Released: 1991
Tracks: Smells Like Teen Spirit; In Bloom; Come As You Are; Breed; Lithium; Polly; Territorial Pissings; Drain You; Lounge Act; Stay Away; On a Plain; Something in the Way
Best track: I have no idea, just pick one
Track to skip: Lithium’s not that hot; skip Stay Away as well
Ugh, it’s *that* riff. As I sit and listen to this overplayed song, I’ll try to be objective. I really heard this enough times to last me my whole life. I’m willing to bet this is the most played song in the past 11 years. Regardless of what all the media says, Grunge never really went away. I mean, most heavy rock bands still sound like this, the only difference being that they’re not all from Seattle and they dress more preppy so they can look good on the cover of Rolling Stone. Whoopie.
I’m still totally confused why everyone makes this album out to be The Messiah of Rock Music. IT ISN’T! Please, all of you critics and fans, get over it. Yeah it’s a good album, but it’s not our generation’s Sgt. Pepper. It wasn’t a ‘brand new thing’ like everyone would have you believe; it’s really nothing more than polished (but grungy!) hard rock. Most of these songs are pretty good, and generally I like Cobain’s lyrics, but there’s not really any musicial ability here. It doesn’t matter, because the songs and attitude are the main things. My whole view on this is that it ‘allowed’ Alternative music to be popular. Alternative Rock was popular long before this, but this album made it OK for all the middle class white kids to like it too. You gotta love trendy people. So, am I included in that? I was middle class, and I’m definitely white, so I guess so. At least I was enjoying it months before the whole thing exploded. =) But it doesn’t matter, that’s all really childish.
Is it a good album? Yup. Not revolutionary, but it’s still good. I never noticed how polished this sounds. There are some ‘ugly’ sounds, but it really is a pop record. Funny looking back on it now. I got through Teen Spirit just fine, and In Bloom and Come As You Are aren’t annoying me all. Hmm, maybe I could actually listen to this one on occasion and not hurl.
Nearly all of these songs are good and fun. A few, like Breed, Drain You & Something in the Way are very good. I do hear the minor King Crimson influence in Cobain’s guitar playing (the solo in Come…) so that’s nice. Territorial Pissings is the most honest sounding track, but you can still hear the slickness behind it all. Cobain’s screaming on it is pretty amusing. So, final verdict? Good album. It’s a very well produced album and the songs are mostly good. It’s not the revolution that is commonly associated with it, but it’s a very enjoyable album.
Rating: 88
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