neurological dryer lint

nirvana - nevermind

one of my favorite albums of all time was released fifteen years ago this sunday. at the time, twelve years old and beginning to discern between what music sucked (bryan adams, wilson phillips, madonna, mariah carey) and what rocked (C&C music factory, poison, fleetwood mac). i was starting to get tired of hair metal, dipping my feet into the water of heavy metal, but finding little satisfaction in anything.

i heard teen spirit on the radio in october, right around my birthday, and something clicked in my brain. this was it. they were so different from anything else, so nonchalantly revolutionary, accidentally wandering into vast success and setting in motion my generation's musical style.

so my tribute to this disc:

[1 - smells like teen spirit]: what can you say? one of the top five greatest rock & roll songs ever written. goofy lyrics, powerful, basic, 80's-punk-reminiscent riffs, and dave grohl at his best. you can't listen to this track and not feel some adrenaline.

[2 - in bloom]: aside from one of the funniest, most ironic and clever music videos ever, this song showcases kurt's stunning vocal range. the guy can murmur or scream and still sound phenominal.

[3 - come as you are]: i still get chills from the opening bassline of this song, someone injecting a sedative straight into my spine. i feel like a sullen teenager again. i go back and forth between thinking this version and the unplugged version is superior. again, they subtley walk the line between mellow and thrash. second fave for the whole album.

[4 - breed]: my appreciation for this song grew alongside of my appreciation for bleach - the fastest, most senseless song so far on the disc, a break from thinking into pure feeling.

[5 - lithium]: even though the tone and mood of each of these tracks doesn't technically change a whole lot, this band can make them sound 100% different from each other - a little less drum during the verse, a bridge louder and more aggressive than the rest of the song, and so on. this track drifts back and forth between anthemic screaming and contemplation. probably my third favorite track on the disc.

[6 - polly]: i remember how surprised i was at this track's presence when i first heard it. it didn't belong in this disc of heavy distortion and yelling. it's just guitar and bass. after years of pop music, i didn't get how beautiful vocals, acoustic guitar and a bass could sound, how less is so much more, more expressive and emotional (i was actually kinda pissed when i heard the incesticide fast version). i remember listening to this over and over again, trying to figure out who kurt was talking about, what he was trying to get across.

[7 - territorial pissings]: i loved loved loved the intro to this song, the way it mocked the classic rock culture i felt bathed in by rock radio in cincinnati (but that was later, not when i was twelve - at twelve i just liked how squeaky his voice got). i practice-drummed this with pencils for days in school.

[8 - drain you]: not sure but this song never stuck with me. felt like filler to me, still kinda does.

[9 - lounge act]: my favorite song on the disc, oft overlooked. felt so urgent, like kurt's trying to tell you something important and he just can't get it out. starts out so poppy, no distortion, very sing-song, and then just gets crazy. hits me in a special place, don't know why. screamed the heck out of the last verse/chorus while riding my bike to school freshman year.

[10 - stay away]: another senseless agressive song, again, not one i minded missing once in a while. if lithium is shakespeare, this song is a coloring book, but coloring books can be fun too.

[11 - on a plain]: fantastically addictive chorus and anthems in this sucker, love the lyrics and the fadeout humming at the end. "love myself better than you, i know it's wrong, so what should i do?". story of my life right there.

[12 - something in the way]: i give this song very little credit as i rarely finish the whole thing out - after listening to the rest of this disc i can't make it through all of it, it's so sad, expressing the futility of an empty and lonely life. it's a very quiet and beautiful song, and the last track is the only place it fits in. i always pictured this as kurt describing life in general, the human condition - an unseen thing interfering with real happiness and satisfaction.

so yeah, if you own this disc, give it a spin this week and reminisce with me.