Follow TV Tropes

Following

Awesome Music / Nirvana

Go To

You don't change the rock landscape from Hair Metal into Alternative Rock and Grunge without having some seriously Awesome Music in your repertoire.


  • 1989's Bleach is a dark, twisted beast of a record that predates all the madness of their fame, but it's still very much Nirvana:
    • The somewhat minimal arrangement of "About a Girl," dominated by a two-chord riff, is an early demonstration of how catchy and approachable they could be.
    • The bass riff from their cover of Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz" is catchy in either incarnation, but for pure visceral power, Nirvana's version blows the original out of the water.
  • Do we even have to go into detail why Nevermind is awesome? It's basically the most catchy grunge record ever.
    • You might've heard of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Epic Riff doesn't even begin to cover it. It's been listed as one of the greatest songs of all time for good reason!
    • "In Bloom". Slower than many of the songs, but especially catchy despite (or because of?) the Lyrical Dissonance.
    • Really, they pretty much all have Epic Riffs, but "Come As You Are" in particular sees Krist Novoselic knock out a gorgeous, iconic bass riff.
    • Want some more energy? Listen to "Breed." Somehow Cobain manages to make "She said!" over and over again extremely catchy.
    • If it sounds implausible to have an incredibly hooky song where the chorus is simply "Yeeeeeeeeeeeah", well "Lithium" does just that and it works.
    • "Polly." Nightmare Fuel indeed, but that just makes it all the better.
    • But you listen to grunge for noisier freak-outs, right? Well, there's always the grimy mess that is "Territorial Pissings".
    • Turning the page, "Drain You" is an incredibly poppy song in the verses, shifting darker in the choruses, and don't get us started on that breakdown!
    • "Lounge Act" might be seen as Album Filler to some, but many bassists see it as their favorite song on the album because of Krist's riff!
    • "Stay Away." Punky awesomeness.
    • "On a Plain" is a nice poppy song about Writer's Block, and was actually released as the fifth single from the album!
    • "Something in the Way" is just... haunting. And especially how Kurt's guitar is tuned so oddly, as well as the cello...
    • "Endless, Nameless," the Hidden Track, might be a little overlong, but has been said to have foreshadowed In Utero. Some have even said it should have gotten onto the vinyl edition, but there isn't space.
  • The band's B-sides compilation album, Incesticide:
    • While "Dive" is not as iconic or noteworthy as "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it has a main riff that's just as easily memorable after a first listening. The modifications made during the verses and choruses also help to support it with some variation.
    • "Aneurysm", which was also featured as a B-side on the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single, frequently makes it on to "best of" lists of Nirvana songs.
  • In Utero was designed to shed the band's audience through a noisier, abrasive production — which it has! — but Kurt's strong songwriting still shines through.
    • "Heart-Shaped Box", a surging beast of a song filled with some of Kurt's most twisted poetry.
    • "Pennyroyal Tea" is beautiful, indispensable Nirvana gloominess.
  • The Self-Titled Greatest Hits Album released in 2002 features the unreleased track "You Know You're Right". Never once does it play like a B-side or footnote; it's as huge and earwormy as anything else the band has done. The song was released in October of 2002, and the following year, contemporary rock bands started covering it on their summer tours. That is how quickly it was accepted into the Nirvana canon.
  • The entirety of From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, pulling live electric performances across their entire career. The live versions of "Negative Creep" and "Scentless Apprentice" alone bring the house down.

Top