On its own, Nirvana's music was stripped down '70s punk rock with a hint of metal. Kurt was admittedly a Black Sabbath fan as a kid. The lyrical meaning for the most part, was that there wasn't any. At least that's what adult rock critics told you. The kids who really listened could tell you different. A startling example is the the anti-rape song Polly, subtle and haunting and a marked contrast to the other blistering tunes on Nevermind By the time Nirvana recorded In Utero, quieter, alternative take on things, not as angry or commercial as Nevermind feauturing Reflective songs such as Pennyroyal Tea. Little mention is made about what the music might sound like if Kurt had lived. There's a lot to be said about the circumstances of his death, though. This is the main area of debate among everyone, even loyal fans of the music that don't wish to cater to such sensationalism.
Such an ending to the Nirvana story was not entirely unexpected. I was living in Chicago when Kurt died. It seemed weird to hear the stiff as cardboard news anchors reciting details of Kurt's death as though they were translating ancient Greek. A local mainstream DJ, a football fan who didn't understand that "art crap" replayed Courtney Love's incoherent eulogy in a Seattle park over and over and lambasted it gleefully. In contrast, all the alternative radio stations in town had their tributes ,one ending with Something In The Way. It is clear listening to that song that the person who wrote it wouldn't live very long. Such a song goes beyond sadness to a depression that prove there is a thin line between genius and insanity you can't fake.
Musically speaking, the whole grunge scene displaced the superficial hair band era that preceded it. Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were the polar opposite of the Posions and Motley Crues of the world in every way imaginable. Well, maybe except for the heroin. A surprisingly large number of Seattle musicians from the grunge years have died or are not involved in significant projects. Kurt, Layne Staley, Andrew Wood of Mother Lovebone, Kristen Pfaff, and Mia Zapata are gone. Pearl Jam are in crisis and not adjusting well to their second decade of existence, and we don't need to add to the volumes written about Courtney. Her actions over the past ten years speak for themselves. Where even punk rockers and new wave one hit wonders can grow up to play casinos and corporate events, there won't be enough grunge era types left to even consider such an option. Chris Cornell continues to achieve platinum success with Audioslave. Of the other major players from the early '90s, only Dave Grohl seems to have escaped the grunge curse altogether, scoring mainstream rock hits with the Foofighters and generally seeming like an amiable, together guy. Even a talented musician like Jerry Cantrell is now currently relegated to playing in a Hollywood based cover band consisting of rock stars on hiatus from the real thing.
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