirvana''' became the breakthrough in alternative rock with their smash hit album ''Nevermind'' in the early [[TheNineties 1990s]]. The trio of guitarist and frontman Music/KurtCobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and a revolving door of drummers until Chad Channing and subsequently Music/DaveGrohl would become the face of the {{grunge}} movement of the '90s; the group is most well known for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "Heart Shaped Box", and "You Know You're Right".

Nirvana was one of the first bands many members of Generation Y got into, despite the band often being labelled a Generation X phenomenon (which is also inaccurate in the sense that a much larger number of Gen-X'ers grew up with the hair metal and flamboyant pop Nirvana ushered out in the early 90's -- only the Gen-X'ers born from 1974 through 1979 would've likely been exposed to the band before reaching adulthood), and thus, their music is often considered to be in the upper echelons of influential rock music. Even after [[AuthorExistenceFailure the death]] of Cobain, the band still continued to remain popular, releasing many compilation albums. After the group split up, drummer Dave Grohl formed the band known as the Music/FooFighters, who have gone on to be one of the most respected and successful alternative rock bands in history.

* AntiLoveSong: "About a Girl"

* BreakupBreakout: While Dave Grohl's next band Music/FooFighters is generally acknowledged not to have had as much cultural impact as Nirvana, for him personally, it was a breakout from being virtually anonymous as "just the drummer" in the background to the leader and FaceOfTheBand of one of the most popular, commercially successful and critically acclaimed rock bands of the late 90's and early 21st century.

** From "Dumb", there's "''I think I'm Dumb''"
** From "Breed", it's "''She said''"
** From "School", there's "''You're in high school again''"

** From "All Apologies", there's "''All in all is all we all are''"

** From "Aneurysm", there's "''Beat me outta me''"

** From "Heart-Shaped Box", there's "''Your advice''"
** From "You Know You're Right", there's, well, "''[[TitleDrop You know you're right]]''"

** From "Negative Creep", there's "''Daddy's little girl ain't a girl no more''"

* 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

* ContemptibleCover: ''Nevermind'''s classic "[[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b7/NirvanaNevermindalbumcover.jpg/200px-NirvanaNevermindalbumcover.jpg naked baby swimming after a dollar bill]]".
** [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2042033/Baby-cover-Nirvanas-Nevermind-album-turns-20.html It made the news in 2011 when Spencer Elden ("the baby") turned 20 and spoke about his young brush with fame.]] He even posed for an updated underwater picture - wearing swimming trunks, though.

** Besides the ones above, some others were recorded live (or as demos) and have surfaced on compilations, B-sides and [=EPs=] (mostly ''With the Lights Out'') -- "Heartbreaker" and "Moby Dick" by Music/LedZeppelin, "They Hung Him on a Cross", "Grey Goose" and "Ain't It a Shame" by Leadbelly, "Here She Comes Now" by The Music/VelvetUnderground, "D-7" and "Return of the Rat" by The Wipers, "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks, "Do You Love Me?" by Music/{{KISS}}, "The Money Will Roll Right In" by Fang, and "The End" by Music/TheDoors.

** When Krist spends a bit too much time addressing a Brazilian festival crowd, Kurt snarks both: "I think 'oh oh oh' means 'Shut up, Krist'"

** "You can't fire me / 'cause I quit" ("Scentless Apprentice")
** "Married, buried" (from "All Apologies"- Kurt would be both shortly)
* FourMoreMeasures: "Sifting", "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Aneurysm"
** After the second chorus of "Lounge Act," there's a four-measure break from the vocals- probably so that Kurt could prepare for the [[MetalScream glorious final verse.]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: At rehearsals for the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, Nirvana announced to the MTV executives that they were going to play their brand new song; it just so happened that the song was "Rape Me". MTV refused to let them play the song, even threatening to throw Nirvana off the show if they so much as even tried to play the song on the air. What did Nirvana do? They played "Lithium" -- [[WriterRevolt but not before Kurt played the opening riff of "Rape Me" at the start of their on-air performance.]]

Everyone is gay

** "Verse Chorus Verse" was originally released as a hidden track on the benefit album ''No Alternative'' - Nirvana requested that the song go unlisted because they didn't want to overshadow the other artists on the album.
* IDontKnowMortalKombat: Krist [[http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2008/12/old_songs_on_a_new_screen.php fumbled]] when playing "In Bloom" on ''RockBand 2''.

** "Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip"
* LyricalColdOpen: "Drain You", "Pennyroyal Tea", "Sappy"

* MisaimedFandom: [[invoked]]

* {{Mondegreen}}: [[SamRaimi "RAIMI! RAIMI! RAIMI! RAIMI!"]] (from "Rape Me")

* PopCulturalOsmosis: Nirvana are ''much'' more popular and well-known than many bands who inspired them, e. g. Music/{{Melvins}}, Music/BlackFlag, Music/CelticFrost and Music/ThePixies.

* PunBasedTitle: ''Hormoaning'', ''Incesticide'', ''Anorexorcist''

* 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]] -- in fact, the lyric is pretty easily misheard as "gotta stay".

* RevolvingDoorBand / ThePeteBest: They had five drummers before Dave -- and also an extra guitarist, who even financed ''Bleach'' and appears on the cover but doesn't play there.

* RockTrio: The best known lineup of Kurt, Krist and Dave.[[note]]Kurt intended the band to be a four-piece, though, thus [[Music/TheGerms Pat Smear]] joining as the fourth member near the band's end[[/note]]

** Strongly related is fan reaction to a move {{Activision}} made with ''GuitarHero 5'', where you could play as Cobain and have him sing ''any song in the game''. Not only did Courtney Love sue, and the surviving members of Nirvana declare they wouldn't work with Activision ever again, but the fans went ''nuts''. This was in spite of Activision having done this numerous times before to no complaint from artists and -- at best -- mild grudging from fans.

** "[[Music/{{Aerosmith}} Aero]] [[Music/LedZeppelin Zeppelin]]"

** Cobain himself said that all his songs follow the same format: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Bad Solo, Verse, Chorus

* TitleOnlyChorus: "Something In The Way", "You Know You're Right" (if you don't count the "heyyyyyy")

Think I should get off her first

* 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]] - in fact, the lyric is pretty easily misheard as "gotta stay".

* RevolvingDoorBand / ThePeteBest: They had five drummers before Dave - and also an extra guitarist, who even financed ''Bleach'' and appears on the cover but doesn't play there.

** In their cover of "Do You Love Me" by {{Music/Kiss}}, they replaced the lyric "And all the money, honey, that I make" with "And all the {{Music/Mudhoney}} that I make".

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: DaveGrohl on the BSide "Marigold". In fact, Dave Grohl also played guitar and drums, with Krist Novoselic on bass and Kurt Cobain not appearing on the song at all.

A grunge band coming from Aberdeen, Washington -- not UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, as is commonly assumed, though Seattle is where they first hit it big -- up in the [[TheOtherRainforest Pacific Northwest]], '''Nirvana''' became the breakthrough in alternative rock with their smash hit album ''Nevermind'' in the early [[TheNineties 1990s]]. The trio of guitarist and frontman Music/KurtCobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and a revolving door of drummers until Chad Channing and subsequently Music/DaveGrohl would become the face of the {{grunge}} movement of the '90s; the group is most well known for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "Heart Shaped Box", and "You Know You're Right".

Nirvana was one of the first bands many members of Generation Y got into, despite the band often being labelled a Generation X phenomenon (which is also inaccurate in the sense that a much larger number of Gen-X'ers grew up with the hair metal and flamboyant pop Nirvana ushered out in the early 90's - only the Gen-X'ers born from 1974 through 1979 would've likely been exposed to the band before reaching adulthood), and thus, their music is often considered to be in the upper echelons of influential rock music. Even after [[AuthorExistenceFailure the death]] of Cobain, the band still continued to remain popular, releasing many compilation albums. After the group split up, drummer Dave Grohl formed the band known as the Music/FooFighters, who have gone on to be one of the most respected and successful alternative rock bands in history.

* 1989 - ''Music/{{Bleach}}''

* 1991 - ''Music/{{Nevermind}}''

* 1993 - ''Music/InUtero''

* 1996 - ''From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah''
* 2009 - ''Live At Reading''

** "Verse Chorus Verse" was originally released as a hidden track on the benefit album ''No Alternative'' - Nirvana requested that the song go unlisted because they didn't want to overshadow the other artists on the album.

* NonAppearingTitle: Considering songs such as "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle", perfectly {{justifi|edTrope}}able. The songs "Lithium", "Territorial Pissings", and 'Lounge Act" are under this trope also. In fact, none of those titles even make sense with their song. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" does not appear in the Farmer Francis lyrics either.

** From "Breed", its "''She said''"

*** You're in High School again...You're in High School again...You're in High School again...

A grunge band coming from Aberdeen, Washington -- not UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, as is commonly assumed, though Seattle is where they first hit it big -- up in the [[TheOtherRainforest Pacific Northwest]], Nirvana became the breakthrough in alternative rock with their smash hit album ''Nevermind'' in the early [[TheNineties 1990s]]. The trio of guitarist and frontman Music/KurtCobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and a revolving door of drummers until Chad Channing and subsequently Music/DaveGrohl would become the face of the {{grunge}} movement of the '90s; the group is most well known for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "Heart Shaped Box", and "You Know You're Right".

-->''Oh well, whatever, nevermind.''

* Dale Crover - drums (1988–1990)

* 1989 - ''Bleach''

** ''MTV Unplugged in New York'': "Jesus Don't Want Me for a Sunbeam" by the Vaselines; "Plateau", "Oh, Me", and "Lake of Fire" by Meat Puppets; "The Man Who Sold the World" by Music/DavidBowie; and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" by Leadbelly.

** Kurt has moments of this on ''MTV Unplugged in New York'', crossed with SelfDeprecation. For example: before playing "The Man Who Sold the World", he says ''I guarantee you I will screw this song up. And I know exactly which part'', to which someone in the background (probably Dave) snarks ''Yeah, like he only screws up one part.'' Then, at the end of the song, ''I didn't screw it up, did I? But here's another one I could screw up''.
** Also in the same album, before playing ''About A Girl'', he states "This is off our first record; most people don't own it."
** Even Krist has moments of this. When asked what is your favorite Nirvana song he replied something along the lines of Smells Like Teen Spirit, because "it bought my first house."

[[caption-width-right:300:The classic line-up of Nirvana. From left to right: Music/KurtCobain, Krist Novoselic and Music/DaveGrohl.]]