If I were to classify any particular band as rock and roll
so far, Nirvana would meet the quintessential stereotype of hard rock. With
every drum beat and every strum of the guitar, they release an epic stream of
rebellion that fuels a wild attitude and tone to their music. Listening to
their music combines an energizing feeling, but their music is rather easy to
listen to. I may just believe that it is easy to listen to, though, because I
really cherish smooth electric guitar strums that so dominate their songs. I
love the way Nirvana is able to mix together steady and constant beats, insane
guitar/bass chords, and vocal prowess. While some may argue that this type of
music is simply noise and lacks the fluidity of calmer music, I could not
disagree more. Although Nirvana does push a much louder and more intense sound
through this entire album, there is actually strict organization. If you strip
away the loud countermelody for a second, you can see that Nirvana’s songs
progress from a quick introduction into a harsh drum break. This entering of
the percussion provides a great lead into the main chorus and heavy
countermelody. Every one of their songs follows a similar pattern and this
consistency pulls the entire album together into one unifying piece of art.
Another thing that I like as this album (AS A WHOLE) is the
fact that there is also a decent amount of diversity. While many of the songs
heavily utilize electric guitar and bass to drive the songs, there are also many
singles throughout the album that rely more on the vocals and use a softer
countermelody to accentuate the vocal capacity of the band. “Polly” utilizes
decent amount of bass and guitar, but it is softer and muted compared to the
dominant vocals. Even the vocals maintain a softer tone that changes the entire
song. In the very next track, “Territorial Pissings”, however, Nirvana reverts
right back to their “hard rocker” type of music. These tracks I classify
because of their loud and intense countermelodies and scream-like vocals.
Additionally, Nirvana’s music also thrives in just singles along with the
entire album. Each song on the album can be separated and stand independently
of one another. While some are more wild
than others and some are more personally appealing to me, they all stand strong
to analysis by themselves. This is what I think has enabled Nirvana to stay
popular: Because its music is strong as just singles, it enables this band to
adapt to the changing structure of the way music is listening (on a strongly
single basis). I love being able to digest this album as a whole, but for the
main consumer, albums need to be easily dividable into strong singles.
Lastly, I feel that Nirvana has effectively mixed together
aspects of a variety of genres into their music. They are a great example of
the convergence of various music styles into rock. While on the surface Nirvana
may seem like they are simply one dimensional and are focused on “classic
rock”, they also mix together elements of country and sometimes the soft tone
of ballads. This ability is quite astounding and quite respectable in fact. I
feel that they used this in order to accentuate the complete album arc. They
maintained a relatively intense sound throughout most of the album, but descend
towards the end of the album with country and softer tones. The 11th
track on the album, “On a Plain”, oozes country vibes and the album concludes
with “Something in the Way” which leaves the listener in a place of tranquility
and ultimately desiring more.
Oh, and whatever you do, don’t listen to the bonus track; it
utterly stinks.
Check out the following songs, though:
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