This should have turned into a success story at this point. Newsweek covered the band; Kurt Cobain, against his very vocal wishes, was being promoted in the media as a new John Lennon, the voice of Generation X. Cobain, in particular, appeared ill-equipped to deal with stardom right from the start, and made no bones about it. He was an uncomfortable interview, he and the band would resort to self-sabotaging behavior on TV-- dressing in drag, refusing to lip-synch, they went for shock value as a subconscious or conscious effort to rid themselves of the enormous and growing audience they were suddenly confronted with.
![Nirvana [Poster]](http://img205.exs.cx/img205/6205/nirvanaposter4yr.jpg)
The story took a complex turn in February 1992 when Cobain and Courtney Love, leader of indie band Hole, married. The couple were expecting their first child in the autumn; their erratic behavior during most of 1992 became fodder for the gossip press. Rumors started to circulate about heavy heroin usage by the couple; Nirvana cancelled a number of shows during the summer and did not launch a major tour. Cobain was briefly hospitalized in Belfast in June 1992, complaining of chronic stomach ailments, but the heroin rumors persisted. Vanity Fair magazine implied that Love was on heroin during her pregnancy, a charge she and Cobain vigorously denied. Upon the birth of their daughter, the couple was investigated by the Children's Services agency of Los Angeles, but were ultimately granted custody of the child in 1993.
By that point, nearly two years had passed since Nevermind was recorded, and the lack of any new recordings from the band started instigating breakup rumors. As a stopgap, DGC released a collection of singles and B-sides and assorted arcana, Insecticide at the end of 1992. Despite the lack of new material, it reached #14 in England, although in America it barely entered the top-40.
The band finally recorded their true followup to Nevermind in the spring of 1993. In what appeared to be both a conscious attempt to shed their audience, and a return to their indie roots, the band chose Steve Albini as producer. Albini had previously worked with the Pixies, Jesus Lizard (with whom Nirvana released a split-single in 1993 called "Oh The Guilt"), the Breeders, and others. In Utero was recorded in a hurry, over a two week period.
Cobain's behavior began to take even a more dramatic turn for the worse after the In Utero sessions. He apparantly suffered a heroin overdose in May, but the incident was kept from the press. Love called 911 after Cobain threatened suicide from behind a locked bathroom door. Meanwhile, Newsweek reported that DGC was unhappy with the In Utero tapes. Calling the band's bluff, the label accused them of deliberate sabotage by recording purposefully uncommercial music.
Nirvana didn't re-record the album, but did bring in R.E.M.'s producer Scott Litt for a remaster. Remarkably, both DGC's fears were unfounded and Nirvana's plans foiled, depending how you look at it. The album topped the U.S. and U.K. charts despite the dark, uncompromising sounds it contained, and garnered a fair share of praise from the music press, who are usually quick to shoot down bands that have grown so big so fast. While it ultimately fell short of the sales standard Nevermind had set, by all measures, the album was a success.
Article comments
1 - lono
Kurt Cobain was overrated. Obviously, Nevermind is a masterpiece. However, if dude hadn't killed himself there wouldn't be another mention of him at all.
For example. The Smashing Pumpkins were (and remain) a better band. They had a better draw, sold more discs (pre-mordem) and played more shows. If it weren't for Kurt killing himself, I think history would have judged the Pumpkins (or Pearl Jam) the winners of the grunge/ alternative movement.
2 - jason
Pearl Jam sucks and the Pumpkins don't "remain" anything; they are defunt.
Anyway, this post was excellent.
3 - Mark Sahm
I would agree with many of the points on Cobain's talent... but I think it was unfair of the media to label him a "genius".
I think if people would have just let him be and free to make music instead trying to christen him the next "John Lennon-esque songwriting genius", then we'd still be hearing tunes from him today.
Like Nirvana, the Pumpkins and Pearl Jam had their impact on future musical generations as well, but to say who is better or more influential will be a question forever unanswered.
4 - uao
Nirvana is nothing if not controversial; I expected to hear from both sides of the fence.
I'm not a Nirvana fanatic, but I certainly got off on their music a lot; Nevermind blew me away when it appeared, like magic one day.
Pearl Jam moved me just as much when I heard "Even Flow" come on the radio during the L.A. riots of '92. I knew we'd still be talking about them far into the future.
And Smashing Pumpkins!! I was living in Japan in '93, leading a fairly decadent, drunken, club-oriented life. I was lusting for a 90's band that would have 70's referents, but be modern-sounding enough that club deejays would play 'em too. Siamese Dream accompanied me everywhere in 1993.
Cobain is overrated only in that some people continue to project unrealistic expectations on him, even after he's been dead for 11 years. He's also very underrated; merely calling Nirvana a grunge band underrates them. They were more than grunge; they were also punk and metal and indie and hillbilly and roots and even power pop, in their own grungy way.
Among rock casualties, he'll never be considered a loss on the scale of Jimi Hendrix. But he was as indispensible to rock as, say, Janis Joplin, to name another self-destructive act with real talent from a rural area who rose up from a local label. Probably a lot more so.
And it's hard not to pity the poor guy; whatever one can say about him, one thing is for certain: he really was honest all along. We just never knew how honest he was until he made good on what he'd been promising all along.
5 - George
I don't know who you could say that Kurt Cobain was overrated. I do admit "Smells like teen spirit" is overrated, but thats about it. They put out Incesticide to get rid of the "Nevermind fans" with Incesticide they carried heavy punk. If they put out a shot at the career's like that, I can't see how they or he could be overrated. And why doesn't any news articles bring of the chance of murder. There are so many clues that they let pass. I mean here is what they found
1.No finger prints found the shotgun.
2.3x's the lethal amount of Heroin in Kurt's blood stream. It would be impossoble to pull that trigger, let alone put away the syringe back into carrying case.
3.Kurts credit card was used after he was he was dead.:not after he was found"
4.Found in Courtney's back pack; writings trying to imitate Kurt's writing.
5.Isn't it kind of obvious.
Well thats my opinion on everything. I know a lot of people will look at that and laugh. Thats what I feel.
6 - sue
i think all of nirvana music is great and i think his band would have been a big hit today if he was alive i no its been 11 years since is death but he still a big hit today as he was in the early 90s i am still a big fan i also belive he did not commit suicide if he never met coutney love i think he would be around today plus i think if any body as not got nothing nice to say about him or his music dont bother at all it just goes to say how ignorant you are.rest in peace kurt cobain
7 - Bill niel
Anyone who tries to trivulize nirvana has no real concept of music. The fucking guy was only twenty 27 and two months old, had hundreds of great orginal songs. Probably the best creative force to ever play in a pop/punk/rock band ever
8 - Edward Ichoho
thers different theories to how kurt died. i mean, some say he drowned!! we cant b 100% sure to how kurt died but the fact remains that he IS dead and we should carry on. these links have alot about kurts death but its up 2 u 2 decide how he died:
http://www.sshep.com/FastVersion/kurtnew.htm
http://justiceforkurt.com/
9 - Taylor Welling
Kurt was like the Jesus Christ of rock. Nirvana shaped the music scene, and are still a revolutionary band. The impact they had will go on as long as music does. Without them you wouldn't be hearing about all the alternative bands, etc. Nirvana pretty much created what was and still is today called grunge. I mean, if you look at the music scene today it's not really anything interesting, and there aren't really any GOOD bands out there, or at least in my opinion. The 90's had incredible music. You don't see such true lyrics today like Nirvana's. Alot of it;s just crap. I really don't know how Kurt died. No one knows for sure. I pretty much believe he was murdered. He wouldn't have just left his child like that, he wasn't that type of person. There's also alot more evidence to make it clear that he probably was in fact murdered, by Courtney. But all in all, Nirvana deserves a great amount of respect. When Kurt died music died.
10 - justice for kurt
nirvana were and are a exelent band and they were very important to the creation of music how we now it today,the guy was a genius , his songs , his kind of be, and his honesty were greats and provably it wont be a band like nirvana any more. i think that he dont kill himself , he loved his child and he said that it was the best drog of the world.and if the drug he take were 3 time sufitient to kill him why and how( he woul be death in seconds) he give a shot on his own head? it seems it is a big conspiracy relativly to this case. the police had ignore to much proves ...
11 - fe
i just dont fuckin get it why the police dont re open the case ... if there are so many proves of murder...
they dont care with this ...te police just want money and the rest they dont fucking care ,they are a hypocrits,..
forever kurt cobain..
12 - mrbenning
I'm not a Nirvana fanatic, but I have no problem admitting that they ushered in the 90's. Once "smells like teen spirit" popped on the radio, rock had itself figured out again.
13 - probot
dave grohl is amazing. he brought so much to nirvana and continues to influence today's rock music scene without relying on past fame. whenever someone says "nirvana" the only thing people think of is kurt cobain. it wasn't just kurt. it was a band. i think sometimes some people forget that.
14 - Tan The Man
I used to respect Kurt, but then I read about a story about him. In it, before Nirvana got famous, Kurt agreed to split the royalties evenly by the three of them, even though he wrote most, if not all, of the songs. Then they became famous, and Kurt demanded that he receive 75% of the royalties and Dave and Aaron spliting 25%. Why renege on a previous agreement?
15 - mad mads
I just think that nirvana rocked! It is sooo stupid saying the pumpkins would have been more recognied if cobain hadt killed himself because what happend happened and it sucks but there is nothing any1 can do about it.
16 - Edward Ichoho
"I used to respect Kurt, but then I read about a story about him. In it, before Nirvana got famous, Kurt agreed to split the royalties evenly by the three of them, even though he wrote most, if not all, of the songs. Then they became famous, and Kurt demanded that he receive 75% of the royalties and Dave and Aaron spliting 25%. Why renege on a previous agreement?"
Kurt demanded the royalties cos of Courtney. she forced him. he succumbed to her eventually
17 - Abe(the babe)
Alrighty people I would have to say that Nirvana might be one of the most influential bands of all time. I'm not saying they're the most talented dudes though. I mean Kurt could bust out some riffs here and there but he was no Jimmi Hendrix, Novelselic probably is the most talented of the group. Now I would have to say that they are probably one of the best bands of all time because of their message and the time that they came in, it was right person, right time, right place. Kurt was something different something that the world had never seen.
18 - DJRadiohead
And now Courtney has insulted Nirvana fans one more time by releasing a "Best of the Box" collection with three previously unreleased cuts to gouge the faithful one more time.
Yes, I will buy it. And I will curse the widow Cobain all the way there.
19 - jonny
just in case u didnt know there's a hidden track on nevermind