Nevermind

Title - Nevermind (CD)
Author - Nirvanna
Released - September 24, 1991

Plot - Not that an album necessarily has a plot to it, but there can be many themes running through an album.  Nevermind's first hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is an anthem for the disaffected masses that are drawn together for wildly varying reasons.  Cobain was very concerned with what he considered the overly catchy pop sounds of most of mainstream music, and how it drew people together mindlessly (his idea of teen spirit).  In Bloom concerns the innocence of the individual who comes along and sings along to all of the songs, but he doesn't know the depth of the meaning. This quasi innocence is portrayed in the rest of the album through his response to relationships.  All of this relationship pain is brought about by the innocence of the person.  Dreams that a person suggests include planting a house and building a tree in breed and the dichotomy of the person in Lithium who is dealing with his emotional feelings, I like you, I need you, I killed you, compared to his mental state which keeps repeating he is not going to crack.

Critical Review - It becomes really difficult to review in an objective fashion what many consider to be one of the most revolutionary albums of the last 20 years.  Certainly the strains and the music of Nevermind are repetitive, but they are imbued with a melodic quality that much of the Seattle Grunge scene of its day was missing.  To encapsulate these with haunting lyrics that resonate is genius in its own right.   While I would criticize the albums repetitiveness of theme and music, there is also a method to the madness, in that it reflects the spirit of the age, which sometimes needs repetition to have something sink in as we are bombarded by so many different images.  What is really haunting is that much of this music reflects about the destructiveness of Cobain's feelings about his relationships, and many consider his death to be the conclusion of his destructive relationship with Courtney Love.

Reader's Annotation - How does one quibble with perfection?  One of the greatest albums from one of the greatest bands in the last twenty years perfectly encapsulates the teenage plight of its day, where innocence has been abused and something much more frightening takes its place.

Information about the Author - Kirk Cobain was born into a musically talented family, out of which several had been a part of bands or played instruments.  Cobain developed his talents.  At the age of eight, his parents divorced, having a profound effect on the young child.  He seemed to be ashamed of himself, as he did not consider himself to be normal.  He desperately wanted normal.

Being thrust into the music scene as the bastion of the Grunge Era, Cobain had a hard time with handling the success of his music.  Much of his lyrics criticized the non-unique sounds and rhythms of much of the music going around.  What he did not count on was that his instant popularity would spawn people copying him.  His struggle with his own sense of self worth led him to heroin usage and to abusive relationships.  This was obvious in his music and his life, culminating in his death from a probably self inflicted gunshot wound.

Genre - Music - Alternative

Curriculum Ties - Music Theory.  Explore the lyrics of the music as literature. - Literature

Booktalking Ideas - N/A

Interest Age - Grade 10+

Challenge Issues -
Possible criticism of Cobain as a result of his extensive heroin abuse and suicide, as well as the discussion of his libido and other sexual terminology.

Overcoming challenges - Discuss how this is an excellent opportunity to discuss negative repercussions of abuse as well as enabling a frank discussion of suicide, and how to help people.  Especially in Smells Like Teen Spirit, discuss the fact that Cobain is criticizing the mindlessness of the people in the song, not praising the people he speaks of.

Why selected - As the best of the grunge bands, and from my time as a teen as a I graduated in high school in 1991 when this album was released, I wanted to include some music in the selections of materials for teens.  And the fact that Smells Like Teen Spirit was the first single it somehow seemed appropriate.