Nirvana is the epitome of grunge rock and will arguably go down in history as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. For me, like many others, Nirvana was my hook; it opened my eyes to a world that I had never really seen before. Though the band only lasted from their meeting in 1987 to Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5th, 1994.

Though a lot of people only know “Smells like Teen Spirit” or maybe even “Heart-Shaped Box,” Nirvana produced 102 songs in their relatively short career. Their song titles included diseases like “Tourette’s” and “Aneurysm,” popular works like “Lithium” and “Drain You,” and some of my person favorites “Pennyroyal Tea” and “Come As You Are.”

If you haven’t hear Nirvana’s music, you’ve almost surely heard about the controversy over Kurt Cobain’s death. The conspiracy is that Courtney Love, Kurt’s girlfriend at the time of death, murdered him even though his death was ruled a suicide. At his time of death, he had an insane amount of heroin in his blood stream, but he ultimately died by way of a bullet. He was a sad man, but the evidence kind of piles up against Courtney. With his tragic death, Kurt joined many other earth shattering artist such as Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin in the infamous 27 Club. If you would like to know more about the life and death of Kurt Cobain, watch the documentaries Montage of Heck and Soaked in Bleach; these films also include some adorable footage of Frances Bean Cobain.

After the band’s breakup following the death of Kurt Cobain, the main remaining members continued their music careers. Nirvana’s drummer Dave Grohl went on to back artist like Tom Petty and later even starting his own band, the Foo Fighters, giving up his drumsticks for a mic and guitar. Krist Novoselic, the guitarist, took a more political stance in the music world by organizing JAMPAC (Joint Artists and Music Promotions Political Actions Committee) to fight the limitation of music sales for groups that were federlly deemed obscene; he also did protest shows like his 1999 Seattle show that was anti World Trade Organization.

Nirvana changed my life. From their garage band days all the way to their tragic death, they redefined art and music, changing the world forever.

• “Official Nirvana Website: Complete Discography, Videos and More.” Nirvana, 2016, http://www.nirvana.com/.
• Prato, Greg. “Krist Novoselic | Biography & History.” AllMusic, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/krist-novoselic-mn0000114761/biography.
• Zlatopolsky, Ashley. “Nirvana’s 10 Greatest TV and Film Moments: ‘SNL’ Smooching, Muppets & Beyond.” Billboard, 26 Sept. 2016, http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7518899/nirvana-10-greatest-tv-film-moments-video-snl-muppets-pulp-fiction.