Nirvana

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Nirvana was an American rock band that was an active recording outfit from 1989 through 1994.

Overview

Nirvana was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. The band went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting (and final) being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Nirvana was tremendously influential and helped pave the way for the alternative rock and grunge movements of the 1990s.

Weezer connections

Nirvana were a primary influence on both Rivers Cuomo as a songwriter and Weezer as a band, particularly the 1991 album Nevermind. The album, with cover art depicting a naked baby swimming toward a US dollar bill on a fishhook, along with the band's single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", is referenced in the Red Album track, "Heart Songs" (@2:27). The lyrics include the lines:

Back in 1991, I wasn't having any fun
'Til my roommate said "come on", and put a brand new record on
Had a baby on it; he was naked on it
Then I heard the chords that broke the chains I had up on me

Nirvana were labelmates with Weezer at DGC, although Cobain's suicide pre-dated the May 1994 release of The Blue Album by a month. Therefore, the two bands were not technically simultaneously active with the label. Both bands appeared on the 1994 compilation DGC Rarities, Vol. 1.

Cobain was mentioned by name in the original draft for the lyrics to "Susanne", but upon Cobain's death, the line was altered. When the song was brought back into the band's setlists in 2010, the original line ("Even Kurt Cobain and Axl Rose/When I call, you put them all on hold.") was restored.

Under the pseudonym Goat Punishment, Weezer perfomred a six-song set of Nirvana covers in 1999. Cuomo was known to have been studying Cobain's compositions (as well as those by Green Day and Oasis) during Weezer's "hiatus" from 1997 to 2000, thus being the likely reason for these songs being performed.

In 2005, Weezer toured with the Foo Fighters (the Foozer tour), Dave Grohl of Nirvana's current band.

Weezer performed the Nirvana song "Sliver" during the second half of the Troublemaker Tour in 2008.