According to frontman Kurt Cobain, the sound of Nevermind was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and the Melvins. While Nevermind is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, the album is noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads (“Polly“; “Something in the Way“) and punk-inspired hard rock (“Territorial Pissings”; “Stay Away”).^[5]

Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success. In January 1992, it reached number one on the US Billboard 200; during this time it was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week. The lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, and its video was heavily rotated on MTV. Three other successful singles were released: “Come as You Are“, “Lithium“, and “In Bloom“. Nevermind was voted the best album of the year in Pazz & Jop critics’ poll, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” also topped the single of the year and video of the year polls.

Nevermind is often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X.^[6] The album is also widely credited with bringing grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience while ending the dominance of hair metal.^[7] It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.^[8] In March 1999, Nevermind was certified diamond by the RIAA. Among the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music, Nevermind was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004 as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important”, and is lauded on multiple lists as one of the greatest albums of all time.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Nevermind, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

According to frontman Kurt Cobain, the sound of Nevermind was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and the Melvins. While Nevermind is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, the album is noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads (“Polly“; “Something in the Way“) and punk-inspired hard rock (“Territorial Pissings”; “Stay Away”).^[5]

Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success. In January 1992, it reached number one on the US Billboard 200; during this time it was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week. The lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, and its video was heavily rotated on MTV. Three other successful singles were released: “Come as You Are“, “Lithium“, and “In Bloom“. Nevermind was voted the best album of the year in Pazz & Jop critics’ poll, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” also topped the single of the year and video of the year polls.

Nevermind is often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X.^[6] The album is also widely credited with bringing grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience while ending the dominance of hair metal.^[7] It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.^[8] In March 1999, Nevermind was certified diamond by the RIAA. Among the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music, Nevermind was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004 as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important”, and is lauded on multiple lists as one of the greatest albums of all time.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Nevermind, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

The song was released as a non-album single by the band’s then record label, Sub Pop, in September 1990. The same recording was re-released on the compilation album Incesticide by DGC in December 1992, and a new music video was released to promote the album.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Sliver (song), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Love Buzz, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

According to frontman Kurt Cobain, the sound of Nevermind was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and the Melvins. While Nevermind is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, the album is noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads (“Polly“; “Something in the Way“) and punk-inspired hard rock (“Territorial Pissings”; “Stay Away”).^[5]

Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success. In January 1992, it reached number one on the US Billboard 200; during this time it was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week. The lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, and its video was heavily rotated on MTV. Three other successful singles were released: “Come as You Are“, “Lithium“, and “In Bloom“. Nevermind was voted the best album of the year in Pazz & Jop critics’ poll, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” also topped the single of the year and video of the year polls.

Nevermind is often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X.^[6] The album is also widely credited with bringing grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience while ending the dominance of hair metal.^[7] It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.^[8] In March 1999, Nevermind was certified diamond by the RIAA. Among the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music, Nevermind was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004 as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important”, and is lauded on multiple lists as one of the greatest albums of all time.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Nevermind, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Though Nirvana’s record company DGC Records did not release a physical single in the United States, fearing it might damage album sales, “Heart-Shaped Box” received much American radio airplay, reaching number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[2][3] The single made the top 10 in several countries, including Portugal, the United Kingdom,^[4][5] Ireland, Finland and New Zealand, and the top 40 in numerous other countries. The music video, directed by Anton Corbijn, garnered critical plaudits, and won two awards, including Best Alternative Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1994. “Heart-Shaped Box” was the last song Cobain performed live with Nirvana, on March 1, 1994, in Munich, Germany.^[6]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Heart Shaped Box, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Dive (Nirvana song), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

The unexpected success of the album’s lead single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” drew Nirvana to mainstream success, with Nevermind being released two weeks after the single’s release. Following the album’s release, the band and its management company debated whether to release “Come as You Are” or “In Bloom” as the next single from the album due to Cobain’s concerns over similarity of the former with the Killing Joke song “Eighties” (1984). After some persuasion by the management company, Cobain agreed to release “Come as You Are” as the second single because of its commercial potential. Killing Joke were upset over the song, and there were rumors that a lawsuit had been filed over the song, though the suit never materialized. Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker was said to be upset about the whole situation, and he felt that Nirvana (which according to Walker denied the connection between the songs) handled the matter poorly. Similarities between “Come as You Are” and “Life Goes On” by The Damned have also been noted.

The music video for “Come as You Are” was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who drew inspiration for it from the cover artwork of Nevermind. Rolling Stone ranked “Come as You Are” 445th on its list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time“, and it placed 452nd on the 2010 edition of the list.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Come As You Are (Nirvana song), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

A second studio version appears on the rarities compilation album Incesticide, released in December 1992.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Been A Son, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Polly (Nirvana song), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.