Is Nirvana dated?

[Free-R]

Yes, Nirvana is dated. It’s hard to put into words exactly why, but I’ll try. Perhaps part of the issue is that their sound wasn’t polished, and that’s because it wasn’t supposed to be. Having listened to Nirvana when they were big, there always was something about them that felt kind of off to me. Some of their earlier stuff from Bleach and Incesticide has the necessary hooks, such as “About A Girl,” “Love Buzz,” and “Aneurysm,” but in the end, those songs are like most of Nirvana’s catalog—mediocre, if one is being musically honest. In fairness to Incesticide, that album was a B-sides release.

Nevermind: Butch Vig was the producer for Nevermind, and it’s his mixing that gave Nevermind a more commercial sound than I think Kurt was truly aiming for, but that he ultimately approved. This dynamic was described in Charles R. Cross’s book “Heavier Than Heaven,” as well as a lot of other situations detailing Kurt’s reluctance, yet ultimate acceptance--if not outright wanting--of his commercial success. Additionally, Butch Vig describes the making-of production dynamics with Kurt Cobain on the Classic Albums - Nirvana: Nevermind DVD. Kurt was never sure which direction he was most comfortable with, the poppy side or the punk side, and this story arc follows him throughout much of his work. With that said, Nevermind is better than average. When it came time to work on a follow-up to Nevermind, Kurt purposefully chose Steve Albini as producer on the In Utero album, not because Vig didn’t do a good job on Nevermind, but because he knew that Albini’s style would help bring the band back to the more unpolished sound that Kurt wanted.

I once chose to present the lyric sheet from my In Utero cassette to my then-English teacher, who went on to praise the writing. And therein lied the problem. Despite the fact that he got such a seal of approval as a lyricist, there isn’t a lot of emotional depth to be had in much of Kurt’s work. He said himself that he often just strung nonsense sentences together to come up with some of his lyrics. I'm not saying he didn't write good lyrics at times, but there’s only so much “I hate everything and I'm a reluctant star” a person can stomach. It would make sense that such an approach would, possibly, make one feel like a bit of a fraud and go on to write such lyrics as, “Teen angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old.” To be fair, that line is from "Serve the Servants," one of the more lyrically creative Nirvana songs, IMO, and my personal favorite.

Looking back, they were credited with taking out hair metal and bringing a different sound to the masses, but the other big three—Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam—are far superior bands and stand up to the test of time, something Nirvana’s catalog does not. I can listen to Nirvana, but I find myself more interested in the live performances or rare tracks than the commercial stuff, and it's often to listen for more of a historical perspective than to rock out. If Kurt was bored with his teenage angst, it stands to reason that, as you have "rejected your old self," as you put it, that you're bored by his angst too.