I could argue for hours about the merits of Nirvana but it would be a pointless endeavor. Regardless of your opinion, it can't be argued that they (Nirvana, PJ, Soundgarden, etc) changed music, be it good or bad, for a substantial amount of time. On a similar note, Cameron Crowe has filmed a documentary called PJ20 about Pearl Jam that is being released in select theaters on Tuesday. For those who can't see it in a theater, it will air on PBS on Oct. 21 at 9 p.m.
I tried to edit this into my last post but I took too long... I was 12 when Ten came out. A family friend gave me a copied cassette just a few weeks before "Jeremy" became a hit. I loved it. Those songs spoke to me. They actually meant something to a confused, awkward teenager. I'm sure that some people can say the same thing about, say Blink182, but at that age and that era, I could relate to the lyrics or at least relate them to my life. I became a huge PJ fan and followed them as best as my teenage income would allow. A few years later, '95 or so, the guy that gave me my first Ten cassette died of a heroin overdose, another friend killed himself, and another died in a car crash. Shit was rough and I found solace in music, specifically Pearl Jam. The lyrics spoke to me and were relevant. I hope that this is still the case for young people and new bands. If so, then fantastic.
I received these albums on CD (gasp!) Christmas of '91: Metallica - The Black Album GNR - Illusions I GNR - Illusions II AIC - Dirt Pearl Jam - Ten Nirvana - Nevermind Little did I know, that was the high point. Never again would music crank out so many classics in such a short amount of time.
Part of the problem with judging these acts is their pervasive influence. Alt rock won. I can't imagine a rock landscape without more Pearl jam and Nirvana influenced bands than you can shake a stick at. They effectively became the new normal, to the point where "alternative rock" is now a totally useless label (are the Foo Fighters alternative? Alternative to what, since their type of sound dominates rock airwaves?) The backwards-looking perspective totally robs these acts of their novelty.
Although I've branched out a lot since them, my first love was Guns and Roses in particular and 'sleaze rock' in general. This is the first song I ever loved. I still remember trying to furtively dub my brother's GNR tapes while he was rollerblading. From there I went on to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and then Bush, Live, and Everclear (somehow missed AIC, sadly). I still think STP's Purple might be the greatest album of all time, in a very close heat with Throwing Copper. (I actually prefer Vs to 10, although I concede that 10 is probably the better album). The thing that gets me about the 90's is the sheer diversity of what was available - Grunge: Nirvana, Soundgarden, STP, AIC; Alt Rock: Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Everclear; Thrash/Sleaze rock: GNR, Offspring, Motley Crue; Hiphop: Death Row records, Tupac / Biggie, Luniz, Richie Rich; Emo Female Genre: Alanis Morisette, Portishead, Garbage, Brit pop: Oasis, Blur, Pulp. What happened? It's like everyone gave up and said Fuck it, all the good music's gone, let's just make DNB/dubstep.
I was 17 when Nevermind came out and I must say at the time I thought it was awesome. The only record I liked best at the time was "Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic" (and the gap has widened a lot since). But, looking back, the impact of the album to me can be explained by several factors that don't have a lot to do with Nirvana: - the greatness of the album has more to do with the production than with the band itself as former and later releases show; - one of my favourite bands at the time shot itself in the foot by releasing two double albums when they had songs to make a forty minute one almost as good as Apetite for Destruction; - also Metallica had just gone mainstream with an album full of radio friendly hits that got old pretty fast after I bought it. Considering all of this plus the fact that the only Nirvana concert I attended was one of the worst live performances I ever saw from a band I liked (curiously I can say the same about the Foo Fighters), I must agree that Nirvana and Nermind were overrated. Also both times I saw Pearl Jam (92 and 2005) they kicked ass and I intend to catch them again one month from now. Take this with a little salt though. This is 37 year old me talking. I'm the guy who just came back from a festival that had nights headlined by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica and Guns and Roses and chose to go to the one with Stevie Wonder.