Nirvana (band)

There are two entries under this name.

Nirvana was a British psychedelic rock band of the 1960s, primarily known for the single "Rainbow Chaser". See Nirvana (60s band)

Frequently hailed as a flagship band of Generation X, Nirvana was a grunge band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1994 upon the death of its leader, Kurt Cobain. Though formed in Aberdeen, Washington, Seattle was the band's home base during their heyday. Primary members included Cobain, (guitar and vocals), Krist Novoselic (bass and backing vocals), and Dave Grohl (drums and backing vocals). Other members included Aaron Burkhart (drums), Chad Channing (drums), Jason Everman[?] (guitar), and Pat Smear (touring guitarist). Their first album, Bleach (featuring Channing on drums), was a garage rock record, made for the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop and sold poorly. Their second, Nevermind, sweetened the sound of the earlier with a cleaner production (by Butch Vig[?]) and occasional pop hooks. Recorded for the much larger Geffen Records label, it was a major breakthrough both for the band and the rock music scene. The highly infectious single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" received heavy airplay on MTV, inspiring a slew of imitators and bringing the grunge sound into the mainstream. Their follow up, 1993's In Utero, was slightly less accessible to the mass market due to its more subdued and introspective sound, but still obtained critical and commercial success.

Singer Kurt Cobain was known to be troubled, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He wrote a song, "Lithium", about the medication lithium carbonate, which is used to treat bipolar disorder. Around 1993 Cobain married musician and actress Courtney Love. Plagued by an unexplained stomach illness and increasingly dissatisfied with the crass commercialism of the music industry, Cobain became depressed, reclusive, and a heroin addict. Cobain committed suicide in 1994 at his Seattle home, but the remaining band members did state that the group was in the process of splitting up at the time of Kurt's death.

Several albums have been released since Cobain's death, including a live set, and a superb perfomance on MTV's Unplugged in New York. In the years following Kurt Cobain's death, there has been much controversy over the ownership of Nirvana's music. The two surviving members, Grohl and Novoselic, and wife Courney Love, have argued the issue of releasing a new album containing rare or unreleased tracks. On October 29, 2002, following a grueling legal battle, the album Nirvana was released containing several greatest hits and one unreleased track, "You Know You're Right". (A live version of this song can be found on Outcesticide V(5) Disintegration. This was released prior to the album Nirvana.)

According to some, notably public access host Richard Lee of Seattle, Kurt Cobain was murdered. His ongoing documentary has been running since the week after Cobain's demise. In addition, a documentary film called "Kurt & Courtney" was made by filmmaker Nick Broomfield[?] which suggests that Love had Cobain killed. However, these are generally considered to be conspiracy theories and the official verdict of death by self-inflicted gunshot wound is widely accepted.

Discography:

Bleach (1989)

Nevermind (1991)

Hormoaning (1992 – Australia and Japan only)

Incesticide (1992)

In Utero (1993)

MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)

From the Muddy Banks of Wishkah (1995)

Nirvana (2002) (also called Best Of 1988-1994)