1 definition by Susan Hartwick
(Terribly overblown in terms of creedance to originality)
Nirvana's "trademark" flannel shirts and faded jeans had been worn for years by the "headbangers" who listened to hard rock and heavy metal music. Even in their performance, Nirvana just copied everthing that had gone before;
1. Rebellious cynicism? Rock stars had been doing that for years; it was part of the job.
#2 Smashing their guitars at the end of the performance? Pete Townshend was doing that in 1965.
#3 Cobain's self-destructive tendencies? (Not to make light of this, but) it was the oldest trick in rock music. He even committed suicide at twenty-seven(the same age that Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and numerous other rock stars died). A tragedy--one that made him a "rock martyr"-- but not exactly original. #4 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was never supposed to be profound as most of his fans assumed. The title came after a woman told Cobain that he had the odor of Teen Spirit deodorant. "I thought she was saying I was a person who could inspire," he recalled, "and it turns out she just meant that I smelled like the deodorant".
Granted, the song still had the sort of melody you could find yourself humming on the bus. Then again, I could say the same thing about Paul Evans's awesome 1959 paean to melancholy and sexual frusturation, "Seven Little Girls"(Sitting in the Back Seat)."
Is that treated with the same misplaced reverence? I don't think so!
Nirvana's "trademark" flannel shirts and faded jeans had been worn for years by the "headbangers" who listened to hard rock and heavy metal music. Even in their performance, Nirvana just copied everthing that had gone before;
1. Rebellious cynicism? Rock stars had been doing that for years; it was part of the job.
#2 Smashing their guitars at the end of the performance? Pete Townshend was doing that in 1965.
#3 Cobain's self-destructive tendencies? (Not to make light of this, but) it was the oldest trick in rock music. He even committed suicide at twenty-seven(the same age that Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and numerous other rock stars died). A tragedy--one that made him a "rock martyr"-- but not exactly original. #4 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was never supposed to be profound as most of his fans assumed. The title came after a woman told Cobain that he had the odor of Teen Spirit deodorant. "I thought she was saying I was a person who could inspire," he recalled, "and it turns out she just meant that I smelled like the deodorant".
Granted, the song still had the sort of melody you could find yourself humming on the bus. Then again, I could say the same thing about Paul Evans's awesome 1959 paean to melancholy and sexual frusturation, "Seven Little Girls"(Sitting in the Back Seat)."
Is that treated with the same misplaced reverence? I don't think so!
Thing 1 : "Grunge was the sound of a generation! Nirvana was the band of a generation! And Kurt Cobain was the voice of a generation! There was nothing else like them evarrrr!!!
Ting 2: "Huh? Grunge was an amalgamation of punk, heavy metal, and melodic-pop(so basically an assortment of previously conceived music stylings *just add water and stir*)(same with Nirvana, since it's considered a "shining beacon of all things Grunge). And Cobain? A drug-addled cynic that suffered from clinical mental-afflictions who trashed his instruments after performances and committed suicide at age 27, yeah, that sounds NOTHING LIKE ANY ROCK-STAR EVER *rolls-eyes*
Ting 2: "Huh? Grunge was an amalgamation of punk, heavy metal, and melodic-pop(so basically an assortment of previously conceived music stylings *just add water and stir*)(same with Nirvana, since it's considered a "shining beacon of all things Grunge). And Cobain? A drug-addled cynic that suffered from clinical mental-afflictions who trashed his instruments after performances and committed suicide at age 27, yeah, that sounds NOTHING LIKE ANY ROCK-STAR EVER *rolls-eyes*
by Susan Hartwick October 8, 2010