Nirvana's 'Nevermind' brought punk (and grunge) to the mainstream

Nirvana's 'Nevermind' brought punk to the mainstream

The Seattle band’s second record, its first on a major label, went to number one four months after it was released in 1991. At one point, it was selling 300,000 copies a week. The band’s lead singer, Kurt Cobain, believed in punk’s countercultural aims and felt deeply conflicted about success.

How 'Nevermind' realigned the music industry

Nirvana's breakout album inspired other major labels to hunt for similarly loud, countercultural bands. That led to a fascinating period in popular music that found defiantly anticommercial indie acts like the Melvins, the Butthole Surfers, and Ween (among many, many others) suddenly offered lucrative contracts.

The news feature that broke grunge

The Sub Pop label paid for journalist Everett True, then writing for Melody Maker, to fly to the sleepy northwestern city to check out the scene, which was breeding a curious mix of punk rock and heavy metal. The gambit worked. "The most vibrant, kicking music scene encompassed in one city for at least 10 years," Everett wrote.

Why Neil Young is sometimes called 'the godfather of grunge'

The legendary singer-songwriter's work with his band Crazy Horse, especially "Rust Never Sleeps" and "Ragged Glory," married infectious melodies with overpowering guitars, a formula that many grunge acts would replicate. Young would go on to perform with Pearl Jam (like in the performance of "Rockin' in the Free World" below) and record the 1995 album "Mirror Ball" with them.

The story behind Nirvana's expulsion from their own record release party

The band wasn't interested in schmoozing with the industry types who occupied the "Nevermind" release event at Seattle's Re-bar. So, the band snuck in their own whiskey and started a food fight in the venue before being tossed by security.

According to Kurt Cobain, Wipers invented grunge

Wipers began in Portland, Oregon in 1977, playing a form of punk rock that sounded darker and heavier than their contemporaries in New York, California, and England. The band remained an underground secret for years, influencing countless artists, including Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. "What more can I say about them?" he said in an interview. "They started Seattle grunge rock in Portland, 1977."

'Grunge' was initially used as an insult

The first known use of "grunge" to describe music is believed to be by Mark Arm, a Seattle scenester, who mocked his own band by writing, "Pure grunge! Pure noise! Pure shit!" By 1987, it'd caught on as a more earnest descriptor for a sludgy mix of punk and metal: Sub Pop Records cofounder Bruce Pavitt described the band Green River as "ultra-loose grunge that destroyed the morals of a generation."

The best grunge albums of the 1990s

The best way to understand the music is to immerse yourself in it. This list compiles the definitive albums from the subgenre's peak period, featuring records from the big names associated with the scene (such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden) alongside less obvious picks that released grunge-adjacent classics (including Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, and PJ Harvey).

Listen to the 'Deep Six' compilation, one of the first collections of grunge

In the '80s, "grunge" was still not a widely used term, though there was a distinct sound coming from Seattle, one that blended punk and metal. C/Z Records decided to document the emerging sound in 1985 by releasing a compilation with six of the city's cutting-edge bands, including Green River, Melvins, and Soundgarden.

The Marc Jacobs grunge fashion collection

After Nirvana's breakthrough, the grunge aesthetic became a marketable commodity. Fashion designer Marc Jacobs created a collection for Perry Ellis that featured grunge fashion, incorporating thrift store clothing typically worn by grunge bands onto the runway, accompanied by the music of Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Jacobs sent samples of the collection to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, but the couple burned them. "We were punkers," Love said in 2010, "we didn't like that kind of thing."

How Kurt Cobain was influenced by the Beats

Fresh off the success of Nirvana's "Nevermind," band frontman Kurt Cobain reached out to his literary idol, the Beat writer William S. Burroughs, suggesting a collaboration. The correspondence led to "The 'Priest' They Called Him," a hard-to-find recording featuring Burroughs reading a story and Cobain on dissonant guitar.

The movie soundtrack that helped mainstream grunge

Cameron Crowe's 1992 film "Singles" coincided with the mainstream grunge explosion. The romantic comedy takes place in Seattle's music scene, making it a perfect Hollywood product for the time. It also featured cameos from some of the scene's stars, including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell.

The Velvet Underground is often considered a starting point for punk rock

The band blended Warhol’s Pop Art with Beat poetry, early rock ‘n’ roll and the European avant-garde, creating a sound that was often chaotic, noisy and abrasive. The band’s debut album, “The Velvet Underground and Nico,” sold poorly, but (supposedly) everyone who purchased a copy started a band.

Explore key locations in Kurt Cobain's life with this interactive map

The "Grungeology" project maps out key moments, influences, and impacts of Cobain's life in and around Grays Harbor County. Click through the map's many historical spots and learn how Nirvana's band leader navigated his hometown as his fame and music grew.

​Why heroin became associated with the grunge world

The drug was popular with several Seattle acts in the early 1990s, with artists like Hole's Courtney Love even publicizing her use in a magazine profile. A 1992 New York Times story on Seattle said the city's principal drugs were "espresso, beer, and heroin."

Bad Brains sped up punk, creating hardcore

Punk was already fast, but Washington’s Bad Brains pushed the tempo even further, creating music that would come to be known as hardcore, influencing acts like Minor Threat, Nirvana, and countless others. The band was hardly one-dimensional. Their self-titled debut bounced between blistering hardcore and slow-burning reggae about Rastafarianism.

Kurt Cobain's cardigan is the most expensive sweater ever sold at auction

Cobain wore the green button-up during Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged" performance. It hasn't been washed since then and has several stains as well as a cigarette burn. It sold for $334K in 2019. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

How Kurt Cobain's suicide changed the media

Public health experts feared that the suicide of a high-profile figure, especially for young people, would lead to a rise in suicides across the country. The opposite turned out to be true: Suicide rates decreased. Specialists suggest that's due to the way Cobain's death was covered, with news organizations largely avoiding glorification and including crisis hotline information.

The first known use of 'punk rock' was in 1971

When Creem Magazine's Dave Marsh wrote about seeing '60s garage rockers ? and the Mysterians perform, he remarked it would be unthinkable "to miss such a landmark exposition of punk-rock." The band isn't considered a punk band, but Marsh's description would go on to define other scrappy, back-to-basics acts.

Long before grunge, Hüsker Dü blended pop's melodies and punk's speed

The Minneapolis trio began as a lightning-fast hardcore band, but they slowly became more melodic than many of their early '80s peers without sacrificing their punk edge. That combination would eventually be called a mess of names: college rock, alternative, indie, and, eventually, grunge.

Why grunge fashion lasted longer than its music

Although grunge musicians largely resisted the fashion world's overtures, the style associated with grunge—thrifted shirts, combat boots, loose-fitting flannels—continues to appear on runways and in photo shoots, with fashion icons like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Gigi Hadid often sporting the look.

The Buzzcocks' 1975 self-released EP inspired a DIY ethos for punk

Punk sought to dismantle the self-importance of mainstream rock, favoring simple arrangements, short songs, and raw passion over sophistication or expertise. When the Buzzcocks struggled to find a label to release their debut record, “Spiral Scratch,” they took that do-it-yourself approach and applied it to business by releasing it themselves.

Experimental duo Suicide used the word 'punk' to describe their music in 1970

The New York act was inspired by free jazz, electronic music, and performance art, playing loud, frenetic, and often abrasive music that reckoned with the horrors of the Vietnam War. On the hand-drawn poster for their first gig, they described the sound with four words: “Punk Music by Suicide.”

Why one country legend embraced punk rock

Dwight Yoakam was among the most popular country music acts of the 1980s, praised for his upbeat rockabilly and neo-Bakersfield sound. In this interview, Yoakam explains why he left the Midwest for California and began playing in punk clubs, including with an iteration of the legendary LA punk outfit X.

The best album covers of all time

Rock 'n' roll has defined the style of several generations, and much of that is the result of iconic album covers. This Billboard list breaks down the best of the best, ranking generation-defining images from Pink Floyd, Cyndi Lauper, Nirvana, and more.

Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys were an influence on early punk rock

The Beach Boys' sunny sound profoundly influenced early punk acts, such as the Ramones, who took Brian Wilson's sugary hooks and ramped up the tempo. In the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, California pop-punk acts such as the Descendents, Green Day and Blink-182 continued the tradition.

'New wave' was coined for listeners put off by punk's ethos

The term was a reference to New Wave cinema, an iconoclastic, largely French form. Sire Records' Seymour Stein is believed to have pushed to use it to describe the label's bands, many of which came from the CBGB's scene, to avoid the negative associations with "punk rock." Sire ran a promotional campaign named "Don't Call It Punk" that made that message clear.

'Purple Rain' was a massive hit, in theaters and on radio

The semi-autobiographical film featured a first-time director and an amateur cast, yet it became a box-office hit, grossing over $70M. Likewise, the accompanying album was a huge success, with four songs reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. It was a watershed moment for Prince, who became a bona fide pop superstar.

Fugazi refused to make merchandise, but that didn't stop bootleggers

The band—formed by members of Minor Threat and Rites of Spring—was known for its innovative post-hardcore music and its high-minded ethics: They released albums themselves through the Dischord label, ensured all shows were $5 all-ages affairs, and refused to make merchandise to avoid commodifying their art. That didn’t stop bootleggers.

One writer traces the evolution of a Billboard chart over 25 years

Billboard introduced its Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1988, looking to capture the rising popularity of acts like the Cure, REM, and U2. Music writer and Billboard obsessive Chris Molanphy traces the chart from his earliest days through grunge, alternative, and corporate eras, demonstrating just how much taste changes over time.

The Ramones' debut album went gold 38 years after it was released

The 1976 album from the influential New York band featured classic tracks like “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Beat on the Brat.” That didn’t translate to sales, though, at least not for many decades: The album didn’t sell more than 500,000 copies (earning gold certification) until 2014.

The '90s riotgrrrl movement brought female-fronted bands to the front

The movement—which pushed back on punk’s misogyny and argued for a countercultural form of third-wave feminism—began in self-published magazines before taking root in bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. The scene’s music and ethos can still be found in contemporary acts like Olivia Rodrigo.

'Nebraska' was a sharp pivot inspired by proto-punk band Suicide

After "Born to Run," Springsteen's songwriting turned darker on subsequent albums "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River," as he began exploring the harsher realities of adulthood and working-class life, but "Nebraska" was his most gothic, featuring haunted songs partially inspired by the abrasive proto-punk duo Suicide.

Eddie Vedder's humble gas-station attendant roots

The singer was living in the San Diego area when a friend mailed him a demo tape recorded by Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard that lacked vocals. Vedder wrote lyrics for the three songs (one of which would later become the hit "Alive") and tracked his own vocals on the tape, then mailed it back to the band. Two weeks later, they invited him to move to Seattle to join the band.

The Shaggs weren't good musicians, but they still made a classic

In 1969, the three sisters recorded "Philosophy of the World"; only 100 copies were publicly distributed. The record became a cult classic thanks to its strange backstory (their father forced them into playing music) and the band's amateurism. Critic Lester Bangs wrote, "They can't play a lick! But mainly they got the right attitude, which is all rock'n'roll's ever been about from day one."

Browse over 300 issues of influential music magazine The New Musical Express

The British publication was responsible for some of the best coverage of spunky punk and rock. This treasure trove collects issues from 1969 - 1983, offering you a fascinating window into how legendary acts like the Clash and Talking Heads were being discussed before they were considered legends.

The Clash's breakthrough hit wasn't listed on ‘London Calling’

“Train in Vain” was a hit in the US, something that hadn’t yet happened for other first-wave punk acts. But the song was added to “London Calling” at the last minute, after the record jackets were already printed, making it one of the more popular “hidden tracks” in popular music.

Bob Newhart was the first comedian to have a chart-topping album

In 1960, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” reached the top of the Billboard charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. A few months later, a sequel, “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!,” was released. Both records occupied the top two spots for 30 weeks, a record that stood until 1991, when Guns ‘n’ Roses released their “Use Your Illusion” albums.

Arthur Russell's avant-garde music spanned many genres

The classically trained cellist moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s, mingling with the hippie movement and the Beat Generation. After arriving in New York in 1973, he began exploring the nascent punk and disco scenes, infusing them with his classical training; however, his eclectic style might've been part of the reason he never broke through during his lifetime. That variety, though, is what draws so many devoted listeners to his work today.

Why Metallica sued Napster—and enraged music fans

When Lars Ulrich, the drummer for metal legends Metallica, began his press campaign against Napster, an early filesharing software, he said he was fighting for artists. Listeners weren't convinced, especially because data suggested that filesharing services helped record sales rather than hinder them. This history of the ordeal contextualizes more modern problems in the music business, especially considering streaming services like Spotify were initially seen as a solution to illegal filesharing.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles

Although the quartet was already a sensation in Great Britain, Capitol Records turned down the opportunity to release "Please Please Me" and "From Me to You," licensing them instead to a smaller independent label in Chicago.

Before he was Soundgarden's singer, Chris Cornell was the band's drummer

Cornell was the band's first drummer, but got out from behind the kit in 1985 so he could focus on vocals. That foundation, though, is what his bandmate Kim Thayil claimed gave Cornell his unique singing style. "Chris has an amazing way of writing melody around these odd time signatures that a lot of people have a tough time doing," he said. "It's very natural for Chris, though, because he was our original drummer, so he can think in those terms."

Punk band Devo formed after witnessing the Kent State shootings

Band members Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were students at the Ohio university when the National Guard shot and killed student protestors. Casale said that the experience led them to pursue the project, which was a satirical critique of mindless consumerism and conformity.

How Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees New Order forged a new sound

Formed in the ashes of post-punk outfit Joy Division, the British group incorporated synthesizers and pulsating, disco beats for "Blue Monday," their early single that would come to define the 1980s sonic landscape.

Dylan's 1965 electric set at the Newport Folk Festival was viewed by some as a betrayal

It's considered a watershed moment in his career and rock ‘n’ roll history, mostly because the audience allegedly booed Dylan’s new electrified songs, believing he had abandoned politically minded folk music for pop stardom.

How Pearl Jam helped inspire Coachella

Pearl Jam hasn't yet played Coachella, but they did play a major role in inspiring the annual music festival. The story goes back to 1993, when Pearl Jam was protesting all Ticketmaster-owned venues, which made playing a Los Angeles-area date next to impossible. That led concert promoter Goldenvoice to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, where the first Coachella took place six years later.

A fun analysis of Radiohead's depressive song 'Creep'

Radiohead is a highly acclaimed English rock band founded in 1985. The band has sold more than 30 million albums, and their nine full-length albums are critically appreciated. This episode of One Song goes deep into the band's very first single and by far most-listened-to hit: "Creep," a slacker anthem filled with self-loathing and anxiety. Learn the details of the hit indie song here.

In the '90s, country aimed for stadiums

While the early 1900s built the template for country music as a genre, the 1990s pushed the music into the mainstream, setting the course for country’s modern ubiquity. Artists like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain pushed against the genre’s orthodoxy, turning the music into blockbuster entertainment with a pop sheen.

The 1980s neo-pop movement put pop art back in the zeitgeist

Pop art’s legacy is perhaps best exemplified in its longevity. Long after the end of pop art’s classical phase, a neo-pop revival ushered in a new cohort of artists like Murakami, Hirst, and Koons who brought pop once again to the top. To this day, contemporary pop artists—young and seasoned—command high prices on the open market.

Prince's 'Darling Nikki' inspired an '80s censorship campaign

The song, which tells the story of the titular "sex friend," was repeatedly cited by Elizabeth "Tipper Gore," the wife of then Senator Al Gore, in her work leading the Parents Music Resource Center, a group of women advocating for parental advisories on explicit music recordings. "Darling Nikki" was included on the group's "Filthy 15" list, alongside songs by Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and others.