It's never too late to discover a piece of art that has been around for 20 years. Sometimes it takes time for a piece of art to make sense at the right moment. Recently, Spin Magazine unveiled their new issue which focused on the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's debut major label album, Nevermind, and explained the massive influence of how it effected culture, other artists, and what it meant to have a heavier message across the airwaves. When this album came out, I was six years old and had no idea what feelings and issues were being discussed by Kurt Cobain. All I remember was watching the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on MTV. This early impression that was created, was that all things in life are meant to be black and white. As young as I was, I watched these images of a grimy high school rally, a weathered janitor and an angry, young man with a guitar screaming about something. Didn't know what it was but it grabbed my attention nonetheless.
Over the years, I grew into loving and appreciating music. I always passed on Nirvana. Heavy radio play would repeat the most popular songs and beating them into the ground. The alternative of independent record compilations to seek new groups had me constantly searching for different genres and emotions. For over 14 years, I passed on Nirvana and the entire grunge scene as being an outdated type of music and mainly stuck with punk and ska. I wouldn't allow myself to go outside (my box) of music. If I stuck with punk, it would be punk for months; if it was ska, it was ska for months. I had a strict mindset and would only focus on bands people didn't know about. I even did this to The Beatles for a while. It wasn't until later, that I started getting heavier into indie and alternative rock. I started to dive into bands that created landmark albums(i.e. Pixies, The Smiths and Oasis). I knew about these groups from their influence of the newer bands(i.e.Cut Off Your Hands, Death Cab For Cutie, TDCC). I commenced buying used albums from these older bands. I missed what was popular in my adolescence, and decided to start listening to what was mainstream.
Last week at my local record shop, I came across Nevermind and realized I never gave this album a chance. It felt weird. I'm not going to lie. For a band who mixed metal and punk, attitude and sound qualities, they influenced about every indie rock band out today. I've heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" countless times on the radio, TV, and even in markets, but not like the time I first heard it in my car. There's something mysterious about listening to an album intimately for the first time, because the moment Cobain's signature riff came through and Dave Grohl's drums burst in, it was an entirely new experience. Goosebumps appeared on my arms and I found myself screaming along the chorus harder and louder every time it came on.
Track after track, I listened to what Kurt, Dave and Krist had to say during 1991, and realized I had been missing out on an amazing album. There will always be new music surfacing online or in the nearest venue, but nothing like this will ever be replicated. Maybe in the near future I'm going to indulge in what I missed out on. Don't take for granted what is popular. I used to be narrow minded in a way that didn't allow me see how important certain pieces of art were. However, like wine and time, let yourself be open about what is in front of you and take it for what it is. Who knows, maybe I'll find some genius, groundbreaking message in Limp Bizkit's new album,Gold Cobra.
We'll see about that one.
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