For every music style it is possible to identify the milestone tracks or bands that made possible for it to develop; this kind of classification can often be a source of discussion, with people identifying the turning point of a musical movement with different bands and songs. Hardly with grunge.

Although grunge is a very diversified music style, with fans’ preferences spread around several bands and approaches, it is acknowledged worldwide that there is a record label, an album, and a track of that album, which made grunge one of the most influential music movements of rock history.

The record label is Sub Pop Records, the album is ‘Nevermind’ by Nirvana, and the song is the first single of that album, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ Neither Nirvana nor Sub Pop started the grunge movement, but they made it what it has been since their creation.

Grunge developed in the state of Washington, U.S., mainly in the Seattle area, during the second half of the ’80s. It is indeed often referred to as ‘The Seattle Sound.’ Grunge reached the peak of its commercial success in the first half of the ‘90s; it has often been defined as the last rock revolution. As it usually happens when a musical innovation takes place, the sound development was accompanied by a strong social movement.

Musically speaking, the aim of grunge music was to take the sincerity of punk, and to mix it with the sludge sound that pertained to metal bands such as Black Sabbath, and the structure of popular melodies pertaining to bands like The Beatles. One of the main features of grunge music, although it presents itself in very differentiated shapes depending on the bands, is the raw, dirty, sound, full of heavy guitar distortions, along with angry, disappointed, and profound lyrics.

In 1986, Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman founded in Seattle the independent record label Sub Pop records; the label was interested in the local bands that were developing at the time. Pavitt and Poneman worked to create a proper sound identification for the label, carrying a promotion of the Sub Pop product itself.

They associated that image to the Seattle sound, signing several artists of the area. Sub Pop is the record label that first signed bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney, who then became central acts of the grunge scene.

By Nirvana is the most influential track of the Seattle Sound: ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ Although probably not Nirvana’s best song, the track, together with the album ‘Nevermind,’ changed the music scene forever; it became an icon for the grunge movement and for an entire generation. Developed around the idea of young people’s mixture of angst and apathy, the song presents itself extremely catchy, with intriguing lyrics along with a powerful sound.

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ has been defined as the anthem of a generation at the time, and has become, ever since its release in 1991, the anthem of people who look at the world in a specific way.

The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, portraits the band performing in a school gym, together with anarchic cheerleaders, and kids who end up destroying everything around; Cobain said he had been inspired by The Ramones’ video for ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll High School’. The ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video won Nirvana the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1992, and it has also become a milestone of music history.

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ announced the upcoming rock revolution. It is the first track of the album ‘Nevermind,’ the record responsible for the redistribution of power between mainstream and counterculture in the music industry.

When it was released on September 24 in 1991, not even Geffen Records, the major record label Nirvana had moved to, was prepared for the huge success of the album; the label initially pressed only 40,000 copies of ‘Nevermind,’ which instead sold a million within six weeks. Geffen had to stop pressing any other record in order to meet the demand.

The huge commercial success of ‘Nevermind’ led bands pertaining to the counterculture to sing with major record labels and to gain visibility in the commercial channels, and took grunge on top of the music world; according to various artists of the scene, record labels would sign any band coming from the Seattle area at the time, just to be part of the grunge movement.

As Krist Novoselic, bassist of Nirvana, once said, “Nirvana didn’t go to the mainstream; the mainstream went to Nirvana.” ‘Nevermind’ is not only considered the most influential album for grunge, but also one of the most influential and meaningful albums of all times.

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After the success of the ‘Nevermind’ commemorative editions released in 2011 for the album’s 20th anniversary, Nirvana fans around the world are wondering about a deluxe edition of ‘Incesticide,’ the album which was released by the band in December 1992, turning twenty this year”.

Although no indication is given yet about the ‘Incesticide’ commemorative release, Nirvana fans will soon have something else to keep them entertained. Smokin’ records will, indeed, release a new Nirvana live album on March 12 in Europe, and March 20 in the U.S..

‘Feels Like The First Time’ is a compilation of some of the live performances played by Nirvana in 1992 and 1993, and broadcasted by different TV and radio stations. The performances of twenty one tracks originally included in ‘Nevermind,’ ‘In Utero’ and ‘Bleach’ are contained in the album.

The most notable feature of the record is part of the set that Nirvana played on December 13, 1993, at Seattle’s Pier 48 warehouse. The band played on that day a concert for MTV, well known as the ‘Live And Loud.’ The concert also featured The Breeders and Cypress Hill.

The ‘Live And Loud’ performance became legacy for Nirvana, being one of the most notorious live shows of the band, along with the ‘Live At Reading,’ ‘Unplugged In New York’ and the ‘Live At The Paramount,’ the latter recently released as part of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of ‘Nevermind.’

The second live set included in the ‘Feels Like The First Time’ album, is the Triple J Broadcast of the band’s performance at The Palace, in Melbourne, Australia, held on February 2, 1992. At the time, the band had recently released their masterpiece ‘Nevermind.’

To complete the Nirvana live experience, the album features four tracks performed during two appearances of the band at the Saturday Night Live show, in 1992 and 1993.

The album is available for pre-order. Here is the full track list:

1. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
2. Drain You
3. Breed
4. Serve The Servants
5. Rape Me
6. Heart Shaped Box
7. Pennyroyal Tea
8. Scentless Apprentice
9. Lithium
10. Endless Nameless
11. About A Girl
12. Come As You Are
13. Breed
14. Polly
15. Lounge Act
16. Love Buzz
17. Lithium
18. Smells Like Teen Spirit
19. Territorial Pissings
20. Rape Me
21. Heart Shaped Box

Tracks 1-10 Live And Loud Broadcast, Seattle, December 13, 1993
Tracks 11-17 Triple J Broadcast, The Palace, Melbourne, February 2, 1992
Tracks 18-19 Saturday Night Live, January 11, 1992
Tracks 20-21 Saturday Night Live, September 25, 1993

Watch the ‘Drain You’ performance at MTV ‘Live And Loud’

Image Courtesy of   http://www.myspace.com/nirvana

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Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters frontman and ex Nirvana drummer, has presented another of his projects, revealing to the world the first teaser of his upcoming documentary. The documentary will feature the glorious Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, CA, where some of the greatest rock masterpieces were born.

Lately Grohl seems to have made a special connection with screen entertainment; after the release of Back and Forth, the Foo Fighters documentary, and the musician’s appearance in movies, such as ‘The Muppets’ last year, it has been announced that Grohl will be the executive producer of an upcoming rock-band-based sitcom for the FX channel.

Since its beginning in the early seventies, the Sound City Studios has witnessed the creation of infamous albums such as Nirvana’s Nevermind and Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled album, before its closure as a commercial studio in May 2011.

Artists of the caliber of Neil Young, Tom Petty, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down, Johnny Cash and Motorhead have entertained the world with recordings that took shape at the Sound City Studios. That is probably the main reason why Dave Grohl was interested in directing a documentary on this piece of rock‘n’roll history.

“When Sound City closed last year, it was a very sad day. That place was like a church. The list of people that recorded there reads like a virtual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame… We recorded Nevermind there back in 1991,” Grohl told Rolling Stone magazine in a recent interview. “That funky old place had the best drum room in world. The drum sound at the beginning of Smells Like Teen Spirit – that’s Sound City.”

Although not many details on the specifics of the documentary are available, the musician from Virginia recently explained in an interview with Rolling Stone: “I decided to make a film about that feeling when you put five guys in a room, hit “record” and the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Expect some epic jam sessions.” This should giving an idea of the documentary’s mood.

Besides pre-announced jam sessions with Corey Taylor, Cheap Trick, and members of hair metal band RATT, it can be extrapolated from the teaser that interviews with artists who experienced the magic of the Sound City Studios will be featured, including Krist Novoselic and Tom Petty.

The teaser also lists a series of musicians who contributed to the history of Sound City, without giving any further indication of what to expect from their contibution. Some of the mentioned artists are Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures), Butch Vig (musician for Garbage and notorious producer), and Frank Black (The Pixies).

No release date is given for the documentary yet, but according to the Sound City Movie website it will be ‘coming soon’.

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Fans of the nicest man in rock must be thrilled knowing that Dave Grohl is back in the studio. Butch Vig, the man who infamously produced Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” wrote on Twitter a while ago that he and Grohl spent an entire day together at studio 606 in late December listening to some of Grohl’s new material.

From being the drummer of Them Crooked Vultures to collaborating with glam metal band RATT, Foo Fighters’ frontman has never shied away from side projects during his career. So the question is; where does this upcoming work belong?

In 2011, the release of “Wasting Light,” another production by Butch Vig, proved a successful start on the new decade. The April album release was followed by a world tour, international recognition and six Grammy nominations, and its successor is supposedly on its way so it would not be a long shot to assume that the new material could be destined for Grohl’s primary project Foo Fighters.

The announcement of an upcoming record came from Dave Grohl himself; he wrote a note to the fans, thanking them for their support in late December and letting them know a new album would come out soon. The note read, “And to all of you…..we’re not finished yet. There are still more shows to play, more songs to write, more albums to record, for years to come. I mean… If you would have told me 17 years ago that, in 2012, I would be writing songs for our eighth studio album… well…”

On the other hand, fans of Them Crooked Vultures, with Dave Grohl on drums, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass, and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age as lead vocalist and guitarist constituting a super band, are also very excited. After a successful self-titled album released in 2009, the band has not released anything else.

Since 2010, there has been much talk about a second album, which was supposed to be release in late 2011, but never made it, according to some sources. One of the main reasons for the delay has been Grohl and Homme having been too busy with their respective bands. So with the news of Dave Grohl working on new material, and considering the timing, there is a real chance that Them Crooked Vultures are the benefactor and will be releasing their second album soon.

However, as mentioned, Them Crooked Vultures is not Grohl’s only side project. Recently, a collaboration between RATT, and the Foo Fighters frontman was announced by RATT themselves.

This is bound to be an interesting project as Nirvana, Dave Grohl’s former band, is considered to be responsible for the ‘defeat’ of glam metal in the 1990s through their introduction of grunge. RATT singer, Stephen Pearcy, has said that the song they will release together, “will not be a new RATT song, but just something cool Dave wants to do.”

Hence, the new material could turn up in any direction, from his Foo Fighters base to any of Grohl’s side projects, even new ones. After all, he is a music explorer. What is certain is that Grohl’s choice of Butch Vig as a collaborator is destined to create a musical firestorm and keep interest soaring for his new project.

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In 1991, a band belonging to the counterculture changed music forever. On September 24 of that year, Nirvana, the band composed by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl, released its second album (first one with Grohl as a drummer) ‘Nevermind’. What was, and what is ‘Nevermind’?

Nirvana started playing in 1987, developing within the grunge scene taking shape in the Seattle area at the time, where several bands experimented this enhancement of punk rock. Nirvana was shown to have that little more, which led them to change music history. With the release of their first album ‘Bleach’ in 1989 with Sub Pop Records, Nirvana sold a decent amount of records and started touring, getting the success that pertained to good bands of the grunge scene.

Then, in 1991, something changed. The musicality of the group, although keeping that honesty that has always characterized Nirvana, had been slightly modified. They mixed strong sounds with pleasant melodies, screamed anger, pain, and pure irony. Many think that the most popular records cannot be a piece of art, except in this case. ‘Nevermind’ has been the most meaningful record ever since its release in 1991. Its biggest power was the ability to reach everyone, while saying something meaningful, something true, something deep, and playing hard.

The sound of ‘Nevermind’ explodes very strong, yet very fragile. The power of Grohl’s drums, the perfection of Novoselic’s bass, along with the lyrics and the extraordinary voice of the late Kurt Cobain, a voice which instantly reaches the deepest part of an open soul, created something splendid. The deepness of the record is hard to explain; it has to be lived.

The band was able to send a message using unusual sonorities along with good melodies, expressing what nobody had before or has done afterwards. This created a phenomenon that ran all over the world and seemed impossible to catch, leading an underground band to be one of the most important and relevant creations of music history and surely the most significant change in the music scene in decades. As Krist Novoselic once said, “Nirvana didn’t go to the mainstream; the mainstream went to Nirvana.”

The enormous success of ‘Nevermind’ made it possible for bands from the counterculture to play on MTV, to be heard on mainstream radios, and to sign with major record labels. Nirvana changed the rules in the game with an album that contains very differentiated tracks, each one able to play every single chord of that dark inner soul Nirvana has.

Nobody was prepared for the huge success of ‘Nevermind’ back then, not even Geffen Records, the major record label with whom Nirvana signed before the final production of the album. The record label initially pressed 40,000 copies of the album, which instead sold a million within six weeks. Geffen had to stop pressing any other record in order to meet the demand.

In a music scene dominated by hair metal and superficiality, Nirvana was able to break through that thick peel of an uncaring society and give voice to all those people who were feeling forgotten by the world. Those people had been waiting, and Nirvana gave them what they needed and what they probably still need. Nirvana has often been said to be the voice of a generation, but this is not precise, and it is very reductive.

They have always given voice to the people who feel rejected, disappointed, hurt, frustrated, abandoned, and as Everett True said in his book about the band, the ones who know how it feels not to be loved. Those people unfortunately do not belong to a single generation, they belong to our society.

This is as well demonstrated by the fact that after twenty years from its original release, the reissue of ‘Nevermind’ hit the UK Top 5 right after its release. ‘Nevermind’ has been reissued in several formats, including a limited super deluxe edition. All of the formats received significant success and created a lot of excitement within the people who still feel represented by grunge and Nirvana, and the ones that are simply passionate about good music.

All around the world, there has been a lot of celebration on the twentieth anniversary of the album, starting from the opening of the exhibition “Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses“ in Seattle, as well as “In Bloom: The Nirvana Nevermind Exhibition“ in London, which was accompanied by “Territorial Musing: a Nirvana Q&A and Album Playthrough” by Classic Album Sundays and Linn.

The website www.nevermind20.com conquered the net. There was also a screening during this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals of the recorded 1992 Nirvana performance live at Reading, a tribute concert at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, a night tribute with artists performing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ 144 times in a row in Toronto, and magazine special editions, just to cite some.

What made Nirvana and ‘Nevermind’ so special back in 1991, besides the peculiar characteristics of the music, was that the band and the record had a lot to say and said it with pure honesty. Given the reaction to the anniversary and the reissue of the album after 20 years from the release of the record and 17 years after the passing of the late frontman Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and ‘Nevermind’ still have a lot to say.

Twenty years later, indeed, ‘Nevermind’ appears to have done exactly the same thing it did back in 1991: hit big all over the world and unify outsiders and music lovers, who currently have to face a music scene which too often seems to forget what music is really about.

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