Nirvana FACTS

-“I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.”—Kurt Cobain

-Before they were known as Nirvana, the band went through some interesting names. Among them were Skid Row, Ted Ed Fred, and (strangely) Fecal Matter.

-Although their big break didn’t happen until the 1990s, the band later known as Nirvana formed in the late 1980s, releasing their first single in 1988. It was a cover of Shocking Blue’s song “Love Buzz.”

-Before Dave Grohl joined Nirvana, the band had gone through five previous drummers

-Nirvana ultimately released only three albums: Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero. They also released the compilation album Incesticide.

-Nirvana’s most successful album, Nevermind, and its main single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” are among the highest selling albums and singles of all time. They sold 30 million and eight million copies respectively.

-The first album that Nirvana released, titled Bleach, cost a total of $606.17 to produce. Seattle musician Jason Everman provided the necessary funds to his friends

-Nirvana’s final album, In Utero, was comprised of new songs that were written for it specifically, as well as a number of older songs which had been written as far back as 1990.

-Shortly after he finished recording Nevermind with the rest of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain went home and discovered that he had been evicted! He spent the next several weeks living in his car, even as Nevermind became a hit beyond his wildest expectations.

-Despite the success of Nevermind, Nirvana grew to strongly dislike how “polished” it sounded. When it came to In Utero, their next album, Nirvana wanted its songs to embody “both of the extremes,” with Cobain insisting at the time that “it’ll be more raw with some songs and more candy pop on some of the others. It won’t be as one-dimensional

-When it came to the subject matter and music of Nevermind, Kurt Cobain’s intention was to produce an album that sounded like “The Knack and the Bay City Rollers getting molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath.”

-The origins of the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” are an immortal part of pop culture at this point, but it bears repeating for the good story that it is. Kurt Cobain was inspired by a bit of graffiti written by his friend on the wall of his bedroom which read “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit.” Cobain was so inspired by this revolutionary message that he used it as the title of a new song.

-On the 8th of April 1994, Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain was discovered dead of gunshot-related injuries

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