Features
Friday, September 30 2011
The Year Alternative Went Massive and Defined a Decade
Above all else, musically 1991 will forever be remembered as the year alterna-rock conquered the masses. PopMatters explores how alternative became the dominant form of rock music in the '90s.
Tuesday, September 27 2011
Nevermind Nostalgia: The Music of 1991... 20 Years Later
Over the next several weeks, PopMatters explores the artistic diversity of 1991, as we revisit some of the year's most memorable albums, address the trends of the day, and mine the cutout bin of history.
Tuesday, September 27 2011
Smells Like MTV: Music Video and the Rise of Grunge
MTV’s central role in delivering grunge to a national audience in the early 1990s demonstrated the network’s power as a creator and definer of culture, and the reaction of many of grunge’s iconic figures against the video medium revealed the gulf between principle and reality.
Monday, September 26 2011
Between the Grooves of Nirvana's 'Nevermind'
Our stable of writers undertakes a track-by-track analysis of the most celebrated album of the last 20 years, from the surprise hit that brought grunge to the masses, to the hidden cacophonous noise-fest that may not even be included on your copy of the record.
Tuesday, May 18 2010
Afraid of a Ghost: Inside the 'All Apologies' Meme
Why did the Robert-Pattinson-as-Kurt-Cobain myth take in more people than any April Fool? Because it seemed too uncomfortably true to be bullshit.
Columns
Tuesday, October 4 2011
Was Grunge the Last American Musical Revolution?
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. In revisiting the grunge genre which altered the musical landscape two decades ago, the question arises: was this our last musical revolution?
Reviews
Thursday, December 15 2011
Ride: Nowhere (20th Anniversary Edition)
Alan Moulder's mix reveals, in these Rhino remasters, a grittier coating over the hazy smear.
Tuesday, October 18 2011
'Nirvana Live at the Paramount': Stand Near This Fire
Nirvana were always like some neighborhood kid's angsty little brother: loud, intense, and thoroughly unguarded even as wise-ass irony leaked through the veneer.
Friday, September 30 2011
Nirvana: Nevermind (Deluxe Edition)
Over time, it has become clear that this is an album about the feelings of one man (not a generation), and his struggle between rock purity and pop sensibility is what makes this classic.
Friday, December 11 2009
Nirvana: Live at Reading
Few live shows are able to communicate a band's heart and soul the way Nirvana's is brilliantly encapsulated here.
Friday, May 25 2007
Nirvana by Everett True
One of the author's major assertions, expressed through quotes of others, is that Nirvana remains a powerful entity owing much to the fact that Kurt Cobain is gone.
Blogs
Thursday, July 14 2011
Why Shouldn't Miley Cyrus Smell Like Kurt Cobain?
Didn't Kurt Cobain perform as a teenage girl? If Nirvana did inspire an entire generation, then we really should be receiving Miley Cyrus' cover performances in a much more educated fashion than we are.
Monday, June 27 2011
Nirvana's 'Nevermind' Gets Deluxe Reissue Treatment
As has probably been reported everywhere by now, Nirvana's Nevermind is set to get the deluxe reissue treatment to commemorate the record's twentieth anniversary. To…
Thursday, June 9 2011
The 10 Best Nirvana Songs Ever
Now nearly 20 years after Nevermind first conquered the mainstream, PopMatters looks at the ten best songs by alternative rock’s definitive and most important band.
Tuesday, April 5 2011
Are You into Guilt?: Nirvana’s Great Lost Single
Prior to the single’s February 1993 release, Nirvanamania was still riding high, as evidenced by the Christmastime arrival of the rarities collection Incesticide to satiate fans eagerly awaiting a new studio album. So what did the group follow that with? A rarity!
Friday, February 4 2011
1991: A Landmark Year for Rock Albums
Whether it was by overthrowing the old guard, engaging in self-reinvention, or by modernizing a particular approach for the new decade, change was a concept that imbued many of 1991’s seminal rock albums.
News
Wednesday, September 21 2011
Nirvana, Pearl Jam revisit era-defining music
NIRVANA “Nevermind: Super Deluxe Edition” (Geffen) 2.5 stars (out of 4) PEARL JAM “Pearl Jam Twenty” (Columbia) 3 stars ——— World domination — so difficult…
