Vintage Jams: 1990, Nirvana

By Coby Gerstner

Today, in our search of all things vintage, we visit the small town of Aberdeen, Washington. Aberdeen, which was named after Aberdeen, Scottland because it is situated at the mouth of two rivers, was also the birthplace of two members of the most influential rock band of the 90’s. Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic made up 2/3 of Nirvana. The last member? David Grohl – who is now the frontman of monumental rockers, The Foo Fighters.

These vintage jams come with a little bit of spunk. Aged 22 years, we draw them from the album Nevermind, which has aged beautifully and has sold more than 30 million copies. That is the 27th best-selling album of all time. Which also means that you have probably heard a song from this album somewhere, sometime in your life. If you haven’t, it’s time that you do. I will suggest three for you.

The first suggestion is Smells Like Teen Spirit. I grew up hearing this song on the radio and hated it. I thought,”Nirvana is the worst, why does my favorite radio station always play this song from an album that is 10 years old?” And that was my general feeling towards the grunge kings. I didn’t like their music, but I especially didn’t like Smells like Teen Spirit. But, this story has a happy ending. Fast-forward to my 20’s. I hear a cover of the song by Tori Amos. Here is that version, it blew me away.

It was haunting and it was beautiful and after hearing it, I craved the original. Ever since, I changed my ways and began to like Nirvana. The more I learned, the more I liked. And now, Smells Like Teen Spirit is something that I can’t get enough of, even after all those plays.

The next recommendation is In Bloom. I saw a documentary about Nevermind – that also happens to be on Netflix – that made me fall in love with this song. The producer of the album is talking about the layering of the voices in the chorus of this song and he shows what it sounds like without the music and it sounds so cool. If you have a chance, watch Nirvana: Nevermind and then go and listen to this song after. A breathe of fresh rock air. Here it is:

The last song I recommend is Breed. Grunge was the new thing in rock in the 90’s. With Nirvana, their music was so revolutionary that it ushered in a whole new genre of music. It wasn’t punk, it wasn’t rock, it wasn’t pop; it was grunge. And for a lot of people, they think of Nirvana and think of how grungy their music was. But the truth of it is that it Nirvana had a pop sound as well, and I think that Breed showcases that in the chorus.

These finely aged vintage jams continue to be just as good as the day that they were made. If you never had a chance to enjoy them in the 90’s or if you never liked them in the first place, maybe you’ll be able to appreciate them now; even after all these years.