My favorite thing by them is the Unplugged in New York recording even though that is pretty much a Kurt Cobain solo effort due to the nature of medium. The other two guys are there but Novaselic and Grohl are so restrained by not being able to get loud and free form it is almost painful to watch them.
Is Nirvana an overrated band? (and other ones)
- Thread starter TheYoungMan
- Start date
Soot and Stars
I AM SOOT!
I agree with this! That and Live At The Muddy Banks of the Wishkah are my two favorite Nirvana experiences. I'm a Nirvana fan but I would never defend them in any way. To do that would be to sum up that era with one band which I could never do. I have way to many in that era as well as any to try and pick a frontrunner. Sure the Pumpkins are my favorite and don't get nearly enough credit in my personal opinion but I don't want that to be everyone's opinion. To have any era with one face is an insult to any era. Nirvana is overrated only in the sense that people think they need to offend or slag them just to decide if that era had anything of worth. From that argument to the aforementioned Green Day (punk or not) to the Metallica (sell out or not) to the G N' R (asshole or not) I couldn't give two shits! None of these legacies???? or any spin, cycle, repeat legacy debates normally fall in the "Do I give a shit?" category for me. In this case if you can't beat them join them or at least indulge in them for the moment
buuuut I'd rather be in the give me a cool new or new to me band that will blow my mind or make me feel something awesome. For me there's a lot of Nirvana that made me actually feel something. Believe it or not it wasn't a woe is me feeling. It was an amazing catharsis! I can jam to Zeppelin and I can hum to some great Beatles melodies but they didn't provide that energy and barebones raw catharsis that singing along to Nirvana did! Many bands of that time provided even more for me but like the business has always been (and music will always be a combo of art and business) it took one to break big and open the floodgates. If Nirvana hadn't broke big then i would've had a harder time pre-internet age to find these other bands I love even more. So thank you Nirvana for providing me the floodgates to the music in my childhood that made music something more than something I just rocked out or simply listened to. Since the 90's music became something deeper than me because of that band! 
P.S. I agree that Alice In Chains is a great band that isn't credited enough. Having said all this their Unplugged album is tied with Nirvanas for me!
Musikwala
Popmartian
Agreed 100%. That is one of my favourite aspects of Nirvana too.
Like Breed, for example...
Even if you have
Even if you need
I don't mean to stare
We don't have to breed
We could plant a house
We could build a tree
I don't even care
We could have all three
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
Soot and Stars
I AM SOOT!
Agreed 100%. That is one of my favourite aspects of Nirvana too.
Like Breed, for example...
Even if you have
Even if you need
I don't mean to stare
We don't have to breed
We could plant a house
We could build a tree
I don't even care
We could have all three
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
Or these!
No I don't know all the words to this day!
I have plenty of bands for that but I get something unique out of it that I don't get from a number of other celebrated bands! it's simply carnal and for those that consider this type of carnal emotion to be emotionally maladjusted, emo, disturbed, etc. that's cool! For me I get way more value from this "it" factor that keeps me from connecting to a lot of Bro Bands, meathead bands, party and drug psychedelia all is good on my trip maaaaan bands. Music will always be based on whether the band can connect to something inside me and that can be whether the music is sad, angry or blissfully enthusiastic. It works best when a band puts there all into each emotion though and nirvana did that. Whether the artist is a ***** or an emotional wreck it's human. I want human music. If suicide means the person was of no value then I guess I'd have to judge certain people I know in the same way including my grandfather. I can agree he did a selfish thing but it doesn't discount what good he did in life. I can agree that suicide is selfish in a lot of ways but it's human. Anyone can be in a place where they feel there's no solution. I don't support the choice but I won't tear down someone's music because they were troubled and hurt themselves. Anyway, i find it odd that we keep trying to either tear down or elevate this band or any in the wider sense like it proves anything about ourselves or music in the wider sense. One second we look down at commercialism but then when it comes to comparisons it's like my band who's the posterboy for my era is better than the band that's the posterboy for your era! My dad can beat up yooouuur dad! Music is for individuals or a number of individuals that can bond on a certain level that they get a similar connection from a certain band but anything further just turns into a circle jerk of elitist wanking imo! 
What has ever been the point? 
Give me a band that will change my world instead of proving you somehow know what I should rate or like! Nothing you say will change my experience! 
Lynch
Here for the cookies and the tunes
"in a lot of ways"? seriously? It is one of the two or three most selfish things ANY person could ever do (the others being murder and a very strong case can be made of sexual abuse/assault), and if you want to truly analyze it, suicide IS murder. Nothing is more selfish than that.
I trust that was cathartic. And I agree with more of it than I disagree with. I also really dig their take on that Leadbelly song. It kicks ass.
It seems folks are in such a rush to be iconoclastic they sometimes forget that in today's world iconoclasm is the new icon.
It seems folks are in such a rush to be iconoclastic they sometimes forget that in today's world iconoclasm is the new icon.
Lynch
Here for the cookies and the tunes
Not sure why people keep calling it a Leadbelly song. The song is FAR older than that. Calling it a Leadbelly tune is a lot like calling House of the Rising Sun a Bob Dylan tune.
Soot and Stars
I AM SOOT!
Lynch, I can't even say that I've ever had it hard enough to warrant getting to that dark of a place. That would be very vain of me to say as I've had it pretty lucky. For me though I can't put myself into that head space but I can't say I know what it's like to be there. I can speak for my self that I wouldn't do that for the sake of my loved ones but I've never been in a truly dark head space. Maybe I thought I knew what that was in High School but I really never suffered. i know that there are people who are chemically depressed or just don't see a way out. remember the whole buzz about what Kurt did being about fame was largely a media thing. just because an artist analyzes fame as being jarring in some ways in real life doesn't mean it's their cause for taking their own life. It's one aspect that's blown up for a larger story. Eminem raps about the invasion of privacy all the time but he's not going to put a gun to his head the entire time. Unfortunately the downfall to everything may be that it invoked a bunch of kids to think that suicide talk is a good attention getter every time their girl breaks their heart but i doubt that was Kurts intention. I really think that performing music is a great healer for most but likely their was something mentally wrong with him that he couldn't shake. Just like any human being that needed more help than others and never got it. People make decisions all the time that in hindsight are selfish. Suicide just happens to be an unfortunate one that's final and doesn't provide redemption. It upsets me that people make that choice but it's not always cut and dry. To make that final decision there has to be something there i can't relate to. That's just me but there's a large part of where you are coming from that I do understand. It's just sad that someone can give something as valuable as life up and not see how much they can serve others in life even in the smallest of ways. Sorry about the rant. I do believe in wrong and right but unless I come to that point i can't fully understand everything that someone goes through in that frame of mind. I'd LIKE to think i'd overcome it but I can't say.
Soot and Stars
I AM SOOT!
If you mean my rant than, yeah, a little!
I'm all about catharsis in everything! I have nothing against institutions as long as they don't shut doors for me to other things. For me, whatever the origins, for "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" was a great song. I've always loved this one best off of Unplugged. It was one of those humming melodies that stays in your head forever:Oh Me
Lynch
Here for the cookies and the tunes
and this is exactly why it is the most selfish thing a person can do and in my opinion, even more selfish than straight up murder of other individuals. You can't be questioned "why"; note or no note left behind.
I'll use Kurt as the example. He blows his brains out and in the process murdered his daughter's father, his parents' son, his wife's husband. His daughter has to grow up with any number of potential personality and mental issues knowing that her dad didn't love her enough to stick it out, didn't care enough about the family, friends and other loved ones that absolutely, positively cannot help her dad through tough times. Instead, without any reprocussion, Kurt says "FU world" and ends it. THAT is as selfish as it gets. On a personal note, I couldn't give a shit about Kurt Cobain, but first and foremost, I do feel for his daughter, having to grow up without a father. Suicide isn't an accident, it's intentional
Yeah, I get what you are saying, but there are countless people that excuse it for the very reasons you just stated, because they haven't been to "that place", so they say they can't judge. I say bullshit. I have never been a serial rapist or child molestor or serial murderer ... nor have I ever thought about becoming any of those things; but just because I've just never been to "that place" I guarantee you that I most certainly WILL judge those people for those actions. Why is suicide any different?
Not to belittle anyone that has had friends of family members who have pulled their own plug, I am not "preaching" on the topic without experience. I have known a number of people, including a couple of very close friends who have committed suicide. My opinions are strong, with conviction, for a reason, I've been touched by it myself. Too many times. Wouldn't wish the feelings of loss, anger, sadness and hate that I have had because of those actions on anyone, ever.
Sorry for my rant, way way off topic. Apologies.
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