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* A lot of folks we know have been in Seattle for the annual NCSL confab, so this one’s for them…

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 7:51 am

Comments

Man I love Seattle and will be heading back there soon. Very soon. I will also make an obligatory visit to Jimi’s gravesite.

Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:13 am
Might get slammed for this, but Nirvana is one of the most overrated bands of all time. They’re like the Doors, another band whose legend grew because of the tragic death of the lead singer.

They’re not even in the top 3 Seattle grunge bands. Give me Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains all day and twice on Sunday.

Comment by chi Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:15 am
Nirvana is not overrated. Period.

I am a huge punk and grunge aficionado and bleed black. Nirvana is true North in my compass, along with Gang of Four and Pixies.

Don’t even list those other excellent band - they are worthy, but they are no Nirvana.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:22 am
We would have led with something from Presidents of the United States — totally Seattle

Comment by Anonin' Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:30 am
I think you’re wrong on this one Chi. Pearl Jam: one great album and then they just keep trying to copy it, over and over and over again. Alice in Chains…meh…at best. Sound Garden…so so; one great album and couldn’t keep it up.

V Man is definitely right about the Pixies. However, the first two Nirvana albums are amazing and In Utero is pretty good. That unplugged episode is legendary. Finally, all of their music still holds up today. It definitely stands the test of time.

If you’re looking for a truly over rated band from the circa 92-94 era, how about the Smashing Pumpkins?????

Comment by Red Ranger Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:34 am
The ‘Unplugged in New York’ album is ridiculously good.

Comment by Archiesmom Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:36 am
Nirvana saved us all from the bubblegum pop and crap rock…… and Dave Grohl has proven to be a genius.

Comment by theq Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:37 am
Thanks Rich for posting this band. I remember exactly where I was the first time I ever heard them and couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing what I was hearing and seeing. It was like I was hearing everything I loved in punk, reborn in a more acceptable radio form.

Thanks to Nirvana, we got some of the best musical US bands during these few years. Between Seattle and Chicago, our music rocked the world and forced the Brits to rethink what they were putting out. They gave us Oasis, Blur, Portishead and Trip-Hop.

Thank you Mr. Cobain for dynamiting what was passing for music and sparking a new era.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:40 am
I loved the Pumpkins because I love Joliet. I have all their albums, but they did evolve their sound. They did some amazing stuff though.

I was in school in Germany during the Brit Rock era, and there was some great stuff that never cross the Atlantic. German bands, even today, do some incredible things, but since they aren’t in English, don’t get covered here.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 8:46 am
Chi, you’re just wrong about Nirvana. Only about 100 artists in history have sold at least 75 million albums, and The Doors and Nirvana are both on that list. Your other three bands are NOT. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, but they’re no Nirvana or The Doors. Albums sales don’t lie.

Comment by Moby Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 9:23 am
Pearl Jam better than Nirvana? Give me a break. There was a reason that Cobain dismissed PJ as bubblegum grunge, because that’s exactly what it was. You have to travel a long ways to find a band as pretentious as Pearl Jam. All the way to Georgia (REM) and/or Ireland (U2). U2, in particular, is in a pretentious class of its own–any band with two members that go by just one name is pretentious personified.

Nirvana was the real deal. Go listen to Live At Reading. There are a lot of folks on this board who know a lot about music. There are also a lot who are just lost in the sauce.

Comment by Vedder Hater Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 11:01 am
===There was a reason that Cobain dismissed PJ as bubblegum grunge===

True, but their next album was hardcore. And it rocked.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 11:02 am
The Doors are not in the same league as the other bands mentioned…just one guy’s opinion …biased by…well… old geezer bias.

I’m too old to appreciate the smell of teen spirit or sweat…L.A Woman (on studio quality closed cans) will tell the story.

Comment by Anonymous Redux Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 11:22 am
You can’t win an argument when one person is telling me the proof is in Nirvana’s album sales, and another is telling me the proof is in Cobain calling Pearl Jam pop, and that the reason PEral Jam is bad is cause they’re like REM and U2…

VMan I agree with you on the Pumpkins… some of the tracks on their new album are close to being as good as the stuff in their heyday.

Comment by chi Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 2:30 pm
Sorry, Rich, you and I are just going to have to agree to disagree about Pearl Jam. I’ve tried to like them, really I have. Got their first three records and then just quit cold turkey. It wasn’t hard. Once in awhile, I’ll happen across them on the radio and it only confirms that I made the right call. I’d rather listen to the Monkees. At least they knew what they were trying to accomplish.

So far as 90s artists go, Hole and Marilyn Manson both blow PJ out of the water, so far as I’m concerned. And what a tour Hole/Marilyn Manson was, while it lasted, which wasn’t long. I was lucky enough to see it before everything imploded. Talk about raw energy.

Comment by Vedder Hater Tuesday, Aug 4, 15 @ 5:39 pm