Nirvana's roots lay in the underground scene of Seattle, in the mid-1980's. The Melvins, based out of Olympia, and the Sonic Youth were early mentors of the band that would later be known as Nirvana. Their first musical incarnation as the Stiff Woodies featured Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass and whoever happened to be around on guitar. By 1987 they had morphed into Nirvana; Cobain moved to vocals and guitar, and drummer Chad Channing was added. Nirvana soon gained the attention of the Seattle label Sub Pop and their debut album, Bleach, was released in June 1989. Dave Grohl of the Washington, D.C. hardcore band Scream replaced Channing in September 1990. During the summer of 1991 the band opened for Sonic Youth on their European Festival tour. Nirvana's landmark performance at the Reading Festival was featured in the documentary "1991: The Year Punk Broke" and marked the beginning of their worldwide recognition. Ironically, 1991 marked the birth of Nirvanamania and also the beginning of Cobain's mental and physical deterioration.

After his death, Grohl and Pat Smear formed the Foo Fighters, whose 1995 self-titled album was a smash hit. Krist Novoselic eventually went on to join two bands, Sweet 75, and eventually Eyes Adrift, although keeping a lower profile than Grohl.

Puddle of Mudd - This is an educated guess. Puddle of Mudd is produced by Geffen, who also produced Nirvana. Puddle of Mudd is accused by some of trying to 'sound like Nirvana'. So, it is only logical that they might have been influenced by Nirvana, as well.

I chose Nirvana because I loved their music, and I was too young to appreciate them when they were around, and when Kurt Cobain was alive. The most vivid memory I have of Nirvana is a girl carving Cobain's name into her arm after his death. I wanted to find out more about their music, perhaps the meaning behind some of it, and I wanted to find out what made Cobain who he was. He was, and still is, a very complex, mysterious man, and he lived a short, turbulent life.

Society also had a large influence on the music of Nirvana. The disaffectedness of the youth played a huge part in Nirvana's music, as did some current events. The song "Polly" came from a news story Kurt heard about a girl that had been raped. "Scentless Apprentice" came from a book Kurt had read about a perfume-manufacturer who didn't have the scent of smell.

Some songs which exemplify this the best are: You Know You're Right, Aneurysm, and .

The characteristics of Nirvana lie in grunge:

Cobain himself suffered through his parents' nasty divorce, and his mother's irresponsible behavior. These childhood events lent themselves into many of Cobain's songs. When Kurt was in his teens, his mother threw him out of their house and married her boyfriend. He moved in with a friend, and spent his days vandalizing building walls with grafitti.

Some topics in this essay:
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