During this past week on September 24th, the second studio released album by Nirvana, Nevermind had turned 33 years old. The band, polishing their sound from their debut, had entranced crowds of music enjoyers from all sides, becoming pillars of what would be the future of rock. Months after release and turning into a mainstream success, the album perfectly encapsulated the small seam between the underground grunge scene with more radio friendly music. Celebrating the album’s 33rd anniversary, let’s delve into more less-known facts and short stories about the cult classic record.

The album’s original title was “Sheep”.
Uh, well, the record was definitely not initially created as a homage to those cute cud-chewing mammals. In 1991, with band frontman Kurt Cobain anticipating the type of audience the then up and coming sophomore album would bring, he initially titled Nevermind as “Sheep” to poke fun at the crowd of followers who would be the main consumers of the record. Cobain then wrote a fake advertisement in his journal stemming from the previous title of Nevermind, mocking that “Because you want to not; because everyone else is”, indicating the masses were sheep who follow the crowd to fit in instead of forging their own to enjoy. Cobain eventually changed the album’s title to the widely loved yet purposefully grammatically incorrect “Nevermind” as he was fond of the found metaphor on the bad things in Cobain’s life with a nonchalant twist.

One of music’s most notorious album covers originated from the idea of- water births?

In an interview with Ollie Campbell, Robert Fisher, the artistic director behind the album art shared that after shared meetings with the band, Cobain had a vision of a baby being born underwater as the cover, stemming from his previous fascinations with pregnancy. Fisher eventually ruled out the idea after searching bookstores for child-birthing photos, deeming them too graphic and not good enough for use. The brainstorm for babies underwater did stick nonetheless, with the band and Fisher agreeing on a fish hook and dollar bill being attached to the final draft of the cover. Kirk Weddle, a proclaimed specialized photographer for ‘submerged humans’ was chosen to take several shots of random babies underwater. Fisher eventually chose what is now the final shot we all know and love (or hate for whatever reason). So in a way, thanks to aquatic labor spurring the idea for one of art’s most iconic covers?

Cobains response to questioning of the album’s cover art.

Robert Fisher during the early conceptual art process suggested that the baby’s genitalia could be covered up if deemed problematic or crude, in his words “If anyone has a problem with his dick we can remove it”. Cobain then responded to Fisher and then clarified his words in a 1991 interview with Robyn Doreian that if the baby’s private parts in the cover are covered up, it has to be a sticker and the sticker must read “If you are offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile”. Eventually, the sticker idea was not used and the cover art was not censored in any capacity. Goes to show that art should never be censored, can you imagine all the great pieces we would miss out on trying to fit in the mold of ‘acceptable’? Eugh, I’m already getting shivers.

Dave Grohl sings in some of the album!

Put your ears to your nearest speaker and you can hear Nirvana Drummer/Foo Fighters Frontman Dave Grohl start to sing alongside Kurt for backing vocals on Nevermind tracks like “Drain You” or “In Bloom”. He also sang vocals on the B-side track “Marigold”.

Smells Like- deodorant.
The late 80’s teen girls’ sickly-sweet deodorant can be credited to the creation of the title to undeniably Nirvana’s biggest hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. When coming up with the song’s title, a friend of Cobain was messing around and wrote: “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit”. The late Cobain, despite his genius, was slightly confused at the moment, thinking her reference was to anarchy and not the drugstore antiperspirant, Teen Spirit. Oh Kurt, you sweet summer child.

Here as we reach the end of this article, I hope you enjoyed these short tidbits about the creation of Nevermind and learned something new. To celebrate the album’s 33rd anniversary, be sure to comment on your favorite song from the album! If you’re a little internet-shy, I’ll start. My favorite song off the album has to be “Drain You”. Your turn now!

Sources: https://metalinjection.net/lists/30-facts-about-nirvanas-nevermind-you-may-not-know-for-its-30th-anniversary
https://milanote.com/the-work/the-designer-of-nirvanas-nevermind-album-cover
https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/nirvanas-nevermind-10-things-you-didnt-know-108845/