Nirvana Vinyl, CD & Tape

Relocation to Seattle

In 1987, then 20-year-old Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic formed a punk rock band called Nirvana. They relocated from Aberdeen to Seattle and, along with drummer Dave Grohl, earned a small fan base and a record deal with Sub Pop Records. The three members were already familiar with punk rock before Nirvana and lived up to the lifestyle, with wild stage shows. In 1988 they released their first song: a cover of Shocking Blues Love Buzz followed by their own composition In Bloom. The full-length album Bleach was released in 1989 and recorded in three days for a ridiculous price of $600. College radio went nuts for the disc and played it up and down during the summer. Cobain, Novoselic and Grohl toured for all they were worth and promoted their first album excessively. So much so that it sold a whopping 35000 copies. Not bad for a newcomer act in the punk genre. The EP Blew and performances with the band Sonic Youth followed, which led to the signing of a major label contract with Geffen AKA DGC Records in 1990. With producer Butch Vic they went into the studio in 1991 to record their second album.

From college radio to the top of the charts

Nevermind, the fascinating story of an entire decade; the album spawned the new genre of grunge and made it mainstream ready. The music video for Smells Like Teen Spirit, which shows the group in the midst of a pep assembly in a high school going completely berserk, was the perfect visual for the song. The hits Come As You Are or Lithium have achieved evergreen status. The vinyl sold 1 million copies 2 months after release, 3 million after 7 months, and 10 million after 10 years. It ousted the King of Pop Michael Jackson from the pop charts and ushered in the new era of grunge. Along with bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains or The Melvins, grunge mania broke out in Seattle and suddenly everyone was listening to and playing the new style of music. Around 1992, Nirvana’s members became increasingly dissatisfied with their success and rumors began to spread that Cobain and his wife Courtney Love, were using heroin. With work on a follow-up album progressing slowly, the outtake compilation Incesticide was released on vinyl instead. The trio did not support Nevermind with a full tour, although they did several notable performances that are available as live vinyls. Performances at the Reading Festival or the opening of the MTV Video Music Awards, which ended with the destruction of their instruments, became the band’s trademark. The third album In Utero was released in 1993 and includes the hit single Heart Shaped Box. Although the album differed greatly from the polished Nevermind, the record was highly praised and landed in the first place of the Billboard 200. One of Cobain’s last televised performances was recorded in the TV program MTV Unplugged, in which the group played an acoustic set in New York. The Grammy-winning album was Nirvana’s first re-release after Cobain’s death and again became a number one album for the group. From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah is the second live album and was compiled by Krist Novoselic in memory of Kurt Cobain and released on October 1, 1996. In 2002, the compilation Nirvana was released after the legal dispute between Novoselic, Grohl and Courtney Love was settled. It entered at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and included the song You Know You’re Right, which had not been available until then.

Cobain’s farewell

The first months of 1994 were marked by Cobain’s increasing mental problems and several suicide attempts, which led to the cancellation of numerous tour dates. After breaking out of rehab, the singer was found dead on April 8, 1994. The death was ruled a suicide, although conspiracy theorists claim otherwise. Novoselic played in bands such as Sweet 75 and Eyes Adrift, Grohl was involved in several musical projects, but he is best known as the creative force behind the Grammy-winning band Foo Fighters. Nirvana’s original and emotional sound, as well as their intense live shows, gave voice to a generation that wanted to be heard and, as a result, changed the face of rock music.