Is Nirvana Overrated?
 

So, I was talking with this friend of mine and he said essentially, that 'yeah, Nirvana was good, but if Kurt hadn't been such a fuckwad and shot himself, they would just be remembered as another early Grunge band.' I am thinking that he has a point. How about you guys?

no not at all, i loved nirvana before kurt "shot himself" which i kinda dont believe mainly cuz courtney love is coniving cunt rag that could easily of done it and made it look like suicide.

Nirvana was huge before kurt died and they always will be(at least i hope). Nirvana is my favorite band.

i don't think anyone has ever made them one of the top 10 bands of all time so in that case: no, i don't think they're overrated.

they're a very good band with some excellent songs.

well they were on the top 10 most influencial bands of all time on some tv show.

not overrated, just overplayed.

Overplayed, yes. But if you listen to some of thier songs they have/had a certain element. Maybe you could call it angst (sp). They were very good at what they did.

Some would argue that they reflected the feelings of a generation.

Overplayed but not overrated...

It was the band that brought the punk sound into the mainstream.

The fact that Kurt is gone only underlines the fact that we will never know if he could have sustained the level of talent he displayed. Would he have continued to crank out top notch music or would he have faded in time... ask the same of Janis and Jimi...

You just can't answer it.

At the time when "Nevermind" came out music was such shit that anything could have broken through. Nirvana just happen to be in the right place at the right time and where willing to be played on MTV. There was a lot of other bands that kicked far more ass... like The Pixies, they never were played on MTV or even the radio.

The Pixies totally rock... no question. My absolute favourite band.

I still think Nirvana was a better band than most of the drek that got called grunge.

they were so overrated...i'll take the foo fighters over nirvana!!!!

I hold Nirvana as one of my top bands ever. I was a big listener before and after the shot heard 'round the world. Angst and sarcasm are powerful tools of expression and Nirvana used them without exception.

You stole my thunder...

Not Overrated at all if you ask me. But would they be big like there are today if Kurt was still alive? That's the what if question.

Definitely Overrated.

Fact is, no one heard of the album "Bleach" before "Nevermind" and frankly it was awful.

Nevermind was a huge success.

Then Incesticide was a flop...a huge flop. Then they started to redeem themselves with In Utero, but it never was the success of Nevermind.

So 2 out of the 4 CD's they released were failures. Hardly a decent track record. All these people telling me they were the greatest band ever or such influences make me laugh. A career of 50% does not make them a top 10 band of all time, no matter what the braindead MTV generation has to say.

Yes yes yes.

Completely overrated.

they wouldn't have the name is Cobain hadn't died. he was a martyr. He died while they were at their biggest stage.

Do I like them? Yes

But come on, Soundgarden is better.

I dont really know why but i loved Kurt's vocals...he had a voice to fit his music.

The rest however, was average at best.

Nirvana clearly had the benefit of a James Dean-type exit. Explode onto the scene like a meteor and get out before people grow tired of you.

They were tremendously talented and I still enjoy listening to them more than 10 years later, but too many people claimed that they were "the voice of a generation". They were a great band that put out 2 great albums.

I think they were one of the greatest bands of this generation at least.

Who knows if that was the peak of their success...or whether Kurt Cobain was cut down in his prime and would grow even further as a musician.

Nevermind was (and still is) one of the all-time great albums. The other albums were (and still are) poo.

Well, look at it this way: if you can manage it, (I'm not being a dick, this is very hard to do) put yourself in a mindset where you'd never heard Nirvana and they were just hitting radio today. To me, that's the test... if the music can stand up at any given time, they're good. Also, paart of why everyone considers Nirvana so great is because they influenced soooooo many artists and helped gicve rocka kick in the ass. Mind you, this is coming from someone who hates most grunge. But jsut because I hate the music doens't mean I don;t recognize the importance and influence it had. Some of my favorite bands, disparite as thier styles may be, probably wouldn't be around today if not for early grungers liek Nirvana.

/2 cents

Nirvana has to be one of the greatest bands of all time, and IMO they are THE greatest of all time, I loved all of their albums, Basically all of thier songs, I read Heavier than Heaven a while back and yeah he was kinda a fuckwad, but Kurt was cool, maybe even a genius.....But if he hadn't of died would of Nirvana still have had a big name or would they have died off?

To add to that a little...

If we could actually do your experiment today, Nirvana would be extrememly popular because the shit they play on the radio these days is unbelievable. Nirvana (although not one of my favorite bands) broke thru at a time where alt-rock music was at it's peak (IMO). You better believe that they would still be popular. Teens these days can't express their angst and sarcasm with Britney Spears or Nsync.

Better yet. Put it backwards. If the bands of today were starting out in the 90's, do you think 10% of them would still make it big? I highly doubt it. There has been a major brain-drain in the music industry and unfortunately, it all went into Britney's breasts.

For their time they helped invent a new sound, and left a mighty big mark on the musical landscape for quite sometime. The influenced a large chunk of musicans and will be remembered probably more for Kurt than for their music, but overall their discography stands on it's own. They forged a nice blend of punk rock angst with raw rock n' roll with out the glizt and glamor of either. They were the anti-pop without the hate.

Overrated? Nope.

I'm not a huge fan, but I would definatly say that they are not overated. Not caring for grunge too much, I found their Live in New York CD amazing. Definatly a huge influence on many later bands.

NOT overrated. I was a fan of nirvana before they hit it big and I always found kurt's lyrics to be amazing. It did reflect how I felt at the time. I was going through my teens and had alot of pent up aggression. I lived my pain/life through his words. While I think he was brilliant I also think that they wouldn't have lasted long. Kurt didn't really want to be popular IMO. He would rather sulk in the shadows. In light of this I think he would've made maybe one more great album then said fuck off and went on his merry way.

Nirvana
 

Nirvana would just fade away quietly into the background like say...Silverchair. sure they'd make albums but no one would care after a while like say...Pearl Jam. OOORRRR they'd break up and Dave grohl would do FOO as he is now and they'd all do other stuff like say...Soundgarden.

I dont tihnk they are overrated, i like to listen to their music every now and then

I used to not like Nirvana, but I have been listening to them a bit lately and they are actually very talented. There is just this way about their songs that is great. Can't explain it I guess, it's just good.

@Kaos: IMO Insecticide and Bleach were awesome albums and their two live albums were great. MTV Unplugged showed Kurt at his end, more mellow and seemingly beaten down, and From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah showed Kurts crazy angst-filled side.

I totally agree with slunk on the crap thats being put out these days and i believe Nirvana would be real popular with people if they were just coming out now and nothing now would be popular if it was put out in the early 90's.

I also agree that Nirvana would have broken up probably after one more cd if not maybe 2 more and they would of each gone their own ways. I like Dave Grohl singing and playing the guitar but not as much as i liked him playing the drums.

They were a good band that had some OK songs. but i just can't listen to them anymore. Whenever they are on the radio, i just change stations.

Hell Yes they are overrated.

I feel the need to defend In Utero and the Unplugged albums... Simply put they rocked.

I hadn't listened to any Nirvana for a couple of years and during a recent trip to my cottage (4 hour drive) I had In Utero and Nevermind cranked to the max... both albums still worked for me the way they worked when I first heard them.

overrated, yes....overplayed, definately........misunderstood, certainly......missed, not really. Especially since Foo Fighters is so awsome! RIP Kurt, the rest of the world keeps spinning without you................

Nirvana is not overrated. They are a great band who have made great songs. So, not all of their albums have been big successes, but tons of other artists have made work that's unpopular/not good and gone on to make masterpieces. Nirvana is good, very very good. But, not the alpha and omega of rock.

I think Nirvana is a bit overrated, if only because everyone goes around saying how truly awesome they are. I don't like them a lot, but I can appreciate their musical talent...all the same, I think everyone is taking the nirvana love too far.

Now yes -- back in the day -- no way.

Not overrated. There was some true creative sparks flying around in there, and they expressed themselves well. Too bad the pubic "commercialized" them, and practically glorified them after Cobain's death. That's when you knew it was too much...

Well said thumper - that pretty much sums it up completely. They were very creative and true to their emotions, two great elements of a great band. Then they were victimized by the super-media-hype-machine and that pretty much ruined it for me. After Cobain was elevated to Jesus status (after suicide), I just wanted to puke and forget about them. Again, R.I.P. Kurt and hello Foo Fighters !:D

LOL.. bleach was a great disc.. and I had it long before I had nevermind.. and in some ways.. i prefer it..

oh well.. ..

and the obsure songs on Insecticide... are some of his best work..

I think those that listen to boy bands should really be carefull when making such comments.. heh.


this thread is a tough one to answer... ... would JOHN LENNON .. have gone on to continue to make substantial music... .. ummm.. we will never know.. same with Kurt.. .. or Kurdt.. or Curt.. .. .heh.