For everything I remember about Nirvana, the lasting memory I take from the untimely death of Kurt Cobain was his inability and lack of desire to deal with the “mainstream.” Yeah, it could be the teenage angst in me trying to parallel my feelings to Cobain's life, but there was a definite difference between Nirvana and the other major label indie bands of the day like Sonic Youth and REM. Namely, the contempt. So, as I read that the fine whores people over at Universal Music are going to exploit celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nevermind with multiple re-releases of the seminal album “ranging from a 4-CD/1-DVD Super Deluxe Edition to a standard digital/CD remaster of the original album” (it fits in everyone's price range!), I relived that teenage angst.
“Making the most of the occasion” (press release's words, not mine), the reissue will feature dozens of previously unreleased recordings, obscure B-sides, alternate mixes, radio sessions, studio rarities and live recordings including a Halloween 1991 concert at Seattle's Paramount Theatre in its entirety. Because, you know, Kurt Cobain just wanted all of his demos and fuck-ups to eventually be heard. He clearly didn't put them on the album because he was waiting until the 20th anniversary to finally let the world hear them. “Rape Me” indeed.
If you really want to celebrate the album that changed the face of music 20 years ago, buy the super deluxe version of Nevermind and pirate it to as many people around the world as you can. Because teen spirit is not what this project reeks of.
