Nirvana Essentials

Few would have bet on when Nirvana’s musical immortality when the Washington State trio dropped their unassuming 1989 debut, Bleach. But amid the corroded jangle of “About a Girl,” singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain betrayed a Lennon-esque melodic sensibility at odds with the DIY punk influences behind the seething “Negative Creep.” After Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic recruited Bonham-esque basher Dave Grohl, the three fused ’60s pop hooks, ’70s hard-rock heft, ’80s post-hardcore noise, and eternal teen angst on 1991’s Nevermind, forging the new decade’s definitive sound and earning a spot on Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums list. The brashly tuneful opener “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became so huge that it prompted rock radio stations to flip their formats to alternative almost overnight. Yet, the album also packed several other slacker rallying cries (“Come as You Are,” “Drain You”) and a few moody ballads (“Something in the Way,” “Polly”) that showed multiple layers to Cobain’s songwriting. Now reluctant flag-bearers for Seattle grunge, Nirvana would only release one more studio album—1993’s In Utero—before Cobain died by suicide at age 27. Yet, that record meaningfully deepened the band’s myth, thanks to the haunting strains of “Heart-Shaped Box” and “All Apologies” and spikier outbursts like “Rape Me” and “Pennyroyal Tea.” A posthumously released MTV Unplugged session highlighted the band’s diverse forebears via covers of David Bowie (“The Man Who Sold the World”) and Lead Belly (“Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”), confirming the humble three-piece as an enduring Rosetta Stone for so much of what came before and has come since.