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Nirvana's Nevermind: An album forged by contradictions
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Graffiti seen under a bridge in Kurt Cobain Park in Aberdeen, Washington on April 1, 2014. The park and bridge where Cobain used to hang out and write songs has become a symbol for fans as it was a gathering place after the news of his death spread. (AFP/Sébastien Vuagnat)
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eleased 30 years ago this week, Nevermind was a generation-defining milestone that sold 30 million copies and made a tragic icon of Kurt Cobain.
Ranked the most influential band of all time by US magazine Spin last year, Nirvana's ethos continues to reverberate in artists as varied as Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and Frank Turner.
Nevermind was back in the news last month when the man who was photographed when he was a baby for the cover sued the band for sexual exploitation.
He was pictured naked, swimming after a dollar bill on a fish hook, in an image that became another iconic aspect of an album whose lead track "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was ubiquitous across MTV and radio stations around the world.
At the heart of the album's success were the strange contradictions of Cobain, who was torn between apathy and rebellion, sweetness and rage.
Mainstream punk
Nevermind united musical tribes that had been largely separate -- punk, indie, metal -- and added a pop element that made them accessible to everyone else.
