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Nirvana is an American pop group formed in 1987. Nirvana brought grunge into the mainstream for the first time.
After the era of Deep Purple and Pink Floyed, when the public was used to long, clean guitar parts, suddenly guys who play alternative music, drums and play “half-tuned” guitars enter the arena.
Interesting fact: Nirvana fought for the rights of sexual minorities, women and adhered to apolitical views. At their performances, they dressed in whatever came to hand. There was even such a moment in the history of the group when Cobain took the stage in a woman’s dress, showing by this act that he supports sexual minorities.
Their music is still popular today. The guys made great music, listening to their creations brings nostalgia. This article contains the most famous songs of the Nirvana group – many will be interested to know a brief history about them.
10 The Man Who Sold The World
Song “The Man Who Sold The World” wrote David Bowie, but few people remember this. He sang it in 1970. It is interesting to know what feelings Bowie wanted to share with the listeners through his song …
Some critics believe that it tells about the suffering of a man who has found it difficult to accept his identity. He stopped recognizing himself, and this causes a feeling of suffering.
“The Man Who Sold The World” has been performed by many artists, but the Nirvana version has become the most famous. Her fans are still happy to listen to her and watch the video clip from the concert.
9. Lounge Act
Song “Lounge Act» A well-known group cannot be called the best, but it deserves to be mentioned. Rolling Stone magazine put forward the version that the song is about how a young man is torn between his girlfriend and the group.
Interestingly: Kurt really had this problem when he dated Tracey Marander. This was told by bass player Chris Novoselic. He also revealed that the shield referred to in the song refers to the tattoo with the logo of the studio “K Records”, which was located on Kurt’s arm.
8. Lithium
Cobain claimed that the song “Lithium” is not a reflection of his personal experiences. For a period of time, Kurt lived with his friend Jesse Ridd, and his parents were adherents of Christianity. Perhaps it was this period that prompted the artist to create a song.
He once spoke of how he feels some people need religion in their lives. Kurt Cobain believed that there is nothing wrong with people finding salvation in religions.
«The hero of this song really needs religion‘, Kurt once said.
7. In Bloom
The song, written by Kurt Cobain, is dedicated to his friend Dylan Carson. For the song “In Bloom“There are only 4 clips, the first appeared in 1990.
For your information: On March 30, 1994, Cobain asked Dylan to buy him a Remington M-11 pump action shotgun. 5 days after that, Kurt committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He was found at his home on April 8 in Washington. If you study the artist’s biography, you can understand that most of his life was unhappy – his parents divorced, he had no friends at school, he was a very withdrawn child. In more adult life, there were also a lot of problems, which, most likely, became the cause of suicide.
6. You Know You’re Right
The band’s song “Nirvana” was released in 2002. Composition “You Know You’re Right“was the last of those recorded by the group in its entirety. Some time after the recording, Kurt committed suicide.
It reached number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks and Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. The words in the text that Kurt wrote were most likely addressed to Courtney, with whom they were in a rather tense relationship. The song contains the following lyrics: “I will never bother you, I will never follow you…»
5. eat as you are
Interpret the meaning of the songeat as you are” not so easy. Kurt said that sheabout people and their expectations of certain behavior from others”, and also that the words in it are contradictory.
Many fans are sure that the text contains a message to drugs, and the phrase: “No I don’t have a weapon“acquired a special meaning for them after the death of their favorite performer.
The video for the song was filmed in the style of impressionism, its creator is Kevin Kerslake.
Interesting fact: the concept for the video was taken from the cover of the album “Nevermind”, which depicts a baby diving for money. This symbolizes modern people – they have not yet had time to be born, but are already learning to chase after profit.
4. Rape Me
«Rape Me” translates as “rape me“. Kurt positioned this song as anti-violent. “Women who have been sexually abused go crazy over what they’ve been through“, he said in an interview. It’s like a call:Rape me, and then you’ll go to jail, where you’ll be raped, and you’ll get worse. I believe in karma».
By the way, he also explained that the song describes his relationship with the media. Journalists defame the reputation of people, often inventing some kind of dirt about them. He meant moral violence against a person.
3. Where Did You Sleep Last Night
American folk songWhere did you sleep last nightwas approximately written in 1870. Its author is unknown, but many performers willingly recorded the composition in different styles.
Nirvana recorded the song in 1993 (this is the most famous acoustic version). Like many other folk songs,Where Did You Sleep Last Night‘ was passed down from generation to generation. In the versions of numerous performers, the words were very different, which is why the meaning also changed.
2. Heart-Shaped Box
Kurt on his song “Heart-Shaped Box”Told little, but biographers believe that the artist’s composition is dedicated to his relationship with Courtney Love, and the title indicates the little thing that his girlfriend gave Cobain. This is a heart-shaped box, her first gift. Courtney herself agrees with this version of the decoding of the meaning of the song.
The video for the song is full of disturbing images and surrounded by contradictions… The video clip turned out to be quite effective, Anton Corbijn, a director from Holland, worked on it. There are 2 versions of the clip – in the second, for example, there is a scene where Kurt lies in a field among poppies.
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
At first, Nirvana fans could hardly make out what was being sung in the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit“. Cobain sang it in a guttural voice, very casually, and the words did not even fit together.
Some radio stations did not even want to put the song on the air, explaining that it was not clear what the song was about.
You can turn to the opinions of the fans, and here is what they think: “This song is about a teenage party where they relax by going beyond the limits of what is permitted”.
There is a certain meaning hidden in the title of the song – the phrase “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” flaunted in 1991 on the wall of Kurt’s house, painted by his girlfriend Kathleen Hanna. He interpreted the written phrase as “Kurt smells of youth spiritand thought she was a great fit for her song title.”