Q: Nirvana- The best and worst thing to ever happen to music?

[battleknight24]

I know a LOT of people will be upset with me, but let me explain.

I think Nirvana was (and is) a kick ass band. What I hate about them, and to a lesser extent, Pearl Jam (a band I used to like) is that despite these two, they inspired a whole wave of alternative/grunge imitators who, UNLIKE Nirvana and Pearl Jam, simply made noise with their instruments and had no songwriting talent. For years while I was in junior high (1992-96), with very few exceptions, I would turn on MTV or the radio and hear nothing but really, really, REALLY bad rock music. It was agony!!!

Okay, maybe a majority of people will disagree with me...

... but what band or singer do YOU think was both the best and worst thing to happen to popular music.


Peace,

[XemaSab]

1. Best *and* worst?

Madonna.

[Jamastiene]

2. Agreed that a lot of the copycat wannabe "next Nirvana" bands

sucked, but it was still way better than hair metal any day. It was nice to see guys have a different attitude toward women who played music and it was great to hear what Kurt had to say about things. The man was genius in my book.

[DarkTirade]

3. I was gonna add something to the conversation... but you pretty much covered everything. :)

[SteppingRazor]

4. That's an excellent point. Nirvana may have given rise to some bad post-grunge acts, but....

they put the kibosh on the incredibly god-awful bands that were the final generation of hair metal.

Look, I'd rather have hot pokers plunged into both of my eardrums, but if you had to choose, would you rather listen to bad post-grunge or bad hair metal? Personally, I gotta say, g'head and plug in the Creed, much as it kills me.

And when you get down to it, any groundbreaking band that sells tons of records is going to spawn a lot of bad imitators. I can't stand Good Charlotte, but I'll take'em if it means I also get to have Green Day.

Dave Clark Five, anyone? No? Well, I'll live with'em if it means I get The Beatles.

Anyone care for some Bob Seger? Well, I'll take an overrated bar band having a million hits if it means I also get Bruce Springsteen.


You see what I mean?

[Guava Jelly]

7. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Hair glam/emo metal had to go.
I think Nirvana deserves the Nobel Peace prize for kicking the "every rose has it's thorns/angel eyes" gawd awful crap to the curb..
And also we should all remember that without Nirvana we wouldn't have the Foo Fighters.

And I must admit I did enjoy Nirvana and the whole grunge scene.

[Bake]

5. Jimi Hendrix!

Best thing to happen to rock guitar. Hell, he INVENTED it. Nobody knew what to do with one of those things until Jimi showed 'em.

Also the worst thing to happen: he died too damn young.

Bake

[Forkboy]

6. Neither...they were an average band that came along at just the right time.

Mainstream people were getting sick of the phoniness of the 80's and the hair bands and pomp. Non-mainstream fans like me were getting sick of generic thrash and death metal bands being signed by the cartload. Hardcore punk was virtually dead. Nirvana came along and was able to tap into all those audiences because all those audiences were hungry for a return to the basics. Guitars, amps, and a shitload of fun. If Nirvana came along today I doubt they'd even register on my radar because now there's more than enough good music in all genres to satisfy any musical craving I have. Back then I was bored with most music, and they were a breath of fresh air.


There were other Seattle acts that blew them away musically, both in the talent department and the fun department. Bands like the Melvins and Mudhoney come instantly to mind. Mudhoney's first few releases are better than anything Nirvana did, and the Melvins are still going strong, releasing one of the catchiest CD in years last year with (A) Senile Animal. There were others like Tad, Skin Yard, and Fluid that all put out some good stuff too before the major labels started signing anyone who wore a flannel.

Of course, if you really want to avoid the agony of really bad music I say kill your radio and find your own good tunes. There's something out there for everyone now, and letting the radio pick your tastes will always lead to boredom. Or maybe that's just me. :)

[Tikki]

8. The right music for some people at the time....

...short lived but influential. A heck of a lot better sounding than Van Halen, though.

Tikki